I have found this module to be incredibly interesting. I have enjoyed learning about crimes and prisons in the 19th Century and comparing it to todays crime. There have been plenty of online resources given in seminars and ones that I have found during my own research that have proved to be incredibly useful. I particularly liked the Old Bailey online website as it was thorough and there was always something new and interesting to read on there.
For me, blogging was a completely new experience. At first I was apprehensive to publish my own work online as I did not know what the reaction would be if anyone saw it. I did not want people to think that I was not fully committed to researching the topics I decided to write about. Therefore, with every post I wrote, I made sure everything had been fully researched and that my facts and dates were right and correctly referenced. This overall helped me to draw my own conclusions about topics, including child crime and gangs. I have learnt from blogging that I can have my own voice online as long as everything written is a well-supported argument. It has made me aware that my own voice online is not that colloquial, something that I could work on if I were to blog again in the future. I feel as though I have improved since my first blog post but could still go further with this.
In regard to social media, I have discovered that a lot of people have a keen interest in 19th century criminal history, something which had honestly never occurred to me before. Having never been interested in history, I went into the social media side of this module completely blind. I was unaware as to how many twitter accounts there were related to this module and regularly posting photos or interesting facts about that era.
Learning about the 19th century in general was something completely new to me. I had only ever studied the Victorians in school and it was interesting to go into specific parts of it in more detail. I feel as though my blog has somewhat contributed to public history as the posts do go into specific detail in regard to novels at the time and Victorians attitudes towards crime and punishment. Something which could easily be overlooked. I hope that my blog does give someone somewhere a fact or two that they did not previously know about that period in history.
I will be able to use skills that I learnt in the Prison Voices project in other modules. The writing skill I have learnt can easily be applied to other essays and work that I will need to do during the rest of my degree. If I ever have to write blog posts again, I will be well-informed on what style of writing I need to adopt.
The phrase ‘juvenile delinquency’ originated in Britain in the 19th Century and means “The habitual committing of criminal acts or offences by a young person, especially one below the age at which ordinary criminal prosecution is possible.” (Juvenile Delinquency, 2018) In Victorian Britain, crime and how to deal with it was one the great issues debated. There was a rising crime rate, with 5000 recorded crimes per year in the 1800’s to 20,000 recorded crimes in the 1830’s. This could be due to more people reporting the crimes however and more people being punished. London’s police force was only fully established in 1829 which could also explain the rise in reported crimes. Despite this level of crime, child crime was only a small percentage. Due to the coverage in written media, Victorians were under the impression that crime was at an all-time high and was a serious problem in society. In reality, however, “statistical evidence modifies this image, suggesting that as a proportion of total Victorian crime, juvenile crime was not dramatically elevated” (Rowbotham and Stevenson, 2005).
Crimes were mainly seen in working-class children, however, there were several recorded cases of middle-class children ‘larking’. This was “Something done for fun, especially something mischievous or daring; an amusing adventure or escapade.” (Lark, 2018), such as truancy. Truancy was when children would stay away from school for no good reason and this was seen in all classes in society. For middle-class children, it was seen as a release from their strict lifestyle, whereas for working-class children it was a vital part of their street culture. For higher classes, education was seen as a way of reforming juvenile delinquents and to develop conformity to society. Youths, however, saw truancy as a way of resisting strict control in their lives. It was suggested that these juvenile criminals were “adopted children of the devil”(Macilwee, 2011) and were in serious need of reforming.
Punishments were taken incredibly seriously by Victorians at the beginning of the century and Edwardians and they believed that everyone should face up to their responsibilities and actions. In Liverpool, the crime was so bad that they requested more reformatory schools. Not only were there prisons, jails and reformatory schools for criminals, within these the inmates were still punished. One method used was called flogging. This was when someone would “Beat (someone) with a whip or stick as a punishment.” (Flogging, 2018) Often, care was taken to ensure that other prisoners would not know what was going on: “no prisoner shall see, or, if possible, hear anything that is going on”(Gilfillan, 2014). Flogging could be sentenced by the judge as part of the punishment and up until 1830’s, could be done in public. It was also used in prisons when prisoners would breach the internal prison discipline. For boys, flogging would be done with a birch – a bundle of twigs bound together at one end to form a handle. If the boy was under 10, the birch would be 34 inches long and weigh around 6 ounces. For boys aged between 10-16, the birch would be 40 inches long and weigh around 9 ounces. This increased accordingly for adults.
