The New Newgate Calendar

The 1850s was a busy time for the British armed forces. The major conflict was that with Russia in the Crimea, but 1857 had seen rebellion in India, which... read more »

Ceylon social bandit Utuwankande Sura Saradiel (or Sardiel) was hanged by the British on this date in 1864. Saradiel fled a barracks servant’s life... read more »

I had a ‘conversation’ yesterday on social media with someone asking how he should act when homeless people ask for money in the street. Should... read more »

On this date in 1916, the British field court meting out death sentences to Irish Easter Rising rebels announced eighteen commutations — most notably... read more »

On Friday I recounted the story of a man who was clearly very unhappy at being brought before a magistrate and locked up, particularly because he’d... read more »

Major John MacBride was shot on this date in 1916 for his improvised role in the Easter Rising. A doctor by training and a republican by heart, MacBride... read more »

Hungerford Stairs, c.1822 1830 was the first full year that the Metropolitan Police patrolled the streets of the capital. They received a mixed reception... read more »

On this date in 1916, four Easter Rising rebels were shot in Kilmainham Gaol’s Stonebreakers Yard — an almost novelistic selection of thematic... read more »

In 1928, the Illustrated London News ran a series of articles on the science behind the detection of crime, which purported to look objectively at crime... read more »

John Betts’ appearance at the Mansion House Police court in early May 1867 caused something of a stir. Betts, a notorious thief in the area, was... read more »

“Sixteen Dead Men” by W.B. Yeats* O but we talked at large beforeThe sixteen men were shot, But who can talk of give and take, What should... read more »

Thomas MacDonagh, Padraig (Patrick) Pearse, and Thomas Clarke — three of the principal Irish Republican leaders of the Easter Rising against British... read more »

Posted by Sara M. Butler; 3 May 2018. In the late fifteenth century, John Medewall brought his petition before the chancellor at Westminster. He explained... read more »

John Tenniel’s cartoon of the battle between the police and the ‘criminal class’, (Punch, c.1881) When PC 585E discovered William Roast... read more »

On this date in an unspecified year, the bandit Vilem is broken on the wheel and beheaded in the classic Czech poem Maj, by Karel Hynek Macha. Maj (“May”)... read more »

There must always have been some semblance of doubt when households employed a new member of the domestic staff, especially one as critical for the running... read more »

The Chinese Communist Xiang Jingyu was martyred on May Day of 1928. The preeminent female cadre of her time, Xiang was the 16-year-old daughter of a merchant... read more »

A quick post today not about criminal behaviour, but about the deaths that occurred in a single week in London. I find stats like this fascinating as much... read more »

Alice and Rosina Purcell were homeless. The sisters survived on whatever they could scavenge around Spitalfields Market, living on ‘rotten fruit... read more »