London Lives: Poverty, Crime and the Making of a Modern City, 1690–1800

477 Pages·2016·6.862 MB·English

by  Tim Hitchcock, Robert Shoemaker

London Lives
London Lives is a fascinating new study that exposes the lesser-known
experiences of eighteenth-century thieves, paupers, prostitutes and
highwaymen. It charts the experiences of hundreds of thousands of
Londonerswhofoundthemselvessubmergedinpovertyorprosecuted
forcrime,andsurveystheirresponses,toillustratetheextenttowhich
plebeian Londoners influenced the pace and direction of change in
social policy. Calling upon a new body of digital evidence, the book
illuminatesthelivesofprisonescapees,expertmanipulatorsofthepoor
relief system, celebrity highwaymen, lone mothers and vagrants;
revealinghowtheyeachplayedthesystemtothebestoftheirabilityin
order to survive in their various circumstances of misfortune. In these
actsofdesperation,thepoorandthecriminalexercisedaprofoundand
effectiveformofagencythatchangedthesystemitself,andshapedthe
evolutionofthemodernstate.
tim hitchcock is Professor of Digital History at the University of
Sussex.
robert shoemaker is Professor of Eighteenth-Century British
HistoryattheUniversityofSheffield.
Published online by Cambridge University Press
Published online by Cambridge University Press
London Lives
Poverty, Crime and the Making of
a Modern City, 1690–1800
Tim Hitchcock and Robert Shoemaker
Published online by Cambridge University Press
UniversityPrintingHouse,CambridgeCB28BS,UnitedKingdom
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ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof
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Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107639942
©TimHitchcock&RobertShoemaker2015
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2015
PrintedintheUnitedKingdombyTJInternationalLtd,PadstowCornwall
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata
Hitchcock,Tim,1957–
Londonlives:poverty,crimeandthemakingofamoderncity,1690–1800/
TimHitchcockandRobertShoemaker.
pages cm
Includesbibliographicalreferences.
ISBN978-1-107-63994-2(Paperback)–ISBN978-1-107-02527-1(Hardback)
1. Crime–England–London–History–18thcentury. 2. Poor–England–
London–Socialconditions–18thcentury. 3. Criminals–England–London–
Socialconditions–18thcentury. 4. Criminaljustice,Administrationof–
England–London–History–18thcentury. 5. Publicwelfare–England–London–
History–18thcentury.6. London(England)–Socialconditions–18thcentury.
I. Shoemaker,RobertBrink.II.Title.
HV6950.L7H572014
364.109421009033–dc23 2014017598
ISBN978-1-107-63994-2Paperback
ISBN978-1-107-02527-1Hardback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracy
ofURLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublication,
anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchwebsitesis,orwillremain,
accurateorappropriate.
Published online by Cambridge University Press
This book is dedicated to everyone who helped
create the Old Bailey Online and London Lives
Published online by Cambridge University Press
Published online by Cambridge University Press
Contents
List of figures page viii
Preface xi
Acknowledgements xiii
List of abbreviations xvi
1 Introduction 1
2 Beggarman, thief: 1690–1713 27
3 Protestand resistance: 1713–1731 70
4 Vestries, justices and their opponents: 1731–1748 136
5 Reformers and their discontents: 1748–1763 194
6 Findinga voice: 1763–1776 268
7 The state in chaos:1776–1789 333
8 Epilogue:The 1790s 394
Bibliography 414
Index 444
vii
Published online by Cambridge University Press
Figures
