Tough Times and Grisly Crimes
Chapter One: A Gruesome Spectacle
This chapter contains a history of public executions in Newcastle, Durham and Morpeth, including the notorious case of Half-Hanged MacDonald, a Scottish soldier who was hanged but did not die and then had to be bludgeoned to death in the mortuary. The chapter also features the case of Jane Jameson who was hanged for the murder of her mother and her body then dissected by surgeons. Read more »
Chapter Two: A One-Way Ticket
In the 18th and early 19th centuries criminals were transported to Australia, often for petty offences such as stealing. This chapter details many cases of prisoners sent to the other side of the world and how many of them went on to become rich and successful.
Chapter Three: A Law Unto Themselves
This chapter cover the history of law and order in Newcastle, Sunderland and Gateshead in Georgian times, along with barbaric punishments such as flogging and “riding the stang”, where criminals and other nuisances were tied to poles and carried through the streets..
Chapter Four: Highway to Hell
Highwaymen plagued the outskirts of Sunderland and Gateshead in the 18th Century. They included Robert Drummond – the so-called Sunderland Highwayman – who was eventually caught and went to the gallows, as well as the Washington Highwayman, whose capture was due to a sharp-eyed little boy. Read more »
Chapter Five: Hell on Earth
This details the appalling conditions in Newgate Prison, Newcastle, as well as Durham and Morpeth gaols in the 18th Century.
Chapter Six: A Gruesome Trade
The chapter contains stories of grave-robbing and body-snatching in Sunderland and Newcastle in the 18th and early 19th centuries and Newcastle’s grisly link with Edinburgh, where surgeons paid money for corpses.
Chapter Seven: The Margetts Mystery
John Margetts was a doctor’s apprentice who vanished from Dockwray Square, North Shields, in 1827. There are various theories about what happened to him, including strong evidence that he was murdered by grave-robbers Burke and Hare.
Chapter Eight: A Fight to the Death
In the 19th Century, there was big money to be made in bare-knuckle boxing or prize-fighting. This chapter details fights, including one in Blyth that ended in tragedy. Read more »
Chapter Nine: Law and Disorder
In the 1830s, police forces were established in Britain’s towns and cities, including Newcastle, Sunderland and Gateshead. However, the early constables were often involved in drunken disorder themselves.
Chapter 10: A Tragic Case
A Tragic Case. On June 1, 1853, Isabella Crozier left Sunderland’s workhouse in search of a job. She was offered work by a couple who lived in Minorca Place, Hendon, but Isabella vanished with their baby daughter and the case ended tragically..
Chapter 11: Skin and Bone
This chapter features the sad story of Ann Smith, who lived in the East End of Sunderland and was kept in appalling conditions and starved by her husband, who spent his time and money on his mistress.
Chapter 12: Let There Be Light
In 1870, a police officer was called to a house in Hendon, Sunderland, after neighbours said they heard sobbing. Inside, he found a woman called Mary Hobson who had been chained to a bed by a cruel housekeeper for nine years. Read more »
Chapter 13: Dead Drunk
In 1869, a prostitute called Maria Fitzsimmons was found murdered in a slum house in Baines Lane in the East End of Sunderland. Her killer was a sailor called Thomas Fury who managed to escape justice for 13 years
Chapter 14: All the Fun of the Fair
In 1875, a policeman called Sergeant John Hately was crushed to death during a riot at the Hirings for Hinds – an annual fair in Alnwick. Eleven men were to later stand trial over his death.
Chapter 15: The Day of Judgment
This chapter details one of Britain’s most infamous miscarriages of justice and police corruption. In 1879, two men broke into Edglingham Vicarage. The vicar, the Reverend Matthew Buckle and his daughter Georgina were shot and wounded. Police arrested two local poachers, Peter Murphy and Michael Brannagan. They were jailed for life, although it was later proven that the crime was carried out by two other men – Charles Richardson and George Egdell. Read more »
Chapter 16: Double Trouble
Victorian times are often regarded as a prudish era but, in fact, plenty of men were cheating on their wives and girlfriends and there were many court cases involving bigamy.
Chapter 17: Death of a Hangman
In 1883, executioner William Marwood arrived in Durham to hang a man called James Burton, who had murdered his wife. Little did Marwood know that this, his 176th execution, was to be his last and the outcry over the bungled job was to lead to his downfall and death.
Chapter 18: The Devil’s Mudbath
Prostitution was so widespread in 19th Century Newcastle that it was estimated there were more than 100 brothels. This chapter features photographs of prostitutes and the stories of how they ended up in court. Read more »
Chapter 19: The Sin Palaces of Golden Alley
In 1876, an incredible book called the Nightside of Sunderland was published. It exposed a world of prostitution around Golden Alley in the back streets and slums of the East End of Sunderland.