Many child criminals began their life of crime due to the fact they had little parental care or were orphans and had to find a way of staying alive. Stealing money, food and small possessions from people provided them with enough food for a day or so. Many did not know that what they were doing was wrong as they were destitute of all things children should have had as a right. Some children became part of gangs that were controlled by adults. They were taught how to pickpocket and steal and had to bring all possessions and money back to their ‘Fagin like’ carer. A prison inspector from the Mason Street, Edge Hill reformatory stated that once children have “acquired the taste for an idle vagabond life, there is little hope of weaning them from it to pursuits of a more restrained nature” (Macilwee, 2011)
There were several notable gangs from the 19th Century, all of which contained child members. Some of these included The Peaky Blinders, based in Birmingham; The Deansgate Mob, based in Manchester and The High Rip Gang, based in Liverpool. All are notorious in their own right and have left marks on communities that are still seen today.
The Peaky Blinders began in the early 1890’s and were the biggest, most violent gang in Birmingham for over 2 years. Members would sew razor blades into the peak of their flat caps and use them as weapons, often head-butting victims leaving them partially blind in both eyes. This is where their name originated. They would target people who looked vulnerable or unfit and would take anything they could get. There were several children within the group including David Taylor, aged 13 and Charles Lambourne, aged 12. The image shows members of the Peaky Blinders gang.
The Deansgate Mob originated in Manchester in the late 1800’s and was predominantly lead by Irish reprobate John-Joseph Hillier. He joined the gang and just 14 years old and was repeatedly jailed for slashing members of rival gangs with a butcher’s knife. Despite this, there were very few deaths from the violence in comparison to gang culture and violence today. The photograph details some members of the gang.
On the Old Merseytimes website, there are thousands of court transcripts taken from newspapers in Liverpool and Merseyside in the 18th, 19th and 20th Century. One details a crime committed by the High Rip Gang. The High Rip Gang was created in the 1880’s in order to wage a war against the Logwood Gang, its sworn enemies. They originated in Vauxhall, Liverpool. Some members of the gang were convicted of the Blackstone Street Murder, the gangs first crime that saw them become notorious for unprovoked attacks of violence on the public. In this, they attacked a Spanish sailor, stabbed him in the back and killed him. The judge described it as “shocking case” (Old-merseytimes.co.uk, 2011) and that the men who committed this murder “deserved exemplary punishment” (Old-merseytimes.co.uk, 2011) 2 of the men that were prosecuted were 18 and were sentenced to death. The other 3 were found not guilty and were consequently released.
The violent acts by the High Rip varied between random violence, robbery and revenge attacks. There were little to no theft attempts. Even though the acts were unprovoked, they were planned meticulously meaning that the gang got away with most things. The fact that 18-year-old boys, I say boys as they are barely adults with very little maturity, could be prosecuted for murder within a gang surprises me but does not shock me. In today’s society, there are many cases of children committing murder, several being in Liverpool and Merseyside. One famous case was that of Rhys Jones in 2007. He was shot in the back whilst cycling through a pub car park in the afternoon by a member of the Croxteth Crew, Sean Mercer. It was stressed by police that this shooting was not gang-related, even though the Croxteth Crew had a huge rivalry with the Norris Green Strand Crew and the two often fought. It was suggested that Jones was in the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught up in a crossfire. Mercer was sentenced, aged 16, to life imprisonment with a minimum of 22 years. Gang culture is still relevant and present in society today, almost 200 years after the first gangs were seen in city centres. However, over time they have got progressively more violent, with fewer crimes of theft and more of assault and murder.
In the 1980’s, Liverpool experienced a huge increase in gang crime and substance abuse, specifically heroin. Several of the gangs developed into drug cartels, creating links with the city and South America. It has since been revealed that Liverpool became the main centre for organised crime in the UK during the 1990’s. It was the first place where police officers could openly carry guns in order to combat the severe gun crime.
