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The Marshalsea Court (or Court of the Marshalsea, also known as the Court of the Verge or the Court of the Marshal and Steward)Jones, W.R. (1970a). "The Court of the Verge: The Jurisdiction of the Steward and Marshal of the Household in Later Medieval England", The Journal of British Studies, Vol. 10, No. 1, November 1970. was a court associated with the Royal Household in England. Associated with, but distinct from, the Marshalsea Court was the Palace Court, which came into being in the 17th century.
Both courts had jurisdiction within a geographical area known as the Verge of the court,termed virgata regia in Fleta. which was fixed by the (13 Ric. 2. Stat. 1. c. 2).
The Marshalsea and Palace Courts were both abolished on 31 December 1849 by the County Courts Act 1849 (12 & 13 Vict. c. 101).
Originally the jurisdiction of the court was general and extensive: 'it comprehended all actions, Real property, personal and mixed, and all pleas of the crown within the verge'. In 1300, however, a statute was passed limiting the court's jurisdiction.28 Edw. I c. 3 Subsequently it dealt with cases of trespass committed within the verge, if 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. Over time the criminal jurisdiction of the court fell into disuse (being superseded by commissions of oyer and terminer and gaol delivery which were known as commissions of the verge), though it continued to exercise civil jurisdiction.
Associated with the court was the Marshalsea. Originally the prison of the Court of the Marshalsea and known from about 1300, it was on a site in Mermaid Court, Southwark until relocated to an adjacent site off Borough High Street in 1811. Here it largely functioned as a debtor's prison until 1842 when its role was taken over by the Queen's Bench Prison. Up until 1801, the meeting place of the Court was co-located with the prison; in 1373 Edward III had issued instructions for the Marshalsea court and prison to be rebuilt 'in our royal street' (i.e. King Street) in Southwark. Later the same courtroom was used by the Palace Court.
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, grandson of Sir Richard Levett, former Lord Mayor of London.Blackborne likely owed his appointment to the Marshalsea Court to his sponsor the Duke of Rutland, to whom he was a lifelong adviser and connected by marriage. Trading on his connections and various appointments, Blackborne was a powerbroker of his day, securing land grants in British colonies in Nova Scotia and East Florida, as well as other lucrative sidelines. David Hancock, Citizens of the world: London merchants and the integration of the British Atlantic Community 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
By the end of the 18th century the court building in Southwark had become very dilapidated, and in 1801 the courts moved into new purpose-built premises in Great Scotland Yard. The Court Office, however, was to be found in Clifford's Inn; (as noted by Hatton in his New View of London, 'none except members of Clifford's Inn may practise as in this court').
The Marshalsea Court and Palace Court were both abolished in 1849, whereupon the building in Scotland Yard was transferred to the Metropolitan Police (whose headquarters were opposite), and it served as a police station until 1891 (when the police relocated to New Scotland Yard); the old court building subsequently housed the offices of the Chief Inspector of Reformatories and Industrial Schools, until it was demolished as part of a comprehensive rebuilding of the area in 1909.
In addition the King's Marshalmen served as to the court.
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