Jump directly to the content
ROGUES OF THE PAST

Who were The Scuttlers gang of Manchester and Salford?

PICTURES of shady characters from over a century ago have fascinated and amazed history fanatics everywhere.

The mugshots from the Greater Manchester Police archives open a door to the story of criminals from years gone by.

 Alfred Pilling of Beswick, Manchester was jailed in the early 1900s for stealing 20lbs of ham and 56lbs of cheese
15
Alfred Pilling of Beswick, Manchester was jailed in the early 1900s for stealing 20lbs of ham and 56lbs of cheeseCredit: Manchester Evening News

The mugshots were taken between the 1870s and the start of World War One.

The photos were accompanied by detailed notes, these notes were often shared with officers in surrounding areas.

Several of the crooks shown are seen holding up their hands so that if they got in trouble again, police could see whether they had missing fingers.

Removing a thief's ear, hand, finger, or sometimes fingers, was a visible reminder of the perpetrators' crime and shame.

The incredible images and stories are looked after by Duncan Broady, curator of the Greater Manchester Police Archive and Museum since it opened in 1981.

Here's more about them...

William Brookes: Gang member in Manchester and Salford

 William Brookes was part of a well-known gang that terrorised the streets of Manchester and Salford at the end of the 19th century
15
William Brookes was part of a well-known gang that terrorised the streets of Manchester and Salford at the end of the 19th centuryCredit: Manchester Evening News

Brookes, 20, was arrested in 1890 and was part of a gang called The Scuttlers who plagued the streets of Manchester and Salford.

The gang earned the name as the street brawls they participated in were known as scuttles.

They wore brass-tipped clogs, distinctive scarves and bell-bottomed trousers and carried knives and guns for street brawls.

Herbert Grosvenor: Salford thief

 This photograph of Salfordian Herbert Grosvenor was taken in June 1930 after he was convicted of three counts of housebreaking and caged.
15
This photograph of Salfordian Herbert Grosvenor was taken in June 1930 after he was convicted of three counts of housebreaking and caged.Credit: Manchester Evening News

Not much is known about Herbert before he had his mugshot taken.

He had just been convicted for three counts of housebreaking.

He had been to court four years before and fined five shillings for having a dog without a licence.

Thomas Murphy: Stealing purses

 Thomas Murphy claimed he was 65, but police said he ‘looked younger’ describing him as ‘very bald’ with ‘bad teeth’
15
Thomas Murphy claimed he was 65, but police said he ‘looked younger’ describing him as ‘very bald’ with ‘bad teeth’Credit: Manchester Evening News

Murphy didn't like having his picture taken, hence his mugshot shows him being restrained by police officers in the 1880s.

He was convicted for a variety of crimes, mostly stealing purses, in Yorkshire and Lancashire in the 1880s and 1890s.

Eliza Wright: Deceiving to get money or goods

 Eliza Wright was married and lived in Stockport at the time of her crimes, and was described as around 5ft and had brown hair, hazel eyes and a 'fresh complexion'
15
Eliza Wright was married and lived in Stockport at the time of her crimes, and was described as around 5ft and had brown hair, hazel eyes and a 'fresh complexion'Credit: Manchester Evening News

Wright was 23 when she was arrested on December 17, 1909, for three counts of false pretences - using deception to get money or goods.

She was convicted and sentenced to three months behind bars for each charge which she served concurrently.

Margaret Kerrigan (aka Mary Ann Cowell): Stealing a purse, clothing, a dress... and a pair of boys’ ‘knickers’

 Margaret Kerrigan was a career thief and made regular appearances in the dock in the early 1900s
15
Margaret Kerrigan was a career thief and made regular appearances in the dock in the early 1900sCredit: Manchester Evening News

Kerrigan's first record was documented in 1902 when she received a three month sentence of hard labour for stealing.

She had stolen a purse that contained £7.10s.

She obviously did not learn her lesson, a year later she was slapped with another three months of hard labour for stealing £2.9s.

Her last documented appearance was on December 18, 1911, where she was convicted of stealing a dress and a pair of boys' underwear and sentenced to three months in prison.

Edith Towell: Petty thief

 Edith Towell served prison sentences in Coventry and Worcester before being sentenced at Salford Sessions to three months for stealing clothes and a watch in 1897
15
Edith Towell served prison sentences in Coventry and Worcester before being sentenced at Salford Sessions to three months for stealing clothes and a watch in 1897Credit: Manchester Evening News

Towell was a domestic servant and petty thief, first convicted of stealing clothes in 1889 and fined 40 shillings by a magistrate.

