Four Courts Marshalsea
The Four Courts Marshalsea was a prison in Dublin, Ireland until 1874. The keeper of the prison was the Marshal of the Four Courts, a role filled after 1546 by the Constable of Dublin Castle. Name. Other debtor's prisons in Dublin which shared the name were the City Marshalsea, and the Marshalseas of Saint Sepulchre (abolished 1856) and of Thomas Court and Donore (abolished 1826). The original Marshalsea prison from which these were named was built in Southwark south of the City of London, for prisoners from the Marshalsea Court presided over by the Knight Marshal . Buildings. In 1580 the Four Courts Marshalsea was built on Werburgh Street. By 1750 it was in Molesworth Court (no longer extant), which was abandoned in 1777 in disrepair. The final building was in Marshalsea Lane (no longer extant) off Marshal Lane (now Robert Emmet Close), off Bridgefoot Street, off Thomas Street. It was described by Samuel Lewis as "a large building ... the prison has two court-yards, two chapels, several common halls and a ball-court." Conditions. John Dillon said in 1898: Prisoners. Originally the Four Courts Marshalsea was a remand prison for criminal trials in the Four Courts , and a debtor's prison for cases brought to the Court of King's Bench (one of the Four Courts) from all over Ireland. In 1842, the Four Courts Marshalsea received remaining prisoners from three closing prisons: In 1856, the Four Courts Marhsalsea received remaining prisoners from the Marshalsea of the abolished Manor of St. Sepulchre. Closure. The Four Courts Marshalsea was abolished by the Four Courts Marshalsea Discontinuance Act 1874, because of "the very small and diminishing number of persons in that prison, and to the very large prison staff in proportion to the number of prisoners". The Dublin  Militia used it as a barracks in the later 19th century. It stood empty for some years before its demolition in 1975. Some of the stone went to repair the City wall at Cook Street.