This document provides information about the GCSE History exam on Crime and Punishment Through Time from the Roman period to the present day. It outlines the structure of the exam, including the number of questions, marks, and time allotted. It then provides summaries of the key aspects of crime, law enforcement, and punishments during different historical periods in Britain, including the Roman period, Saxon period, Norman period, late medieval period, Tudor/Stuart periods, and the Industrial period. The purpose of the document is to help students revise the content and themes covered in the Crime and Punishment exam for GCSE History.

1. DO NOW:
1.Put these in Chronological Order
2. Add dates to the different periods.
Roman Period
Tudor and Stuart Periods
Norman Period
Saxon Period
Late Medieval Period
Industrial Period
20th Century

2. DO NOW:
1.Put these in Chronological Order
2. Add dates to the different periods.
Roman Period: 40BC - 400AD
Saxon Period: 400AD-1066
Norman Period: 1066-1155
Late Medieval Period: 1155-1500
Tudor and Stuart Periods: 1500-1650
Industrial Period: 1750-1900
20th Century: 1900-2000

3. Crime and Punishment Revision
01/04/2016

4. Year 11 – GCSE History
• Unit 1: Crime and Punishment Through Time,
c50AD to the present day.
• 1 hour 15 mins
• 5 questions in total
• 53 marks, (including 3 spelling punctuation
and grammar on question 6 or 7 )
• Quarter of your total History GCSE

5. Roman Empire in Britain c40BC – 400AD
• Society – Hierarchical, Patriarchal
• Crime – Many laws so many crimes.Most crime petty
theft, most serious crime – rebellion against the
Emperor
• Trials - In Britain, the governor acted as magistrate.
Innocent until proved guilty
• Punishments – Different punishments for people of
different status. Higher status usually = exile. Lower
status = harsher punishments. Regular use of Capital
Punishments especially Crucifixion, Gladiators
• Policing - In Britain, the governor and the army.
However, for minor crimes like stealing, people had
to catch criminals themselves and collect evidence

6. Saxon England 400AD-1066AD
• Society – split into many small kingdoms across the
country. Christian society based on the strength of local
communities.
• Crime – Laws were different in different kingdoms (i.e.
different areas of the country). Most crime was petty
theft.
• Trials - decided by a jury of local freemen. If the jury
couldn’t decide, trial by ordeal used. (increasing
influence of religion).
• Punishments – Blood feud (gradually replaced by
Wergelds). Corporal punishment (whipping, beating).
Mutilation (hands, feet or tongue). Execution rarely used.
• Policing - role of the community: tithing & hue and cry.

7. Norman England: 1066-1155
• Society – England becomes one kingdom, with mostly
similar rules across the country. As an invader, William
looked to add to his power.
• Crime – mostly petty crime. New crimes introduced by
Forest Laws. Became a crime to hunt or cut down trees in
30% of England.
• Trials - church courts set up to judge moral crimes like
adultery.
• Punishments – use of capital punishment increased
significantly. Fines and compensation decreased. Corporal
punishment still used for very minor crimes.
• Policing - tithing & hue and cry continued. Could not be
arrested if claimed right of sanctuary in a church. Large
network of officials patrolled the forests.

8. Later Medieval England: 1155-1500
• Society – bloody civil wars after 1150. After this, Henry II
brought all of England under one set of English Common
Law.
• Crime – Petty theft mostly. Crime often went up in times
of economic difficulty/bad harvests.
• Trials - most crimes judged by local Manor Courts but
serious crimes sent to the Royal Court. Church courts
dealt with moral crimes. Trial by ordeal and combat
abolished in 1215.
• Punishments – hangings generally decreased. Crimes
against authority severely punished.
• Policing - hue and cry still used. Sheriffs appointed to
chase criminals after 1285. Justices of the Peace
appointed after 1361.

9. Question Two – description of Key Features (6
marks)
• The question requires a description of the key
features of something.
• This could be punishments, law enforcement, crimes,
or key individuals.
• You have a choice between two topics.
• The question may not always say “key features”.
• This question has the lowest marks of the exam
paper. Remember not to spend more than about 6
mins - 8 mins on this question.

