Wisbech Castle, a much dilapidated property in the possession of the bishops of Ely, first served as a prison for notable Catholics in the summer of 1580.1 Such a use for it had, however, already been suggested in 1572, when Bishop Cox was ordered to report on its suitability for the accommodation of "religious prisoners who by crafty intelligences here and practises abroad cause trouble", and who were to be kept in one place at their own charge. 2 The first eight to be sent there included Thomas Watson, once Bishop of Lincoln, John Feckenham, once Abbot of Westminster, Thomas Metham, S. ]., Thomas Bluet, secular priest, and the lawyer Dr. Edmund Windham. 3 During ~he next few years the numbers gradually increased, and sometimes included several laymen. At the period covered by the documents in this present volume there were thirty-three prisoners, all of whom were priests, except for Thomas Pound, the Jesuit scholastic.