Current child criminals do reflect those from the 19th Century. They are similar in behaviour and the fact they have come from impoverished, working-class backgrounds. Gang culture over time has increased and grown in popularity and awareness. Today, police are dealing with gangs and gang rivalries in cities all over the UK. However, as one gang disintegrates, another appears in its place. It has spread outside of city centres and is mainly in the poverty-stricken suburbs. In most cities, it is one area versus another.
Secondary: Gilfillan, R. (2014). Crime and Punishment in Victorian London: A Street Level View of the CIty’s Underworld. 1st ed. Barnsley: PEN AND SWORD HISTORY.
Secondary: Macilwee, M. (2011). The Liverpool Underworld: Crime in the City, 1750-1900. 1st ed. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press.
Secondary: Rowbotham, J. and Stevenson, K. (2005). Criminal conversations. Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
Secondary: Pearson, G. (1978). Contemporary Crisis. 2nd ed. West Yorkshire: University of Bradford.
Farrell, C. (2017). JUDICIAL AND PRISON FLOGGING AND WHIPPING IN BRITAIN. [online] Corpun.com. Available at: https://www.corpun.com/counukj.htm [Accessed 18 Jan. 2018].
Find My Past (2015). Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette article on George Whitehead stabbing a witness. [image] Available at: https://assets.rbl.ms/2356855/980x.jpg
In a criminal broadside I found on the Harvard Library website, it details the hanging of James Connor. He was prosecuted, and hung, for the murder of James Gaffney on Mill Street, Liverpool in August 1873. He was hung at Kirkdale Gaol in Liverpool. Kirkdale was the main county gaol for Southern Lancashire from 1835. This broadside has been written from the view of a spectator to the hanging and provides a clear insight into the atmosphere at Kirkdale Gaol.
I found a summary of the murder on the Old Merseytimes website.
James CONNOR, for the murder of James GAFFNEY, Aug, 1873, CONNOR asked Mary SHEARS to drink with him, she refused, and in a rage he started to beat her, James GAFFNEY and William METCALF, intervened to protect Mary, in the fight CONNOR drew a knife and stabbed GAFFNEY, then turning the knife on METCALF, GAFFNEY died from his injuries. Hanged Sept 8th, 1873, executioner William CALCRAFT, rope was too weak, CONNOR fell heavily to the ground and had to sit and wait for 2nd rope to be prepared. With new rope death was instantaneous. When lying on drop culprit asked to be let off, and said he stood it like a brick the first time, and they ought to let him free. – Old Merseytimes
The fact that Connor had to be hung twice in front of the crowd is truly horrific for him and the crowd. After the first hanging he asked to be set free as he had withstood the hanging. I feel he was trying to repent for what he did by asking if he could not be hung again. He knew he had done wrong but felt that hanging was too severe. I partially agree with this as being hung and it then not working would be awful to go through.
This broadside has been split into 2 sections – one detailing the hanging and the another a poem detailing Connor’s life and the events that led him to be hung. The fact that there is a large poem just reiterates the fact this was a huge spectacle for some people. They enjoyed the drama of a hanging and enjoyed reading about it.
One part that particularly struck me about the atmosphere was the phrase “the melancholy procession began to move slowly towards the scaffold”. This immediately sets the tone of the event. No one was particularly happy to be there and watch this man die for his crime. This death was also open to the public, anyone could go and watch. It was an event that many at the time saw as entertainment, hence the detailed broadsheet publication.
One section of the poem was particularly poignant:
This makes the reader almost pity Connor despite his crime. The mentioning of his mother also reiterates that he was a young man with a family who loved him. The court and executioner were not just killing a criminal but someones son, brother and friend.
This sheet as a whole, I think, is slightly biased towards Connor and not his victim. It does not detail the crime, and is presented in an almost sorrowful way. The writer understands the fact Connor has realised the severity of what he did by speaking to a Reverend every day since he was charged as this is transmitted through the text. I feel that this was not a common aspect of criminal broadsides and most were used to condemn the criminal even more.
