Rare Historic Mugshots of Criminals from Newcastle upon Tyne Police Archives, 1870s

Within the police archives of Newcastle Upon Tyne in England lies a collection of fascinating historical photographs. These mugshots depict the faces of individuals who were arrested in the city during the early 1870s.

These photographs document people processed by the Newcastle police over a specific two-year span, from December 1871 to December 1873. Every person shown in these pictures spent time inside the Newcastle Gaol (an older word for jail) during this period. Mugshots like these were taken by law enforcement primarily to serve as a visual record for identification.

The 1870s marked a relatively early phase for the use of photography by police departments. Authorities were beginning to recognize the value of photographic portraits for keeping track of individuals who entered the justice system. Creating a file of these pictures could help police identify repeat offenders more easily.

The subjects of these photographs were men and women held as inmates in the Newcastle Gaol between late 1871 and late 1873. They represent a cross-section of individuals who interacted with the law in Newcastle at that time. Each image is a portrait of a real person living more than 150 years ago.

#1 William Smith stole money and some scales in 1873 and was ordered to do two months in jail.

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#2 William Brankston was convicted of the theft of four rabbits and was sentenced to carry out one month in jail.

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#3 Thirteen-year-old James Scullion was sentenced to 14 days’ hard labor for stealing clothes. After this he was sent to Market Weighton Reformatory School for three years.

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#4 Isabella Smith was sentenced to six weeks for stealing poultry.

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#5 Seventeen-year-old Catherine Kelly was found guily of stealing bed linen and was sent to prison for three months.

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#6 Twelve-year-old Jane Farrell stole two boots and was sentenced to 10 hard days’ labour.

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#7 John Grieveson was convicted of the crime theft of pigeons. He was ordered to carry out four months in jail.

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#8 Fifteen-year-old Margaret Cosh was convicted of stealing a coat. She had no previous convictions and served two months with hard labor.

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#9 Twenty-year-old William Badger was sentenced to six months for stealing a watch.

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#10 Edward Shevlin stole a coat and was sentenced to six months in prison.

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#11 This guy, William Bell, was caught stealing some beef and sent to prison.

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#12 Robert Charlton was imprisoned for four months for stealing two pairs of boots.

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#13 Robert Hardy was sentenced to four months for stealing ale in 1873.

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#14 Michael Clement Fisher was 13 when he and an accomplice were both charged with breaking into houses. They were sentenced to two months in prison.

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#15 After stealing a waistcoat, Ann Burns was sentenced to one month imprisonment. She was 18.

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#16 John Park was convicted of stealing a violin. He had no previous convictions and served one month with hard labor.

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#17 This is the face of a woman who stole a chicken. Mary Patterson was sentenced to six weeks in jail in 1873 for theft of poultry.

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#18 Isabella Dodds was sentenced to four months for stealing a gold watch.

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#19 Nineteen-year-old David Barron was a cabinetmaker who was convicted and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment for stealing champagne.

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#20 In 1873, Ezekiel Yates was convicted of stealing tobacco and was ordered to carry out a sentence of six months.

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#21 Fifteen-year-old Richard Rimmington was convicted of stealing a pipe from a shop and was expected to serve 14 days with hard labor. He was spared his sentence when his parents agreed to pay costs and the resulting fine.

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#22 John Storey was sentenced to one month for stealing wood.

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#23 Mary Catherine Docherty was sentenced to seven days of hard labor after being convicted of stealing iron. Her three accomplices, Mary Hinnigan, Ellen Woodman, and Rosanna Watson, were given the same punishment.

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#24 Jane Carlisle thieved some bed linen. She served two months.

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#25 At 12, Henry Leonard Stephenson was convicted of breaking into houses and was sentenced to two months in prison.

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#26 At the young age of 14, Henry Miller was charged with the theft of clothing and sentenced to 14 days of hard labor for his crime.

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