Compter
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A compter, sometimes referred to as a counter, was a form of small English prison controlled by a sheriff. The inmates were usually civil prisoners, for example dissenters and debtors. Examples of compters include London's Wood Street Counter, Poultry Compter, Giltspur Street Compter and Borough Compter and the lock-up over the Abbey Gateway, next to St Laurence's church, in Reading, Berkshire (this was the Compter Gate and the lock-up was known as the Compter).
The last London compter (Borough) was closed in 1855.
The compter is the subject of a contemporary pamphlet by poet and pamphleteer William Fennor, The Counter's Commonwealth or a voyage to an infernal island discovered by many captains, seafaring men, gentlemen, merchants, and other tradesmen, which is regarded by many historians as one of the principal primary sources for assessment of English 16th century prison conditions. Fennor was imprisoned in Wood Street Counter for a time.
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