The story of crime and punishment over the centuries is being told in a powerful new exhibition at Islington Museum.
Infamous murders and capital punishment are among the subjects explored in A Fair Cop, at the museum in St John Street, EC1, from 16 November - 13 February.
Visitors can discover how law and order developed from the 18th century to the 1950s, including the desperate no-go areas of the Victorian slums and high-profile Edwardian murder cases such as that of Dr Crippen, who lived in Holloway.
It finishes with a look at the last woman to be executed in the UK, Ruth Ellis, hanged in Holloway Prison in 1955. Her case sparked passionate debate on the death penalty.
Victorian police handcuffs, truncheons, and lamps will be on display, alongside brandy offered to prisoners on the morning of their execution.
Free talks will cover episodes from the Clerkenwell bombing of December 1867, to the scandal of baby-farming in late 19th century London.
Cllr Ruth Polling, Islington Council's executive member for leisure and equalities, said: "This thought-provoking exhibition is a reminder that crime has sadly always been with us.
"It covers some very well-known cases as well as casting light on little-known local history and lives from the past.
"This is another fascinating exhibition from Islington Museum and I'd invite local residents and visitors to come and have a look."
The programme of free talks is as follows:
* The Clerkenwell Explosion: Fenians and the House of Detention. Thursday 3 December, 6.30pm. On 13 December 1867, a beer cask of gunpowder blew a huge hole in Clerkenwell's House of Detention, killing 12. Mark Aston, Islington Council's Local History Manager, looks at why and what happened next.
* Islington's Baby Farms. Thursday 21 January 2010, 8pm. A talk by Joan Lock for the Islington Archaeology and History Society. Author and ex-policewoman Joan Lock investigates 'baby farming', where unmarried women were given money to foster or adopt children. But one-off payments for care led to neglect and even murder.
* Criminal Islington. Thursday 4 February 2010 at 6.30pm. A talk by Cllr Greg Foxsmith.
Islington Museum also has a permanent exhibition telling the story of Islington and its residents from prehistoric times to the present day.
It is open from 10am-5pm, and is closed Sundays and Wednesdays.
Page Last Updated: 16 November 2009