Victorian mugshots give glimpse at ‘bad girls’ of the 1870s

By Nathan Pynn

Girl criminals as young as 11 are pictured in a haunting collection of mugshots of women in a Victorian prison.

Offences ranging from stealing boots, sheets, and drunken behavior saw them locked up in Newcastle City Gaol.

The mugshots date back from the 1870s, when photography was in its infancy, and detail the crimes the offenders committed.

The youngest girls were just 11 years old when they had a run-in with the law.

Standing just 4ft 3in tall, Ellen Woodman, 11, was sentenced to seven days hard labour for stealing iron in 1873.

Her accomplices, Mary Catherine Docherty, 14, Mary Hinnigan, 13, and Rosanna Watson, 13, also received the same punishment.

Another young thief was Jane Farrell, 12, who was sentenced to 10 days hard labour for stealing two boots.

More experienced female criminals are also pictured, including Mary Erskine Christie.

The 20-year-old was jailed for six months for mugging a person of money in 1873.

Cleaner Ann Kirk, 35, also racked up several convictions for stealing money and was jailed for three months in the same year.

Another criminal, Jane Carlisle, 29, who gave her occupation as ‘hawker’, was jailed for two months for stealing bed linen.

Also serving time was married Jane Cartner, 22, who was sentenced to six months behind bars for stealing a silver watch.

Meanwhile Mary Patterson, 25, received six weeks in 1873 for stealing a chicken.

Wearing a pretty dress with her hands crossed, Margaret Cosh, 15, stared defiantly at the camera after she was caught stealing a coat.

The teenager had no previous convictions so was spared jail but was sentenced to two months hard labor.

Fellow teen Isabella Hindmarch, 16, was also given a month’s hard labor for her first offence of stealing money.

While custody photos was relatively new at the time, it appears each offender was ordered to adopt the same pose of sitting front on to the camera with their hands and fingers interlocked.

While most first-time offenders complied, some women rebelled in an open display of defiance.

One such criminal was Alice Mullholland, 18, who spent three months in prison for stealing a pair of boots.

In her sepia mugshot, the teenage street trader can be seen frowning as she fixes her furious gaze on the camera.

Another prolific thief was Elizabeth Rule, 54, who racked up five convictions for stealing clothes and bed sheets between 1867 and 1872.

She served a total of 11 months and 14 days inside the city prison.

While stealing was rife in the city in the late 1800s, prostitution was also an occupation many women resorted to make ends meet.

Prostitute Catherine Cain King, 23, had a string of convictions, including for “drunken conduct” for which she was jailed for seven days.

In 1871 she was caught stealing a pocket watch and given three months hard labour.

Another prostitute, Sarah Cassidy, 27, was convicted six times of breaking by-laws and stealing money.

Stealing money, perhaps from clients, also landed sex worker Ann Garrett, 22, in trouble multiple times.

She was convicted six times of theft over a three-year period and served a total of 42 days in prison.

In her mugshot, she refuses to have her hands together, instead nonchalantly resting one hand on the back of the chair with the other in her lap.

A life of crime was not restricted to street hawkers and prostitutes, with some women with jobs also being bang to rights.

Harriet Davison, 39, was convicted of stealing money in 1873 while working as a laundress.

On March 27, 1873 the widow was sentenced to two months hard labor.

Most of the women and girls were jailed for stealing money and clothes and served sentences ranging from a few days to months.

Meanwhile others were habitual crooks, including Bridget Creggans who racked up an astonishing 250 magistrates’ appearances.

Sadly no mugshot exists for Creggans who had one of the most colourful criminal records of all of Newcastle's bad girls.

Author and researcher Dr Clare Sandford-Couch is researching the history of women in the city's former prison.

She said: “Some of the women come across as incredible characters.

"There's a fabulous character called Bridget Creggans who appeared before the magistrates 250 times.

"If a pub landlord refused to serve her, she would smash the windows."

An exhibition at Newcastle Cathedral is documenting the untold stories from female prisoners at the former prison, which stood in the city's Carliol Square between 1828-1925.