On 18 February 1775, John Smith was tried at the Old Bailey for returning from transportation before his fourteen-year term had expired. Originally sentenced to death for highway robbery and reprieved, he was again condemned to die before being transported once more, on the eve of the American Revolutionary War.
Tag Archives: History
This Day in History: 6 February 1806 — Thomas Crumpton and the Stolen Copper
On 6 February 1806, Thomas Crumpton stood trial at the Old Bailey for stealing copper and metal goods worth just over a pound. Found guilty, he was sentenced to twelve months in the House of Correction and fined one shilling, highlighting how minor thefts were punished in Georgian London.
This Day in History: 27 January 1688 — Mary Aubry and the Dismembered Murder
On 27 January 1688, French midwife Mary Aubry murdered her abusive husband in London and dismembered his body. Tried at the Old Bailey on 22 February, she pleaded guilty and was sentenced to burning at the stake, carried out at Leicester Fields on 2 March 1688. Her case became one of early modern England’s most notorious.
This Day in History: 17 January 1681 — Elizabeth Wigenton and the Murder of Her Apprentice
On 17 January 1681, Elizabeth Wigenton, a coat-maker of Ratcliff Parish, was tried at the Old Bailey for the wilful murder of her thirteen-year-old apprentice. After binding and beating the girl so violently that she died, Wigenton was found guilty of murder. This case reveals the brutal realities of apprenticeship and justice in seventeenth-century London.
This Day in History: 18 December 1865 — George Wheeler and the Long Sentence
On 18 December 1865, London clerk George Wheeler pleaded guilty to embezzlement at the Old Bailey. Sentenced to penal servitude, he passed through Newgate, Pentonville and Portland prisons before his release in 1869. His story reveals the realities of Victorian imprisonment beyond the courtroom.
This Day in History: 11 December 1765 — Catherine Wilks and the Printed Cotton
On 11 December 1765, Catherine Wilks was tried at the Old Bailey for stealing printed cotton from a London shop. Found guilty of grand larceny, she faced transportation, the common punishment for such thefts. Her case reveals the risks and realities of women navigating 18th-century London’s commercial world.
This Day in History: 9 December 1789 — The Case of the Missing Goods
On 9 December 1789, Thomas Davis was tried at the Old Bailey for simple larceny. The evidence failed to convince the jury, and he was found Not Guilty. This retelling highlights how even in Georgian London’s strict justice system, doubt could still outweigh suspicion.
This Day in History: 20 November 1782 — The Watch in the Moonlight
On 20 November 1782, John Reynolds stood trial for stealing a silver watch from a passer-by in London. Caught within minutes and tried at the Old Bailey, he was convicted and sentenced to seven years’ transportation. This retelling explores the danger, drama and consequences of petty theft in Georgian London.
This Day in History: 13 November 1784 — The Copper Heist in the Night
On the night of 13 November 1784, James Thomas broke into John Parleyman’s London home and stole eighty pounds of copper in a hempen sack. Tried at the Old Bailey in December, he was convicted and transported for seven years. This retelling shows how one night’s burglary became a journey to Australia.
This Day in History: 11 November 1794 — The Tale of the Pewter Pots
On 11 November 1794, John Webb stood trial at the Old Bailey for stealing pewter pots from a London innkeeper. Convicted and sentenced to seven years’ transportation, his story reveals how small acts of tavern theft could send Georgian Londoners halfway across the world.
The Sage Page 