Chapter 20. The Birtley Ripper
In 1888, the country was in the grip of terror as Jack the Ripper murdered women in London. On September 23, a woman called Jane Beardmore was found murdered near Birtley. Her body was so badly mutilated that detectives from London traveled to investigate possible links to the Whitechapel killings. The victim’s boyfriend, William Waddell, was hanged for the murder, although there is evidence that police may have got the wrong man. Read more »
Chapter 21: Such A Disgrace
Babies born out of wedlock may be common place nowadays but, in Victorian times, they were regarded as a scandal and their mothers suffered shame. This led to many women undergoing illegal abortions or abandoning their children.
Chapter 22: Suffer Little Children
The founding of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in 1884 led to numerous court cases as parents were prosecuted. This chapter deals with many of the cases from Newcastle, Sunderland and North Shields, including paedophiles who escaped escaped with surprisingly lenient sentences.
Chapter 23: Sins of the Father
Juvenile delinquency is usually seen as a modern phenomenon. However, court records and incredible police photographs show how, in Victorian and Edwardian times, there were many children committing crimes on the streets of Tyneside and Wearside.
Chapter 24: Shipshape
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries boys deemed at risk of being drawn into a life of crime were sent to live on a sailing ship moored off North Shields, where they trained for a life at sea. This chapter contains fascinating photographs of the training vessel Wellesley. Read more »
Chapter 25: A Few Home Truths
Domestic violence was a massive problem in the North East in the 19th Century. Court records are full of horrific cases involving men beating their wives.
Chapter 26: The Nests of Vice
The area around Clive Street in North Shields was extremely rough in the 19th Century. This chapter contains fascinating photographs of some of the villains who lived in the area and details of the crimes they were involved in. Read more »
Chapter 27: A revolting Spectacle
The subject of binge-drinking is seen as a modern phenomenon. However, in the 19th Century, there was a huge problem of drunkenness on the streets of Sunderland, Newcastle and North Shields.
Chapter 28: Till Death Us Do Part
On October 31, 1891, Margaret Addison was shot dead on her wedding day. Her killer was Billy Johnson, a man who had wanted Margaret for himself. Read more »
Chapter 29: A Midsummer Madness
In the summer of 1897, the stately home of Greenhaugh Hall in Northumberland was the setting for a horrific crime. John Spencer axed his wife to death for no apparent reason and was sent to Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum
Chapter 30: The Mystery of the Gamekeeper and the Gunman
In 1898, gamekeeper George Scholick was shot dead on the outskirts of Hexham. A young man called George Dodd was charged with his murder but the charges were dropped and the killer’s true identity has remained a mystery ever since.
Chapter 31: Hell Hath No Fury
On the night of March 2, 1899, Marion Morrell shot her lover James Rule dead as they walked through Newcastle city centre. Yet, rather than go to the gallows, the judge was so moved by her tragic tale, that she escaped with a prison sentence of just five years.
Chapter 32: Trigger-happy tragedies
Guns were freely available in Victorian times and often led to tragic accidents, with many including children shooting other children, as cases in Newcastle, Sunderland and Durham illustrate.
Chapter 33: The Thin Blue Line Sees Red
In 1898, the Chief Constable of Newcastle faced a rebellion in the ranks after other officers branded him a bully.
Chapter 34: Beyond the Call of Duty
In 1913, a pub landlord called Jocker Amos, who was facing eviction from his pub in Bedlington, shot dead two police officers and the new landlady. Incredibly, tens of thousands of people signed a petition trying to save him from the gallows.
Chapter 35: A Wild West Drama
PC Francis Sinton received the Kings Medal for his bravery after being shot while tackling armed raiders in Rothbury in 1920.
Chapter 36: A Land Fit For Heroes
In 1927, Constable Matthew Straughan was shot dead while making an arrest in North Hylton in Sunderland. His killer Ted Lloyd was a First World War veteran who, surprisingly, did not go to the gallows.
Chapter 37: Give Us This Day
This chapter covers the riots that hit Sunderland after unemployed protestors marched through the town demanding help during the Depression
Chapter 38: On The Waterfront
Race riots in Britain are thought of as a modern phenomenon. Yet, in 1930, Arabs rioted in South Shields as tensions mounted over claims that white men were getting jobs before them. Read more »
Chapter 39: An Unholy Row
In 1932, there was uproar in the mining village of Ryhope, near Sunderland, after six boys were caught stealing bottles from a chemist’s shop. The chairman of the magistrates was a Catholic priest called Father O’Dwyer. Three of the boys, who were protestants, were ordered to be birched, while the other boys, who were Catholics, escaped with probation. Read more »
Chapter 40: Wicked Wartime
During the Second World War, while many men were risking their lives at the front, others back in the North East were making money on the black market or fiddling rations. There was also a big decline in sexual morality as people tried to live for the moment. Read more »
Chapter 41: A Stab in the Dark
In 1940, a prostitute called Doreen Reynolds was stabbed to death in her home in Clive Street, North Shields. Police identified a number of suspects but her killer was never caught.