Pds.lib.harvard.edu. (1873). A sorrowful copy of verses on the awful death and last moments of James Connor who was twice hanged at Kirkdale Goal, for the Mill Street murer [sic]. [S.l. : s.n., s.d.].. [online] Available at: http://pds.lib.harvard.edu/pds/view/4787438?n=1&oldpds [Accessed 8 Dec. 2017].
Affinity is a historical fiction novel set in Victorian England but written in 1999 by Sarah Waters. It is a Victorian crime and sensation novel, as well as a ghost story, that has been adapted for a more contemporary audience with the use of a Lesbian love story. It follows the story of Margaret Prior and her visits to Millbank Prison. She develops a close bond with one particular prisoner, Selina Dawes and later becomes romantically involved with her.
Victorian sensation writing was created through a combination of popular writing forms such as melodrama, domestic realism, Newgate novels and gothic tales. In these, the enthralling plots involved scandalous events such as adultery, bigamy, murder and sexual deviance that was in a seemingly familiar setting for the readers – for example, in Lady Audley’s Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Lady Audley is accused of bigamy as she has killed 1 of her husbands and has supposedly died herself before getting remarried. Stories like this were highly popular due to the scandal involved. They mirrored stories that were printed in broadsheet newspapers and sensationalised for dramatic effect.
Throughout the entire novel you are deceived by Waters. The ending is a slap in the face and leaves you feeling utterly confused as to how you have been manipulated so easily. The character of Selina causes Margaret to fall under her spell and convinces her that she is innocent of the crimes she was convicted of. But is Selina a con-artist or quixotic? This ambiguity hooks us from the moment we meet her and leaves us reeling after the ending.
The ending of the novel is a confusing and ambiguous one. Selina escapes from Millbank Prison by using 2 of her closest allies – Margaret and a client called Mrs Jelf who is the one kind guard at the prison. She tells Margaret she wants to run away with her and needs her help in escaping. Due to the fact she is besotted with Selina, Margaret obliges and withdraws £1300, buys her new dresses and books a boat for them to travel to Italy. She is left waiting until after dawn for her and of course, Selina does not show. Mrs Jelf had a smaller role in the escape but still important non the less. For months Selina was allowing her to “see” her dead baby and be close with him and we learn of the harrowing life Mrs Jelf has had – she married a horrible man, had a baby out-of-wedlock with a lover and it unfortunately died. The trust she had in Selina however, was all Selina needed. Selina was able to convince her that she could take her to see her dead child. This was obviously impossible. It is revealed that Vigers, one of Margaret’s maids, was the go-between.
She was previously Selina’s maid and was always present in the seances. Vigers is Peter Quick, she is Selina’s accomplice and is very much real. She is also Selina’s lover and whom she is planning to run away with. The magical stuff that happened (like the flowers) was all down to Vigers to trick Margaret and manipulate her into trusting Selina. The quote below is one of Margaret’s last lines.
“Your twisting is done–you have the last thread of my heart. I wonder: when the thread grows slack, will you feel it?”
― Sarah Waters, Affinity
This novel is such a powerful Victorian sensation novel. It draws upon ideas of adultery, murder and sexual desire, as well as combining themes of the gothic novel, Newgate novel and melodrama. Waters has got the perfect combination of all aspects as well as including themes of homosexuality and forbidden relationships.
Oliver Twist is an iconic Dickens novel that has been adapted to several stage and screen plays. Lionel Bart also transformed it into an award-winning stage musical that is popular around the world due to its cockney-rhyming slang; catchy ensemble numbers and the clear close relationship between Oliver and the Artful Dodger.
From the first moment that you meet Dodger in the novel, you know something special is about to occur. He creates a sense of adventure in the way he speaks and this is clear when he says “Up with you on your pins. There! Now then!” The direct order to Oliver suggests that Dodger is incredibly street-smart and knows Oliver cannot sit and wallow in self-pity with how tired and hungry he is. He knows this city well and where to take Oliver in order to help him. The fact he does not say where they are going either suggests to the reader that he has a close relationship with the person they are going to see. He feels comfortable turning up to see him with a boy he has only just met. Confidence radiates from Dodger and eventually instills itself into Oliver. This, however, does not give them a close relationship. Oliver is intimidated by Dodger in the novel. It is online the film and stage adaptations that Oliver and Dodger are best friends.
