In his "The Diary of a Prison Governor", James William Newham (1825–1890) makes reference to the period that his step-father, Henry Benthall, spent in the Queens Bench Prison (c.1839) for bankruptcy, after running up debts to the tune of £15,000 following the failure of his business as a wine merchant in the Strand. Newham (at this time aged 14) recalls "staying over on occasions" with his mother, in Benthall's rooms at the prison, where such proceedings were winked at "for a consideration". On his release from the Queens Bench, Benthall was to live within "the rules of the prison" (i.e., in the immediate neighbourhood).