The King’s Bench Prison Revisited (1752)
In February of 1752 Oglethorpe again headed a parliamentary committee appointed to investigate prison conditions at the King’s Bench Prison. On March 24 in his report to the House, he recommended that the prison, “inconvenient, dangerous, and unhealthy,” should be rebuilt and, more important, that the government should purchase the mortgage of the prison, so that the recommended reforms could be more effectively implemented. For as long as the Lenthall mortgage lasted, it was virtually impossible to hold anyone responsible for the deplorable conditions that persisted there. Since Parliament was prorogued before Oglethorpe could read his report a second time, this report died. When Parliament revived the committee in 1753, Oglethorpe was not named chairman, probably because he had failed to establish the validity of the mortgage that he recommended purchasing. In the subsequent report, read on March 16, 1753, Sir William Calvert made the same recommendations and included much of the material from Oglethorpe’s report, but also established the legality of the Lenthall title, though this was apparently subject to legal challenge. Calvert’s report was adopted and was given royal assent on April 6, 1753. Ironically enough, on November 18, 1754, Oglethorpe himself would have been imprisoned for debt in the King’s Bench had the Moravians not come to his assistance.1
I have reproduced Oglethorpe’s report as printed in The Journals of the House of Commons (26:504–13), but have omitted appendix 1. It occupies four times the space devoted to the text of the report and would require foldout pages for proper reproduction, yet it sheds no light upon prison conditions at the King’s Bench. It merely presents financial data upon which to estimate the amount which the heirs of Lenthall, Cutler, and Radnor could claim for the settlement of the title. Oglethorpe had already included much of these data in the appendixes to his 1730 report on the King’s Bench.
Martis, 24° die Manti; Anno 25° Georgii IIdi Regis, 1752.
Lieutenant General Oglethorpe reported for the Committee to whom the Petition of the Prisoners in the King’s Bench Prison was referred, That the Committee had examined the Matter of the said Petition; and had directed him to report the same, as it appeared to them, to the House; and he read the Report in his Place; and afterwards delivered the same, together with an Appendix thereto, in at the Clerk’s Table: Where the Report was read, and is as followeth; viz.
Your Committee thinks proper to reduce the Evidence, brought in Support of the said Petition, under Three Heads.
First, That which tended to prove the present incommodious, unhealthy, and insecure State of the said Prison.
Secondly, The Nature of the Mortgage, under which the Marshalship of the said Prison is now possessed and exercised.
Thirdly, The Inconveniencies arising, not only to the Petitioners, but to the Court, and Suitors in the King’s Bench, and to the Publick in general, from the said Mortgage.
Upon the first Head, your Committee examined the Reverend Doctor Howard,2 Rector of St. George’s Parish, within which the Prison is situated; Mr. Isaac Stapleton, Surgeon and Apothecary, who lives near the Prison, and has attended there for Twenty Years past; William Tew, Joseph Wingrove, William Bishop, John Lloyd, and others, who are, or have been, Prisoners within the Prison-house; and John Ashton Esquire, the present Marshal, with Mr. John Chapman, His Clerk and head Turnkey, and Messieurs Steere and Poultney, Surveyors and Master Builders, who have surveyed the Prison-house and Walls.3
By the concurrent Testimony of all the above Persons, it appears to your Committee, That the said Building is old and ruinous; that, in its present State, the Prisoners are in the most miserable Situation for Want of Room; Seventeen being sometimes crouded into one Room, not above Fourteen or Fifteen Foot square; and that the Common Side is often overflowed with the Common Sewer, which occasions noisome Stenches: And the Reverend Doctor Howard said, That he once attended a Person in the Cells of Newgate, which he thought preferable to the Cabbins in which the Prisoners, upon the Common Side of this Prison, are lodged.
It further appeared to your Committee, from the Evidence above, That in the Summer Time infectious Diseases are apt to break out, for Want of Room and Air, amongst the Prisoners; that last Summer, particularly, Six or Seven Prisoners died of a Pestilential Fever; several have died of the Small Pox, and several of Spotted Fevers, within the Prison; and that, if the Marshal’s own Brother was confined a close Prisoner therein, he could give to him no Relief more than to the other Prisoners; and there is no Conveniency for separating the Sound from the Diseased, but One small Room, fit to contain One Person; and, that if the Prison should be suffered to remain the ensuing Summer in its present State, it may produce an Infection amongst the Prisoners, and may be of the most fatal Consequence.
