Monday, October 18, 2004

England did not transport everyone

Geek Lethal over at Ministry of Minor Perfidy has this great find for anyone interested in early modern English prisons:

The Proceedings of the Old Bailey is now online with 100,000 indexed, searchable trials dating from the late 17th century through 1834. Some of the original texts appear not to have survived the centuries well, to the point of illegibility, but you don't have to read them to use the site. The Proceedings have been around forever in some form or other, but I cannot overstate the utility of having them together, accessible from anywhere, and searchable.

He also pull up a few interesting entries from the Proceedings, including this one:

Alice Randall was tried for keeping a disorderly House, and entertaining Evil-disposed Persons therein. The first Evidence Swore, that he went to the House one Evening, and being up Stairs, the Prisoner brought him a brisk young Girl, who presently had the Impudence to pull up her Coats, and laying her hand upon her Belly said, Here's that that will do you good, a Commodity for you, if you'll pay for it you shall have enough of it; with that he took his Cane, and gave her two or three good daubs (as he called them); she was found guilty of the Indictment

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home