When Dickens is describing the appearance of Dodger he describes him as a “common-faced boy”. The idea of Dodger being incredibly average reiterates the idea he is a down-to-earth character. He does not believe he is entitled to anything other than food, shelter and a little money – ideas in which he hopes to instil in Oliver.
In chapter 8, Dodger mentions “THE mill” and is shocked when he discovers Oliver has never heard of it. The mill was a treadmill that had been installed in workhouses in the mid to late 19th Century to be used as a punishment. It was similar to a hamster wheel. I believe Oliver had heard of the mill but knew it as a different name. Either that or his workhouse did not have one as it was older than one Dodger had been to. This is plausible as in the novel it says that Oliver’s workhouse is 70 miles north of London. As it is so far out from the city, building works and updates were probably held off for a long time, with closer workhouses and bigger ones being prioritised. Dodger is trying to work out whether Oliver had ever been in prison before – whether he was trustworthy or not.
Oliver and Dodger’s relationship is something to be admired in the film adaptation, and in pats of the novel. Despite all the doom and gloom going on around them, they are staying positive and becoming firm friends through a life of crime. They provide some of the most joyous scenes throughout and are a shining light in the darkness.
References
Dickens, C. and Rogers, R. (2008). Oliver Twist. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
During a search on the Old Bailey online website I stumbled across an interesting pickpocketing trial from 1840. In this particular one a young man, aged 15, was caught pickpocketing a woman in Wapping, London. From reading I began to wonder if the punishments for pickpocketing were too harsh.
Some of the potential punishments for a pickpocket were transportation to Australia or another country; confinement in a jail; fines to pay for several years and being sent to a reformatory schools (or borstals) but this was mainly after 1847 when the Juvenile Offences Act of 1847 was put into place. This meant that children up to the age of 14 could not be tried and charged as an adult in court. It also set up a different court specifically for children.
In this case James Hurley, the pickpocket, was “Transported for Ten Years” and was “Recommended to the Penitentiary” – a prison for people convicted of serious crimes. I feel it is incredibly harsh for the judicial system to transport a 15-year-old boy to Australia for 10 years for pickpocketing a woman. It was his first and only offence. Victorians however saw child crimes as shocking and something serious that needed to be tackled.
As this was over 150 years ago in Victorian England, Hurley would have been tried as an adult so therefore received an adult punishment. There was no distinction made between adults and children when it came to crime. I do think however that had he been an adult, he would have received a softer punishment of maybe a fine or jail for 12 months.
I feel there was no way to know for definite if he was the boy who pickpocketed the accuser – Mrs Elizabeth Ray. There were many thousands of young boys pickpocketing crowds in the street throughout London. The money found on him could well have been from earlier in the day or earned money. Ray’s money also could have been stolen by another boy. She claims that she had a “duberous” sixpence and could “swear to the sixpence” as she had seen it earlier that morning and bit it thinking it was a fake. There were hundreds of thousands of sixpences made and distributed every year, it could have been any of them. To send a boy to Australia, in my opinion, is a little extreme. He could have been sent to a reformatory school.
I do think Victorians were harsh with their punishments as crime was rife in London and they wanted to deter people from committing crimes. I also believe that sometimes criminals were given too harsh a sentence so that crowds watching would be excited. The court was used for entertainment by many. Without the Juvenile Offences Act 1847 we would not have progressed as much in the judicial system as we have today.
In today’s society tattoos are incredibly common, yet people are still discriminated against for having them. Around 21% of adults have one with 40% of young adults (aged 18-29) have one or more tattoos (Greenblatt, 2017). In the 19th Century it was mainly sailors, criminals, whores and adventurers that had tattoos. Sailors and adventurers obtained theirs from travelling around the globe and meeting tribes. Criminals and prostitutes were usually branded with theirs in order to be identified, and these then later developed into an icon that was personal to them – e.g. crosses, hearts and smoking pipes. Today, some criminals have distinctive tattoos that suggest the crimes they have committed and the gangs that they belong to.