10. Example Question 2: The boxes below show two
different periods. Chose one and describe what
punishments were like in that period. (6 marks)
•The Roman
period
•The Anglo
Saxon
period

11. Answer: Look at the mark scheme what mark do
you think this answer would have got?
Answer: Anglo Saxon Period
• Punishments during the Anglo
Saxon period often consisted
of paying a fine or
compensation. The system
called Wergild set a fixed
amount for killing people of
different status. However
mutilation was also used such
as cutting off hands for
stealing.
Mark Scheme.
• Level 1 (1-3) marks
• Some comments with
limited detail about
punishment.
• Level 2 (4-6) marks.
• Sufficient relevant details
are offered with accurate
links to the key features of
the topic.

12. Which ruled England first: the
Tudors or the Stuarts?

13. Tudor Period 1485-1601
• Society – Henry VII took power by force through the
Wars of the Roses. Period of significant religious
change. Significant threat made by Catholic Spain to
Elizabeth I also.
• Crime – petty crime continues, more emphasis on
serious crimes like treason and heresy.
• Trials - most trials held by local Justices of the Peace
with a 12 man jury. Only serious crimes against
authority heard at Royal Court.
• Punishments – mostly continuity with late medieval
period. Houses of Correction (like prisons) first used
in 1576.
• Policing - continuity with previous period - role of
the community and army used to crush riots.

14. Stuart Period: 1601-1649 and 1660-1685
• Society – James I of Scotland becomes King of
England after the death of Elizabeth I.
• Crime – James I and other Stuart Monarchs
continued have a major influence in definitions
of crime during this period. E.g. Witchcraft and
Heresy.
• Trials - continuity with Tudor England.
• Punishments – Increasing use of capital
punishment.
• Policing - Watchmen paid to protect London.
Unpaid local constables also used in towns and
villages (volunteer for one year).

15. Vagabonds
• What? Being homeless and without a job.
• Why? During the Tudor period, much of
England’s farmland was enclosed. Instead of
peasants farming small areas of land, Lords
farmed the whole area themselves, needing less
workers, leading to mass unemployment.
• Punishments? Became harsher in times of mass
homelessness. 1494: put in the stocks for a night
and sent to home town. 1531: sick vagabonds
allowed to beg, whereas “undeserving” where
punished. 1547: whipped and branded, forced to
work. 1561: sent to a house of correction.

16. Treason: the Gunpowder Plot (1605)
• What? Endangering the life of the King.
• Why? Tudor and Stuart Kings’ positions were unstable:
Tudors took power by force and changed England’s
religion. Stuarts were invited to rule England and were
strict protestants.
• Punishment? - became harsher in this period. From
regular execution to being hung drawn and quartered.
• Change over time? Was a significant issue for
Monarchs of this period, but became less of a threat
over time.
• Heresy - disagreeing with the Monarch’s religion.
Became a more serious crime after Henry VIII broke
with the Catholic Church and made England Protestant.

17. Witchcraft
• What? accusing women of being associated with the
devil
• Why? Lack of scientific explanations for everyday
problems, looking for scapegoats. Endorsed by Monarchs.
Many villages had “wise women”, who were turned on in
times of misfortune.
• Punishments becomes punishable by death in 1542 under
Henry VIII. Prosecutions increase under Elizabeth I. James
I’s book Daemonologie encourages witch hunts. 1642 -
English Civil War sparked the worst phase of witch-
hunting hysteria
• Change over time? After the Civil War England became
more stable, so accusations fell. Scientific knowledge also
developed significantly after 1660, so people began to be

18. Activity: Key features questions
• There are four key
themes in this unit.
• If you mind map these
themes and think about
how you link key aspects
together this will help
you with key features
questions, as well as your
general revision.
• Key themes.
• The nature of criminal activity
and changing definitions of
crime.
• The nature of law enforcement
and changes in law
enforcement.
• The nature of punishments and
changes in punishments.
• The influence of changes in
society on crime, punishment
and law enforcement.

19. Back to map selection

20. Question 3: Usefulness of Sources.
(8 marks)
• This is a new question type for this unit
• There will be one source and you are asked to
evaluate its usefulness for historians studying
a particular area of the topic.
• You also have to use your own knowledge.

