February 1820 Dancing around the maypole on Mayday, 1820.
On top of the maypole are the heads of:
John Thomas Brunt (1782–1820);
William Davidson (1781–1820);
James Ings (1794–1820);
Arthur Thistlewood (1774–1820);
and, Richard Tidd (1773–1820).
John Thomas Brunt (1782–1820);
William Davidson (1781–1820);
James Ings (1794–1820);
Arthur Thistlewood (1774–1820);
and, Richard Tidd (1773–1820).
The execution of the Cato Street Conspirators 1 May 1820 from An Authentic A History of the Cato Conspiracy by George Wilkinson The London Museum |
Arthur Thistlewood engraving 1820 |
Interior of the hayloft in Cato Street occupied by the conspirators. |
But the men were betrayed by Edwards, a government
spy and agent provocateur. There was to be no cabinet dinner; the announcement
of it had been planted in the press to deceive the conspirators. While they
gathered together, the men were arrested. Thistlewood resisted and ran his
sword through one of the Bow Street Runners.
Liverpool’s government faced a general election in
March, and this sensational affair at the end of February was just what they
needed.
At the trial in April, one of the men, Ings, a
butcher, cried out: “I am like a bullock
drove into Smithfield market to be sold. Lord Sidmouth knew all about this for
two months.”
William Davidson |
Thistlewood, Ings, Brunt, Tidd and Davidson were
sentenced to be publicly hanged (and then have their heads cut off) on 1 May.
Another five were transported. In court, while the Lord Chief Justice was pronouncing
his doom, Thistlewood took snuff and gazed indifferently around the courtroom.
Brunt, a shoemaker, boldly informed the court that
when his weekly earnings went down from 3 or 4 pounds to ten shillings, he
began to look about him, and what he found were “men in power, who met to deliberate how they might starve and plunder
the country.” (A not unreasonable comment on Liverpool’s government)
Ings’ last letter to his wife before he was hanged
stated “…I must die according to the law,
and leave you in a land full of corruption…”
The men were hanged on the first day in May 1820, a
fine morning. It was successful as a May-day spectacle. Even the poorest seats
fetched half-a-crown, and those with a good view paid three guineas.
Ing sang Death or Liberty at the top of his voice on
the way to the gallows and Thistlewood responded: “Be quiet Ings; we can die without all this noise.”
Bucks of the first head, Thomas Raikes and his
friend Lord Alvanley, who never liked to miss anything, attended the ceremony.
But Raikes wrote afterwards: “It was the
first execution I ever saw, and shall be the last.”
Maggi Andersen is writing a historical romance series set
during these years of unrest. Book one, A Baron in Her Bed – The Spies
of Mayfair, has been released on the 6th March 2013 with Knox
Robinson Publishing.
THE PRINCE OF PLEASURE and His Regency, J.B. Priestley.
Wikipedia
This event reminds me of a "terrorist conspiracy" case from a few years ago. The more things change... Great post!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lauren. I doubt it had the gruesome ending!
ReplyDeleteHi Maggi - my 3x great grandfather was George Ruthven, Bow Street detective, who stormed the stable room and recaptured Thistlewood following his initial escape.
ReplyDeleteHi Maggi - my 3x great grandfather was George Ruthven, Bow Street detective, who stormed the stable room and recaptured Thistlewood following his initial escape.
ReplyDelete