Imprisonment prior to the eighteenth century: the gaols

According to Finberg, gaols were part of the systems of criminal justice in England as early as the ninth century. ¹ Pugh notes that by the accession of Henry III there were only five counties for which no gaol is known to have existed. ² Some of these gaols were purpose-built (such as the Fleet) but more often they were to be found within the protective walls of castles and towns. ³ Various social and legal changes increased the number of prisons and their importance as a means of maintaining order. ⁴