The Birth of the Bow Street Runners
In the 1750s London’s perilous streets were run by armed gangs, corrupt night watchmen and thief takers. Then two Westminster magistrates, novelist Henry Fielding (author of Tom Jones) and his brother, John, obtained a grant from Parliament allowing them to bring some law and order to the crime-ridden boroughs of Central London.
Using authentic historical research the series tells the story of ‘The Bow Street Runners’ and the two men battling to create a police force, 75 years before Robert Peel founded the Metropolitan Police.
