2. Quoted in E P Thompson, The Making of the English Working Class (London, Penguin, 1991), p. 792.
3. Works of John Keats, vol. 5 (1901), p. 108.
4. Quoted in Thompson, English Working Class, p. 803.
5. Shorter Oxford Dictionary (1993), p. 2522.
6. G M Thomson, The Prime Ministers (London, Secker & Warburg, 1980), p. 77. As Thomson points out, he was beaten on all three counts and in that order by Lord John Russell, the Duke of Grafton and Robert Peel!
7. Quoted ibid., p. 76.
8. Quoted in Carl Sifakis, The Encyclopedia of Assassinations (London, Headline, 1993), p. 337.
9. Quoted in Thompson, English Working Class, p. 623.
10. Quoted in Brian Bailey, Hangmen of England (London, W H Allen, 1989), p. 44.
11. So-called because safe seats like Cashel were under the total control (in the pocket) of certain families.
12. Quoted in Thomson, Prime Ministers, p. 71.
13. Not everyone believed that. Some over-eager tourists, believing the war was permanently over, went over to France and found themselves in prison there when it was renewed. Some of them were not released until 1814!
14. Quoted in Geoffrey Treasure, Who’s Who in Late Hanoverian Britain (London, Shepheard-Walyn, 1997), p. 289.
15. A quirk in the constitution meant that Irish peers could sit in the Commons.
16. Thomson, Prime Ministers, p. 92.
17. Ibid.
18. Henry Legge, MP.
Chapter 6
1. Quoted in Geoffrey Treasure, Who’s Who in Late Hanoverian Britain (London, Shepheard-Walyn, 1997), p. 351.
2. No one at that early stage in education considered the possible indoctrination of children; that Thomas Spence was busily turning Newcastle into a Communist state!
3. He even wrote an account of his 1801 trial in this form.
4. He spoke French tolerably well.
5. Grinning matches were usually played by toothless old men contorting their mouths. The most hideous was the winner.
6. Quoted in Clive Bloom, Violent London (London, Sidgwick & Jackson, 2003), p. 189.
7. For a brilliant discussion of the complexity (and ineptitude) of pre-Peelite policemen see T A Critchley and P D James, The Maul and the Pear Tree (London, Sphere, 1971).
8. Paraphrased from The Examiner (16 Nov. 1816).
Chapter 7
1. Richard Belfield, Assassination: The Killers and their Paymasters Revealed (London, Magpie (Constable), 2005).
2. The parallels with Cato Street can only go so far. The king’s power was still paramount in the reign of James I whereas by 1820, George IV was almost an irrelevance. Half-baked though the Gunpowder Plot may have been, the idea was almost certainly to replace James with a Catholic alternative. In both assassination attempts, the conspirators expected the country to rise to back them.
3. Quoted in E P Thompson The Making of the English Working Class (London, Penguin, 1991), p. 530.
4. Treasury Solicitor’s Papers, 6 March 1817, 11.351
5. Moscow had been burnt almost to the ground by the Russians in 1812 in an attempt to drive the invading French army under Napoleon out.
6. The Trial of Jeremiah Brandreth, Oct. 1817.
Chapter 8
1. Quoted in Joyce Marlow, The Peterloo Massacre (London, Readers’ Union, 1970), p. 50.
2. This is a very odd reference and presumably refers to the Pendle witch trials of 1612. Were the witches seen as earlier examples of poor, oppressed people suffering under the tyranny of arbitrary law?
3. Pikes are referred to consistently in this period. They were homemade and the authorities seem to regard them as almost the weapon of choice, the symbol of insurrection.
4. In fact the wording contained the equivalent of a double negative. It said that the Magistrates ‘do hereby caution all Persons to abstain at their peril from attending . . .’
5. Henry Hunt, An Address to the Reformers of Manchester and its Neighbourhood, 11 Aug. 1819.
6. No relation to the lady on the hustings with Hunt.
7. One of those swords, supposedly from Peterloo, was the inspiration for Howard Spring’s Fame is the Spur.
8. Samuel Bamford, Passages in the Life of a Radical (1967 edn; originally published London, T F Unwin, 1893).
9. Ibid.
Chapter 9
1. Works of John Keats, p. 108.
2. Wilkinson, An Authentic History of the Cato Street Conspiracy (London, Thomas Kelly, 1820), pp. 56–7.
3. Ibid., p. 398.
4. The pre-1832 voting system was highly complicated. A tiny handful of the working class could actually vote depending on the property in which they lived.
5. ‘Trial of Richard Tidd’, p 326.
6. Bradburn (also spelt Blackburn), Gilchrist, Cooper and Monument are not listed on the original document.
Chapter 10
1. Percy Bysshe Shelley, England in 1819, 1839.
2. ‘The Trial of James Brunt’.
