Books detailing the commitment to the Fleet Prison of debtors unable to stand bail for themselves, and therefore committed until the bail was paid. Entries include the commitment number (useful in tracing prisoners' records), the name of the person committed, the date, the justice ordering the committal, and the charge - debt, bankruptcy or a claim for trespass damages.
In the margins of the books there are often further details, including the date of the discharge of bail and the sum concerned, the date of imprisonment if applicable, and sometimes the names of the lawyers involved, or the date of death of the prisoner if they had not survived long enough to attend court. Correspondence concerning individual cases is occasionally to be found loose between the pages of the books.
The National Archives
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