She was back in court in Liverpool days later when sentenced to three months for stealing a gold watch and £4.

In 1895 she was convicted of stealing £7 in cash and £40 in Co-operative store cheques.

Catherine Day: ‘Frequenting the highway with intent to commit a felony'

 Catherine Day was arrested for ‘frequenting the highway with intent to commit a felony’ and was convicted and sentenced to a month in prison in 1895
15
Catherine Day was arrested for ‘frequenting the highway with intent to commit a felony’ and was convicted and sentenced to a month in prison in 1895Credit: Manchester Evening News

Day was a midwife from County Mayo in Ireland, but living in Rochdale when she was arrested for "frequenting the highway with intent to commit a felony".

It is unclear if she actually committed a felony but it appears her dedication to committing one was enough to convict her in the 1800s.

Thomas Wallace: Larceny, stealing cloth, receiving stolen goods, escaping from prison

 Thomas Wallace was a prolific criminal, with a career that spanned more than 30 years
15
Thomas Wallace was a prolific criminal, with a career that spanned more than 30 yearsCredit: Manchester Evening News

Wallace was sentenced to seven years for stealing cloth in 1871.

He began his sentence in Leeds but escaped and went on the run.

He appeared in court in December of the same year and was sentenced to seven years for receiving stolen goods. before he was sentenced to a year in 1881 for escaping from prison.

John Richardson: Posing as a railway engineer

 John Richardson ‘caused a sensation’ by posing as a railway engineer and travelling extensively on the London and North Western Railway’s network
15
John Richardson ‘caused a sensation’ by posing as a railway engineer and travelling extensively on the London and North Western Railway’s networkCredit: Manchester Evening News

Richardson "caused a sensation" by posing as a railway engineer and travelling extensively on the London and North Western Railway’s networ.k

He was probably hauled in for fare-dodging, but there are few notes on his case in the archives.

He was said to be "well-known" to Leeds Police.

There are no dates attached to his file, but archive experts say: “The fact that he appears suggests that officers in Manchester had an inkling he was up to no good.”

James Sutch: Stealing a bicycle, gaming

 James Sutch was fined for theft and gaming
15
James Sutch was fined for theft and gamingCredit: Manchester Evening News

Sutch, who was 19 at the time, was fined £3.15s at a court in Bolton for stealing a bicycle in 1920.

Records show that in 1917, he was bound over for 12 months for the same offence.

William Lewis: Office and house breaking

 William Lewis was an ‘excellent office breaker and a clever house breaker’
15
William Lewis was an ‘excellent office breaker and a clever house breaker’Credit: Manchester Evening News

Lewis was a prolific burglar in the 1900s and well-known to police in Manchester.

A note alongside his photo said he was an ‘excellent office breaker and a clever house breaker’.

Ernest Ward: Theft, larceny, assault

 Smug-looking Stockport pork butcher Ernest Ward was 32 when he was pictured here
15
Smug-looking Stockport pork butcher Ernest Ward was 32 when he was pictured hereCredit: Manchester Evening News

Ward, pictured at the age of 32, was sentenced to six months with hard labour for theft in 1911.

The Stockport pork butcher had previously come to the attention of Manchester police numerous times and already had five previous convictions for larceny and assault.

Richard Hurst: Deception

 Salford cinematograph owner Richard Hurst was sentenced at a Stockport court on July 7
15
Salford cinematograph owner Richard Hurst was sentenced at a Stockport court on July 7Credit: Manchester Evening News

Hurst, who was 19 in this mugshot, was suspected to have been arrested here just after the start of the First World War, for trying to avoid serving in the Army.

He was set to serve three months in prison for the offence of false pretences, or deception.

Hurst had already been found guilty of the crime on three occasions over the previous 13 months.

Clara Pendlebury: Stealing cotton

 Clara Pendlebury was 32 when she was photographed for ‘Thieves Book’, in 1918
15
Clara Pendlebury was 32 when she was photographed for ‘Thieves Book’, in 1918Credit: Manchester Evening News

Pendlebury was employed as a card room hand in a cotton mill and was fined 40 shillings for stealing two-and-a-half pounds of raw cotton.

She was 32 when she was photographed for Bolton Borough Police’s book of convicted criminals, known as the "Thieves Book", in 1918.

Topics