I know that there is no definite answer to this, but can anyonw suggest a time when the English darby went into production. Prior to that was the plug 8.
Just what was used in England at Bailey from 1716 to 1836 or so.
Mr. Lauher:
Thank you. I obtained a copy of your "British Handcuffs" and found it quite interesting. What I noticed is that the beginnings of the Birmingham restraint factories started at the time of the American Revolution, which shut off America as the destination for Britain to transport minor felons, resulting in them being housed on hulks while new penal colonies were established in Australia and Tasmania.
In three accounts written by convicts in the late 18th and early 19th century, I found they were consistent in their desciptions of the procedure used for restraint. Prior to being placed upon a hulk after conviction and sentencing (where they would remain for months, even years awaiting a transport ship), they were manacled or fettered only when being moved between gaol and court (leg shackles), or lastly to the hulk (handcuffed). The remainder of the time, they were permitted to roam about the confines of the gaol without any restraints. This indicates to me that some sort of removable restraints were used. Once upon a hulk, they were then placed into permanent, riveted leg shackles (i.e. non-locking). If the convict was cooperative, these would be struck off during the voyage to the penal colony; otherwise, the miscreants had to wear theirs for years, forcing the convict to wear a makeshift skirt after his trousers were worn to shreads.
In your book, I found no mention of the permanent, riveted shackles, which is understandable since your focus is upon the locking/removable restraints. In your research, have you found anything to indicate that the early manufactures, such as Griffin and Hiatt, also supplied the riveted leg irons to the British government?
