Law and order

Find podcasts related to courts, crime and punishment. Whether you’re looking for an ancestor who worked in the police force, was transported or sued, or interested in internment or famous criminals of the past, there’s something for you here.

A system of spies and informers: intelligence gathering in the period 1780-1830

The years 1780 to 1830 were a tumultuous time in British history with parliamentary reform societies, food riots, Luddite disturbances, Captain Swing and Cato Street. Using the records of the Home Office, this podcast focuses on just how the government ...
The policy agenda of the British Government, 1945-2008

Peter John talks about his research mapping the policies the British government has been concentrating on since 1945. Using the Queen’s Speech, laws and budgets he shows how the attention of government has shifted, taking into account the crisis in ...
Reckless, Rash and Repentant: Convicts Petitions for Mercy 1819-1858

A look at the pardoning process of the early 19th century, and some stories behind the petitions for mercy written on behalf of convicted criminals, found at The National Archives. Briony Paxman has worked at The National Archives for five ...
The Will Forgeries: a forgotten sensation

These infamous crimes were headline news when they came to trial at the Old Bailey in the 1840s, and remained in the public eye for many years after, but they are now largely forgotten. They were the work of an ...
The scandalous case of John Vassall: sexuality, spying and the Civil Service

Fifty years ago civil servant John Vassall was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment for espionage. Vassall was homosexual, and whilst working at the British Embassy in Moscow, was caught in a Soviet Secret Service ‘honeytrap’, and blackmailed into passing secrets ...
The strange journey of Edward Swarthye, an African in Elizabethan England: from the Spanish Caribbean to rural Gloucestershire

In 1597, an African man named ‘Edward Swarthye, alias negro’ appeared before an English court. He gave evidence that, at the command of his employer Sir Edward Wynter, he had whipped another servant, John Guye, in the hall of his ...
Morbidity and mortality on convict voyages to 19th century Australia

Between 1803 and 1853 some 67,000 convicts were transported from England and Ireland to the British penal colony of Van Diemen’s Land, later renamed Tasmania. Using a detailed reconstruction of 278 voyages (82 carrying female convicts and 196 male) this ...
Tracing marriages; legal requirements and actual practice, 1700-1836

Based upon studies of thousands of couples, this podcast explains how, when and where people in past centuries married. Family historians just starting out will find advice on where ‘missing’ marriages are most likely to be found, while those already ...
Keeping it in the family: professional dynasties in 19th century England

The 19th century witnessed a huge expansion in the number of people in Britain described as members of a profession, including lawyers, doctors, religious ministers and teachers, as well as newer service providers such as accountants, bankers and civil engineers. ...
Coroners’ Inquests

Coroners’ inquests produce a wealth of information for family historians. Ancestors might have been involved in a number of ways, such as members of the jury or another court official or as witnesses. Inquests don’t just reveal how someone died – they ...
‘An impenetrable tangle or an under-used mine of information?’ The Court of Common Pleas and its records, c.1200-1875

The Court of Common Pleas was the busiest court in England for almost all of the medieval and early modern period, dealing with tens of thousands of cases a year at its height, and continued to be an important arena ...
London Church Completely Destroyed By Fire

The opening titles tell us that this is a church burned down by Suffragettes, causing £20,000 of damage. The scene then shifts to a church at New Cross that has been comprehensively destroyed by fire. We see the burnt out ...
When sport meets the law

This talk uses records of the law courts and government departments to describe the uneasy relationship between sport and the law, covering various sports, including football, cricket, golf and horse racing. Highlighted are historical betting scandals and contractual disputes, an ...
Histpop – the online historical populations report website

The National Archives held a one day conference at Kew on Saturday 1 October 2011. The conference brought together an audience wanting to know more about the census, from genealogists to local and social historians. The conference looked at all ...
Out of the way of mischief

From the mid-19th century the Home Office and the Treasury became involved in the inspection and funding of reformatory and industrial schools. Children identified as vagrant, neglected, disorderly, in danger of corruption, or in the case of reformatory schools, already ...