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Crime and Punishment Through Time
A free video lesson on how crime, policing and punishment changed in Britain over the centuries — followed by real quiz questions, each marked instantly with a full explanation. No account needed.
How did we get from trial by ordeal to modern policing? This lesson follows crime and punishment from the Middle Ages to today — the hue and cry, the Bloody Code, transportation, Robert Peel's first police, and the shift from harsh deterrence to reform — and asks why it all changed. It is part of Learning Hub, a UK-curriculum learning site built by a home-educating family. Watch, try the questions, then make a free account to unlock every subject.
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Every subject for Years 6 to 11, mock exam papers, learning games, and full reading support for dyslexia. £6.99 a month for the whole family, up to five children. 14-day free trial, no card needed, no ads.
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Questions parents ask
- How did crime and punishment change over time in Britain?
- Medieval justice relied on the community (the hue and cry, tithings) and on religion (trial by ordeal). Early-modern punishment was harsh and public — the 'Bloody Code', public executions and transportation to the colonies. In 1829 Robert Peel founded the first organised police, and over time the aim shifted from deterrence towards reform, with the death penalty abolished in the 1960s.
- What was the 'Bloody Code'?
- By the 1700s more than 200 crimes in Britain — including quite minor theft — could carry the death penalty. The idea was deterrence: to frighten people into obeying. Executions were held in public before large crowds.
- Is this suitable for KS3 and GCSE?
- Yes. Crime and punishment through time is a popular thematic study for Years 9 to 11 (KS3 and GCSE), and this lesson and quiz work as a clear introduction to it.
- Is it really free?
- The video and these questions are free with no account. The full site — every subject for Years 6 to 11, mock papers, learning games and full reading support for dyslexia — is £6.99 a month for the whole family, with a 14-day free trial and no card needed to start.