1671 - The Coventry Act. Lying in wait with the intention of disfiguring someone's nose became a capital offence1699 - The Shoplifting Act. Theft of goods worth more than five shillings from a shop became a capital offence. James Appleton was hanged in 1722 for the theft of three wigs, and Benjamin Beckonfield was hanged in 1750 for stealing a hat1723 - The Waltham Blacks Act. Designed to combat a rise in poaching, this Act increased the number of capital offences from 30 to 1501782 [...]

John Bibby was sentenced to death in 1814 for the crime of sheep stealing. On the day of execution, he ran up to the scaffold with cries of “I am the Duke of Wellington!” and, when the trapdoor opened he reportedly bounced upward shouting “What did I tell you?” until, following a struggle, he was subdued and finally hung. William Duell was sentenced to death in 1740 for murdering one Sarah Griffin. Duell was hanged at Tyburn and taken to Surgeons Hall for dissection, Duell came back to life and within two hours was sitting up in a chair. He was returned to Newgate and his sentence later amended from…

Mother Dickenson lived in the 17th Century and was tried as a witch and found guilty. She was burnt at the stake for, amongst other things, indulging in obscene rituals and transforming herself into a horse before riding off with young men. Whether the young men in question were willing participants or not is not recorded. Joan Flower was born in the mid 16th Century, and was arrested for being a witch, along with her two daughters. The daughters both worked at Belvoir Castle, seat of the Earls of Rutland, at this time Francis Manners, the 6th earl. Her daughter Margaret was suspected of stealing items – including gloves belonging…

Sir Francis Dashwood (1708-81) is probably most famous for establishing the Hell-Fire Club, which, allegedly, counted among its members John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. At one meeting a prayer was said to the Devil, at which another member, John Wilkes, released a baboon which he had dressed as Satan himself complete with red clothing and horns. The baboon jumped onto the unfortunate Lord Sandwich’s back, at which he is alleged to have cried “Spare me, gracious Devil! Spare a wretch who was never your servant! I am but half a sinner”. Sandwich, as Secretary of State for the Northern Department, was later involved in prosecuting Wilkes, a radical MP,…