UPDATE viewcount SET ItemPK='411',FKBatchTableId='15',ViewCount='56',RegViewCount=NULL,BotViewCount='18' WHERE PKViewId='26234'

Book detail:

Title:

Hanged for a Sheep: Bygone Crime in Sussex.

Author(s):

Dick Richardson.

Precis:

This book surveys crime and the treatment of criminals in bygone Sussex, illustrated with extracts from late 18th century copies of the Sussex Weekly Advertiser, the county’s first weekly newspaper.. “You may as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb.”The saying dates back to the days when sheeepstealing was punishable by death. For stealing a lamb you would be “hanged by the neck until you were dead.” The same punishment was meted out for stealing a sheep, so you ran no greater risk for stealing the more valuable article. (This law was repealed in 1828.) Of course, there were other crimes besides sheep-stealing, and more than 200 carried the death penalty or transportation. Confidence tricksters abounded, even before the days of ‘timeshare’ holidays and ‘show-homes’ for double-glazing salesmen. Penalties for ‘petty’ crimes seem extremely harsh by today’s standards, though it must be remembered that there was little or no guidance on sentencing. Prevention of crime and the apprehension of criminals was very much a voluntary effort – paid officials were rare. With more than 90 miles of coastline, and the proximity of France and Holland, there has always been problems with smuggling. For the last millennium we were smuggling out wool and sheep and bringing in alcohol, lace, tea, tobacco, etc. CONTENTS: CONFIDENCE TRICKSTERS • DUELS • FOOTPADS AND HIGHWAYMAN • KEEPING LAW AND ORDER PRISONS • PUNISHMENTS SERIOUS CRIME • SMUGGLERS • THEFT • INDEX OF SURNAMES • INDEX OF PLACE-NAMES. Paperback size: 210 x 148mm 80 pages. Engravings, woodcuts and photographs.

First Published:

2000.

ISBN:

1898941424.

Publisher details:

Name: Country Books.

Address: Courtyard Cottage, Little Longstone, Bakewell, Derbyshire, DE45 1NN.

The advertisements below are served by Google; the very small revenue generated when people click on them sometimes covers the cost of hosting the Sussex OPC website.