1.1 Samuel Scott, ACrowd,n.d. c.1760 page 3
2.1 London, Westminster and Southwark, c.1690 and
population estimatesbroken down by parish 30
2.2 Prosecutions and commitments, 1681–1714:The
Old Bailey, Bridewell and London Workhouse 33
2.3 Viceoffences recorded in Lord Mayor’s waiting and charge
books,1686–1694 37
2.4 Printed settlementcertificate filled outon behalfof Petter
and Jane Hughes,22August 1715 47
3.1 Offences prosecuted at the Old Bailey, 1707–1731 71
3.2 Old Bailey punishmentsentences, 1713–1731 79
3.3 Societies for the ReformationofManners prosecutions,
1715–1731 108
3.4 Warrant to ‘allconstables’for the arrest of‘disorderly
persons’(1725) 109
3.5 William Hogarth, A Harlot’s Progress,Plate 3 (1732) 120
3.6 A plan and section ofthe workhousein the Parish of
St George HanoverSquare [1715–1731] 124
3.7 TheWorkhouse Cruelty; Being aFull and True Account of
OneMrs. Mary Whistle... in the Parish of St. Giles’s in
theFields (n.d., 1731) 127
4.1 Offences prosecuted at the Old Bailey, 1725–1750 137
4.2 St Martin in the Fields workhouseadmissions,
1738–1748 140
4.3 St Clement Danes, PauperCensus,1745 142
4.4 St Martin in the Fields Workhouse Registers,‘Dropt’and
‘Born in the house’ 146
4.5 Henry Fletcher, AView of St Martin’sRound-House
(‘as tore to pieces by the enraged Multitude’)(1742) 159
4.6 Legalcounsel at the Old Bailey, 1715–1748 188
viii
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Listoffigures ix
5.1 Real wage rates ofLondon bricklayers,carpenters and
their labourers, 1744–1800 195
5.2 Prosecutions and commitments, 1745–1765:Old Bailey,
Bridewell and theLondonWorkhouse 197
5.3 St ClementDanes, poor lawexpenditure, 1740–1765 198
5.4 James Macleane, theGentleman Highwayman at the Bar,
1750 203
5.5 William Hogarth, Gin Lane,1751 215
5.6 William Hogarth, Beer Street,1751 216
5.7 Old Bailey trial reports including ‘Gin’or ‘Geneva’,
1715–1780 218
5.8 Old Bailey death sentences and executions,
1749–1774 245
5.9 Old Bailey punishmentsentences, 1745–1763 245
6.1 Crimes prosecuted, 1763–1776: Old Bailey and Bridewell 271
6.2 Poor relief expenditure1763–1776:St ClementDanes
and St Dionis Backchurch 287
6.3 City ofLondonvagrantexpenditure,1763–1776 306
6.4 The Public Office, Bow Street. The Malefactor’s Register;
or the Newgate and TyburnCalendar (1779), vol. III,
frontispiece 317
6.5 Old Bailey punishmentsentences, 1763–1776 323
6.6 William Pink,after Agostino Carlini,‘Smugglerius’
(1776,1834) 331
7.1 Carver & Bowles (publishers), ‘Aview near Woolwichin
Kent,shewingthe Employmentofthe convicts from the
Hulks’(1779) 336
7.2 Escapees (attempted and actual)from prisons, hulks and
transports, 1776–1786 339
7.3 ‘HereLyeth John Jones, doubelironedfor attempting
to break out ofNewgate, 1776’ 341
7.4 James Gillray, NoPopery, Or Newgate Reformer(1780) 347
7.5 The devastations occasioned by the rioters of London
firing thenew goal of Newgate ... June 6, 1780 348
7.6 Prosecutions and commitments, 1775–1789 354
7.7 Percentage of Old Bailey trials with legal counsel,
1770–1800, as reportedin the Proceedings 357
7.8 Old Bailey punishmentsentences, 1770–1790 363
7.9 Old Bailey death sentences and executions, 1775–1790 364
Published online by Cambridge University Press
x Listoffigures
7.10 London whipping punishments,1770–1799 365
7.11 Patrick Madan (1782) 376
7.12 St Clement Danes, poor law expenditure,1750–1803 381
7.13 CityofLondon vagrancyexpenditure,1776–1790 386
7.14 Vagrants removed viaHenry Adams, broken down by
place passed from, October 1782 – October1785 387
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