Marshalsea Court

British court

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Last updated

June 30, 2026

Quick Summary

The Marshalsea Court was a former English court held by the steward and marshal of the royal household. It existed as early as the reign of Edward III and had jurisdiction over offenses committed by the king's servants within a certain radius of the palace. The court also had civil and criminal jurisdiction.123

Attached to the court was the Marshalsea prison in Southwark, London. This prison held debtors and individuals charged with contempt of various royal courts. The Marshalsea prison was consolidated with other prisons in 1842 and officially abolished in 1849. The prison is famously depicted in Charles Dickens' novel Little Dorrit.2

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lord steward
…king’s servants, and over the Marshalsea Court; this was a court of record held before the lord steward and the knight marshal of the household, and it had civil and criminal jurisdiction over any action within the verge where at least one of the parties was a member of the…
Read More
…king’s servants, and over the Marshalsea Court; this was a court of record held before the lord steward and the knight marshal of the household, and it had civil and criminal jurisdiction over any action within the verge where at least one of the parties was a member of the…
Read More