A new legal drama inspired by the life of pioneering 18th century barrister William Garrow launched this Sunday on BBC One.
 
Professionally and personally, William Garrow was a man who could not resist confronting the status quo. Garrow, who made his name as a barrister at the Old Bailey, was a passionate believer in social and legal justice. He championed the poor and was openly critical of the corrupt reward-driven criminal justice system - themes that are explored in the new four-part BBC drama series.
 
But for those wishing to learn more about the real legal exploits of William Garrow there is the ‘Old Bailey Online’ digital archive.
 
Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Old Bailey Online is the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published.
 
Robert Shoemaker Professor of Eighteenth-Century British history at the University of Sheffield explains, “Our criminal pasts have long been a source of great intrigue. When the Old Bailey Online launched in 2008 the huge number of people worldwide logging on to see if they could uncover a black sheep in their family caused the server to crash and proved the unquestionable popularity of this fascinating area of family and social history.  Since then, more than ten million users, including the makers of 'Garrow's Law', have visited the site.”
 
Professor Shoemaker concludes, “The legal exploits of William Garrow, who made his name at the Old Bailey, portray a passionate believer in legal justice. For viewers that are inspired by the new series, The Old Bailey Online will the main point of call for those seeking further information about the over 1,000 trials in which Garrow appeared.”
 
The 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.
 
‘Garrow’s Law: Tales from the Old Bailey’ airs at 9pm on Sunday on BBC One.

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Notes for editors:

AHRC Media Contact Jake Gilmore j.gilmore@ahrc.ac.uk Tel: 07970994586
 
Arts & Humanities Research Council: Each year the AHRC provides approximately £102 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.