the site is occupied by the Scovell housing estate). Although much larger and better appointed than some other London prisons, the King's Bench Prison gained a reputation for being dirty, overcrowded and prone to outbreaks of typhus. Debtors had to provide their own bedding, food and drink. Those who could afford it purchased 'Liberty of the Rules,' allowing them to live within three miles of the prison.

In 1768 John Wilkes was imprisoned at King's Bench for writing