Fagin's children: Mugshots of Victorian thieves as young as 11 who were sentenced to hard labour for stealing clothes and metal


Staring into the camera, some with defiance and others in child-like wonder, these scruffy boys and girls look like any other group of Victorian urchins.

But while some of the children may appear to be a picture of innocence, the gallery is in fact a collection of young criminals from the 1870s.

The rogues' gallery of offenders, some as young as 11, includes thieves and pickpockets who stole anything from cash to clothes and even odd pieces of metal.

The fascinating Victorian images, which all feature children from the Newcastle area, have been released today by Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums.

The petty criminality detailed in the charges may be the same as in Britain now, but the mixture of scruffy clothing and more formal Victorian street attire worn by the children is a world away from the hoodies, trainers and sportswear of many of today's lawless youths.

Scroll down to hear Ellen Woodman's story...



Sent down: John Divine, 17, was imprisoned at Newcastle City Jail for six months for stealing money, while Robert Charlton, 16 (right) was imprisoned for four months for stealing two pairs of boots

Starting young: An 11-year-old girl named as Ellen Woodman was given a week of hard labour for stealing iron, while accomplice Rosanne Watson, 13 (right) was given the same punishment. However a newspaper article from the time suggests it is not clear whether the girls were actually stealing or just playing in the ship yard

Middle class background: Henry Leonard Stephenson, 12, left, and his fresh-faced accomplice Michael Clement Fisher, 13, right, were choir boys from good stock but were jailed for two months for breaking into three houses in 1873. The media at the time blamed the boys' crime on their penchant for the 'wrong sort of books' on characters like notorious 18th-century highwayman Jack Sheppard

Life of crime: John Reed, 15, was given two weeks hard labour and five years reformation for stealing money in 1873. Jane Farrell, 12, stole two boots and was sentenced to 10 days hard labour



However, there are one or two in the rogues' gallery from a more privileged background.



Ms Rees said: 'The slightly more middle class of the group were 13-year-old Michael Clement Fisher and Henry Leonard Stephenson, who was 12. They were choir boys from St Mary's Church and said to be of respectable parents.



'But they still broke into three houses, stole a violin case, a ring, coins and other articles. All stolen property was returned.'

In a newspaper article at the time of the crime in 1873, it was suggested the boys had thought they were doing 'heroic, manly acts' after reading the 'wrong books' on people like Jack Sheppard, a notorious 18th century highway man.



They were sentenced to two months in prison for the crime. Ms Rees said: 'Fisher's mother promised to send him away to sea on release, while Stephenson's father vowed to send his boy to India.'

She added: 'They would have served their full services. There was no remission for good behaviour. A lot of them got hard labour even though they were children; The justice system was very much geared towards punishment rather than rehabilitation.'

Hard justice: Margaret Cosh, 15, who had no previous convictions, was given two months hard labour for stealing a coat. Isabella Hindmarch, 16 (right) served one month of hard labour for stealing money

Spared: Richard Rimmington, 15, was expected to do hard labour for stealing a pipe, but instead his parents paid a fine. George Lamb, 17 (right) was sentenced to four months for stealing money

Hard labour would have included walking on a wooden treadwheel, a large slatted wheel which sometimes drove a mill, or breaking up stones in the prison yard. Girls were also expected to carry out the back-breaking work.

Many were packed off to reform schools following their sentences. The grim institutions came in as an Act of Parliament in 1854 so wayward children could be trained in a trade like agriculture or prepped for the Army.

James Scullion served 14 days hard labour at Newcastle City Jail for stealing clothes - his second offence after being f logged for stealing a rabbit - before spending three years at Market Weighton Reformatory School . The 13-year-old labourer was only 4'2" tall suggesting he had been malnourished and impoverished.



There were children who claimed they were unfairly treated. Ellen Woodman was only 11 when she was given a week of hard labour for stealing iron. Her accomplice Rosanne Watson, 13, was given the same sentence.

But according to Ms Rees, it is actually not clear whether the girls had been stealing the metal or whether they had just been playing in the ship yard. They both had no previous convictions.



Career criminal: James Donneley, 16, was jailed for two months for stealing shirts. Innocent-looking Mary Hinnigan, 13, was given a week of hard labour for stealing iron

Custodial sentence: Isabella Dodds, 17, was dealt a four month prison term for stealing a gold watch, while James Scullion, 13, was told to complete 14 days hard labour for stealing clothes

There were a lot of metal thefts in the area due to the booming shipbuilding business of the time. Ms Rees said: ' It was mostly opportunism with metal hanging around, but obviously it had a resale value. There's still a lot of metal theft going on around here today.'

Shipbuilding and heavy engineering were Newcastle's main industries in the 19th century and the city was a powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution. But while the latter had made Britain rich, it also led to grinding poverty in cramped inner-city slums plagued by hunger and disease.



Ms Rees said: 'Newcastle expanded enormously from the 1850s onwards and as the population increased, living conditions for most were poor. It was a boom town with people coming in from the countryside, Ireland and Scotland looking for work, but there weren't always enough jobs to go around.'



Boys and girls like the ones in these mugshots, were soon educated in the skills of street survival by their parents and condemned as often as not to a life of crime.



Historian and author of Tough Times, Nigel Green, turned up police records which show that in the years from 1838 to 1851 the number of minors arrested for petty crimes more than doubled.



Some of the children picked up by the police were as young as eight, and they were often held in stinking prison cells alongside adults.

Charles Dickens painted a grim picture of the Victorian criminal underbelly in his novel Oliver Twist. It tells the tale of orphan Oliver who manages to escape a tyrant undertaker after he plucks him from the poorhouse.



After running away to London Oliver gets caught up with the Artful Dodger, the leader of a gang of pickpockets. After being led back to Dodger's lair Oliver meets wizened crime boss Fagin and is at once trained in the art of stealing.

Of course, having led a rather sheltered life, Oliver is the one who is caught trying to steal a gentleman's handkerchief and is hauled in front of a magistrate. He is let off however and taken in by rich gent Mr Brownlow, but is soon dragged back into a life of crime with life-threatening results.



The film version of the novel starring Ron Moody and Oliver Reed, even romanticises the era with jolly tunes and dancing.



The reality was anything but and Victorian children living in poverty who had turned to a life of crime could expect harsh reprimand from whipping to imprisonment.

VIDEO: Hear the story of Ellen Woodman, one of the Victorian criminals



