Richard Shelley (Royal Navy Officer)
Richard Shelley (d. in Marshalsea prison, London, probably in February or March, 1586) was an English recusant who presented to Elizabeth I of England, or her Parliament, a petition drawn up to request greater religious tolerance for Roman Catholics. The details being disputed, he was imprisoned and died. Life The third son of John Shelley of Michelgrove, Clapham, Sussex, he was for some time abroad in attendance on his uncle Sir Richard Shelley (Knight of St. John), Richard Shelley, the last Grand Prior of England of the Knights Hospitaller, Order of Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem. He was given permission to return to England in May, 1583, which he did shortly afterwards. The petition Two accounts are extant of the petition he presented on behalf of his fellow Catholics, at that time severely limited by legislation in the practice of their religion. One is by Peter Penkevel, who was his servant in the Marshalsea at the time of his death. This is printed by Joh ...
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Marshalsea Prison
The Marshalsea (1373–1842) was a notorious prison in Southwark, just south of the River Thames. Although it housed a variety of prisoners, including men accused of crimes at sea and political figures charged with sedition, it became known, in particular, for its incarceration of the poorest of London's debtors. Over half the population of England's prisoners in the 18th century were in jail because of debt. Run privately for profit, as were all English prisons until the 19th century, the Marshalsea looked like an Oxbridge college and functioned as an extortion racket. Debtors in the 18th century who could afford the prison fees had access to a bar, shop and restaurant, and retained the crucial privilege of being allowed out during the day, which gave them a chance to earn money for their creditors. Everyone else was crammed into one of nine small rooms with dozens of others, possibly for years for the most modest of debts, which increased as unpaid prison fees accumulated. The ...
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