Fleet Prison
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Fleet Prison was a notorious London prison by the side of the River Fleet. The prison was built in 1197, was rebuilt several times, and was in use until 1844. It was demolished in 1846.
"Pray remember ye poor debtors": inmates of the Fleet Prison beg passers by for alms
The Racquet Ground of the Fleet Prison circa 1808
Thomas Bambridge
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Thomas Bambridge was a British attorney who became a notorious warden of the Fleet Prison in London.
Fleet Prison
…out the prison to the highest bidder. This custom made the prison long notorious for the cruelties inflicted on prisoners. One purchaser of the office, Thomas Bambridge, who became warden in 1728, was of particularly evil repute. He was guilty of the greatest extortions upon prisoners, and, according to a committee of…
Portraits, memoirs, and characters, of remarkable persons, from the revolution in 1688 to the end of the reign of George II. Collected from the most authentic accounts extant
Thomas Bambridge (standing, far left) being questioned by James Oglethorpe (believed to be the figure seated, far left, in front of Bainbridge) of the parliamentary Gaols Committee, which visited the Fleet on 27 February 1729. Sir Archibald Grant (standing third from the right) commissioned this painting from William Hogarth, who sketched it when he accompanied the committee on the visit, later painting it in oil.