4. Nobles and members of the clergy gained wealth through debtor’s prisons
London’s many prisons held debtors throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, for varying periods and in widely varying conditions. Fleet, Marshalsea, and King’s Bench were just a few of the many debtor’s prisons in the growing metropolis which gained notoriety for the conditions present within their walls. Another, Clink Prison on London’s Stoney Street, gave the English language the colloquialism, “in the clink” in reference to an incarcerated individual. The Bishop of Winchester received the income from Clink Prison, derived from debtors as well as the heretics which he had the authority to imprison there. Winchester Palace, the Bishop’s residence, stood next door.
In London’s prisons and jails (called gaols at the time), prisoners who were awaiting trial for offenses against the law also had to pay for their food and any services, such as being released from their shackles. Those without the means to pay cash ran up debts for their pre-trial tenure. If found not guilty of the offense with which they were charged, they still owed their prison time, and those not able to pay could be held as debtors until the obligation was discharged. Guards and jailers also extracted funds from the prisoners, in the form of bribes. They could be jailed by the bishop if their extraneous income, presumably unreported to the authorities, came to light.