On 6 March 1905 Elizabeth Cove stood trial at the Old Bailey for wounding John Rubbins during a violent pub quarrel in Chalk Farm Road. The attack left the seventeen-year-old labourer permanently blinded in one eye. Despite the injury, the jury accepted the defence of self-protection and acquitted Cove.
Tag Archives: local-history
This Day in History: 18 February 1775 — John Smith and the Fatal Return
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.
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: 7 October — The Silk Handkerchief Job (1806)
On 7 October 1806, pickpocket William King stole a silk handkerchief from George Pritchard in London. Convicted at the Old Bailey, King was sentenced to seven years’ transportation. This retelling explores how a single handkerchief theft reveals the harsh justice and fragile fortunes of Georgian London’s street life.
This Day in History — 25 September 1789
Mary Stultz — Petticoats and Prison (25 September 1789)
On this day, Mary Stultz stole a flannel petticoat and linen shirt. Convicted at the Old Bailey, she was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for goods worth just two shillings
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