Administration of Justice in Victorian Cheshire, 1840-1890: A Quantitative Survey

Abstract

This article presents a quantitative survey of the administration of justice in Cheshire between 1840 and 1890. Drawing on a sample of 33,000 cases from assizes and quarter sessions across the county, it explores broad patterns in committals, prosecutions, and sentencing over the fifty-year period. To this end, the article is structured to follow defendants’ route through the criminal justice process; from committal through prosecution to sentencing. The final section of the article thereafter explores the differing patterns of each as it pertained to the sex of the accused.