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Crime, Prosecution and Social Relations Crime, Prosecution and Social Relations This page intentionally left blank Crime, Prosecution and Social Relations The Summary Courts of the City of London in the Late Eighteenth Century Drew D. Gray Senior Lecturer in History, University of Northampton © Drew D. Gray 2009 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2009 978-0-230-20397-6 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication maybemade without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has assertedhis righttobeidentified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2009 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarksinthe United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-30159-1 ISBN 978-0-230-24616-4 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230246164 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog recordfor this book is available from theLibrary of Congress. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4321 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 In England, justice is open to all – likethe Ritz Hotel. James Mathew (1830–1908) This page intentionally left blank Contents List of Tables viii List of Figures x List of Abbreviations xi Acknowledgements xii 1 Introduction 1 2 Locating the Summary Courts 13 3 Policing and Personnel: Constables and the Watching System 35 4 Property Offending in the City of London 67 5 Settling their Differences: The Prosecution of Interpersonal Violence 92 6 Regulating the Streets 116 7 Quelling the Smithfield Yahoos: Bullock-hunting on the Streets of London 136 8 The Regulation of Trade and Poverty 148 9 The People’s Courts? 167 Notes 175 Bibliography 207 Index 224 vii List of Tables 2.1 Types of case heard at the City summary courts, November 1784–March 1785 and November 1788–March 1789 20 2.2 Other business before the City justice rooms, 1784–89 20 2.3 The nature of outcomes of the City summary courts, November 1784–March 1785 and November 1788–March 1789 28 2.4 Prosecutors at the Cityjustice rooms, 1761–1800 30 2.5 Prosecutors at the City justice rooms, 1761–1800 (Unknowns and officials omitted.) 30 3.1 Substitute constables for all City wards who served at least twice in their chosen ward, 1771–89 51 3.2 Descriptors of ‘police’ appearing before Old Bailey, City of London juries, 1779–1820 55 3.3 Distribution of constables, substitutes and extras by ward, 1771–89 60 3.4 Distribution of constables by ward in the City of London, 1771–89 61 4.1 Statistical analysis of property offenders before the City justice rooms, c.1784–96 69 4.2 Property cases heardbythe London jury at Old Bailey, 1784–96 69 4.3 Occupations of prosecutors in property cases at the City justice rooms 70 4.4 The nature of theft prosecuted at the summary courts, c.1784–96 72 4.5 Overall outcomes of examinations of property offenders before the Cityjustice rooms, c.1784–96 83 4.6 Nature of outcomes for property offenders dealt with summarily before the City justice rooms, c.1784–96 84 4.7 Outcomes of examinations of property offenders at the Cityjustice rooms, c.1784–96, by gender 87 5.1 Occupations of prosecutors in assault cases, 1761–1800 95 5.2 Nature of assault charges at Guildhall justice room, 1784–96 95 viii List of Tables ix 5.3 Outcomes of assault cases heard before the Cityjustice rooms,1784–96 107 5.4 Outcomes of assault cases heard before the City justice rooms bygender of the accused, 1784–96 108 5.5 Settlements and dismissals in assault casesbefore the Guildhall justice room in the 1790s where the nature of the settlement was recorded 110 6.1 Prosecutions for regulatory offences, 1784–96 117 6.2 Prosecutions for street-related regulatory offences, 1784–96 118 6.3 Outcomes of prosecutions of prostitutes at the City courts, c.1785–96 127 6.4 Outcomes of prosecutions of prostitutes at the City summary courts, 1762, 1778 and 1780 128 6.5 Outcomes for offenders brought for Bastardy or desertion of families in the City summary courts, 1785–96 132 7.1 Outcomes of hearing of persons prosecuted for bullock-hunting in the City, c.1784–96 142 8.1 Plaintiffs before the Chamberlain’s court, 1792–99 and 1815–17 161 List of Figures 2.1 Map of Westminster, the City of London, Southwark the River Thames and the surrounding areas leading out to the countryside, byJ.Gibson. (1763) c Guildhall Library 15 2.2 The Guildhall Justice Room, byWilliam Hogarth c Guildhall Library 23 2.3 The Poultry compter, from an old print (from ‘Old and New London’ c.1875). Author’s personal collection 26 6.1 ‘City scavengers cleansing the London streets of impurities’, byC.Williams (1816) c Guildhall Library 131 7.1 ‘Miseries of human life’, by George Moutard Woodward (c.1800) c Guildhall Library 140 x List of Abbreviations LMA London Metropolitan Archives OBO Old Bailey Proceedings Online PP Parliamentary Papers xi Acknowledgements First I would like to thank Peter King for his invaluable help and advice both in the writing of this book and for supervising my doctoral thesis. His guidance, faith and attention to detail leave me a debt I will find hard to discharge; a supervisor is truly for life, not just for Christmas! I have also received encouragement and advice from a great number of people over the years. My colleagues at the University of Northampton have all been very supportive, in particular Matthew McCormack, Cathy Smith and Sally Sokoloff. I am also grateful to John Beattie, Matthew Feldman, Paul Griffiths, Elizabeth Hurren, Joanna Innes, Ruth Paley, Greg Smith and John Stobart and others who have all given advice and support in the course of my research. The archivists and support staff at the London Metropolitan Archives have been immensely helpful as I have sought to understand the inner workings of the City’s judicial sys- tem. I am also luckytohave had the practical, emotional andfinancial support of many others without which this project would never have been completed.Inparticular I would liketothank my mother, Diana Falkiner, who has always had belief in me and offered constructive criticism of my work and editorial advice as it has progressed. This book is respectfully dedicated to the memory of Ed Falkiner, who would Ithink, have enjoyed it. xii 1 Introduction On the 18 April 1786 a letter appeared in the Morning Chronicle condemning the treatment of three prisoners in the Poultry compter, one of London’s many gaols. The letter – written by Josiah Dornford, a critic of the criminal justice system – was addressed to the lord mayor and aldermen of the City of London, within whose jurisdiction the Poul- try was situated.1 Dornford alleged that two prisoners had died through want of proper care and another had been treated unnecessarily harshly. Dornford’s allegations were investigated by a committee set up by the Court of Aldermen, but were eventually dismissed as unproven. The individual cases of Robert May (a debtor), Elizabeth Gurney (a vagrant) and John Martin (a petty thief) can usefully afford us a window into the machinations of the late Hanoverian justice system and the lives of those caught up in it. This is a book about the administration of justice within the City of London. It is about the men who ruled this dispropor- tionately wealthy conclave of Georgian England and about those who attempted to negotiate the potentially fatal pathways through the jus- tice system that supported it. It is a book about the use of the law by ordinary peopleintheir attempts to resolve the problems anddisputes they encountered in their everyday lives. Let us return to Dornford’s allegations of neglect and abuse. Dornford had been informed that a debtor in the Poultry was seriously ill and dete- riorating through lack of food and care. Robert May had been admitted to the compter in January 1785 when he hadbecome finally unableto meet his creditors’demands. He was housed in the King’s ward until his ill-health – broughtonbyadependence on drink – causedhim to be removed to the sick ward. In this time his marriage collapsed and his wife had taken up with another man (which he ‘took to heart very much’ according to one of his gaolers). Dornford found him in a 1 2 Crime, Prosecution and Social Relations desperate state andpaid the turnkey 7s to providethe poor man with some broth.Maydied on the 17 November; his death was attributed to ‘sloth and indolence’ and his addiction to peppermint liquor.
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