3. ‘The Trial of James Ings’.
4. In fact, the likeness of Thistlewood, judging from the drawing made at the trial, is quite accurate.
5. Technically, a carbine is a short musket used by the cavalry and capable of being fired in one hand. A blunderbuss is an early shotgun, scattering pellets in a wide arc. This would have been more useful at Grosvenor Square.
6. There is some confusion over the man’s rank. He was presumably promoted by the time of the Cato Street trials, but there ‘Lieutenant’ and ‘Captain’ are used interchangeably.
7. So either Thistlewood fired three guns or somebody else was shooting too.
8. The engraver of the Cato Street building, A Wivell, actually shows this in his work.
9. Robert Burns, March to Bannockburn.
Chapter 11
1. This is still the law today and for the worst modern example of its cruelty and injustice, see M J Trow, Let Him Have It, Chris (London, Constable, 1990).
2. Perhaps another spelling of Surman or Sarmon.
3. A commission empowering a judge in Great Britain to hear and rule on a criminal case at the assizes.
4. One of hundreds of examples where the law used archaic or downright wrong words in its official capacity.
5. Technically, James Wilson’s case was delayed pending the misnomer plea. He was in fact ‘trying it on’ because the only difference was that his middle name, William, had been added in the indictment. The decision to overrule the plea however lay with the Attorney-General, hardly a disinterested party.
Chapter 12
1. This may have been to save time and ultimately money.
2. Shackled with chains at the wrists and ankles, making escape impossible. Ings was only cuffed because he had been ill in gaol.
3. Marcus Tullius Cicero, one of the best known advocates and orators in the ancient world.
4. Technically the word implies belief in a remote Creator who does not interfere in the present world. I suspect that several of the conspirators had probably abandoned God altogether.
6. £2 2s or £2 10p. In today’s currency about £200.
7. By 1820, this was a generic term for the hangman. The original Ketch, John Catch, took up the job in September 1663 and officiated at the execution of the Duke of Monmouth and the pillorying of Titus Oates.
Chapter 13
1. Quoted in Brian Bailey, The Hangmen of England (London, W H Allen, 1989), p. 50.
2. Letter to Joseph Tyas, quoted in E P Thompson, The Making of the English Working Class (London, Penguin, 1991), p. 777.
3. H Montgomery Hyde, The Strange Death of Lord Castlereagh (London, Heinemann, 1959).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BAILEY, BRIAN. Hangmen of England (London, W H Allen, 1989)
BLOOM, CLIVE. Violent Lo
ndon (London, Sidgwick & Jackson, 2003)
BOSTON, RAY. The Essential Fleet Street: Its History and Influence (London, Blandford, 1990)
BYRNE, RICHARD. Prisons and Punishments of London (London, Grafton, 1992)
CHAPMAN, PAULINE. Madame Tussaud’s Chamber of Horrors (London, Grafton, 1985)
CLOUT, HUGH, ed. The Times London History Atlas (London, BCA, 1991)
COBBETT, WILLIAM. Rural Rides (London, Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1830)
COLE, HUBERT. Things for the Surgeon: A History of the Resurrection Men (London, Heinemann, 1964)
EVANS, ERIC J. Britain before the Reform Act: Politics and Society 1815–32 (London, Longman, 1989)
FIDO, MARTIN. Murder Guide to London (London, Grafton, 1987)
HIBBERT, CHRISTOPHER. George IV (London, Penguin, 1972)
HIBBERT, CHRISTOPHER. Nelson: A Personal History (London, Viking, 1994)
LINNANE, FERGUS. London’s Underworld: Three Centuries of Vice and Crime (London, Robson, 2004)
