0:00:14 > 0:00:17I am the court reporter.
0:00:17 > 0:00:22Since 1674, every trial has been played out
0:00:22 > 0:00:24between these walls in London's Old Bailey Court,
0:00:24 > 0:00:26every single one of them
0:00:26 > 0:00:30has been faithfully recorded by a reporter like me.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33I sat just here.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36I wrote down what was said by whom,
0:00:36 > 0:00:40and now you, some while later, can listen in.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43You can put your ear against the wall
0:00:43 > 0:00:47and hear once again these voices from the past.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51Now, here's a case that, on the face of it,
0:00:51 > 0:00:55seems much the same as many played out in this court.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57So many, in fact,
0:00:57 > 0:01:00that you might say these are the most ordinary of crimes.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07But it's what it tells you about the place in which we live,
0:01:07 > 0:01:11what it shows you when you lift the lid,
0:01:11 > 0:01:15that beneath the surface are forgotten children,
0:01:15 > 0:01:17forced into a life of crime.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28The year is 1731.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31Parts of this great city are very poor indeed
0:01:31 > 0:01:38and life out there is perilous and often prematurely snuffed out.
0:01:38 > 0:01:44Roaming the streets in a shabby sort of family
0:01:44 > 0:01:47are gangs of orphan boys,
0:01:47 > 0:01:52forced together by circumstance and making crime their way of life.
0:01:54 > 0:01:59These gangs depend on what is known as petty larceny,
0:01:59 > 0:02:02the thieving of goods of little value
0:02:02 > 0:02:06and often from those just marginally better off than themselves.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09But just because these are petty crimes
0:02:09 > 0:02:11doesn't mean they come with a petty price.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24Thomas Coleman is indicted for feloniously stealing
0:02:24 > 0:02:27two dowlers' shirts from Battersea Common,
0:02:27 > 0:02:31being the property of one Molly Dobson, to the value of
0:02:31 > 0:02:34two shillings, on November 4th last.
0:02:36 > 0:02:38Dowlers' shirts, you see,
0:02:38 > 0:02:42are the sort of shirts worn by most of London's working poor.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45Made of a coarse material worth a few shillings,
0:02:45 > 0:02:49and laundry is often put out to dry on common land.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Thomas Coleman, how old are you?
0:02:53 > 0:02:56I think I'm 11, sir.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00- Or 12.- Do you know what you've come here for, child?
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Yes, sir. About the shirts.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07Do you know the difference between what is true and what is false?
0:03:07 > 0:03:09No.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12You know when you say your prayers,
0:03:12 > 0:03:16- you ask God to take care of you and protect you?- Yeah.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20He will be good to you if you speak the truth.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24And if not, you must expect to be punished.
0:03:24 > 0:03:25Yeah.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28Mr Prosecutor.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34Gentlemen, I shall show without question that this Thomas Coleman
0:03:34 > 0:03:39did steal the said shirts and was apprehended attempting to flee.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41I should like to call a witness, Mrs Molly Dobson.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51I swear by Almighty God that the evidence I shall give
0:03:51 > 0:03:56shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59Mrs Dobson, do you recognise the prisoner?
0:03:59 > 0:04:01Oh, yes. That, I do.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04I was just going out back onto the common to fetch my laundry in
0:04:04 > 0:04:08when two boys - that one there and another taller one -
0:04:08 > 0:04:11grabbed the shirts and made off with them.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14That one was caught up with by my neighbour's husband, Mr Pike,
0:04:14 > 0:04:17and brought to me, together with the laundry
0:04:17 > 0:04:19that had been ruined in the mud.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22We fetched him straight to the Magistrate.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Thank you, Mrs Dobson. I should now like to call Mr Pike.
0:04:31 > 0:04:36- Mr Pike, do you know this boy? - I have seen him, yes.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38I was crossing the common on my way home
0:04:38 > 0:04:42and I saw two boys making off with some clothes, or such.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45One of them dropped what he had and was away quickly.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47The other fell.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49And as he tried to gain his feet again, I got hold of him.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53I took him back towards the houses where my neighbour, Mrs Dobson,
0:04:53 > 0:04:58was fretting about and said this was the boy took off with her washing.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01Thank you, Mr Pike.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04Gentlemen, the evidence is fast and clear against the prisoner.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07No further questions.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11Thomas Coleman, do you have anything to say?
