This is a list of some trials in Britain between 1850 and 1859.
This is not, of course, a definitive inventory. It is likely that details of the case were reported in the news. If you can find the name you are searching please make contact by using the enquiry form. I will see if any archive material is available. If you cannot find the person you are searching don’t worry – please enquire anyway. I will do a search and get back to you.
The data for these British trial pages is sourced from references more than 100 years old and took a long time to transcribe and digitise for the internet. They make fascinating reading and create temptation for us to find out more. They cover all life from murder to executions, libel, slander, bankruptcy, love affairs, divorce, wills, land disputes – it’s all there for us to discover and read about in the newspapers generations on.
I have transcribed these pages as faithfully as possible with little change to the language and style. I have taken time-out to remove any references that, today, we might find racist or offensive (as language and attitudes towards life has changed dramatically since the days of these court proceedings).
Walter Watts lessee of the Olympic theatre for forgery &c, 10 May, 1850
Robert Pate, a retired lieutenant for an assault on the queen, 11 July, 1850
The Sloanes man and wife, for starving their servant Jane Wilbred, 5 Feb, 1851
The Board of Customs v the London Dock Company, on a charge of defrauding the revenue of duties a trial of 1 days ended in a virtual acquittal, 18 Feb, 1851
Sarah Chesham, for murder of husband by poison she had murdered several of her children and others by the same means hanged, 6 March, 1851
Thomas Drory, for the murder of Jael Denny hanged, 7 March, 1851
Doyle v Wright, concerning the personal custody of Miss Augusta Talbot a Roman catholic ward of chancery before the lord chancellor protracted case, 22 March, 1851
The murderers of the rev George Edward Holiest of Frimley Surrey guilty, 31 March, 1851
Achilli V ‘Newman, for libel tried before lord chief justice Campbell in the Queen’s Bench verdict for the plaintiff Nov 1851, 31 Jan, 1852
Miller v Alderman Salomons MP, for voting as a member without having taken the required oath verdict against the defendant, 19 April, 1852
The case “Bishop of London v the rev Mr Gladstone” judgment of the Arches court against the defendant, 10 June, 1852
Lord Frankfort, for scandalous and defamatory libels guilty, 3 Dec, 1852
Richard Bourke Kirwan for the murder of his wife guilty, 10 Dec, 1852
Eliot Bower, for murder of Mr Saville Morton at Paris acquitted, 28 Dec, 1852
Henry Horler, for murder of his wife hanged at the Old Bailey, 15 Jan, 1853
James Barbour for murder of Robinson hanged at York, 15 Jan, 1853
George Sparkes and James Hitchcock, for the murder of William Blackmore at Exeter guilty, 19 March, 1853
Five Frenchmen (principal and seconds), for the murder of a sixth Frenchman in a duel at Egham verdict manslaughter, 21 March, 1853
Moore and Walsh, for the murder of John Blackburn at Stafford hanged, 21 March, 1853
Saunders, for murder of Mr Toler hanged at Chelmsford, 30 March, 1853
The Stackpole famil, four in number two of them females and wives to the others for the murder of their relative also a Stackpole hanged at Ennis, 28 April, 1853
Case of Holy Cross Hospital Winchester, decided against rev earl of Guildford, 1 Aug, 1853
Smyth v Smyth ended in the plaintiff being committed on a charge of forging the will on which he grounded his claim, 8 Aug, 1853
The Braintree, case respecting liability to church-rates decided by the house of lords against the rate, 12 Aug, 1853
Case of Lumley v Gye, respecting Mdlle Wagner decided, 22 Feb, 1854
Mr Jeremiah Smith, mayor of Rye convicted of perjury 2 March, 1854
Duchess of Manchester’s, will case, April, 1854
Mr Carden, for abduction of Miss E Arbuthnot and assault upon John Smithwick convicted, 28 July, 1854
Mary Anne Brough, for murdering her six children not guilty (insanity), 9 Aug, 1854
Case of Pierce Somerset Butler v viscount Mountgarret, verdict for plaintiff who thus came into a peerage defendant being proved illegitimate, Aug, 1854
Courts-martial on lieuts Perry and Greer, sentences reversed by lord Hardinge, 29 July-Aug, 1854
Courts-martial on sir E Belcher captain McClure &c, for abandoning their ships in the Arctic regions acquitted, Oct, 1854
Emanuel Barthelemy for murder of Charles Collard and Mr Moore (executed), 4 Jan, 1855
Handcock v Delacour otherwise De Burgh (cruelty
to Mrs Handcock and charges against lord Clanricarde) compromised
Earl of Sefton v Hopwood (will set aside), 1855
Luigi Baranelli, for murder of Joseph Latham (or Lambert) (executed 30 April), 12 April, 1855
Charles King, a great thief-trainer transported, 13 April, 1855
Wm Austin (governor), for cruelties in Birmingham gaol acquitted, 3 Aug, 1855
Sir John Dean Paul William Strahan and Robert M Bates, bankers for disposing of their customers’ securities (to the amount of £113625), 27 Oct, 1855
Joseph Wooler, on charge of poisoning his wife acquitted, 7 Nov, 1855
