Petty criminals in London went to compters. Sometimes called counters, compters were small prisons for minor transgressors including religious dissenters, drunks, prostitutes, debtors, vagrants, homosexuals and transsexuals. Poultry Compter was in Cheapside in the City of London, operating from the 16th century until 1815. Near Scalding Alley, where fowls and feathered game were prepped, and the Grocers’ Hall, this was in the busy Poultry street section of Cheapside.
A sheriff’s prison, the inmates were largely committeed by the Lord Mayor. It had a separate ward for Jewish people, which was unusual, and was the only prison not attacked during the 1780 riots (Handbook of London, 1850).
Conditions were poor, and described as a place full of riot, drunkenness, blasphemy and debauchery by a contemporary. Another described the fetid smells, noises, and dirty conditions.
Notable inmates includes Captain James Hind, the Highwayman, several martyrs (Reverend John Bradford, Rowland Taylor, John Penry, and William Carter), and poet Samuel Boyse.
To read more about London compters: https://londonhistorians.wordpress.com/tag/poultry-compter/