21. Question 3 - Example: How useful is this source for for historians who are
investigating the punishment for treason in Tudor and Stuart times
(8 marks)
Source C: A picture of the execution of Guy Fawkes and the other plotters, drawn in 1606

22. » Usefulness of the
Source
» Link to the question
» This source is useful
because…….
» It shows us the type of
punishment used in Stuart
times for the crime of
Treason.
• Use the source what
information (content) does it
give that makes it useful.
• In this source we can
see……hanging, drawing and
quartering.
• Add own knowledge to
develop the point
» In Tudor and Stuart period
the authorities became more
worried about treason so
punishments became more
extreme to act as a
deterrent.

23. » Usefulness of the Source
» Also consider N.O.P
» The Nature, Origin and
Purpose of the Source.
Together these give the
reliability of the source.
» This will effect the
usefulness of the source.
» EG. However this source
was produced in 1606
(Origin)
» This was just after the Guy
Fawkes plot (Origin)
» The purpose of this source
may be to scare people
from carrying out similar
crimes.
» Therefore… the source
may exaggerate to some
extent.

24. » Usefulness of the Source
» Conclusion which links
back to the question.
» In conclusion….This is a
useful source because it
shows us that Tudor and
Stuart authorities were
worried about Treason
and used extreme
capital punishments
such as hanging, drawing
and quartering to deter
these crimes.

25. Mark Scheme: Question 3
• Level 1 (1-2) marks
• Judgement based on simple valid criteria.
• Level 2 (3-6) marks
• Judgment is based on the usefulness of the source because of
its content or reliability.
• Maximum 4 marks if answer is based on the source without
own knowledge.
• Level 3 (7-8) marks
• Judgements is based on an evaluation of the usefulness of the
source’s content in the light of its reliability.
• No access to level 3 if answer doesn’t contain own knowledge.

26. What was the Bloody Code?
What crimes were punishable
under the Bloody Code?

27. The Bloody Code: 1688-1823
• What? The number of crimes punishable by death rose
from 50 to 223. These included damaging fish ponds,
murder and highway robbery. Many new crimes were
added by the Waltham Black Act of 1723 (including
poaching)
• Why? An increased fear of crime and a belief that
punishing crimes harshly would act as a deterrent to
the public.
• Punishment? - very few people were actually
sentenced to death. Judges were often reluctant to find
people guilty of minor crimes when the punishment
was death. Criminals were often either reprieved, or
sentenced to a less harsh punishment like
transportation or imprisonment.

28. Social Crimes
• What? – “robbing from the rich and giving to the poor”. Crimes that had
no obvious victim and that improved the lives of ordinary people.
Criminals often immortalised as heroes. E.g.:
Poaching
Smuggling
Highway robbery
• Why? Economic hardship faced by ordinary people, the Government’s
inability to stop crimes being committed, due to lack of police and public
support for criminals) especially poachers and smugglers)
• Punishments All three crimes punishable by death under the Bloody Code
but very few criminals were caught.
• Change over time? Smuggling continues to be a problem in modern day
Britain. Poaching fell after 1750, with the decrease in the countryside
population, and highway robbery decreased after 1700 due to better
roads and systems of policing like the Bow Street Runners

29. Questions 4/5: Explanation
• There is a choice between question 4 or 5.
• There are two bullet points provided to help
you write your answer.
• You are required to use your own knowledge.

30. Example: Question 4 or 5
Why did the Bloody Code end in the
mid-nineteenth century? (12 marks)
You may use the following in your
answer.
 By 1815 over 200 crimes were
punishable by death
 By 1877 90 new prisons had been
built.
You must include your own
information.
(Total for Question 4 = 12 marks)
Why were laws against smuggling so
difficult to enforce in the
seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries? (12 marks)
You may use the following in your
answer:
• Law enforcement during the
eighteenth century.
• Organised gangs.
You must also include information
of your own.
(Total for Question 4 = 12 marks)
• Question 4 (12 marks) • Question 5 (12 marks)

31. Explanation Questions
• These questions can ask for an analysis
(explanation).
• An explanation of why something
happened should identify several
causes/reasons.
• It could also show which cause/reason was
the most important or explain that causes
were linked and had an effect on each
other.