LONGFORD, ELIZABETH. Wellington: Pillar of State (London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1972)
MARLOW, JOYCE. The Peterloo Massacre (London, Readers’ Union, 1969)
MONTGOMERY HYDE, H. The Strange Death of Lord Castlereagh (London, Icon, 1967)
SIFAKIS, CARL. Encyclopaedia of Assassinations (London, Headline, 1993)
STANHOPE, JOHN. The Cato Street Conspiracy (London, Jonathan Cape, 1962)
THOMPSON, E P. The Making of the English Working Class (London, Penguin, 1991)
TREASURE, GEOFFREY. Who’s Who in Late Hanoverian Britain (London, Shepheard-Walwyn, 1997)
WILKINSON, GEORGE THEODORE. An Authentic History of the Cato Street Conspiracy (London, Thomas Kelly, 1820)
WILSON, BEN. Decency and Disorder 1789–1837 (London, Faber & Faber, 2007)
INDEX
Abbott, Mr Justice 58, 91, 95, 146, 150, 155, 162
Act of Union (Ireland) 39, 53, 67, 71
Adams, Robert 121, 125, 129-130, 134, 143, 147-148, 150-151, 153, 155, 157-160, 162
Addington, Henry – see Sidmouth
Adkins, Governor 145
Adolphus, Barrister 148, 150-151, 158-159
Artillery Ground 8, 128
Ashton, John 109
Ashworth, Joseph 109
Ashworth, Thomas 109
Baker, John 109
Baldwin’s Gardens 119, 124, 177
Bamford, Samuel 23, 32, 60, 83, 100, 101-103, 107-109, 110–111, 114
Barnes, Thomas 65, 115
Bartholomew Fair 114-115
Basey, Pte James 136-137
Bastille, The 25-27, 29, 43-46, 52, 65, 85-86, 102, 178
Bathurst, Henry 73, 139
Bayley, Mr Justice 91
Bellingham, John 62-64, 164
Best (Barrister) 47
Binns, John 33-34, 36
Birley, Capt. Hugh 106-107
Birmingham 29, 35
Birnie, Richard 134, 136-138, 140, 143, 148
Bishop, Daniel 138, 143
Bissex, Charles 4-5, 151
Blanketeers 92
Bolland, Barrister 139, 151, 159
Bonaparte, Napoleon 11, 13, 17, 18, 20-22, 27, 37, 39, 53, 57, 63, 67, 69, 81
Botting, James 165-169
Bow Street Runners 15, 46, 50, 133-134, 136-137, 142-143, 148-149, 176
Bow Street 46, 84, 137, 138
Bradburn, Amelia 148
Bradburn, Richard 5, 15, 124, 137, 141, 146-147, 160, 162
Bradshaw, William 109
Brandreth, Ann 97
Brandreth, Jeremiah 94–8, 126, 149, 150, 163, 173
Broderick, Barrister 148, 160
Brookes, William 136, 142
Broughton, Thomas 46, 50
Brunskill, William 50-52, 64
Brunt, John 2-3, 7, 11-12, 120–1, 125, 128 130, 134, 145-147, 149, 151, 153-154, 158–9, 162-163, 166-169, 174-175, 177
Brunt, Mary 120–1, 148, 171
Buckley, Thomas 109
Burdett, Sir Francis 23, 32, 44–5, 60, 65, 84 85, 89, 93, 114, 118
Burke, Edmund 25, 27-29, 31, 33, 69, 76
Butterworth, William 109
Byng, Major General John 94, 102, 105, 115, 117
Canning, George 66-68–70, 89, 139
Carlile, Richard 58-59, 105, 114-115, 120, 159
Carlton House 4, 31, 85, 127
Caroline of Brunswick 127–8, 172
Cartwright, Major John 59, 60, 102, 103, 114
Castle, John 86, 89–93, 96-97, 125-126
Castlereagh, Lord 1, 2, 7, 8, 17–18, 65-66, 69, 70–2, 89, 96, 127, 130, 139, 142, 144, 152, 154, 160, 161-162, 175-177
Catholic Emancipation 49, 62, 67, 69, 71
Cato Street 3, 7-8, 12, 50, 124, 129-130, 134, 137, 139, 142-143, 145, 151-153, 157, 160, 162, 172, 177
Chambers, Thomas 158
Cheapside 85-86, 89
Christian Polity, the Salvation of the Empire 78
Cobbett, William 12, 21-23, 30, 32, 57, 59-60, 74, 83-84, 93, 98, 100, 102, 117–18, 144, 178
Coleman, Catherine 109
Coleridge, Samuel 44, 51, 64
Committee of Two Hundred 116, 176-177 Commonsense 28
Conant, Sir Nathaniel 84, 85
Cook (conspirator) 128, 134, 158
Cooper, Charles 5, 15, 124, 137-138, 142, 146-147, 160, 162
Corn Laws 22-23, 72, 87, 100, 102
Cotton, Reverend 163, 166-167
Crompton, James 109
Cross, Barrister 96-97
Cruikshank, George 87, 89, 97, 133
Curtis, Pte William 137
Curtius, Dr Phillipe 52
Curwood, Barrister 125, 148, 150, 152-155, 157-158
Dallas, Mr Justice Robert 95, 150, 157
