Richard Ireland - Land of White Gloves?: A History of Crime and Punishment in Wales

This fascinating history of criminal justice in Wales tells the story of thecomplex and constantly evolving relationship between authority and communityover the past thousand years.

Concise and accessible, and with a specific focus on the Welsh experience, it also expertly captures the multifaceted nature of the subject and sheds light on social responses to crime which have universal significance. It is an excellent introduction to the subject which will inspire others to explore the rich seams of Welsh criminal justice history.

R. Gwynedd Parry, Professor of Law and Legal History, Swansea University, UK

Richard Ireland is a brilliant advocate for the study of Welsh history, but healso opens up ideas that are not tied to one country or period. This book is awonderful example of the richness that afine historian can bring to the subject and, while it is to be hoped that he succeeds in his wish to inspire readerstodo history, few possess his skill.

Philip Rawlings, The Roy Goode Professor of Commercial Law, Queen Mary University of London, UK

A scholarly and readable account of the particular experiences and perspec-tives of the people of Wales in dealing with criminal behaviour over a thou-sand years of their history. A major contribution to Welsh legal and socialhistory.

Thomas Glyn Watkin, former Professor of Law, University of Wales, Bangor and Cardiff, UK

Land of White Gloves?

Land of White Gloves? is an important academic investigation into the history of crime and punishment in Wales. Beginning in the medieval period when the limitations of state authority fostered a law centred on kinship and compensation, the study explores the effects of the introduction of English legal models, culminating in the Acts of Union under Henry VIII. It reveals enduring traditions of extra-legal dispute settlement rooted in the conditions of Welsh Society. The study examines the impact of a growing bureaucratic state uniformity in the nineteenth century and concludes by examining the question of whether distinctive features are to be found in patterns of crime and the responses to it into the twentieth century.

Dealing with matters as diverse as drunkenness and prostitution, industrial unrest and linguistic protests, and with punishments ranging from social ostracism to execution, the book draws on a wide range of sources, primary and secondary, and insights from anthropology, social and legal history. It presents a narrative which explores the nature and development of the state, the theoretical and practical limitations of the criminal law and the relationship between law and the society in which it operates.

The book will appeal to those who wish to examine the relationships between state control and social practice and explores the material in an accessible way, which will be both useful and fascinating to those interested in the history of Wales and of the history of crime and punishment more generally.

Richard W. Ireland has been researching the history of crime and punishment for many years and has published widely in the area. Richard is a founding committee member of the Welsh Legal History Society and a member of the Board of the Centre for Welsh Legal Affairs. He has also contributed to a number of radio and television broadcasts.

History of Crime in the UK and Ireland

Series editor: Professor Barry Godfrey

Rarely do we get the opportunity to study criminal history across the British Isles, or across such a long time period. History of Crime in the UK and Ireland is a series which provides an opportunity to contrast experiences in various geographical regions and determine how these situations changed with slow evolution or dramatic speed and with what results. It brings together data, thought, opinion, and new theories from an established group of scholars that draw upon a wide range of existing and new research. Using case studies, examples from contemporary media, biographical life studies, thoughts and ideas on new historical methods, the authors construct lively debates on crime and the law, policing, prosecution, and punishment. Together, this series of books builds up a rich but accessible history of crime and its control in the British Isles.

1 Crime in England, 16881815

David J. Cox

2 Crime in England, 18801945

Barry Godfrey

3 Crime in England, 18151880

Helen Johnston

4 Land of White Gloves?

A history of crime and punishment in Wales

Richard Ireland

Land of White Gloves?

A history of crime and punishment in Wales

Richard W. Ireland

First published 2015

by Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

and by Routledge

711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2015 Richard W. Ireland

The right of Richard W. Ireland to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Ireland, Richard W., 1955

Land of white gloves? : a history of crime and punishment in Wales / by
Richard W. Ireland.

pages cm. (History of crime in the UK and Ireland ; 4)

Includes bibliographical references.

1. CrimeWalesHistory. 2. PunishmentWalesHistory. I. Title.

HV6949.W3I74 2015

364.9429dc23

2014034417

ISBN: 978-0-415-50199-6 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-203-06998-1 (ebk)

For my mother

Contents

Figures

Table

Let me start with a confession. I find it hard to finish pieces of work, to admit to myself that the time for making changes, checking facts and polishing arguments has run out. The book then goes out into the world to make its own way and to be judged for what it is, not what it might have been. Until this particular book I thought that Id been getting a bit better at this letting go part of writing, but this time it hasnt been easy at all. Because it covers such a vast subject area, the book has taken me to some places and periods with which I was much less familiar than others. Academic research tends towards knowing more and more about less and less, so to find myself covering a period of over a thousand years was rather daunting. And, because it seeks to cover that ground concisely, the book also runs the risk of distortion or superficiality in its discussion, as well as simple omission. There were times when I thought that I was in danger of making a list of events (There was another violent clash in ) rather than giving them any meaningful context. There was the occasion when I woke up from a bad nights sleep suddenly aware of the fact that I had entirely forgotten to mention the Tonypandy riots!

But this work was never for a moment intended to be a definitive history of crime and punishment in Wales, which is why I have been at such pains to press the reader to look at the footnotes and the bibliography for more spe-cific references. I dont want to sound too apologetic here, though. The aim of the book is to fill a hole in the academic literature of crime and punishment which is as generally unnoticed as it is scandalous. The Welsh experience is interesting and important, and important no less to those outside Wales than to those within it. If it errs in the odd detail (and I sincerely hope that it doesnt) but ensures that no-one in future finds it so easy to assume that the experience of Wales was just the same as that in England, but expressed in a different accent, then it will have done its job.