Giltspur Street Compter Explained

Prison Name:	Giltspur Street Compter
Location:	London
Coordinates:	51.5165°N -0.1016°W
Status:	Closed
Opened:	1791
Closed:	1853

The Giltspur Street Compter was a compter or small prison, designed by English architect and surveyor George Dance the Younger, mainly used to hold debtors.^[1] It was in Giltspur Street, Smithfield, close to Newgate, in the City of London, between 1791 and 1853.^[2]

The compter was adjacent to Christ's Hospital Boys' School (1553-1902). Its construction began in 1787,^[3] and was ready for occupation in 1791. In 1815 it took some prisoners from the nearby Poultry Compter prior to its closure. The Giltspur Street prison was itself closed in 1853 and demolished in 1854,^[4] the site being later occupied by the King Edward Buildings Royal Mail Sorting Office.^[5]

Inmates

In 1831, Robert Wedderburn (radical) was arrested and sent to Giltspur Street Compter as he continued to campaign for freedom of speech, antislavery and working-class revolution.^[6]

Notes and References

1. Book: Geoffrey Howse. A History of London's Prisons. 19 January 2013. Pen & Sword Books. 978-1-78303-067-5. 290–.
2. Book: Rob Wills. Alias Blind Larry: The Mostly True Memoir of James Laurence The Singing Convict. 5 May 2016. Australian Scholarly Publishing. 978-1-925333-11-4. 60–.
3. Book: Mitchel P. Roth. Prisons and Prison Systems: A Global Encyclopedia. 2006. Greenwood Publishing Group. 978-0-313-32856-5. 79–.
4. Web site: Giltspur Street compter. 2021-08-04. London Remembers. en.
5. Web site: Museum of London archaeological notes . 2007-02-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20050326104145/http://www.molas.org.uk/pages/siteSummariesDetailsAll.asp?year=summaries1998 . 2005-03-26 . dead .
6. Book: Junius P. Rodriguez. Encyclopedia of Emancipation and Abolition in the Transatlantic World. 26 March 2015. Routledge. 978-1-317-47180-6. 565–.