William Colthouse grows up in Yorkshire with a solid education and strong religious principles, but his head is full of dangerous politics: he is a fierce believer in hereditary right, and in the early days of King George the First's reign, his loud mouth lands him inside Newgate Prison.
It is there, among thieves and schemers, that Colthouse learns a new trade; within the walls of old England's most notorious gaol, a man who entered for seditious words comes out ready for the highway.
His is a true crime story of politics, family ruin and the road: listen now and follow it to the end.
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FROM THE 1735 TEXT
William narrowly escaped by creeping into a hollow tree
Dark Lexicon: Old words. Dark meaning.
The past speaks its own dialect; here is what to listen for in this episode.
Seditious words: in old England, simply speaking against the king or the government could get you locked up. It did not take a plot or a weapon: the wrong sentence in the wrong alehouse was enough to see you dragged to Newgate.
Jacobite: a supporter of the exiled Stuart line, who believed the throne had been stolen. In old England, calling someone a Jacobite was not a compliment; it marked them as a threat to the ruling order and a potential traitor.
Journeyman: today we use it loosely to mean someone competent but unremarkable. In old England it meant a skilled tradesman who had completed his apprenticeship but did not yet own his own shop; he worked for daily wages, and the word comes from the French 'journee,' meaning a day.
Hounslow Heath: the stretch of open land west of London that was practically synonymous with highway robbery. Travellers crossing it knew the risks; highwaymen knew the rewards.
Lay under condemnation: to wait in prison after being sentenced to death. In old England, the condemned sometimes lingered for weeks, receiving visitors, writing letters, and facing the slow approach of the gallows.
Forcing the prison: an escape attempt that involved breaking out by violence. It was a serious additional offence in old England and could seal a prisoner's fate even if the original charge was in doubt.
Suffered: in old England's legal language, to 'suffer' meant to undergo execution. It carried a note of religious endurance, as if the gallows were a kind of passion the condemned was made to bear.
About This Series
Lives of the Most Remarkable Criminals (1735) is one of the earliest works of true crime in the English language. Each week this podcast retells one of its stories for today's listener, keeping the old book's most striking lines.
