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 .