History · Crime and Punishment in Britain
Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900
Industrial Britain, the rise and fall of the Bloody Code, new crimes such as smuggling and poaching, the reform of prisons, and the creation of the first professional police force.
Lessons
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1
Crime and Punishment in the Industrial Period
How industry and fast-growing towns changed crime, why the Bloody Code made over 200 crimes punishable by death, and why it was then dismantled.
6 terms -
2
New Crimes and the Tolpuddle Martyrs
Smuggling, highway robbery and poaching - why they rose and fell - and how six Dorset farm labourers were transported for swearing an oath.
7 terms -
3
Prisons and Prison Reform
From filthy, corrupt gaols to the silent cells of Pentonville - how prison became the main punishment, and what reformers like John Howard and Elizabeth Fry…
7 terms -
4
The Metropolitan Police, 1829
From watchmen and the Bow Street Runners to Robert Peel's Metropolitan Police - why Britain created its first professional police force, and how it spread.
7 terms
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- Crime and Punishment in the Industrial Period.pptx Built from the lesson script on 23 September 2026. View
- Crime and Punishment in the Industrial Period - Completed Notes.docx The full notes for the lesson, every gap filled in - to check against, or to revise from. Built from the lesson script on 23 September 2026. View
- Crime and Punishment in the Industrial Period - Exam Questions.docx Built from the lesson script on 23 September 2026. View
- New Crimes and the Tolpuddle Martyrs.pptx Built from the lesson script on 23 September 2026. View
- New Crimes and the Tolpuddle Martyrs - Completed Notes.docx The full notes for the lesson, every gap filled in - to check against, or to revise from. Built from the lesson script on 23 September 2026. View
- New Crimes and the Tolpuddle Martyrs - Exam Questions.docx Built from the lesson script on 23 September 2026. View
- Prisons and Prison Reform.pptx Built from the lesson script on 23 September 2026. View
- Prisons and Prison Reform - Completed Notes.docx The full notes for the lesson, every gap filled in - to check against, or to revise from. Built from the lesson script on 23 September 2026. View
- Prisons and Prison Reform - Exam Questions.docx Built from the lesson script on 23 September 2026. View
- The Metropolitan Police 1829.pptx Built from the lesson script on 23 September 2026. View
- The Metropolitan Police 1829 - Completed Notes.docx The full notes for the lesson, every gap filled in - to check against, or to revise from. Built from the lesson script on 23 September 2026. View
- The Metropolitan Police 1829 - Exam Questions.docx Built from the lesson script on 23 September 2026. View
Key terms in this chapter
All 27, gathered from every lesson.
- Industrialisation
- The growth of factories and industry, and the move of people into towns.
- Bloody Code
- The name for the large number of crimes punishable by death in the 1700s and early 1800s.
- Capital crime
- A crime punishable by death.
- Transportation
- Sending convicts to work in a colony, such as Australia.
- Pardon
- Being let off a sentence, often changed to a lesser punishment.
- Deterrence
- Punishing people to put others off committing crime.
- Social crime
- A crime many people do not see as really wrong, such as smuggling or poaching.
- Smuggling
- Bringing goods into the country secretly to avoid paying import taxes.
- Highway robbery
- Robbing travellers on the road, often at gunpoint.
- Poaching
- Hunting animals on someone else's land without permission.
- Black Act
- A 1723 law making over 50 offences, including poaching in disguise, punishable by death.
- Tolpuddle Martyrs
- Six Dorset labourers transported in 1834 for swearing a secret union oath.
- Trade union
- An organisation of workers that campaigns for better pay and conditions.
- Gaoler
- The person who ran a prison.
- Gaols Act
- Peel's 1823 law reforming how prisons were run.
- Separate system
- Keeping prisoners alone in their cells to reflect and reform.
- Silent system
- Prisoners worked together but were not allowed to speak.
- Hard labour
- Exhausting, often pointless work such as the treadwheel or the crank.
- Treadwheel
- A large wheel prisoners had to walk on for hours.
- Pentonville
- The model prison opened in London in 1842.
- Watchman
- A man paid to patrol a town at night, often old and ineffective.
- Parish constable
- An unpaid local man who kept order for a year.
- Thief-taker
- A private individual who caught criminals for rewards.
- Bow Street Runners
- A small paid force set up by Henry Fielding in London in 1749.
- Metropolitan Police
- London's professional police force, set up by Robert Peel in 1829.
- Peelers / Bobbies
- Nicknames for the first police officers, after Robert Peel.
- CID
- The Criminal Investigation Department, formed in 1878.