Marshalsea
/ˈmɑːʃlsiː/
/ˈmɑːrʃlsiː/
- a prison in Southwark, London, built around the 14th century and closed in 1842. It was used as a debtors' prison (= one for people who owed money) and is an important part of the story of Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. Dickens's own father was put in prison there in 1824.