ABSTRACT
By January 1716, the British government had incarcerated more than 1,200 prisoners taken before and after the capitulation at Preston alone. 1 Cached in makeshift jails and castles across northern England, each man was costing the authorities 4d per day to feed in bread, cheese and beer. Cost considerations apart, supplying such numbers stretched the capabilities of the local economy, especially during the winter, and so something had to be done with them reasonably rapidly. Thus, the prisoners had become a serious problem for George I and his council. Leaving them in prison strained relations with the local authorities (who had to feed and house them) and posed the threat of epidemic disease, and, too, provided a focus for the disaffected and Catholic, who were gathered around the jails and sending in blankets and food parcels. 2 On the other hand, releasing even these prisoners, most of whom were commoners left behind when the rebel leaders were sent to London after the surrender, did not strike the deterrent note the government needed.
