A glimpse inside a very Victorian prison

Our June speaker was Andrew Swatland, talking to us about the Victorian institution of debtor's prison, in which Charles Dickens' father spent some time. The very idea that someone who owed money should be locked up—thereby preventing them from working and earning money to pay their debts—might seem strange, and in due course the practice died out, but they were odder places than that. Much of what the inmates used had to be bought or rented from the prison, and the warders made a tidy income this way. To pass the time there were clubs and entertainments, wine, beer and skittles, and debtors would frequently become more in debt the longer they spent there. It was suggested that the logic of these places was that if the debtor was seen to be suffering then perhaps relatives might be prevailed upon to clear the debts. Some inmates were able to carry on their businesses from inside, some had their families come to live with them there, while others actually managed to live outside the prison.

Many thanks to Andrew for his talk, expertly delivered and with the bonus of period costume to help set the scene. You can see a video of the talk on our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/bk45SMccmag.