The online records of the Old Bailey, London’s criminal court, inevitably contain some interesting material in the transcriptions of past trials. Any government archive that permits users the ability to search specifically for ‘whippings’ has to be a good use of taxpayers’ money!
Rather than overload you with fascinating anecdotes, we’ve downloaded a few cases of interest, and we’ll post them over the next few months. And here’s the thing – each court record shows the date of the original trial: we’ll post the entries accordingly, so that you’ll be able to squirm at the fates of the young ladies concerned on the very anniversary of their punishment…
Here’s the first, a case dating from 14 September 1791 in which “SUSANNAH DRAYTON was indicted for feloniously stealing, on the 27th of July, twenty-eight yards of printed callico, value 20 s. the goods of Thomas More.” Aged 19, she was tried by the Middlesex Jury before Mr. Justice Grose.
One Richard Birkitt was the main prosecution witness:
I am servant to Mr. More, linen-draper, Oxford-street; on the 27th of July I was in the shop, the servant with me, Sarah Hobbs came in and told me that a person had taken a piece off the box at the door; she described the person to us, and told us which way she went; we went in pursuit, Thomas Tindal and me, of her, and overtook her; the person was the prisoner, she gave a piece of printed callico to Thomas Tindal .
Said Mr. Tindal confirmed the account, and the incriminating piece of cloth was produced in evidence. Susannah’s defence was less than convincing:
I was going by the door at the very same time, a young fellow was standing at the door, and he asked me to take the bundle for him to Oxford-road, and he told me he would pay me for my trouble; I turned up Newman-street, and his young man here followed me, and asked me for the bundle, and I gave it him, and the servant maid when I came back asked me where the young man was? I told her I did not know; she asked me if I knew him, I told her I did not.
The prisoner called two witnesses “who gave her a good character”, before the jury’s deliberations. The court records starkly confirm the outcome of the case for posterity:
GUILTY , (Aged 19.)
Privately whipped .
Ooh Abel,imagine being employed by the judiciary in the role of “chief whipper”!
Such a tough job but someone would have to do it!
I can’t help thinking that the recruitment process for the post might be rather interesting, assuming it tested one’s abilities properly!!
Privately whipped?
Wht does a girl have to do to be whipped publicly?
Keep reading the series to find out!
LOL actually, there appears to have been a remarkable lack of public whipping of convicted girls. Then again, I’m far from certain that a private whipping would be less daunting.
Sure, there’d be no audience, so the embarrassment might be less.
But then there’d be no friends to offer moral support… and there’d be no witnesses to moderate the gaoler’s actions…
Well, experience as a hunt whipper-in or a political party Whip might look good on a resume if you were applying for the position of professional whipper.
It might be fun to research the names of those whippers. I just learned a new word – aptonym (a person’s name also describes their profession, like Paige Worthy the editor). If you Google the word you’ll find a recent New York Times competition for the best aptonyms.
So wonder if there was at one time a Mr. Beater or a Mr. Cane labouring diligently in the bowels of the Old Bailey.
P.S. I actually DO know a Mr. and Mrs. Vanderspank. Profession – double-glazing
I imagine that they got replacements, for official whippers, that same way they got replacements for the o0fficeial hangman. Father to son, father to son, for 100’s of years, etc.
Back when they had those types of jobs, that’s the way it would have been done. The son probably apprenticed at it before becomeing the official whipper.
Hermione – I’m beginning to feel rather sorry for the *daughters* of the aptonymous double-barrelled Mr Privately-Whipped.
And as for Paul’s handed-down job… perhaps there might come a time when there were no sons of Mr Privately-Whipped to take on the post, so his eldest daughter would have to assume the mantle. And one can be sure that she would have served a harsh apprenticeship growing up under daddy’s discipline.
ROTFLMAO – Abel, I couldn’t read all of your reply for some time, because of the tears of laughter filling my eyes!
I have never had a better week, reading this blog! Most of it done during breaks in a vanilla computer course. I dissolved in giggles a couple of times, reading comments on my Blackberry, but couldn’t tell anyone why. Oh well, the instructor was a charming young woman with a good sense of humour, who kept us all laughing.
It didn’t help that she kept on saying she was anal, and don’t do this or “The database administrators will hurt you and it won’t be pretty” and “Their butts will be on the line”. Yes, she did look spankable, but I didn’t go there.
Thanks, Hermione – glad I distracted you, and shame the teacher didn’t deal with you for behaving so inappropriately in class 😉
As I wrote in another post, I think that the private whippings were instituted so that powerful men could ogle, gloat, and participate in ways that would not be possible amongst a crowd at a public whipping. The men would be able to witness the stripping up close and personal and perhaps fondle the victim before she was punished. The privacy was for the benefit of the powerful not the benefit of the women.
As far as spanking teachers, I went to an all boys high school, and one year we had a young woman as an English teacher. She was very pretty and had a sexy figure (okay, great tits, as we put it, and great legs, which she didn’t hide). The administration had no business hiring a woman who looked like that to teach in an all boys school. I mean, the hormones were flooding the building, and when she raised her arm to write on the blackboard it was impossible to concentrate on what she was saying. She must have been either embarrassed or aroused by the stares.
Anyway, even as a young man I fantasized about spanking a woman and having her under my control. The above is a true recollection, and I recommend, hermione, don’t Not go there. Go there!
Matt
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