Justice in Middlesex

Description

This delightful book about the history of one of England’s magistrates’ courts also looks at the rich underlying backdrop of a part of the country that is central to the English legal system. The connection between Middlesex, London and Westminster means that it is packed with facts about such well known and interesting places and events as: The Old Bailey, Newgate Prison, Coldbath Fields, Hicks’s Hall, Ludgate Prison, the start of the Metropolitan Police, Tothill Fields, Tyburn, the Gordon Riots, Clerkenwell explosion and Middlesex Guildhall now scheduled as the home of the new UK Supreme Court… to mention just a few such items. From former times to the present day: plus 100 years at the Uxbridge Courthouse. Justice ancient and modern, imprisonment, bridewells, ‘houses of correction’ and intriguing cases from the archives – the life and times of the justices of the peace who gave up their time to public service.

Contents

• Early Justice in an Ancient County
• The Middlesex Sessions
• Prisons and Bridewells
• Uxbridge Magistrates in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century
• The Uxbridge Justices
• ‘A Suitable Home for Justice’
• Magistrates in a New Urban World
• Meeting the Demands of Increasing Business

Review

‘This is a very informative and affectionate piece of work by a JP who displays her affinity for the work undertaken by magistrates. It is a book that is of interest to all who work in the magistrates’ courts and is recommended as a stocking filler for Christmas’: The Justices’ Clerk

Author

Eileen M Bowlt was born and brought up in Yorkshire, but has lived in Middlesex for more than 40 years. A graduate in history and a qualified teacher she has specialised in research on the local history of parishes in north-west Middlesex, resulting in a number of publications: The Goodliest Place in Middlesex (1989) (which won the Alan Ball Author Award for Local History); Ruislip Past (1994); Ickenham and Harefield Past (1996); Stanmore Past (1998); Harrow Past (2000); and Around Ruislip (2007). She has written many articles for local history journals as well as contributing to and advising on other publications.