Bashing the Police

If you think of Victorian London as essentially a quiet, orderly, trouble-free place, you might want to think again. Here's two reports from the same day in 1871:-

MURDEROUS ASSAULT ON THE POLICE  —James Buckley and John Gilbert, apparently about 18 years of age, were charged with an assault upon the police. —James Adkins, 122 S, saw the two prisoners in Albany-street. about half-past four in the afternoon, pulling two girls about indecently. He cautioned them and told them to go away. They refused to do so, and Gilbert struck him in the face. The constable took him into custody, and was immediately attacked by both the prisoners and 20 or 30 "roughs," who quickly gathered round and attempted to assist the delinquents to escape. A lady who feared that the policeman would be murdered ran in search of another police-constable, and found Thomas Gore, 161 S, who went to the assistance of the last witness. After receiving very severe injuries he, however, was unable to secure the men until a third constable, 43 S reserve, and two powerful men—Mr. H. Tilley, a corn merchant, of Slough, and Mr. B. Collett, a pianoforte-maker, of Tottenham-court-road—rendered efficient service by keeping off the crowd and helping to overpower the prisoners. Mr. Tilley saw one of the prisoners wrest the truncheon from the hand of one of the constables, who were both covered with blood, and, stepping back, throw the staff at the officer with such force that it would probably have killed him had the prisoner not missed his aim. Some of the crowd having knocked off the policemen's helmets, beat their heads against the wall.—Mr. D'Eyncourt sentenced the prisoners each to be kept to hard labour for six months for assaulting Adkins, and for three months for the assault on Gore.


MURDEROUS ASSAULTS ON THE POLICE. — Robert Jones, 21, a labourer, was charged with being drunk and riotous and assaulting Charles Coverley, Reuben Stage, and Richard Warn, constables of the B division in the execution of their duty. The prisoner's conduct, which was of a violent and brutal nature, was aggravated by a mob of 500 people, who placed every impediment in the way of the officers, and sought to release the prisoner by the use of sticks and stones. Prisoner went into the Markham Arms, King's-road, Chelsea, and demanded a pot of ale, but being refused challenged all present to fight. He was ejected, when, standing on the pavement, he attacked all who passed him. Coverley, 128 B, remonstrated with him, when he struck him on the chest, knocked him down, and kicked him. He declared that he would be taken to the station dead rather than alive, used the most horrid language, kicked; in all directions, and when Stagg, 379 B, arrived he bit him through the arm. The mob closed round the constables, threw granite cubes, and used sticks freely, and the respectable civilians present were afraid to assist the police on that account. Warn, 46 B, then joined his brother constables, but was bitten and kicked, and it required seven or eight men to convey the prisoner to the station.
    Janes Groom was then charged with attempting to rescue and assaulting Coverley, 128 B.—It was clearly shown that while carrying the other prisoner this man struck and kicked Coverley, and begged of the violent crowd to prevent the prisoner being taken to the station-house.— Groom denied being the man, and the other prisoner pleaded drunkenness, and that he had been much knocked about.—Mr. Woolrych said that was the result of his own fiendish violence. The police must be protected from the attacks of such mad, drunken ruffians. He sentenced Jones to 16 weeks' hard labour for the three assaults and ordered Groom to pay a penalty of 30s , or one month.

Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper, April 16 1871

Gangs of Roughs

I've commented before on hooliganism, a topic which will feature in my next novel, but it's fascinating to note how vicious behaviour and teen gangs are not a modern phenomenon, whatever the media would have you believe (whether we have more incidents of such things, I genuinely don't know). Here's some examples ... I challenge you to read the articles below and not feel just a little bit less paranoid about modern London life.

Islington - always been a bit rough, innit?

At CLERKENWELL, JOHN GARVEY, 19, a rough-looking youth, was charged with feloniously cutting and wounding his father by stabbing him in the head and shoulder with a pocket knife. The father, William Garvey, living in Adelaide-square, New North-road, said that his son lived with him, but was very unruly. On Sunday night he was with a number of other lads outside the house, and witness, who was in bed, was disturbed by their whistling and singing. he called from the window of his bedroom to his son, telling him to be quiet or go away. Within a few minutes afterwards the prisoner rushed into his bedroom with an open knife in his hand and began abusing him for calling out of the window, and called him many bad names. Witness tried to put him out of the room. The prisoner then struck him, and witness felt the knife enter his left shoulder. A second blow was given, and the knife entered his head on the left side. They struggling for the knife, and witness got his hand cut, and lost so much blood that he became insensible. A constable was fetched, and the prisoner charged; witness afterwards finding him at the station, where his own wounds were dressed. Mr. F.J.Bucknell, M.D., of Upper-street, Islington, divisional surgeon, deposed to attending the prosecutor, who had received a stab in the left shoulder and a severe cut on the head, partially dividing the left ear. The prisoner, who when charged made no statement in defence, now said that he had nothing to say, and was fully committed for trial at the Middlesex Sessions.

The Times, 7th June, 1881

THE ISLINGTON ROUGHS. - Joseph Bonner, 19, labourer of Beaconsfield-buildings, York-road; and William Richards, 19, labourer, were charged with assaulting Constable Ross, 147 Y, while in the execution of his duty. It was stated by the police that the two prisoners belonged to a gang of roughs who were in the habit of parading the streets armed with sticks, stones, and knotted ropes, creating a disturbance by fighting among themselves, and molesting every person they met. On Sunday afternoon Police-constable Ross met a gang of about forty youths, behaving in this manner described in Charlotte-street, Islington, the two prisoners being among them. He took Richards, who was armed with a thick stick, into custody, and Bonner then struck him on the head with a knotted rope, damaging his helmet. He took the stick from Richards, but Bonner wrested it from him and struck him several violent blows on the back with it. Richards also struck him and kicked him in endeavouring to escape from custody. He let Richards go and took Bonner into custody, and Richards was apprehended on the following morning. Mr. Hosack sentenced Bonner to two months' and Richard to one month's hard labour.

Reynolds Newspaper, October 2, 1881

AT CLERKENWELL, WILLIAM BROWN, 16, schoolboy, of St. John's-square, Clerkenwell, and HENRY FOXCROFT, 18, of Mount Pleasant, Clerkenwell, were charged with having been concerned with others not in custody in discharging a loaded revolver at Arthur Hobbs with intent to do him grievous bodily harm. The prisoners were further charged with having been concerned in wounding James Page, of Milton-place, Holloway, by shooting him on the 31st ult., and also, in conjunction with others, in cutting and wounding John Agnes, by stabbing him with a knife on Sunday last. The first prosecutor, Hobbs, a sawyer, living at Southampton-street, Pentonville, stated that he was talking to a friend in Upper-street, Islington, on the evening of the 31st. ult. ,when Foxcroft assaulted him by giving him a blow on the face, knocking him down. Brown then, it was alleged, came up, stood over the prosecutor and drawing a revolver from his pocket fired one shot at the prosecutor's head. The shot appeared to have struck a man named Page, who was standing near, and who was wounded in the thigh. The injured man was attended by Dr. White, divisional surgeon, who extracted a bullet. The prisoners, after the shot was fired, ran away in the direction of Pentonville, and were not seen by the police until yesterday. The evidence of witnesses as to the first two charges was taken; but a remand was asked for to complete the cases, and for the medical evidence as to the condition of the wounded men. The prisoners were remanded for a week.

The Times, June 23rd, 1885