The image above shows an Australian man’s criminal tattoos. As you can see on his arm, there are some initials and possibly a name. This could be to brand him in prison so he is easily identified, or could be initials of a loved one. In the 19th Century criminals did not tend to have tattoos that signified their crimes unlike today.
In the 21st Century, a teardrop on someones face suggests that that person has killed someone. An unfilled teardrop, in gang culture, suggests that a close friend has died. A spiderweb can suggest that the wearer has been in prison. Other references to prison include clock faces with no hands, tombstones with number and a prison wall with the bricks falling outwards. Initially these tattoos were secretive, people who were not members of gangs or criminals had no idea what they meant. Over the years however, the hidden meanings have been uncovered and are now common knowledge (Barkham, 2017).
The image above is a photograph of an Australian sailor. He has an Australian coat of arms tattooed on his chest to signify his heritage. It also distinguished the fact he was a sailor compared to non-sailors.
Overall I believe that the tattoos of the 1800’s have inspired the tattoos we see today in terms of identification. For example, the fact we can identify someones crime simply from a symbol has to have developed from the symbols and markings on 19th Century criminals. I also think that different crimes having their own tattoo symbol is pretty cool and I believe this is only going to develop further, especially in gang culture.
During the 19th Century, people began debating about children, childhood and the environment children grow up in. Up until this point, the idea of a ‘childhood’ was unheard of. It was only developed as a social concept in the mid-19th Century and was viewed in a “positive light, as a state of freedom and innocence.” (Reynolds, 2017)
The social concept of childhood can be explored in the text ‘Moll Flanders’ by Daniel Defoe. In this, Moll was born in a prison, led a crime-filled and adulterous life and then ended up back in prison. So was she born an bigamistic thief or did she learn these traits from growing up too quickly and having to forgo her childhood?
In the 19th Century, thousands of babies were born in run-down, dirty jail and prison cells. Many died shortly after their birth due to the horrific conditions in which they were born. The few that didn’t were put in an orphanage and some were adopted. An incredibly small amount found themselves back in jail as children. (Beaken, 2017)
According to the 1851 census only 20 children under the age of 10 were in British prisons and only one in London. Between the ages of 10 and 15 the number rises to 875 (299 in London) – Jubilee Campaign, 2017
Although Moll begins her life in a jail, her childhood and first 40 years of her life, are spent living carefree and doing as she pleases – leaving children behind as she finds a richer husband to marry. I believe that Moll’s actions are predominantly learnt rather than traits she was born with. As readers we do not know a lot about her mother but is can be assumed that she is perhaps a prostitute or something similar as Moll is not adopted by her biological father or any family member. She is alone. This idea of being alone and fending for yourself was most likely instilled on Moll when she was with her birth mother in jail. The way she goes about fending for herself however, marry rich men and have a number of children with them, could possibly be an instinct that she was born with.
In my opinion I believe that children who were born in jails and prisons were not born “bad” but learnt their behaviours and ideas in their early development with their mothers and from the environment they were born in. Ideas that are instilled at a young age, such as manners, stay with children throughout their lives if no adult tells them different. I don’t think that anyone in that time was fully committed to teaching children right and wrong and that they would rather punish them for their actions than allow them to develop and change.
References
Beaken, P. (2017). Crime and Punishment | Women and Children | Prisons and transportation | Educational Programmes and Tours | Visitors’ Info | The Old Police Cells Museum. [online] Oldpolicecellsmuseum.org.uk. Available at: http://www.oldpolicecellsmuseum.org.uk/page_id__538_path__0p75p312p316p.aspx [Accessed 30 Nov. 2017].
Defoe, D. (1722). The fortunes and misfortunes of the famous Moll Flanders. 1st ed. London: William Rufus Chetwood.
Oldpolicecellsmuseum.org.uk. (2017). Crime and Punishment | Women and Children | Prisons and transportation | Educational Programmes and Tours | Visitors’ Info | The Old Police Cells Museum. [online] Available at: http://www.oldpolicecellsmuseum.org.uk/page_id__538_path__0p75p312p316p.aspx [Accessed 3 Nov. 2017].
Prison Voices 
