There are 12 galleries in this exhibition. Three look at the period before 1450:
- Were the Middle Ages lawless and violent?
- Who was responsible for crime prevention in medieval England?
- What were the purposes of punishments given by the courts in the Middle Ages?
Three galleries look at 1450-1750:
- Did governments in this period decide what kinds of people were to be regarded as criminals?
- Did methods of crime prevention change?
- What was the purpose of punishments in the period?
Three galleries look at 1750-1900:
- Did the Industrial Revolution lead to more crime?
- What new crime prevention methods were set up to deal with changes in crime in this period and what were the problems?
- What was the purpose of the punishments used in the period?
The final three galleries relate to the 20th century:
- What was the most important factor affecting crime in the 20th century?
- Did police work change dramatically in the 20th century?
- What was the purpose of 20th century punishments?
Within each gallery there are case studies using original documents with transcripts. The most visual material is to be found in the section Punishment 1750-1900, case study 3, on Victorian Prisons, which younger pupils might find more accessible.
Activities: each gallery has a worksheet, some source questions, and in some cases a game: Tug of War; Catch the Robber; The Watchman; Guilty or Innocent.
Sources used: picture, handwritten document, diagram, map, typed document, newspaper, poster, photo, statistics, cartoon
Skills:
2,4,5
