Burglary, Housebreaking, and the Story of Jack Sheppard

Burglary and housebreaking were common law offences in the early modern period, and many individuals met their end at the gallows after partaking in these two crimes. No one was more notorious than the early eighteenth-century burglar and escape artist, Jack Sheppard.

This talk will explore this category of theft and touch on several other individuals sentenced to death for these offences, alongside examining the life and death of the infamous Sheppard.

Dr Anna Cusack is a lecturer at Lincoln Bishop University, the University of Greenwich, and the University of Oxford. She is a specialist in seventeenth and eighteenth-century London history, focusing on crime, punishment, execution, death, and burial. She holds a PhD from Birkbeck, University of London and is the co-editor of How-To History, an online blog guide for researchers.

Londoners on Trial

Our free exhibition explores the history of law and order in London, uncovering the stories of London’s criminals, victims and law enforcers from the medieval period to modern times. Drawing on our extensive archives, it examines how the growing city was governed and Londoners’ enduring fascination with true crime.

Through cases involving figures such as Moll Cutpurse, Dick Turpin, Jack Sheppard, Oscar Wilde, and Sylvia Pankhurst, the exhibition reveals how historical records can illuminate lives, homes and the streets of London’s past.