32. Explanation Questions - Write at three five line paragraphs. Need to also make sure
you produce logical and coherent statements which link to the question.
In the example question about smuggling.
• Provide your first point – the first reason/factor why is was
difficult to deal with smuggling was that……..
• It was difficult to control smuggling because people did not see
smuggling as a crime.
• Develop this point (evidence/explanation) and link back to the
question.
• Many people were involved with or benefitted from smuggling.
This meant that/this led to people refusing to provide evidence
about smugglers to the authorities. This made it more difficult for
the authorities to capture and prosecute smugglers.

33. Example: Question 4
• Explain…..
• How similar were the methods of law
enforcement used during the Norman
period (eleventh century) and the
Tudor period (sixteenth century)?
• You may use the following in your
answer:
• The role of the community
• The use of corporal punishment
• You must also include information of
your own.
• Question 4 (12 marks)

34. Similarities
Norman Tudor
Use of more
corporal
and
capital
to act as deterrent.
punishments
because authorities feared
rebellion

35. Mark scheme – Question 4/5
• Level 1 (1-4) marks
• Simple or generalised comment is offered, supported by some
knowledge.
• Level 2 (5-8) marks
• Statements are developed with support from material which is
mostly relevant and accurate.
• Maximum 7 marks if no additional knowledge other than bullet
points shown.
• Level 3 (9-12) marks
• The response shows understanding of the focus of the question
and deploys sufficient accurate and relevant material to support
the points made.
• Maximum 10 marks for answers which do not explore additional
knowledge other than the bullet points.

36. How did life in Britain change
between 1750 and 1900?

37. Industrial Period: 1750-1900
• Society – rapidly changing. Growth of cities.
Middle and Upper classes getting richer while
conditions at home and at work for the working
class were exceptionally poor. Britain’s Empire
grows, bringing in more goods from abroad.
• Crime – income inequality and changes in
society led to increased levels of crime.
• Punishments – increase in capital punishment,
decrease in corporal. Transportation and prisons
begin to be used.
• Policing - watchmen and constables to begin
with, then Bow Street Runners and Thames River
Police lead to introduction of Metropolitan

38. Challenges to Authority
The Tolpuddle Martyrs, 1832
• What? – 6 farm workers set up a
Union to ask their employer for
higher wages.
• Why? Their wages were not
enough to cover the cost of living.
Workers had very few rights.
• Punishments tried under an old
naval law and sentenced to
transportation. This was because
the government was wary of giving
the common man rights (French
Revolution / Swing Riots)
• Change over time? Public
campaign led to sentences being
Luddites, 1811-16
• What? – textile workers who
destroyed new textile machines in
new factories.
• Why? They were campaigning
against machines that required
less workers to make more
product.
• Punishments the army were sent
to stop their protests. Damaging
machines deliberately was made a
crime punishable by death.
• Change over time? As technology
advanced, working class
unemployment continued to grow.

39. End of the Bloody Code and use of alternative
punishments: 1800-1823
• What? Over a period of time, the amount of crimes
sentenced by death were reduced.
• Why? The ideas of the Enlightenment (including those of
Italian thinker Cesare Beccaria led to attitudes changing.
There was a belief that the punishment should fit the
crime.
Transportation
• What? Sending criminals to do forced work in overseas colonies
(first America, then Australia). Begun in 1615.
• Why? Overseas colonies needed populating (to protect them from
rival Empires) and it removed criminals from British society.
• Change over time? Transportation slowed down after 1850 as a
result of reduced need for labourers, its high cost and increasing use
of prisons.

40. 19th Century Prisons
• What? – the idea that punishment should fit the crime, i.e.
that more serious crimes should result in a longer sentence
and that criminals could be reformed but should be kept
away from the rest of society.
• Why? Enlightenment ideas led to less execution, so
something had to be done by the Government!
• Punishments prisons conditions changed over time thanks
to the work of prison reformers like Elizabeth Fry (conditions
in womens’ prisons and religious teaching) and John Howard
(education and conditions, including focusing more on
reform of prisoners).
• Change over time? Over time the Government took more
control of prisons, resulting in a fully-government funded
and run system. Some prisons used the silent system,
whereas others used the separate system.

