Abershaw, Louis Jeremiah [Jerry] (c. 1773–1795), highwayman, operated for many years on the roads between London, Kingston, and Wimbledon, and had his headquarters at the Bald-Faced Stag inn near Kingston. When in hiding he frequented the 'old house in West Street', in ...
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Abershaw, Louis Jeremiah [Jerry] (c. 1773–1795), highwayman
Sidney Lee
revised by Heather Shore
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Aitken, James (1752–1777)
Maker: unknown engraver
In
James Aitken (1752–1777) by unknown engraver, pubd 1777 (after W. Cave) © Copyright The British Museum
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Aitken, James [alias John the Painter] (1752–1777), radical and arsonist
Neil L. York
Aitken, James [alias John the Painter] (1752–1777), radical and arsonist, was born in Edinburgh on 28 September 1752 to George Aitken, a blacksmith, and his wife, Magdalen. The eighth of twelve children, James qualified for admission as an impoverished student to Heriot's Hospital, Edinburgh...
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Alford, Agnes (b. c. 1523, d. after 1587), Catholic recusant and book smuggler
Earle Havens
Alford, Agnes (b. c. 1523, d. after 1587), Catholic recusant and book smuggler, is of unknown family origins. As early as 1538 she was married to Augustine de Augustinis (c. 1500?–1551), a Venetian-born medical doctor living in England. Her husband’s early career—first as personal physician to Cardinal ...
Article
Allan [Allen], James [Jimmy] (1734–1810), Northumbrian piper and rogue
Keith Gregson
Allan [Allen], James [Jimmy] (1734–1810), Northumbrian piper and rogue, was born at Hepple, Northumberland, probably in March 1734, and baptized at Rothbury, Northumberland, on 21 April 1734, the son of William Allan or Allen, also known as Wull Faa, a noted vermin hunter and performer on the Northumbrian small pipes. ...
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Armstrong, John [Johnnie], of Gilnockie (d. 1530), gang leader
Maureen M. Meikle
Armstrong, John [Johnnie], of Gilnockie (d. 1530), gang leader, is recorded as brother to Thomas Armstrong, laird of Mangerton, and so was presumably a younger son of this branch of the Armstrongs. He lived in Canonbie parish, which was then within the notorious ‘debatable land’ of the western Anglo-Scottish frontier and is now in ...
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Armstrong, William [called Christie's Will] (fl. 1636), border reiver
J. R. M. Sizer
Armstrong, William [called Christie's Will] (fl. 1636), border reiver, was the son of Christopher Armstrong of Gilnockie, Dumfriesshire, and the lineal descendant of Johnnie Armstrong of Gilnockie, subject of the eponymous ballad. The tower of Gilnockie stood in the parish of Canonbie...
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Armstrong, William, of Kinmont (fl. 1569–1603), border reiver
J. R. M. Sizer
Armstrong, William, of Kinmont (fl. 1569–1603), border reiver, was made famous by the poem 'Kinmont Willie', which recounts his dramatic rescue from Carlisle Castle in 1596, as found in Sir Walter Scott's Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. In 1593 Sir Thomas Musgrave of ...
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Avery, Henry [known as Captain John Avery] (bap. 1659, d. 1696?), pirate
David Cordingly
Avery, Henry [known as Captain John Avery] (bap. 1659, d. 1696
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Barrington, George (1755–1804)
Maker: Sir William Beechey
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George Barrington (1755–1804) by Sir William Beechey, c. 1785 by permission of the National Library of Australia T275
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Barrington [formerly Waldron], George (1755–1804), actor, pickpocket, and transported convict
Suzanne L. G. Rickard
Barrington [formerly Waldron], George (1755–1804), actor, pickpocket, and transported convict, was born in Maynooth, co. Kildare, Ireland. Some claim that his birth date was 14 May 1755 and that his father was Henry Waldron, a silversmith, and his mother a Miss Naish (Naith)...
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Barry, Lording (bap. 1580, d. 1629), playwright and pirate
David Kathman
Barry, Lording (bap. 1580, d. 1629), playwright and pirate, was baptized on 17 April 1580 in St Laurence Pountney, St Laurence Pountney Lane, London, the fifth of eleven children of Nicholas Barry (d. 1607), citizen and fishmonger, and his second wife, Anne (...
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Lording Barry, playwright and pirate (bap. 1580, d. 1629)
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Lording Barry, playwright and pirate (bap. 1580, d. 1629)
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Bateman [née Harker], Mary (1768–1809), thief and poisoner
Owen Davies
Bateman [née Harker], Mary (1768–1809), thief and poisoner, was born in Asenby, Yorkshire, the daughter of a small farmer named Harker. She evidently received a good education for one of her class, and could read and write proficiently. At the age of thirteen her father sent her into service in ...
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Bennet [Bennett], John [alias William Freeman or Hill; called the Golden Farmer] (d. 1690), thief
Barbara White
Bennet [Bennett], John [alias William Freeman or Hill; called the Golden Farmer] (d. 1690), thief, of unknown parentage, is at present visible only in the last year of his life. On 9 September 1689 the authorities had—or thought they had—him in Newgate prison...
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Biggs, Ronald Arthur [Ronnie] (1929–2013), criminal and fugitive
Stewart Tendler
Biggs, Ronald Arthur [Ronnie] (1929–2013), criminal and fugitive, was born on 8 August 1929 at 37 Dalyell Road, Stockwell, south London, the youngest child in the family of four sons and one daughter of Henry Jack Biggs (1888–1965), a railway dining car steward, and his wife, ...
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Ronald [Ronnie] Arthur Biggs, criminal and fugitive (1929–2013)
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Ronald [Ronnie] Arthur Biggs, criminal and fugitive (1929–2013)
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Blake, Joseph [nicknamed Blueskin] (bap. 1700, d. 1724), burglar
Andrea McKenzie
Blake, Joseph [nicknamed Blueskin] (bap. 1700, d. 1724), burglar, was baptized on 31 October 1700 at All Hallows the Great, London, the son of Nathaniel and Jane Blake, who were later described as having been 'in tolerable Circumstances' (Most Remarkable Criminals...
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Bonnet, Stede (d. 1718), pirate
Robert C. Ritchie
Bonnet, Stede (d. 1718), pirate, may have been a soldier as he was given the title of major during his trial, where he was also treated as an educated gentleman by the officers of the court. The most that can at present be said about his family is that he is probably the ...
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Bonny, Anne (1698–1782), pirate
David Cordingly
Bonny, Anne (1698–1782), pirate, was born near Cork in Ireland. Evidence from her descendants suggests that she was the illegitimate daughter of William Cormac, lawyer, and his maidservant. Cormac, who raised his daughter as a boy, found his legal practice so affected by his affair that he decided to go abroad. Taking ...
