2 ‘A painful scene of crime, depravity and misery’ Rural poverty and crime

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents v
3. Illustrations vii
4. Introduction 1
5. 1 Rebels without a clue? The nature of rural protest in Herefordshire, 1800–60 7
6. 2 ‘A painful scene of crime, depravity and misery’ Rural poverty and crime 30
7. 3 ‘To overawe those vagabonds who infest the county’ Policing rural Herefordshire 54
8. 4 Rustlers, social criminals or common thieves? Sheep-stealing in rural Herefordshire 78
9. 5 Criminal women, crop deprivators and crop-thieves 113
10. 6 ‘Give him a good un’ Social crime, poaching and the Game Laws 141
11. 7 ‘Vile’ and ‘evil-disposed persons’ Incendiarism and animal-maiming 176
12. Conclusion: The rural poor in Herefordshire, c.1800–60 – assertive criminals or silent victims? 201
13. Appendices 206
14. Bibliography 218
15. Index 227