41. 19th Century Policing
• What? – The Home Secretary, Sir Robert Peel, set up
the Metropolitan Police in 1829.
• Why? The Bow Street Runners and Thames River Police
had proved the case for a police force in London. Crime
rates and fear of crime (and revolution) were rising. The
Government also became more willing to pay for public
services.
• Change over time? Initially the Police struggled to be
accepted, and were widely mocked by the press and the
public. After the Great Exhibition of 1851 the Police’s
reputation grew more positive. Became compulsory for
all towns and counties to set up their own police forces
in 1856.

43. Twentieth Century: 1900-2000
• Society – slower pace of change. Gap between
rich and poor became smaller. Shaped by two
major world wars.
• Crime – new types of crime increased, giving the
government a more significant role in defining
crime.
• Punishments – abolition of capital punishment,
increased use of prisons and focus on reform
through punishments like community service.
• Policing - increasing use of technology and
innovation. Attitudes changed significantly
during the period due to use of technology.

44. 20th Century: old and new crimes
Old crimes New crimes
Murder
Treason
Theft
Smuggling
Slavery
Fraud
Anti-social behaviour
Terrorism

45. 20th Century: old and new crimes
Old crimes New crimes
Murder
Treason
Theft
Smuggling
Slavery
Fraud
Anti-social behaviour
Terrorism
Tax evasion
Driving with a mobile phone
Discriminatory (race) crime
Speeding
Drug crime
Conscientious objection

46. 20th Century Prisons
What? – became the main punishment used in 20th century
Britain, including different prisons for different groups.
Change over time?
New types of prisons including:
Borstals for young offenders
Prison hospitals like Broadmoor
Open prisons to help rehabilitate offenders
• Increased focus on education and rehabilitation (including
treatment for addiction)
• Women can now raise their babies in Prison
• Probation introduced in 1907
• Introduction of private prisons in 1990s (like a return to
pre-18th century prisons)

47. Abolition of Capital Punishment
• Why? Attitudes becoming more liberal in the 1950s and
1960s. This led to the public (and media) questioning the
sentences of criminals. One example is Derek Bentley,
who was ordered to be executed despite him having
severe learning difficulties and there being questionable
evidence against him.
• Change over time? The last hanging was in 1964. Capital
Punishment was fully abolished in 1999.

48. 20th Century Policing
Change over time?
Technology:
Motorised transport
Use of armed police
Computer records make it easier to track criminals
Use of radio / phones / internet communication
Police becoming more diverse (women / ethnic minorities)
Special units set up to deal with particular crimes (e.g. smuggling,
fraud, terrorism)
Community Support Officers introduced in 2002
Neighbourhood watch set up in 1982 (like a modern hue and cry!)
Social media and 24/7 news can affect attitudes towards the police

49. QUESTION 1 – Inference of change over
time (8 marks)
• Students are given two sources from two
different periods.
• They are also required to use their own
knowledge to support the inference about
change they make from the sources.
• This question is worth 8 marks.

50. Question 1: What do sources A and B show about changes
in the methods of enforcing the law between the Middle
Ages and the nineteenth century?
Source A
• It is the duty of every
person to raise the
hue and cry if he or
she sees any of
Yalding’s laws and
customs broken.
Source B

51. How to answer these type of questions.
• Main inference – Ideas about prevention of crime moved from community
action to the use of an organised police force.
• Link to the sources – We can see this from source A which tells us that it was
the duty of “every member of the Community” to raise the hue and Cry.
Whereas in Source B we can see that the man is part of a professional police
force, he is wearing a uniform.
• Add own knowledge – During the Middle Ages During the Middle Ages, free
adult men were organised into groups of 10 who would be responsible for each
other.
• However by the late eighteenth century The Fielding Brothers set up the
Bow Street Runners in which were the beginnings of a professional police
force. This group found it hard to reduce crime.
• Robert Peel set up the Metropolitan Police force in 1829. This professional
police force gradually became more successful.

