The liberties of the Fleet
Preserved but no longer current.
The district immediately surrounding the Fleet, the old debtors* prison in the City of London, in which prisoners were sometimes allowed to reside, and beyond which they were not allowed to go. They included the north side of Ludgate HiU and the Old Bailey to Fleet Lane, down the lane to the market, and on the east side along by the prison wall to the foot of Ludgate Hill.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “The liberties of the Fleet” mean?
The district immediately surrounding the Fleet, the old debtors* prison in the City of London, in which prisoners were sometimes allowed to reside, and beyond which they were not allowed to go. They included the north side of Ludgate HiU and the Old Bailey to Fleet Lane, down the lane to the market, and on the east side along by the prison wall to the foot of Ludgate Hill.
Is “The liberties of the Fleet” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.