After this general Representation of the inside State of the Prison, your Committee will not trouble the House with a great Variety of affecting Circumstances, that came out in the Course of this Evidence; which all concurred in proving the Place to be inconvenient, dangerous, and unhealthy.
And the said Mr. Poultney and Mr. Steere were of Opinion, that the same cannot be repaired.
Mr. William Soame, being examined, said, That there is a House and Garden, belonging to one Mr. Lyddal, near the said Prison, and within the Precincts thereof, which is very capable of being made an Infirmary; and may be made strong, and fit for the safe keeping of Prisoners, at the Expence of about £.100; that there are Eight large Rooms, and Four small ones, in it; and may be fitted up to contain Thirty-two Beds; and which the said Mr. Lyddal is willing to let at £.25 a Year.
Under the Second Head of your Committee’s Inquiry, they examined Mr. Brigstock, Mr. Blackwell, and Mr. Langmore, Agents for the Mortgagees; by whom it appeared, That in February 1684, William Lenthall Esquire mortgaged certain Lands, and the Fee-simple of the said Marshalship, for a Sum of Money, to Sir John Cutler Knight,4 till the same, and Interest, should be discharged; and that there are Clauses in an Act of the 8th and 9th of King William (intituled, An Act for the more effectual Relief of Creditors, in Cases of Escapes; and for preventing Abuses in Prisons; and pretended privileged Places) relating to the said Mortgage.
And the said Sir John Cutler’s Executor, Edmund Boulter Esquire, his Heirs, Assigns, Administrators and Executors, are to have, by that Act, the Nomination of Marshals of the said Prison, till the said Mortgage, and Interest, is paid off; and that the Right of the said Mortgage devolved upon the Earl of Radnor, who, in the Year 1719, sold all his Right therein to Joseph Studley, and others, in Trust, for the present Mortgagees, or those from whom they derive their Title; and that the Sum then charged by the Earl of Radnor upon the Mortgage was upwards of £. 19,000; and that the Sum of £. 10,500 was, bona fide, paid for the same.
And the said Mr. Blackwell delivered to your Committee, a General Account of Debtor and Creditor, hereto annexed, in the Appendix, N°. 1; and leaves the Consideration of their Demand to the Judgment of the House.
Upon the strictest Inquiry, your Committee could not discover where the Original Grant or Patent, upon which the Conveyance of the Fee-simple of the said Marshalship was made, by Lenthall, to Sir John Cutler, was to be found:5 And,
Mr. Guthrie, being examined, said, That, by certain Evidences, on Record, the said Office formerly appertained to the Office of Earl Marshal of England; but by Forfeitures, and Failures of Heirs Male, the said Office often reverted to the Crown; and that he apprehended, when the said Marshalship was in the Earl Marshal, he was obliged to maintain and repair the said Prison.
Mr. Owen, Clerk to Lord Chief Justice Lee,6 being examined, said, That he had heard one Mr. Long, at Pershore, in Worcestershire, talk as if a Client of his was in Possession of the Original Patent: And Mr. Owen wrote to the said Long; and he (the said Long) wrote a Letter in Answer, which is hereto annexed, in the Appendix, N°.2.
Under the Third Head of Evidence, already mentioned, your Committee begs Leave to refer to a Paper laid before them by the said Mr. Owen, with the Authority and Approbation of the Lord Chief Justice of the King’s Bench, which is annexed, in the Appendix, (N°.3.) by which it appears to your Committee, That that Court has long looked upon the present Exercise of the Marshalship of the said Prison, under a Mortgage, as a Shame and Scandal to the Publick, because of the Hardships and Dangers arising therefrom, not only to the Prisoners, their Creditors, and that Court, but to the Subjects in general; and that Application ought to be made to Parliament thereon.
This Representation, from so great and good an Authority, naturally led your Committee to inquire, in the most strict Manner, into the Conduct and Behaviour of the present Marshal, Mr. Ashton, and likewise into the Fees, Perquisites, and Profits of his Place.
And, First, It appeared, by the concurring and unanimous Testimony of the above Witnesses, and likewise by that of Baron Stein and Mr. John Upsdale, Prisoners in the said Prison, that the said Marshal’s Behaviour and Conduct in his Office, has been very humane, and that he omitted no Opportunity in his Power of alleviating and relieving the Hardships of the Prisoners in his Custody.
Touching the Fees of his Office, he produced a Table of them, by Order of your Committee; which is annexed, in the Appendix N°.4.