Westerton v Liddell, (on decorations &c in church in Knightsbridge decision against them), 5 Dec, 1855 [Decided again by privy council partly for both parties each to pay his own costs 21 March 1857]
Celestina Sommers, for murder of her child convicted (but reprieved), 6 March, 1856
William Palmer for murder of J P Cook by poison, 14-27 May, 1856 [He was executed at Stafford on 14 June in the presence of 50000 persons If he had been acquitted he would have been tried for the murder of his wife and brother]
William Dove, for murder of his wife (executed 9 Aug), 19 July, 1856
Ditcher v archdeacon Denison, respecting the doctrine of the eucharist defendant deprived and appeal disallowed [verdict set aside by privy council], 22 Oct, 1856
W S Hardwicke and H Attwell, convicted of forgery, 31 Oct, 1856
William Robson, for frauds of Crystal Palace Company (to the amount of about £28000) transported for twenty years, 1 Nov, 1856
Earl of Lucan v Daily News, for libel verdict for defendant, 3 Dec 1856
Pearce Burgess and Tester, gold robbery, 14 Jan, 1857
Leopold Redpath, for forgeries (to the amount of £150000) upon Great Northern railway company transported for life, 16 Jan, 1857
Jem Saward, a barrister (called the Penman) William Anderson and others convicted of extensive forgery of bankers’ cheques, 5 March, 1857
Miss Madeline Smith, on charge of poisoning Emile L’Angelier at Glasgow not proven, 30 June-9 July, 1857
Thos Fuller Bacon, for poisoning his mother convicted, 25 July, 1857 [He was acquitted on a charge of murdering two children 13 14 May same year His wife confessed the murder but appeared to be insane]
James Spollen, on charge of murder of Mr Little near Dublin acquitted, 7-11 Aug, 1857
W Attwell, and others convicted of stealing the countess of Ellesmere’s jewels (value £15000) from the top of a cab, 15 Dec, 1857
Strevens v Campion, for slander in charging the plaintiff with complicity in the murder of his aunt Mrs Kelly damages 6d, 31 Dec, 1857
The directors of the British Bank, Humphry Brown Edw Esdaile H D Macleod alderman R H Kennedy W D Owen James Stapleton and Hugh Tunes Cameron for fraud convicted, 13-27 Feb, 1858
Rev S Smith and his wife, for murderous assault on John Leech convicted, 6-7 April, 1858
Edward Auchmuty Glover MP, for false declaration of qualification of MP, 9 April, 1858
Simon Bernard as accessory to the conspiracy against the life of the emperor Napoleon acquitted, 12-17 April, 1858
The earldom of Shrewsbury, case earl Talbot’s claim allowed, 1 June, 1858
James Seal, for the murder of Sarah Guppy convicted (and executed), 23 July, 1858
The Berkeley, peerage case, 23 July, 1858
Patience Swynfen v F Swynfen, a will case the will affirmed, 27 July, 1858 [The plaintiff was Patience Swynfen widow of Henry John Swynfen son of the testator Samuel Swynfen Her husband died 15 June 1854 and his father on 16 July following having made a will 19 days before his death devising the Swynfen estate (worth about £60000) to his son’s wife but leaving a large amount of personal estate undisposed of The defendant F H Swynfen son of the testator’s eldest half-brother claimed the estate as heir-at-law on the ground of the testator’s insanity The issue was brought to trial in March 1856 but proceedings were stayed by Mrs Swynfen’s counsel sir F Thesiger entering into an agreement with the opposite counsel sir Alexander Cockburn without her consent and in defiance of her instructions After various proceedings the court of chancery ordered a new trial ‘She gained her cause mainly through the energy of her counsel Mr Chas R Kennedy to whom she had promised to pay £20000 for his extraordinary services Mrs Swynfen however married a Mr Broun and repudiated Mr Kennedy’s claim The latter in an action against her obtained a verdict in his favour on 29 March 1862 which was on appeal finally reversed in Feb 1864 Mrs Swynfen was non-suited in an action brought against her counsel (afterwards lord Chelmsford and lord chancellor) in July 1859 and June 1860]
Lemon Oliver a stockbroker convicted of extensive frauds, 10 Nov, 1858
Marchmont v Marchmont, a disgraceful divorce case begun, 30 Nov, 1858
W H Guernsey, for stealing Ionian despatches from the Colonial Office acquitted, 15 Dec, 1858
Evans v Evans and Rose, divorce case, Dec, 1858
Lieut-col Dickson v earl of Wilton, for libel verdict for the plaintiff, 14 Feb, 1859
Black v Elliott, 850 sheep poisoned by a sheep-wash sold by defendant damages £1400 23 Feb, 1859
Wagner Bateman and others, a gang of bank forgers convicted, 13 May, 1859
Earl of Shrewsbury v Hope Scott, and others the earl gains the Shrewsbury estates, 3 June, 1859
The llusson, will case decided, 9 June, 1859
T R Marshall E A Mortimer and H S Eicke convicted of illegal sale of army commissions, 29 June, 1859
Thomas Smethurst, a surgeon for the murder by poison of Isabella Bankes whom he had married during his wife’s lifetime convicted, 15-19 Aug, 1859 [He was reprieved on the ground of insufficient evidence but was tried and found guilty of bigamy 16 Nov 1859 On 11 Nov 1862 he proved Miss Bankes’s will and obtained her property]
Oakley v the Moulvie Ooddeen, “ambassador of the king of Oude” Verdict for the defendant who seems to have fallen among bill-sharpers, 17 Dec, 1859
Victorian Trials – 1850-1859