Author: Richard Jones

Violent death was a common occurrence in the East End of London in the 19th century. Knife crime was a particular problem, as many people carried knives on them. and it didn’t take much for a street brawl […]

Harriett and William Lilley lived at number 7 Buck’s Row, which, according to newspaper reports, was located two doors along from where the body of Mary Nichols was discovered on the morning of August the 31st 1888. Harriett […]

It is remarkable to consider how so many people were capable of murder in the 19th century, or, at least, how many people ended up being prosecuted for various homicides. Mother and fathers murdered their children; children murdered […]

I’ve always found Newgate Prison to be a fascinating place. That said, since it was actually demolished between 1902 and 1904, I have to admit that I’ve never really known Newgate Prison, nor have I ever got to […]

There were many mysteries and dark tales that surrounded the River Thames in the Victorian period. London’s River was not only a major highway through the metropolis, but it also provided the main water supply, and was the […]

The streets of Victorian London could be dangerous at the best of times. In a previous article I wrote about Elizabeth Gibbs, the first homicide of 1888, who was run over by a van as she crossed a […]

Throughout the 1880s, Trafalgar Square had become a haven for the homeless of London. It was also the place where protest meeting were held, and several of those rallies had ended in riots; notable Black Monday, in February, […]

Some of the most horrific murders in the 19th century were those of children at the hands of sundry perpetrators. In previous blogs I have covered the murders of Sweet Fanny Adams, as well as crimes such as […]

One could be forgiven, when one sees constant reporting on crimes such as the Jack the Ripper murders, that crime in Victorian London was out of control. But, just as today, crime waves had peaks and troughs in […]

There are numerous accounts in the Victorian newspapers of of thieves and other miscreants getting their just comeuppance at the hands of honest and law abiding citizens, and, in this blog, I want to cover one such case. […]