Touching the Perquisites and Profits of the same, he produced before your Committee his Books of Accounts, and likewise Abstracts from the same, distinguishing Year by Year; which Abstracts your Committee checked with the Particulars in his Books; and the whole of his said Fees, Perquisites, and Profits, do not, upon an Average, one Year with another, amount to the Sum which he is yearly obliged by Lease to pay for his Office to the Mortgagees, which is £. 500 a Year, besides Taxes.
And by an Abstract of his Accounts for the Years 1747, 1748, 1749, and 1750, it appears, that, within that Time, the Total of his Receipts amounts to £.3,092. 6. 5. and his Disbursements to £.3,218. 18. 4.; which Abstract is annexed, in the Appendix, N°.5.
The said Mr. Poultney and Mr. Steere, Surveyors, One of whom had been ordered by the Lord Chief Justice to survey the said Prison, produced to your Committee Plans, and an Elevation, for rebuilding the said Prison; and said, That to build it according to those Plans, including the external Walls round the Garden, making convenient Shores, Drains, &c. will amount to the Sum of about £.6,500, as estimated by them.
APPENDIX, N°. 2.
Sir,
Pershore, March 9th 1752.
ON Thursday last I went to Worcester Assizes, and on Friday was taken ill with the Gout; which occasioned my not returning till Yesterday in the Afternoon, when I found yours at my House, of the 5th instant.
I have some Grants and other Deeds, now in my Custody, belonging to the Office of Marshal of the King’s Marshalsea; most of which are wrote in Latin Abbreviations, in the old Court-hand, and most of them contain Three or Four Large Skins each; so that it was impossible, had I been at home, when your Letter came on Saturday, to have sent you up Copies by that Night’s Post, as you desired, or even by the Post To-night.
And as I am now laid up, exceedingly bad with the Gout, and confined to my Room, I am not at present able to peruse those Deeds, to give you any Satisfaction relating thereto; but I hope in a few Days I may be in a Capacity for the Purpose.
These Writings was delivered to me by a Client of mine, who claimed the Office of Marshal, with Intent to prefer a Bill in the Court of Chancery against the Mortgagees, in Possession of the Profits of the Office, to account and deliver up the same; my Client being fully convinced that the Mortgagees had, many Years since, not only been fully paid, but that a considerable surplus Sum of Money was in their Hands to be accounted for; but my Client, soon after I had received the Writings, died, so that the Affair dropt: But the Writings now belong to his Widow, to whom he, by his Will, devised all his Estate, either in Possession, Reversion, Remainder, or Expectancy. I am, Sir,
Your most obedient humble Servant, Hen. Long.
To Mr. Thomas Owen Attorney at Law, over against the End of Plough-court, Carey-street, Lincoln’s Inn, London.
APPENDIX, N°. 3.
THomas Owen, Clerk to the Right Honourable the Lord Chief Justice Lee, pursuant to Order, attended the Committee; and, being examined, declareth as followeth:
That about Thirteen Years ago, and for several Years before, he was Deputy Marshal of the Court of King’s Bench; and as such, and since he hath been Clerk to his Lordship, hath been acquainted with the State and Condition of the King’s Bench Prison.
Saith, The same is a very ancient Building, and was, as he hath heard, and believes, the Stables of King John; and saith, the said Prison is very incommodious for the Purpose to which it is now converted.
Saith, That Prisoners, from all Parts of the Kingdom, are committed thereto, either for criminal or civil Matters, cognizable in the Court of King’s Bench; and, that the said Prison ought to be more commodious than it is at present, for the Reception of the Unfortunate; and a Place of much greater Strength and Security, for the safe Custody of the Guilty: Saith, the Walls thereof are so thin, old, rotten, and crazy, that there hath not been a remarkable high Wind, for many Years past, that hath not blown down many Parts of the Wall of the said Prison; and would have made a general Gaol Delivery of the Prisoners therein, was not the greatest Care and Diligence used by the Marshal and his Officers to prevent it.
Saith, That in the Time of the late unnatural Rebellion, when all the Prisons about this Capital were full of Prisoners, the Prison of the King’s Bench (the most proper Prison for such a Purpose) was deemed a Place of so little Safety, and so insecure, that not One State Prisoner was confined therein.
Saith, He hath oftentimes heard the late Marshal, Mullins, declare (who was a very humane good-natured Man), that when he was first appointed Marshal, he used weekly to order Beef, Pork, Broths, and other Victuals, to be distributed among such of his Prisoners as he thought were the greatest Objects of Charity; but was soon obliged to leave off those Donations, having found that the annual Rent, Taxes, and Outgoings, which, at that time, amounted to Eight or Nine hundred Pounds per Annum, was actually more than the Fees, Profits, and Perquisites, arising from the said Office.
