From Counterfeiters to Jewel Thieves, the Convict’s Reception Register has them all!
The register gives us an amazing amount of information about the offender which includes name, age and occupation; marital status and number of children; ability to read & write; crime committed and date; previous convictions; address and names of next of kin; remarks on the individuals character and perhaps most fascinating of all, a physical description.
The register covers an interesting period in the history of prison reform as it covers the point at which it was recognised that prisons, whilst being places of punishment, should not be detrimental to the individual’s health.
Capital punishment was phased out for all but the most serious of crimes.
Arguably one of the more ‘high profile’ entries in this register is that of convict number 5133 William Parks alias Sparks. This fresh faced, sandy haired 43 year old man was a notorious jewel thief who had escaped from the Hulks and ended up in a Parisian prison!
Condemned at Chester to 6 years penal servitude, he escaped the Hulks a year later and fled to France where he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for taking part in the great jewel robbery of 150,000f at Fontana’s in the Palais Royale.
Once his term was complete he returned to England and to his thieving ways, this time serving 6 months in Liverpool Prison. Upon his release he returned to France an was promptly awaiting trial in January 1873 for robbery alongside his accomplice known only as Weber!
Vote for the Convicts Reception Register today!
Do you have ancestors that were jailed or transported in the 19th century? Does this period of criminal history fascinate you? Leave us your thoughts here!
The register gives us an amazing amount of information about the offender which includes name, age and occupation; marital status and number of children; ability to read & write; crime committed and date; previous convictions; address and names of next of kin; remarks on the individuals character and perhaps most fascinating of all, a physical description.
The register covers an interesting period in the history of prison reform as it covers the point at which it was recognised that prisons, whilst being places of punishment, should not be detrimental to the individual’s health.
Capital punishment was phased out for all but the most serious of crimes.
Arguably one of the more ‘high profile’ entries in this register is that of convict number 5133 William Parks alias Sparks. This fresh faced, sandy haired 43 year old man was a notorious jewel thief who had escaped from the Hulks and ended up in a Parisian prison!
Condemned at Chester to 6 years penal servitude, he escaped the Hulks a year later and fled to France where he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for taking part in the great jewel robbery of 150,000f at Fontana’s in the Palais Royale.
Once his term was complete he returned to England and to his thieving ways, this time serving 6 months in Liverpool Prison. Upon his release he returned to France an was promptly awaiting trial in January 1873 for robbery alongside his accomplice known only as Weber!
Vote for the Convicts Reception Register today!
Do you have ancestors that were jailed or transported in the 19th century? Does this period of criminal history fascinate you? Leave us your thoughts here!