Thieves, thugs and a conman who impersonated a vicar: The first-ever criminal mugshots taken in Britain revealed 150 years on

Mugshots were created because written descriptions were unreliable



Pictures of Bedford Prison inmates offer glimpse into 'working class life'

Before the digital camera was ubiquitous, photographs were such a rarity that people used to dress in their finery for their snapshots.



And these smartly dressed prisoners were no exception as this haul of vintage mugshots shows.

The collection of haunting portraits shows just how the practise began - in Bedford Prison more than 150 years ago.

The man on the left looks thoroughly displeased at having his picture taken, while George Henry Charles Perry, who was arrested for posing as a vicar to con people. The 32-year-old is seen still wearing his fake dog collar



Elizabeth Evans, 36, (left) was sentenced to three years for stealing. Thomas Jenkins, (right) a 39-year-old ship's cook, who is described as 'high-shouldered' was arrested for refusing to give evidence in a case



The vintage portraits of thieves, poachers and murderers were snapped in the jail between 1859 and 1876.

And, while their crimes may vary - from stealing spades to conning people while dressed as a vicar - what links them is that the majority are sharply dressed, with ties and buttoned up shirts and neatly combed hair.



The book of mugshots is held by Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service - which was the first local record office in the UK and is now celebrating its centenary.

It was the idea of Robert Evan Roberts, the governor of Bedford Prison in the 1850s, who became concerned that too many habitual criminals were getting away.

The police had previously relied on written descriptions to help capture criminals, but he believed these methods were too unreliable.

Instead he commissioned a photographer to take pictures of offenders, so they could easily be traced if they committed further crimes.

George Bennett (left) who with his slicked back hair and curled moustache clearly wanted the camera to capture his best side, had many poaching convictions and assaulted a police constable. John Robinson, right, who could be posing for a family portrait here, was sentenced for stealing The book of mugshots is currently on display in the Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Centre, the UK's first local record office Details of the criminal and their crimes are all painstakingly recorded, including their trade and visage

At the time he wrote: 'Photography as an agent in discovering the antecedents of criminals, especially tramps and strangers, is unquestionably a very useful auxiliary and in my opinion should be brought into prison use generally.'

The volume contains the portraits and details of about 200 prisoners - just three per cent of those in Bedford Prison at this time.

They offer a rare insight into the lower classes of the late 19th century, who were rarely photographed.

Photographic portraits were expensive so the portraits which usually survive from this time are mainly of the gentry and middle classes who could afford them.

Nigel Lutt, archivist of Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service, said: 'Commercial photography was very new and only started in the cities in the mid 1850's, so the prison governor was ahead of his time in exploiting the latest technology.

William Moorhead (left) 22, was accused of stealing eight stockings, £10 and a calico shirt, while labourer John Jackson, 20, (right) was sentenced to 10 years for assault

Samuel Oliver, 46, (left) was sentenced to 21 days in prison for begging. He was said to have a 'ruddy' complexion and imperfect speech and a lame leg after suffering a stroke Another prisoner, William Flint, 29, was arrested for begging, and the records describe him as having boil marks and ginger eyebrows



Joseph Hoorwood, 27, (left) was sentenced to seven years for stealing three spades, while James Knapton, a 22-year-old miner, was sentenced for six years for setting fire to a stack of oats. He was photographed in front of a fake prison back-drop, showing an open cell



'The pictures show us what life was like for the working class at that time and drive home just how hard life was for these people.

'They bring the prisoners to life in a way that the written word alone cannot do.'

The mugshots include George Bennett, a dapper-looking 23-year-old, who with his neat moustache and slicked-back hair, resembled a film star.

He had many poaching convictions and also assaulted a police constable.

According to the prison records he is a butcher, from Bedmont, Hertfordshire, who goes under the alias of Henry Simpson.

Henry Johnson was an 18-year-old dealer in engravings, (left) who was sentenced to two years for stealing a purse. Fellow criminal William Rose, 28 was accused of stealing a coat, trousers and three handkerchiefs. It was noted that he had a bullet wound on the back of his neck



William Doyle (left) 17, was described as not being able to read or write and had a pale complexion. He was sentenced to six years in prison for setting fire to a stack of wheat. Joseph Blagdon (right) was arrested for begging and is described as having burns marks on his right arm, forehead and nose



It also states that he had lost his little finger and had bad teeth.

Another photo shows John Robinson, who could be posing for a family portrait in a hat, jacket, waistcoat and neat beard.

The 28-year-old woodturner, who was sentenced to four years for stealing, is described as having a scar on his head, large vaccination marks on his left arm and an almond-shaped mole on his face.

The photo of William Flint, 29, arrested for begging, describes him as having boil marks and ginger eyebrows.

Whilst another picture shows George Henry Charles Perry, 32, who was arrested for posing as a vicar to con people and was photographed still wearing his fake dog collar.

William Dazley was a 27-year-old ironmonger's assistant with sandy hair, charged with stealing. He had a brown birth mark on his left shoulder and a scar on his upper lip. Henry James Green alias James Middleton (right) was a 23-year-old stocking weaver sentenced to four years in prison for stealing in 1860



Daniel Burke, (left) 21, who went by the alias John Watson, from Whitechapel. He was sent to the prison on February 4, 1861. William Jones - also known as William Johnson and Daniel Dunn - was described as having a 'pockmarked' face and 'weak eyes.' He was sentenced to seven years for stealing in 1860



Jane Green, alias Elizabeth Locker, 20, was sentenced for four years for stealing and was described as a married stocking weaver with a 'very long face'. Catherine May (right) was a 26-year-old dressmaker, who was sentenced to three years for stealing a purse. She died after just five months in prison



Labourer Samuel Oliver, 46, was sentenced to 21 days in prison for begging on Bedford High Street and was said to have a 'ruddy' complexion and imperfect speech and a lame leg after suffering a stroke.

It was not just the men who felt the long arm of the law.



Jane Green, who went by the alias Elizabeth Locker, 20, was sentenced to four years imprisonment for stealing and was described as a married stocking weaver with the unflattering note of having a 'very long face'.

Catherine May was a 26-year-old dressmaker, who was sentenced to three years for stealing a purse. She died after just five months in prison.

The shots were the brainchild of Robert Evan Roberts, the governor of Bedford Prison (pictured) n the 1850s, who became concerned that too many habitual criminals were getting away

The record book shows how law enforcers were not prepared to tolerate any crime - no matter how small they seemed.

Joseph Hoorwood, 27, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for stealing three spades, while James Knapton, a 22-year-old miner, was sentenced for six years for setting fire to a stack of oats.



Henry Johnson was an 18-year-old dealer in engravings, but started adult life in prison after he was sentenced to two years for stealing a purse.

The youngest offender is William Doyle, who was just 17, couldn't read or write and had a pale complexion. He was sentenced to six years in prison for setting fire to a stack of wheat.

Thomas Jenkins, a 39-year-old ship's cook, who is described as 'high-shouldered' was arrested for refusing to give evidence in a murder case.

Several of the inmates have also been photographed in front of a fake back-drop, depicting a prison cell with an open door - perhaps as a warning to would-be criminals where their future lays.