On Tuesday, October 24, 1933, between 8 o’clock and 8.10 p.m., Mrs. Violet Kray, wife of Charles Kray, dealer, gave birth to twin boys in their little two-up two-down house in Stean-street, Hoxton…These boys were later to create an empire formed by fear, extortion, protection, torture and finally, murder.This March 1969 Daily Mirror article of course refers to the Kray twins, Ronnie and Reggie, the most notorious British criminals of the 1960s. Feted by celebrities, chased by authorities, the Kray twins were a compelling…

This week at The Archive we are delighted to welcome 119,494 brand new pages, as well as the eight brand new titles which are joining us too, covering the commercial, military and agricultural interests of Britain in the first half of the nineteenth century.We also have some exciting and comprehensive updates to ten of our existing titles this week, so read on to discover more about these, as well as our new titles of the week, and to find out…

This week at The Archive we have been beavering away to bring you 199,116 brand new pages, 17 brand new titles and 28 updated titles from across England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.We have added five brand new regional titles from England, Wales and Scotland over the past seven days, and we have added twelve titles as part of the British Library’s ongoing Heritage Made Digital programme.So read on to discover about all of the updates we have made this week, as…

In December, 1811, all London was convulsed with terror at the tidings of the horrible slaughter wreaked at 29 Ratcliff Highway and 81 New Gravel Lane, and soon, from the Prince Regent’s table at Carlton House to the tap-room of the lowest dram-shop in Wapping, the hideous subject engrossed all.Ally Sloper’s Half Holiday, 27 August 1887These murders, now generally referred to as the Ratcliff Highway Murders, represent one of the bloodiest chapters in British crime history, and might have been the crime of…

As part of our history of law and crime month on The Archive, we are delighted to featured a very special guest post by author and former probation officer Martin Baggoley, who has written extensively on the history of crime and punishment.In this guest post, Martin describes how he used The Archive to research the tragic topic of infanticide in Victorian Salford, a desperately sad chapter in Britain’s crime history. So read on to discover the methods that Martin…

This week at The Archive we are delighted to have added 54,622 brand new pages, with four brand new titles joining us over the past seven days alone.From Glamorgan to Gravesend, from Sussex to Staveley, read on to discover more about our brand new titles of the week, and also to find out more about the significant updates we have made to our existing titles from England and Wales. Plus, we use our new newspapers to understand more about early…

Following on from our look at life on board the prison hulks of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, in this special blog we are going to take a look at what life was like behind prison bars over a century ago.Dartmoor Prison | The Sphere | 10 December 1927Using our newspapers, we will try to understand what life was like for the men and women sentenced to prison time in the United Kingdom in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries: how…

On 15 July 1910 the Sheffield Evening Telegraph recorded the anniversaries of the day. One particular entry was this:Prison hulks first seen on the Thames…1776But what were the prison hulks, and what was life like on board these ‘floating hells,’ as they came to be known?Prison hulk Warrior at Woolwich | Illustrated London News | 21 February 1846As part of our history of law and crime month here on The Archive, we will take a look at what life was like on…

This week at The Archive we have added 71,798 brand new pages to our ever growing collection, with a duo of brand new titles joining us this week too, from Cornwall and Buckinghamshire respectively.So read on to discover more about which new titles we have added, the ten titles we have updated, and also to find out more about the last moments of Mary Pearcey, condemned to death in 1890 for murder.Register now and explore the ArchiveThe first new…

Crime stories have filled newspapers since the seventeenth century.  From sensational murders to notices seeking the return of stolen property, you will find stories relating to crime in all of our newspapers.While crime-related news can be found in almost every title, we do hold several newspapers dedicated to crime and punishment.TitleYearsCleave’s Weekly Police Gazette1835, 1836County Courts Chronicle1847-1870, 1885-1896Illustrated Police Budget1899Illustrated Police News1867-1938Lloyd’s Companion to the Penny Sunday Times and Peoples’ Police Gazette1841-1847People’s Hue…