Saith, He knows, that during the Time the late Lord Raymond presided as Chief Justice of the said Court, that great and many Complaints were then made to his Lordship, of the Inconveniences arising to the Prisoners, by the Payment of so large an annual Rent, by the Marshal of the said Prison; and he hath oftentimes heard his Lordship declare, it was a Shame, and a Scandal to the Publick, that the Affairs of the Prison were permitted to remain in such a Situation.
Saith, He is also well assured, that my Lord Hardwicke,7 during the time his Lordship was Chief Justice of the said Court, was of the same Opinion, that the said Mortgage ought to be paid off and discharged.
Saith, That for the Space of Twelve Years last past, he hath been Clerk to the present Lord Chief Justice of the said Court; during which time many Petitions have been presented to the said Court and his Lordship, complaining, that Three, Four, or more Prisoners, were put into One Room; which the Judges (who are always ready to hear the Complaints of the meanest Prisoner) would have prevented, had it been in their Power; but, from the Straightness of the Prison, have found it impossible to redress the Grievance complained of.
Saith, That many Petitions have also been presented to his Lordship, praying, to be discharged without Payment of their Fees; several of whom, on his Lordship’s Pleasure being signified to the Marshal, have been, accordingly, discharged; as many others would have been, had not his Lordship well known, that by a too frequent Compliance with such Requests, it would be impossible for the Marshal and his Officers, who all purchase their Places, to pay the Rent that is even now paid for the said Office.
Saith, That from the time of this Examinant’s first coming into his Lordship’s Service, until now, it hath been his Lordship’s Opinion, that it was very detrimental to the Prisoners and the Publick that the Office of the Marshal was let to Sale; and the said Court so far interposed with the Proprietors and Mortgagees of the said Office, as he hath heard, and believes, that the Rent is much less now than was formerly paid for the said Office; and his Lordship was so desirous that proper Methods should be taken, in relation to the Discharge of the said Mortgage, that he ordered this Examinant, about Three Years ago, as near as he can recollect as to the Time, to give Notice to the said Proprietors and Mortgagees, to deliver in a stated Account of their Demands on the said Office; which this Examinant then did, on Mr. Langmore, their Attorney or Agent, in the Words, or to the Effect, mentioned in a Paper Writing, signed by this Declarant, marked with the Letter (A).
Saith, That in pursuance of such Notice, said Mr. Langmore delivered to his Lordship the Account marked Letter (B).
Saith, That since this Examinant’s Order to attend this honourable Committee, he hath acquainted his Lordship thereof; who hath authorized this Examinant to acquaint the said Committee, that it is with his Lordship’s Consent, Concurrence, and highest Approbation, that Application hath been made to the House to rebuild the said Prison, and pay off the said Mortgage; and that his Lordship hopes it will meet with such immediate Dispatch, as the Nature of the Case shall require.
Thos. Owen.
(A) In Appendix N°. 3.
To William Martin Esquire, and the rest of the Mortgagees of the Office or Place of Marshal of the King’s Marshalsea.
Gentlemen,
You are desired, within One Week from the Date hereof, to deliver at the Chambers of the Right honourable the Lord Chief Justice Lee, in Serjeant’s Inn, an Account of the Principal and Interest which you now claim to be due to you, on the Mortgage of the Office or Place of Marshal of the King’s Marshalsea, together with such Sums of Money as you have, from time to time, received, for the Sale or Alienation of such Places or Offices as have been filled up by you, as Mortgagees of the said Office; to the Intent, that if you shall consent and agree (upon Payment of what shall appear to be justly due to you for the same) to deliver up the Grant, heretofore made by the Crown, of the Office or Place of Marshal to William Lenthal Esquire, deceased, and his Heirs, for ever (which said Grant is assigned over, in Trust, for your Use) Application may be made to his Majesty to pay off the said Mortgage; or, in case of your Refusal, to Parliament, to enforce so reasonable a Proposal. I am,
Gentlemen,
Your humble Servant.
(B) In Appendix N°. 3.
APPENDIX, N°. 4.
A Table of Fees to be taken by the Marshal of the King’s Bench Prison, in the County of Surry, for any Prisoner or Prisoners committed, or coming into Goal, or Chambers Rent there, or Discharge from thence on any Civil Action.
Settled and established on the 17th Day of December 1730.