Henry Harrison was executed in 1692 for the murder of Dr Nicholas Clench, a London physician. The case centred on financial motive, suspicious circumstances, and Harrison’s contradictory statements at trial, highlighting how early modern justice often relied on credibility as much as concrete evidence.
Tag Archives: murder
This Day in History: April 14th, 1860
In 1860, a routine police check in Marylebone turned violent when two men brutally attacked Constable Thomas Bell with life-preservers. Mistaking them for help, he was struck down and left bleeding in the street. Both attackers were later captured and sentenced to eight years’ penal servitude.
This Day in History – 28 March 1853
In 1853, Thomas Rolls attacked Charlotte Carter with a razor in Stratford after their relationship ended. This Old Bailey case reveals a brutal attempted murder, a desperate struggle for survival, and a narrow escape from death in Victorian London, where domestic violence turned suddenly and violently life-threatening.
This Day in History – 24 March 1839
A drunken quarrel in Deptford in 1839 led to a brutal knife injury and a courtroom drama revealing mutual violence and desperation. This Old Bailey case explores the blurred line between assault and self-defence in Victorian London, where candlelight, jealousy, and alcohol combined with devastating consequences.
This Day in History: 20 February 1771 — Richard Mortis and the Moonlight Ambush
On 20 February 1771, Richard Mortis was tried at the Old Bailey for shooting Thomas Parkinson in a moonlit field after a dispute over poaching. Found guilty of willful and malicious shooting, Mortis was sentenced to death and executed on 27 March 1771, reflecting the harsh capital laws of Georgian England.
This Day in History – 16 September 1812
16 September 1812 — Old Bailey Manslaughter: Thomas Oakley was tried for manslaughter at the Old Bailey after a death for which the court found him responsible but not guilty of murder.
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