Sir John Fielding (16 September 1721 – 4 September 1780) was a notable
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...
and
social reform
A reform movement or reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary mov ...
er of the 18th century. He was also the younger half-brother of
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...
,
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
and chief magistrate
Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English novelist, irony writer, and dramatist known for earthy humour and satire. His comic novel ''Tom Jones'' is still widely appreciated. He and Samuel Richardson are seen as founders ...
. Despite being
blinded in a naval accident at the age of 19, John set up his own business and, in his spare time, studied law with Henry.
Appointed Henry's personal assistant in 1750, John helped him to root out corruption and improve the competence of those engaged in administering justice in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. They formed the first professional
police
The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...
force, the
Bow Street Runners
The Bow Street Runners were the law enforcement officers of the Bow Street Magistrates' Court in the City of Westminster. They have been called London's first professional police force. The force originally numbered six men and was founded in ...
. Through the regular circulation of a
police gazette containing descriptions of known
criminal
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in C ...
s, Fielding also established the basis for the first police
criminal records department.
When Henry died in 1754, John was appointed
magistrate at Bow Street in his place, becoming renowned as the "Blind Beak", and allegedly being able to recognize three thousand criminals by the sounds of their voices. He also continued to develop his ideas on crime prevention and youth employment, helping to found the Asylum for Orphan Girls in
Lambeth
Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area e ...
in 1758. He was
knighted
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...
in 1761.
Bibliography
*
In popular culture
*
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...
used John Fielding as a character in his ''
Barnaby Rudge
''Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of Eighty'' (commonly known as ''Barnaby Rudge'') is a historical novel by British novelist Charles Dickens. ''Barnaby Rudge'' was one of two novels (the other was ''The Old Curiosity Shop'') that Dickens publ ...
''.
*
Leon Garfield's ''Smith'' (1967), which deals with London's underworld,
highwaymen and
footpads, contains a blind justice.
* A 1984 West German television series ''
The Blind Judge'' is based on his career, with
Franz Josef Steffens playing Fielding
* John Fielding is a key secondary character in ''Lempriere's Dictionary'' (1991) by
Lawrence Norfolk
Lawrence Norfolk (born 1963) is a British novelist known for historical works with complex plots and intricate detail.
Biography
Though born in London, Norfolk lived in Iraq until 1967 and then in the West Country of England. He read Engli ...
although he was dead at the time the scenes were set.
* A fictionalized Sir John Fielding is the protagonist of eleven historical detective novels published from 1994 to 2005. Set in
Britain's Georgian period, the series was written by American author
Bruce Cook under the pseudonym ''Bruce Alexander''.
* John Fielding is an important character in the historical detective novel ''Death in the Dark Walk'' (1994), written by
Deryn Lake.
* John Fielding is played by
David Fox in the 1997 BBC production of ''
Tom Jones
Tom Jones may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer
*Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist
*''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...
'', where he appears as the judge presiding over the protagonist's trial.
* John Fielding is portrayed by
David Warner in the 2006 British television film of ''
Sweeney Todd'', starring
Ray Winstone
Raymond Andrew Winstone (; born 19 February 1957) is an English television, stage and film actor with a career spanning five decades. Having worked with many prominent directors, including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, Winstone is perha ...
.
* The 2008
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
television series ''
City of Vice'' is based on the crime investigation work of the Fielding brothers.
Iain Glen
Iain Alan Sutherland Glen (born 24 June 1961) is a Scottish actor. Glen is best known for his roles as Dr. Alexander Isaacs/Tyrant in three films of the ''Resident Evil'' film series (2004–2016) and as Ser Jorah Mormont in the HBO fantasy t ...
plays John Fielding.
* John Fielding is a recurring supporting character in a series of Benjamin Franklin mysteries by Robert Lee Hall—set in London during the late 1750s. In many instances Fielding himself requests Franklin's help solving a murder.
External links
The Blind Beak of Bow Streetby
John DashneySir John Fieldingat the
National Portrait GalleryManuscript Minutes of the Lambeth Orphan's Asylumat the
University of Pennsylvania Libraries
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
detailing Fielding's involvement].
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fielding, John
1721 births
1780 deaths
Blind people from England
18th-century English judges
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
Knights Bachelor
Legal history of England
British social reformers