Sir John Fielding 1721–1780
The ‘Blind Beak of Bow Street’ was a magistrate in London and a prominent social reformer
John Fielding was born in 1721 in London, the third son of Army officer Edmund Fielding, by his second wife, and the half-brother of the author Henry Fielding (1707–1754), who is best remembered for the comic novel Tom Jones. Henry had become chief magistrate at Bow Street in 1748 and, with his brother John, founded the Bow Street Runners, the first professional police force in the capital. Henry believed that the crime that plagued London was the result of corruption in government together with the loose morality of the countless hordes who left their families and communities behind and came to the capital to make their fortune.
John Fielding was blinded in an accident at sea at the age of 19. Despite this handicap, he was appointed a magistrate
in London, at first as his brother’s assistant in around 1750. He soon became famous as the ‘Blind Beak of Bow Street’, and could apparently recognise thousands of criminals by just their voice. John became the chief magistrate at Bow Street when his brother died, and occupied the position until 1780. His many innovations included circulating a police gazette with descriptions of wanted criminals, and offering money and immunity to those who turned in their fellow criminals. John also became a pioneer in the treatment of juvenile offenders, and began the practice of sending “distressed boys” to the Navy. He also tried to analyse and remove the causes of crime, and advocated a system of stipendiary magistrates. He was knighted in 1761, and died in 1780.