52. Question 6 or 7 -analysis an evaluation. (16
marks plus 3 marks SPAG)
• Students have a choice of either Question 6 or 7.
• Two bullet points are provided to help you write
your answer.
• But you must use your own information as well to
access the higher marks in levels 2, 3 and 4.
• This question is worth 16 marks and 3 marks for
SPAG a total of 19 marks.
• Therefore you are advised to answer this question
first.

53. Example: Question 6 or 7
Question 6 (16 marks plus 3 SPAG)
• How much did punishments
change from the late Middle
Ages (c1350) to the end of the
nineteenth century? Explain
your answer.
• You may use the following in
your answer
• Bloody Code
• The use of prisons.
• You must include information
of your own.
Question 7 (16 marks plus 3 spag)
• How far do you agree that
“new crimes” since 1900 are
simply old crimes in a new
format? Explain your answer.
• You may use the following in
your answer.
• Car crimes
• Computer crimes.
• You must also include
information of your own.

54. How to approach a “how much change” 16
mark question
Stocks / pillory / whipping
Fines
Mutilation
Capital punishment (hanging)
Capital Punishment (hanging /
burning at stake)
Stocks / pillory / whipping
HANGING Drawing and quatering
Transportation
Capital punishment Bloody
Code
Prisons
Transportation: capital
punishment too harsh.
Turning point: punishment
matches the crime.
Attitudes and beliefs
Population growth
Geographical change (moving
to cities – gov. need better
control_

55. • How much did
punishments
change from
the late Middle
Ages (c1350) to
the end of the
nineteenth
century?
Explain your
answer.
• Cover each period.
• Describe and explain
the change or
continuity for each
period.
• Make a final
evaluation of the
amount and type of
change across the
period.

56. Model Answer
• In the late Middle Ages the majority of punishments tended to be
corporal punishments. although fines were also used as well. Minor
crimes were punished by placing the criminal in the stocks or pillory.
• These punishments were done in public because the purpose was to
deter people from committing these crimes as much as to punish the
criminal. Prison was not used as a punishment, just as a place to hold
criminals awaiting trial.
• This continued in Tudor times. People convicted of being Vagabonds
and Witches were often punished in these ways. Vagabonds could be
beaten or branded.
• However there were some important changes, with the use of capital
punishment more regularly for crimes the authorities increasingly
feared such as treason, vagabonds and witchcraft.

57. • However, there was significant change in the
sixteenth and seventeenth century. Punishments
became harsher with more and more crimes
carrying the death penalty. The system of harsh
punishment became known as the Bloody Code.
Even when the new punishment of transportation
was introduced in 1660s as an alternative to the
death penalty, it was still extremely harsh.

58. • By the start of the eighteenth century, prison began
to be used more often as a punishment, first for
debtors and then for a range of crimes. By the
nineteenth century prison was the main form of
punishment with the end of the Bloody Code and
Transportation. This was an important change.
• Prison reformers such as John Howard, and Elizabeth
Fry suggested prison reform, so that prisons would
not only punish the criminal and deter crime, but also
reform the criminal. This was a significant change
which reflected new ideas that people could become
better citizens, be given a second chance and return
to society.

59. • Therefore there was a huge change in the
punishments used from the late Middle Ages to
the end of the nineteenth century. By the end of
the nineteenth century the type of punishments
had changed. The punishments were less public
and less severe physically than they had been in
the Middle Ages, with a lot more use been made
of prisons. The purpose of punishments had also
changed. The idea of retribution and deterrence
was still there. However punishments were also
seen as a way of reforming criminals by the end of
the nineteenth century. This was new and was an
important change from earlier periods.

60. Mark Scheme
• Level 1 (1-4) marks
• Simple or generalised comment is offered, supported by some knowledge.
• Level 2 (5-8) marks
• Statements are developed with support from material which is mostly relevant
and accurate. Maximum 7 marks for answers that do not use students own
knowledge.
• Level 3 (9-12) marks
• The response shoes understanding of the focus of the question and deploys
sufficient accurate and relevant material to support the points made.
Maximum 10 marks for answers that do not use students own knowledge.
• Level 4 (13-16) marks
• A sustained analysis is supported by precisely selected and accurate material
and with sharply focused development of points made. The answer as a whole
will focus well on the question. No access to level 4 for answers which do not
use own knowledge.