The development and influence of reformatory institutions for juvenile criminals in nineteenth-century Birmingham

Download Statistics

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

Wale, Daniel (2019). The development and influence of reformatory institutions for juvenile criminals in nineteenth-century Birmingham. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

Preview

Wale2019PhD.pdf
Text - Accepted Version
Available under License All rights reserved.
Download (5MB) | Preview

Abstract

In 1851 Birmingham hosted the first national conference on juvenile criminality, one in a series of local events that influenced Parliament to adopt a new approach to child criminals and enact legislation supporting the development of reformatory institutions which favoured rehabilitation over punishment.

This is the first study of Birmingham’s reformatory institutions set within a cultural, national and international context. It adds to existing knowledge by illuminating how a series of pioneering activities, developed in and around Birmingham, contributed to the town becoming a centre for efforts to reform the treatment of juvenile criminals. In the early nineteenth century Warwick’s magistrates established a reformatory institution at Stretton-on-Dunsmore and introduced the beginnings of probation. In 1819 Thomas Wright Hill established Hazelwood School in Birmingham. Renowned for its wide curriculum and unique ethos, it attracted contemporary social reformers and employed practices adopted by reformatory institutions. Various family members subsequently influenced reforms to the treatment of criminal and destitute children in Britain, Australia and America.

A wide range of archival and printed material, including previously unused sources, is employed to highlight how this under-explored aspect of Birmingham’s history directly connects the town to these fundamental national reforms.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):