0:05:11 > 0:05:13Sir, I had to, sir.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17- Had to what, Coleman? - The shirts, sir. Take the shirts.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21What do you mean, Coleman? Did someone put you up to it?
0:05:21 > 0:05:26- Yeah. She wouldn't let us in, else. - Who is "she", Coleman?
0:05:26 > 0:05:28I can't say, sir.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32Thomas Coleman, please approach the bench.
0:05:32 > 0:05:37Now, there's a lad that knows his life is on the line.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41He could be pleased to help the court and save his neck,
0:05:41 > 0:05:45but offering himself up as King's Evidence,
0:05:45 > 0:05:49by which that means he'll make himself a witness to the crime
0:05:49 > 0:05:54in which he played his part, and point the finger at his accomplices.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58Thomas Coleman, please will you describe to the court
0:05:58 > 0:06:02the place at which you reside and how yourself came to reside there.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05I lived with my family before, at Cheapside.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09But then my father and mother being dead,
0:06:09 > 0:06:12I went to live with my aunt, called Elizabeth Coleman.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16And my aunt said she couldn't keep me, and put me out.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20- Katherine Collins took me in. - And did you do work for her?
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Me and all the boys that lodge with her.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26She orders us to go out at night and steal anything we can meet with.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28And if we come home without anything,
0:06:28 > 0:06:32she'll send us out of doors and then we'll go to the glasshouse nearby
0:06:32 > 0:06:34and lay there together.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36How many boys were there, such as yourself?
0:06:36 > 0:06:39There's some that come and go.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42But there's some dozen of us that stays there most days.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44Who are these boys, Coleman?
0:06:45 > 0:06:49We need to hear their names, Coleman.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53Names, Coleman.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58By all the twists of fate and fortune,
0:06:58 > 0:07:00young Thomas Coleman comes to this.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07Will he give away his brotherhood of boys?
0:07:09 > 0:07:15Aside from me, there's...Andrew Knowland, Daniel Smith,
0:07:15 > 0:07:20George Scott, Edward Perkins,
0:07:20 > 0:07:24Joseph Paternoster, Joseph Darville,
0:07:24 > 0:07:27Nice Noddy, Little Tom,
0:07:27 > 0:07:30Dick Woods, Half Thumb,
0:07:30 > 0:07:34Abey Gibson, Robert Shelton and George the Sailor.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37Before the shirts, this Thursday last,
0:07:37 > 0:07:39what else did you take for Mrs Collins?
0:07:39 > 0:07:41I'm not sure I remember, sir.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44I think you do remember, Coleman.
0:07:46 > 0:07:51Last Wednesday morning, I went out with Robert Shelton.
0:07:52 > 0:07:57We brought home some cheese and sold it for two pence a pound.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59Likewise butter, bread,
0:07:59 > 0:08:03and other things which Katherine Collins bought off us.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10Last Monday night, I went out with Andrew Knowland and George Scott
0:08:10 > 0:08:14and we stole a pair of man's shoes and a pair of woman's shoes
0:08:14 > 0:08:17out of a shoemaker's shop window on Leadenhall Street,
0:08:17 > 0:08:21which we sold to Mrs Collins for two shillings.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27And with Yarmouth, the week before last,
0:08:27 > 0:08:33we stole out of a yard up Hackney two aprons and a dowler's shirt,
0:08:33 > 0:08:37and sold the same to Mrs Collins for eighteen pence.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42Last Thursday, me and Edward Perkins
0:08:42 > 0:08:44went out to the Bartholomew Fair,
0:08:44 > 0:08:48where we knew there would be crowds and we picked us
0:08:48 > 0:08:52some handkerchiefs, maybe ten or twelve of them...
0:09:00 > 0:09:04..and took them to Mrs Collins for a few pence each.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12- Is that all, Thomas Coleman? - I'm not sure I remember, sir.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15There's more, but I can't remember it.
0:09:15 > 0:09:21Thomas Coleman, you have assisted us and, taking that into account,
0:09:21 > 0:09:24you are hereby acquitted of the charge against you.
