1) Penal imprisonment 
A compter, sometimes referred to as a counter, was a type of small English prison controlled by a sheriff. The inmates were usually civil prisoners, for example dissenters and debtors. Examples of compters include London`s Wood Street Counter, Poultry Compter, Giltspur Street Compter and Borough Compter and the lock-up over the Abbey Gateway, nex....
• (n.) A counter.
Compt'er noun A counter. [ Obsolete] Shak.