On 10 March 1835 Mary Thorpe and Bridget Wheeler attempted a clever shop theft in an Islington haberdasher’s shop. Using a distraction trick involving a tape customer and even hiding the stolen shoes under a child’s clothing, the pair were quickly exposed and sentenced to three months’ imprisonment.
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This Day in History – 6 March 1905
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.
This Day in History – 5 March 1839
On 5 March 1839 two teenagers, Charles Chapman and Eliza Clements, were convicted at the Old Bailey for stealing a handkerchief in Fenchurch Street. Sentenced to ten years’ transportation, they were shipped to Van Diemen’s Land, where absconding, labour assignments, marriage and conditional pardons shaped their new colonial lives.
This Day in History – 28 February 1750
On 28 February 1750, James Sandiland was convicted at the Old Bailey for aiding armed smugglers of the Hawkhurst Gang in Kent. Despite claiming to be a respectable butcher, he was sentenced to death and executed at Tyburn for his role in landing untaxed tea and brandy.
This Day in History – 27 February 1843
In 1843, William Cannell shot barmaid Elizabeth Sarah Magness at the Auction Mart Hotel in Bartholomew Lane. Surviving both the attack and his own suicide attempt, Cannell was transported to Tasmania for fifteen years, where he later married and received a conditional pardon
This Day in History: 26 February 1872 — The Urinal Robbery of Old Street
On 26 February 1872, Horace Crosby and George Dowling were convicted at the Central Criminal Court for violently robbing a wicker-worker in an Old Street urinal. Though they stole only three postcards and papers, the assault led to a sentence of eighteen months’ imprisonment and twenty lashes with the cat.
This Day in History: 25 February 1784 — John Smith and the Harley Street Robbery
On 25 February 1784, John Smith was convicted at the Old Bailey for robbing Francis Franco at pistol-point in Harley Street. Though sentenced to death for stealing over sixty pounds in gold and a watch, his sentence was commuted, and he was transported to America for seven years.
This Day in History: 24 February 1790 — James East, William Wilson, and the Black Horse Burglary
On 24 February 1790, James East and William Wilson were tried at the Old Bailey for a night burglary at the Black Horse in Kingsland Road. After breaking through a wall and stealing casks of spirits and china bowls, both men were sentenced to death, while two young women were transported to New South Wales.
This Day in History: 21 February 1787 — Charles Shaw and the Robbery at St Paul’s
On 21 February 1787, Charles Shaw was tried at the Old Bailey for robbing John Hughes near St Paul’s Churchyard. Accused of tripping him and stealing a silver watch worth forty shillings, Shaw was found guilty of highway robbery and executed at Newgate Prison on 26 April 1787.
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.
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