Labourers executed for starting fires and a 12-year-old girl forging notes for cakes – Shropshire Archives revealing county's crime and punishment history
From fireraisers to con artists and the tale of a young girl’s cake theft, Shropshire Council’s archives is delving into the stories behind some of the county’s Victorian criminals.
Throughout May the archives will spotlight some of the crimes and punishment that hit the headlines in Victorian times.
The events start with a talk on Saturday, May 4, when guest speaker Richard Ireland, an author and lecturer specialising in the history of crime and punishment, will give an informative and entertaining overview of prisons in the 19th century.
There will also be short talks on some of the more unusual criminals such as the fascinating story of John Morgan, a notorious rogue who posed as a detective and conned both unsuspecting locals and members of the Shrewsbury Borough Police Force.
There’s the story of Georgiana Hutchinson, a 12-year-old school girl from Cleobury Mortimer, who allegedly forged a note in order to get three cakes without paying for them and suddenly found herself up in front of the magistrates accused of theft, and the opportunity for people to learn what motivated James Lea and Joseph Grindley, labourers who were executed for setting fire to haystacks in Whitchurch during a time of civil unrest.
There will also be an opportunity to find out what crime related documents the archives' volunteers are working on.
The event on Saturday, May 4, begins at 11.15am and tickets must be purchased in advance from https://www.shropshiremuseums.org.uk/events/
The talks will be repeated on Tuesday, May 21, with an added discussion on terminology found in crime and punishment records, and a chance for volunteers to share more on their work and the interesting crimes and punishments they’ve found along the way.
The event is aimed at the organisation's volunteers but there will be limited tickets for public purchase available at https://www.shropshiremuseums.org.uk/events/
Georgiana’s case will be the subject of the “Off the shelf” talk on Thursday, May 30 at the archives.
“Off the shelf” is a free talk held on the last Thursday of each month at 2pm lasting approximately 10 minutes and introducing a new document each month and people are invited to drop in with no need to book.
To find out more about these and other events at Shropshire Archives see events at shropshirearchives.org.uk
