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Home » Law and Order » Police and policing » Victorian 'mug-shot' albums (Denbighshire)

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  • Carmarthen's Register of Felons covers the period between 1844 and 1871. From 1853 onwards, Governor George Stephens arranged for photographs to be taken of some of the prisoners. Photographing inmates did not become common practice in British prisons until many years later; and the Carmarthenshire register is therefore a rare and valuable source. Entries which contain pictures of the felons have been selected for display on the following pages. The register itself records information about prisoners sent to Carmarthen gaol and charged with felony. Felonies are serious criminal offences, including murder, fraud and assault. The register does not include details of all prisoners received into the gaol and many prisoners committed on lesser charges may have been entered in a separate book. Personal information gathered about a prisoner at the time of committal to the gaol would include his or her name, age, height, complexion, place of birth, last residence, marital status, number of children and profession. There was also a space for general remarks. Perhaps the most notorious couple on the register are Evan and Hannah Jacob, the parents of Sarah Jacob, known as the 'Welsh fasting girl'. It was said that she went without food or drink for sixteen months, thus becoming a major tourist attraction. The twelve year old died in 1869, and the following year, her parents were convicted of her manslaughter. [Source: Richard W. Ireland and Claire Breay,
Carmarthen Register of Felons, front cover [image 1 of 300]
  • Two Victorian 'mug-shot' albums compiled by the Denbighshire County Constabulary, showing photographs of felons with descriptions of the convicts and their crimes.
Victorian 'mug-shot' albums from Denbighshire