0:09:24 > 0:09:30But let us be clear, if we see your face on that stand again,
0:09:30 > 0:09:32we shall not look so kindly on it.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43He may be relieved his neck is spared,
0:09:43 > 0:09:47but I don't suppose he'll be heading back to Katherine Collins' house.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00That Thomas Coleman really shook things up.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03Now the prosecutor has solid ground on which to sweep aside
0:10:03 > 0:10:05a whole bevy of boys.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09And so, Coleman's bedfellows are sure to feel
0:10:09 > 0:10:12the full consequence of his confession.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17Edward Perkins and Andrew Knowland are indicted for
0:10:17 > 0:10:20the theft of two gold rings worth 23 shillings,
0:10:20 > 0:10:23together with one Thomas Coleman,
0:10:23 > 0:10:26from the unconscious body of Dismore Brown.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33Mr Brown, please tell the court
0:10:33 > 0:10:36how you came to know your rings had been stolen.
0:10:38 > 0:10:44I was on my way home and I took a fall in the Minories.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48And being stunned in the fall,
0:10:48 > 0:10:52I felt somebody pulling at my hand,
0:10:52 > 0:10:55but I could not say who it was.
0:10:55 > 0:11:00Well, er, sometime after, I found my rings were gone.
0:11:00 > 0:11:01Er...
0:11:01 > 0:11:07Whereupon the next morning, I said notice of their loss
0:11:07 > 0:11:11to Mr Hardy, the goldsmith,
0:11:11 > 0:11:15to stop them if offered to be sold.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17And an hour or two after,
0:11:17 > 0:11:24they were brought to him by the boy there present, and another.
0:11:24 > 0:11:25Thank you, Mr Brown.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35I should like to call my second witness.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38Thomas Coleman, do you see here your accomplice in this crime,
0:11:38 > 0:11:42he who pulled the rings off the unfortunate finger of Mr Brown?
0:11:42 > 0:11:45It was him there. Edward Perkins.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49He did it, and I took the rings to be sold.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52Gentlemen, have you reached a verdict?
0:11:53 > 0:11:54Guilty.
0:11:54 > 0:11:59I hereby sentence you to seven years' transportation.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05George Scott and Robert Shelton are indicted that
0:12:05 > 0:12:10with one Thomas Coleman, they did steal one hat, value ten shillings,
0:12:10 > 0:12:15and a hat band, value one shilling. The goods of Brian Ambler.
0:12:15 > 0:12:16Mr Ambler,
0:12:16 > 0:12:20please could you tell the court what occurred on the night in question?
0:12:20 > 0:12:22On Saturday night, at about nine o'clock,
0:12:22 > 0:12:28as I was in the back room of my shop, I heard a noise.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32And coming forward, I saw my boy struggling with Scott,
0:12:32 > 0:12:34the least of the prisoners,
0:12:34 > 0:12:40and he told me that Scott held him, as another ran away with the hat.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43Thomas Coleman, do you see your accomplices here?
0:12:43 > 0:12:47That's them, sir. There.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50Gentlemen, have you reached your verdict?
0:12:50 > 0:12:53We find the defendants guilty.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57George Scott and Robert Shelton,
0:12:57 > 0:13:01I hereby sentence you to seven years' transportation.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05Daniel Smith and Abey Gibson are indicted for that they did steal
0:13:05 > 0:13:09a piece of lace from a shop on August 7th last.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11That's them, there.
0:13:12 > 0:13:17- Guilty.- I hereby sentence you to seven years' transportation.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19Dick Woods is indicted for the theft of a handkerchief
0:13:19 > 0:13:22from the person of a Mr Paul Fellows.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24It was him, there.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27We find the defendant guilty.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32Seven years' transportation.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39Well, Thomas Coleman really did his work.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43He's given up his entire family, it seems.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47Sealed their fate and sent them all off to the Colonies.
0:13:47 > 0:13:54To be transported would make any man much afraid, yet alone a boy.
0:13:54 > 0:13:59Aboard a boat, to endure a treacherous voyage,
0:13:59 > 0:14:01only to arrive in a far-off land,
0:14:01 > 0:14:04where who knows what awaits?
0:14:05 > 0:14:10Coleman saved his own skin, but at quite a price.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13He should fear for himself back out there on the streets,
0:14:13 > 0:14:16for he will be much despised.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18And I don't mind telling you, in two years' time
0:14:18 > 0:14:22he'll be back here again on the charge of thieving and...
0:14:23 > 0:14:28Well, you can imagine how that will end.
0:15:06 > 0:15:11Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd