Category Archives: Crime

Dealing with Habitual Offenders in Georgian Times

Posted on June 14, 2017 by William Savage

One of the benefits of reading through eighteenth-century newspapers is the way they reveal what actually happened, as opposed to what ought to have happened, according to the letter of the law or the grand overviews of later historians. No … Continue reading →

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More about Norfolk Smugglers

Posted on May 31, 2017 by William Savage

This post is a follow-up to my recent article on the heyday of smugglers along the Norfolk Coast in the 1780s. Looking through the local newspapers of the time shows graphically how violent and desperate the smuggling gangs could be. … Continue reading →

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The Heyday of Norfolk Smugglers

Posted on April 19, 2017 by William Savage

Smuggling is usually associated with the south coast of england, from Kent to Cornwall, where the crossing to the French coastline was shortest. Yet East Anglia was also a popular haunt of these criminal gangs. Norfolk, in particular, offered long … Continue reading →

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Justices of the Peace in Georgian Norfolk

Posted on March 1, 2017 by William Savage

It’s hard to imagine a time when there was no police or detective force, no system for public prosecution and no official means to investigate crimes and collect evidence to bring the criminals to justice. But that’s just as it … Continue reading →

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Contemporary Statements about Privateers

Posted on October 19, 2016 by William Savage

A little while ago, I posted this blog about privateers operating off England’s east coast during the latter part of the eighteenth century. I thought readers might also be interested in some contemporary accounts of privateers’ activities, taken from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Military | 2 Comments

A True Gentleman of the Road

Posted on February 12, 2016 by William Savage

From the Ipswich Journal. Highwaymen were rarely this kind. August 7th 1773 On Friday evening last as two ladies and a gentleman were coming by post chaise from Ingatestone to Chelmsford, they were attacked by a highway man within a … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Tid-bits | 1 Comment

The Turbulent Life of John Black (1)

Posted on January 5, 2016 by William Savage

A Norfolk Adventurer, Mutiny Survivor and Privateer John Black was born on 31 October, 1778, in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, though he spent his childhood at Woodbridge in Suffolk, where his father, also called John, was curate at Butley from 1789 … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Travel | 2 Comments

The Murder of Charles Drew (1740)

Posted on December 15, 2015 by William Savage

It’s not often you can follow a murder case through successive editions of the local newspaper, but this is an exception. All the excerpts which follow are from “The Bury and Norwich Journal”. First, the murder itself. February 9th 1740 … Continue reading →

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Loving Felons (Part 3)

Posted on November 10, 2015 by William Savage

More “Firsts” for Susannah and Henry In the two previous posts, here, and here, we followed the remarkable journey of two young felons from Norwich to Botany Bay as part of the first fleet sent to establish a penal colony … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Georgian Society | 3 Comments

Crime Keeps You Young, or Maybe Not?

Posted on April 29, 2015 by William Savage

Here’s a short news item from The Norfolk Chronicle for April 16th., 1785. On the 23rd of March died Ann Simms at Studley-green, in the parish of Brimhill, near Bow-wood, in Wiltshire, in the 113th year of her age; and … Continue reading →

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