Marshalsea

American  

[mahr-shuhl-see] / ˈmɑr ʃəlˌsi /

noun

British History.

1. the court of the marshal of the royal household.

2. a debtors' prison in London, abolished in 1842.

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Marshalsea British  

/ ˈmɑːʃəlˌsiː /

noun

1. (formerly in England) a court held before the knight marshal: abolished 1849

2. a prison for debtors and others, situated in Southwark, London: abolished in 1842

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Etymology

Origin of Marshalsea

1350–1400; Middle English marchalsye, variant of marschalcie. See marshal, -cy

Example Sentences

His grandfather was a servant, and his father, John Dickens, was an impecunious minor civil servant ultimately sent to the notorious debtors’ prison, Marshalsea.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 6, 2020

We take our first look at the Marshalsea debtors’ prison, which is to be the core of Little Dorrit.

From The Guardian • Dec. 20, 2019

Young John Chivery, son of the Marshalsea Turnkeeper, is rewarded for running "mysterious missions" with a banquet, for which Miss Rugg "with her own hands stuffed a leg of mutton with oysters."

From BBC • Dec. 23, 2017

But lurking beneath the words is the whole Internet, ready to be questioned — “Find other works that quoted this,” “Where was the Marshalsea prison?”

From New York Times • Apr. 7, 2010

Bishop Bonner was kept a close prisoner in the Marshalsea till his death in 1569.

From Res Judicat? Papers and Essays by Birrell, Augustine