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Life for Lancashire lasses in Victorian times often followed the path from mill or mine to marriage and maternity. On average they fell pregnant eight times and would raise their children as they themselves had been raised - in grinding poverty. The temptation to escape the hardships was too great for many. Some would turn to crime, some to the bottle and some to both. Offenders were paraded in the dock on charges ranging from picking pockets to prostitution. Many spent their whole lives in and out of prison and in and out of the pub. Most offences were petty but, tempted by insurance money, some women committed the most heinous crime of all; deliberately murdering their husbands and children. Lancashire Lasses is in two parts. Firstly we look at the harsh, often brutish, lives of women, their work, accommodation and limited leisure time. In the second half we follow offenders to court, prison, even to the gallows. With many contemporary accounts and over one hundred photos/illustrations, join us in a trip back over a century to experience the lives and crimes of our Victorian ancestors. |