Crime and Punishment key dates

Medieval England 1000-1500

  • 1000-1066 Anglo Saxon England

  • 1066-1100 Norman England

  • 1079 Forest Laws

  • 1088 Domesday Book

  • 1100-1500 Later Medieval

  • 1194 Coroners introduced

  • 1215 Trial by ordeal abolished by Catholic Church

  • 1361 Justices of Peace introduced

Early Modern England 1500-1700

  • 1509-1547 Henry VIII

  • 1534 Church of England formed

  • 1542 Witchcraft Act - witchcraft criminalised

  • 1547 Vagrancy Act - 1st offence = 2 years slavery

  • 1547-1553 Edward VI

  • 1553-1558 Mary I

  • 1556 Bridewell Prison - housed vagrants to do hard labour

  • 1558-1603 Elizabeth I

  • 1559 Religious settlements

  • 1572 The Vagabond’s Act

  • 1576 Houses of correction - using the Bridewell model

  • 1597 Daemonology published

  • 1598 Act for the Relief of the Poor - Vagabonds sent to Houses of Correction, poor rate for the deserving poor had to be paid

  • 1601 Poor Laws

  • 1603-1625 James I rule

  • 5th November 1605 Gunpowder plot

  • 1642-1651 English Civil War

  • 1644-1647 Matthew Hopkins

  • 1671 Games Act

  • 1679 Habeas corpus Act - everyone arrested had to appear in court or be released

Industrial 1700-1900

  • 1723 The Waltham Black Act (for poaching) - hunting deer, hare or rabbits became a capital punishment

  • 1735-1749 Hawkhurst Gang in action - smuggling

  • 1736 Witchcraft Act - decriminalises witchcraft

  • 1748 Bow Street runners set up by Henry and John Fielding

  • 1776 USA made independant, transportation there was no longer an option

  • 1785 Bow Street runners paid directly by the Government

  • 1772 Capital crime for anyone to be found armed and disguised on a road (highwaymen)

  • 1808 Samuel Romilly passed a law that ended the death penalty for pickpocketing

  • 1815 225 crimes were punishable by death

  • 1823 Gaols Act - inspired by the protests of John Howard and Elizabeth Fry, appropriate separation of criminals

  • 1829 The Metropolitan Police Act (3200 police men in London)

  • 1833 Tolpuddle Martyrs formed the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers

  • 1842 First detective force made, Pentonville prison built

  • 1856 The Police Act (all counties and towns has to have a police force)

  • 1865 Prisons Act (prisons had to include harsh conditions)

  • 1868 Last public hanging, transportation to Australia ended

  • 1869 National Criminal Records introduced

  • 1878 The Criminal Investigation Department was formed

Modern 1900-Present

  • 1902 First borstal opened

  • 1916 Military Service Act (all unmarried men 18-41 had to fight)

  • 1922 Solitary confinement ended

  • 1933 Open prisons opened

  • 1935 All drivers have to pass a test

  • 1947 National Police training (14 weeks of training)

  • March 1950 Timothy Evans executed

  • January 1953 Derek Bentley executed

  • July 1955 Ruth Ellis executed

  • 1967 Sexual Offences Act (homosexuality between men over 21 made legal), Abortion legalised, parole introduced

  • 1968 Race Relations Act (illegal to discriminate against someone due to their race)

  • 1969 Death penalty abolished fully (suspended in 1965)

  • 1971 Misuse of drugs act (classified drugs)

  • 1972 Community service introduced

  • 1976 Domestic Violence Act

  • 1982 Neighbourhood watch set up, Borstals abolished

  • 1991 Rape in marriage made illegal

  • 2005 Criminal Justice Act (homophobic crimes illegal)

Whitechapel 1870-1900

  • 1875 Artisan’s Dwelling Act - local authorities could demolish slums

  • 1877 Trial of the Detectives

  • 1878 CID set up - 15 detectives supported the H Division

  • 1881 Peabody Estates created (287 flats)

  • January 1886 Henderson resigns, Sir Charles Warren Met Police commissioner

  • 31st August 1888 Mary Nichols murder

  • 8th September 1888 Annie Chapman murder

  • 10th September 1888 George Lusk (a builder) formed the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee

  • 25th September 1888 First “Ripper Letter” sent to the Central News Agency

  • 30th September 1888 Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes murder

  • 9th November 1888 Mary Kelly murder