27 Astonishing Things You Didn't Know About London

26. Inmates Of Fleet Debtors' Prison Could Pay To Live Outside

Fans of Charles Dickens' books know all about debtors' prisons. He was inspired to write about them because his own father and mother were once locked up in one, forcing the 12-year-old Charles to fend for himself until they were freed. Dickens used this hard-won knowledge to write about Fleet Debtors' Prison in his first novel, The Pickwick Papers. This prison has a fascinating history of its own, quite apart from the hordes of lovers getting hitched all around it. For a start, the warders in the prison charged fees for every service going: removing manacles, opening doors, giving prisoners their mail... In exchange for sufficient compensation, they'd even let prisoners live outside the prison. Since the inmates were locked up because they didn't have any money, it's a wonder how they could pay for all these charges. The corrupt warders, however, came up with a variety of interesting ways, such as allowing the prisoners to beg at a window.