The Marshalsea Court (or Court of the Marshalsea, also known as the Court of the Verge or the Court of the Marshal and Steward) was a court associated with the Royal Household in England. Associated with, but distinct from, the Marshalsea Court was the Palace Court.

The Marshalsea Court

It was a court of record held by the

Steward Steward may refer to: Positions or roles * Steward (office), a representative of a monarch * Steward (Methodism), a leader in a congregation and/or district * Steward, a person responsible for supplies of food to a college, club, or other ins ...

and

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

of the Royal Household, to administer justice between the sovereign's domestic servants "that they might not be drawn into other courts and their service lost". It dealt with cases of trespass committed within the verge of the court, fixed at 12 miles round the sovereign's residence, if only one party was in the sovereign's service, and with debts, contracts and covenants, where both parties belonged to the royal household, in which case the inquest was composed of men from the royal household only. Its criminal jurisdiction had long fallen into disuse by the time its civil jurisdiction was belatedly abolished in 1849. Associated with the court was the

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 ...

. Originally the prison of the Court of the Marshalsea and known from about 1300, it was on a site in Mermaid Court,

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

until relocated to a site off Borough High Street in 1811. Here it largely functioned as a

debtor's prison A debtors' prison is a prison for people who are unable to pay debt. Until the mid-19th century, debtors' prisons (usually similar in form to locked workhouses) were a common way to deal with unpaid debt in Western Europe.Cory, Lucinda"A Histori ...

until 1842 when its role was taken over by the Queen's Bench Prison.

The Palace Court

In 1630

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

created by

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, tit ...

(renewed in 1665) a new court called the Palace Court to be held by the Steward of the Household and

Knight Marshal The Knight Marshal is a former office in the British Royal Household established by King Henry III in 1236. The position later became a Deputy to the Earl Marshal from the reign of King Henry VIII until the office was abolished in 1846. The Kni ...

, and the steward of the court or his deputy, and having jurisdiction to hear all kinds of personal actions between parties within twelve miles of

Whitehall Palace The Palace of Whitehall (also spelt White Hall) at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, except notably Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. H ...

(the jurisdiction of the Marshalsea court, the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

, and

Westminster Hall The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

being excepted). It differed from the Marshalsea court in that it had no jurisdiction over the sovereign's household, nor were its suitors necessarily of the household. The privilege of practising before the palace court was limited to four counsel. In some cases, the counsel practising before both the Marshalsea Court and the Palace Court overlapped, as was the case with the Lincoln's Inn barrister

Levett Blackborne Levett is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from eLivet, which is held particularly by families and individuals resident in England and British Commonwealth territories. Origins This surname comes from the village of Livet-en-Ouche, ...

, grandson of Sir

Richard Levett Sir Richard Levett (also spelled Richard Levet) (died 1711), Sheriff, Alderman and Lord Mayor of London, was one of the first directors of the Bank of England, an adventurer with the London East India Company and the proprietor of the trading f ...

, former

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...

. Blackborne served as steward of both courts, as did several other barristers.Burton Morice (Court of Wards and Liveries), ''An Essay Towards An History of the Ancient Jurisdiction of the Marshalsea of the King's House'' 9W. Clarke and Sons, London) 1812
/ref> The Palace Court was held weekly together with the ancient Court of Marshalsea. The court was abolished in 1849.

References

{{reflist British monarchy Marshalsea Former courts and tribunals in England and Wales 1849 disestablishments in England Courts and tribunals disestablished in 1849