The Wood Street Counter, or Wood Street Compter

Compter

A compter, sometimes referred to as a counter, was a type of small English prison controlled by a sheriff. The inmates were usually civil prisoners, for example dissenters and debtors...

, was a small prison

Prison

A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...

 within the City of London

City of London

The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...

 in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It was primarily a debtors prison, and also held people accused of such misdemeanors as public drunkness, although some wealthier prisoners were able to obtain alcohol

Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....

 through bribery. The prison was built and opened in 1555, replacing the earlier Bread Street Compter, from which many prisoners were transferred.

The Compter was originally one of two prisons, the other, the Poultry Compter

Poultry Compter

The Poultry Compter was a small compter or prison run by a Sheriff in the City of London from medieval times until 1815...

, located on the Poultry. Both were destroyed during the Great Fire of London

Great Fire of London

The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...

 in 1666, although the Poultry Compter was rebuilt, and another compter, Giltspur Street Compter

Giltspur Street Compter

The Giltspur Street Compter was a small Compter or prison, mainly used to hold debtors. It was situated in Giltspur Street, Smithfield, close to Newgate, in the City of London, between 1791 and 1853....

 was constructed in 1791.

Among its occupants were Captain George Orrell, the Catholic martyr George Napper

George Napper

George Napper was an English Roman Catholic priest. He is a Catholic martyr, beatified in 1929 by Pope Pius XI.-Life:George Napper a son of Edward Napper George Napper (Napier) (born at Holywell manor, Oxford, 1550; executed at Oxford 9 November 1610) was an English Roman Catholic priest. He is a...

, the Sabbatarian dissenter

Dissenter

The term dissenter , labels one who disagrees in matters of opinion, belief, etc. In the social and religious history of England and Wales, however, it refers particularly to a member of a religious body who has, for one reason or another, separated from the Established Church.Originally, the term...

 John Traske, the poet Edmund Gayton, a young Jonathan Wild

Jonathan Wild

Jonathan Wild was perhaps the most infamous criminal of London — and possibly Great Britain — during the 18th century, both because of his own actions and the uses novelists, playwrights, and political satirists made of them...

, and highwayman

Highwayman

A highwayman was a thief and brigand who preyed on travellers. This type of outlaw, usually, travelled and robbed by horse, as compared to a footpad who traveled and robbed on foot. Mounted robbers were widely considered to be socially superior to footpads...

 James Hind

James Hind

Captain James Hind was a 17th century highwayman and Royalist rabble rouser during the English Civil War....

.

The Wood Street Compter was still active 1727 when The London Gazette (6 July p4) listed 13 insolvent debtors awaiting court on 25 August.

During the closure of the compters, debtors were held in prisons in Southwark

Southwark

Southwark is a district of south London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Southwark. Situated east of Charing Cross, it forms one of the oldest parts of London and fronts the River Thames to the north...

, including the Marshalsea and King's Bench Prison

King's Bench Prison

The King's Bench Prison was a prison in Southwark, south London, from medieval times until it closed in 1880. It took its name from the King's Bench court of law in which cases of defamation, bankruptcy and other misdemeanours were heard; as such, the prison was often used as a debtor's prison...

s, Borough Compter

Borough Compter

The Borough Compter was a small compter or prison initially located in Southwark High Street but moved to nearby Tooley Street in the 17th century, where it stood until demolished until 1855. It took its name from 'The Borough', a historic name for the Southwark area of London on the south side of...

 and Horsemonger Lane Gaol

Horsemonger Lane Gaol

Horsemonger Lane Gaol was a prison close to present-day Newington Causeway in Southwark, south London.-History:...

.

Some wine cellars on Mitre Court were marketed as a party venue under the name of "The City Compter" but these appear to date from the mid 18th century; no sign of the prison was found during archaeological investigations of the site of a new office block at One Wood Street.

Further reading

• Harben, Henry Andrade. A Dictionary of London: Being Notes Topographical and Historical Relating to the Streets and Principle Buildings in the City of London. London: H. Jenkins, 1918.