AHRC-funded ‘Old Bailey Online’ continues to inspire programme makers
Extracts from the gripping court cases of the Old Bailey Court are being dramatised for the general public thanks to a new Radio 4 series, ‘Voices from the Old Bailey’.
Using the AHRC-funded Old Bailey Online digital archive for content and inspiration, the new series sees AHRC-funded historian Professor Amanda Vickery delving into the Old Bailey archives to discuss with fellow historians what they reveal about 18th century society and culture.
The four part series which launched on Thursday 15 July has already covered Highwaymen and Wicked Women. In the latter Amanda listens to the voices of criminal women in the Old Bailey, with fellow historians Judith Hawley, Peter King and Jeremy Barlow, on location in a crowded 18th century lodging house.
Amanda says, ‘The first case is that of a shoplifter, who pilfers a pair of silk gloves. She faces the gallows - but the jury saves her life. The second is a con-woman, and her case tells us a lot about the vulnerability of men in the 18th century. The last is an abused wife who chooses the ultimate way out: murder. But once she has murdered her shopkeeper husband, she has great trouble disposing of the body...’
All the cases discussed in the programme can be found in the Old Bailey Online - the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published.
The AHRC-funded website makes available a fully searchable, digitised collection of all surviving editions of the Old Bailey Proceedings from 1674 to 1913, and of the Ordinary of Newgate's Accounts between 1676 and 1772. It allows access to over 197,000 trials and details of approximately 2,500 men and women executed at Tyburn, free of charge for use by both academics and the general public alike. See: ‘Old Bailey Proceedings Online.
It isn’t the first time this ever-popular AHRC-funded resource has inspired programme makers. The BBC’s award winning ‘Garrow’s Law: Tales from the Old Bailey’, which screened in 2009, was a four-part legal drama that told the real-life story of William Garrow, a barrister who made his name at London’s famous Old Bailey court. The programme makers relied heavily on the ‘Old Bailey Online’ digital archive when researching and writing the script.
If ‘Voices from the Old Bailey’ whets your appetite for these fascinating and socially illuminating real-life stories, then the up-and-coming BBC series, ‘Behind Closed Doors’ will be one to watch out for. Hitting our TV screens this autumn, Amanda Vickery will once again be delving into the archives of the Old Bailey Online among other historical sources to bring the Georgian era back to life and open a fascinating window on the soul of an age.
Listen to ‘Voices from the Old Bailey’ on Thursday evening at 9.30pm (BBC Radio 4) or listen again via the BBC iplayer.
ENDS
Notes to the editor
Media Contact: Emi Spinner, AHRC Communications Officer; T: 01793 416 020 E: e.spinner@ahrc.ac.uk
The AHRC-funded ‘Old Bailey Proceedings Online’ makes available a fully searchable, digitised collection of all surviving editions of the Old Bailey Proceedings from 1674 to 1913. It allows access to over 197,000 trials and biographical details of approximately 2,500 men and women executed at Tyburn, publicly available and completely free of charge.
Wicked Women (as referenced in press release)
• Elizabeth Wild, shoplifter (www.oldbaileyonline.org)
• Jane Gibbs, conwoman (www.oldbaileyonline.org)
• Catherine Hayes, murderer (www.oldbaileyonline.org)
Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC): Each year the AHRC provides approximately £112 million from the Government to support research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities, from languages and law, archaeology and English literature to design and creative and performing arts. In any one year, the AHRC makes approximately 700 research awards and around 1,350 postgraduate awards. Awards are made after a rigorous peer review process, to ensure that only applications of the highest quality are funded. The quality and range of research supported by this investment of public funds not only provides social and cultural benefits but also contributes to the economic success of the UK.