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Ancestry UK

St Katharine's Prison, City of London, London

St Katharine's (sometimes spelled as as St Katherine's, St Catherine's etc.) was a small debtors' prison serving the Liberty of St Katharine, at the east side of the Tower of London. Its precise location is unclear.

John Howard, writing in 1792, recorded that:

This prison, rebuilt about fifteen years ago, is a small House of two stories; two rooms on a floor. In April 1774 there was a keeper but no prisoners. I have since that called two or three times and found the house uninhabited In August 1779 it was inhabited but there were no prisoners. In December 1782 also there were no prisoners, and I was informed there had been none since 1779. In August, 1783 it was uninhabited.

(In 1777, Howard had reported that the rebuilding had taken place about seven years earlier.)

Howard later noted that in 1787, the building had been let for use as a warehouse.

Records

Note: many repositories impose a closure period of up to 100 years for records identifying individuals. Before travelling a long distance, always check that the records you want to consult will be available.

Bibliography

  • Prison Oracle - resources those involved in present-day UK prisons.
  • GOV.UK - UK Government's information on sentencing, probation and support for families.

Except where indicated, this page () © Peter Higginbotham. Contents may not be reproduced without permission.