Davidson, Sarah 124, 148, 171, 174
Davidson, William 2-3, 5-7, 15, 25, 41-42, 57, 72, 75, 121–4, 132, 134-138, 143, 145 147, 149, 151-152, 159 163, 166-169, 174
Dawson, William 109
de Launay, Bernard 26,46
Denman, Barrister 96, 97
Dennison, Henry 109
Despard, Catherine 42, 44, 45, 49, 52, 67
Despard, Edward 41–55, 57, 59-60, 64, 77, 82-83, 86, 88, 93, 119, 122, 129, 159, 163
Despard, James 42
Dwyer, Thomas 153-155, 161, 175
Edgware Road 12, 129, 136
Edwards, George 2, 4-6, 8, 24, 119-120, 125 126, 134, 138, 150, 152-156, 158-161, 165, 168, 174, 176
Eldon, Lord 4, 45, 65, 70, 139, 175, 177
Ellenborough, Lord 48, 53, 58, 91, 116
Ellis, James 134-137, 142
Elrington, Capt. J H 145
Equiano, Olaudah 42–3
Erskine, Thomas 40-41
Ethelston, Reverend Charles 100, 102
Evans, Thomas Jnr 78, 82, 90
Evans, Thomas Snr 78, 82, 90
Fildes, Ann 106
Fildes, Mrs 105-106
Fildes, William 106, 109
Firth, William 132, 145-146, 172
Fitzclarence, Capt. 135-137, 141, 148
Fox Court 125, 129-130, 151, 177
Fox, Charles James 27, 28, 30, 32, 58, 62, 93
Foxen, James 165, 168-169
Francis, John 46–7, 50-51, 53
Friends of the People 40
Furnival’s Inn 36, 43, 151
Gee’s Court 43, 152, 177
George III 27, 31, 34, 40, 66-67, 70-71, 92, 127, 133
George IV (Prince Regent) 31, 70, 84-85, 89, 92, 102, 110, 114, 127, 147, 157, 167, 172
George, Robert 146-147, 172
Gerald, Joseph 32-33
Gilchrist, James 5, 15, 124, 137, 142, 146 147, 160, 162, 172
Gill (Bow Street Runner) 147
Gilray, James 35, 87
Goldworthy, George 160, 161
Goodwin, Margaret 109
Gordon Riots 43, 46, 54, 55
Graham, Arthur 46, 50
Gray’s Inn Lane 152
Grosvenor Square 8, 72, 116, 125, 127, 129, 132, 139, 151-152, 159, 160, 177
Gurney (Barrister) 47
Hadfield, James 39, 40-41, 133
Hall, Abel 124-125, 134, 143, 146-147, 172
Hampden Clubs 59, 60, 95, 100
Hanson, Sgt Edward 19
Hardy, Capt. Thomas 35
Hardy, Thomas 31-33, 40
Harmer, James 109, 148, 176
Harrison, Caroline 148
Harrison, William 7, 127-130, 132, 134, 145-147, 160, 165
Harrowby, Lord 1-9, 22, 63, 65, 68-70, 72, 125, 127, 129, 132, 138-139, 152, 154, 157, 163, 172, 174-175, 177
Hay, Reverend William 100
Hayle, Joseph 121, 125, 151
Hazard, William 172
Healey, Dr Joseph 60, 101, 104, 109
Heys, Mary 109
Hobhouse, John Cam 116, 144, 153, 176
Holborn 36, 43, 54, 76, 124, 128, 149
Hole-in-the-Wall Passage 3, 19, 119, 125, 129, 177
Holroyd, Mr Justice 91, 95
Hone, William 58-59, 97
Hooper, John 79, 85, 91
Hucklestone, Edward 13, 154
Hulton, William 107
Hunt, Henry 3, 83-86, 89, 90, 93, 98, 101-105, 107, 109-110, 113-115, 117, 119, 158, 178
Huskisson, William 66, 73, 144
Hyden, Thomas 13, 150, 152-153, 155, 157-158, 161
Ings, Celia 171, 173
Ings, James 3, 5–8, 12, 15, 19, 24, 34, 72, 119–20, 124-125, 129-130, 132, 134-137–8, 142, 145-147, 149-150, 157-158, 161-163, 166-169, 173–4
Ings, William 174
Jenkinson, Robert – see Liverpool
Jervis, Mary 109
John Street 130, 132, 135, 160
Johnson, Joseph 60, 101, 107
Jolliffe, Lt Hylton 108
Jones, Dr John 78, 116-117
Jones, Sarah 109
Kaylock, George 130
Keats, John 58, 113
Keynes, John 79
King’s Bench, Court of 91, 114
Knight, John 60, 100, 105
L’Estrange, Lt Col Guy 106-107
Lander, Despard conspirator 49
Lavender, John 138
Lees, John 109
Legge, Sergeant 136, 142
Litchfield, Treasury Solicitor 90
Littledale, Barrister 151
Liverpool, Lord 5-7, 14, 22, 24, 65–6, 68-69, 73-74, 92, 127, 138, 175
London Corresponding Society (LCS) 33 34, 43-44, 75, 82
Londonderry, Marquess of – see Castlereagh Louis XVI 25-26, 30, 34, 52, 66
Luddites 18-19, 21, 58, 62-64, 89
Ludlam, Isaac 94-96
Mansion House 8, 128, 158
Marie Antoinette 30, 52
Marx, Karl 15, 17