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Tag Archives: c17
The 1697 ‘Escape of Debtors’ act
I have previously – and only briefly – discussed the 1697 act against the sanctuaries, looking at those places named in it, and their geographical distribution. Below, I present the full text of the statute. The abolition of ‘pretended privileged … Continue reading
Posted in alsatia
Tagged Baldwin's Gardens, c17, clink, fleet, Fuller's Rents, gender, King's Bench, law, mint, Mitre Court, montague close, ram alley, salisbury court, Savoy, whitefriars
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Two Rescues
If there is a particular practice that epitomises the sanctuaries, it is the rescue. This was the forcible release of a prisoner from the custody of an authority, be it the law, the military or bailiffs. Whilst it was common … Continue reading
Resources: Canting Dictionaries
To round off this series of posts on canting language, here are links to those pre-Victorian cant, slang and jargon vocabularies freely available on the internet. More are to be found in various subscription archives; these are not listed here … Continue reading
The Language of Alsatia: earliest uses
When was the word ‘Alsatia’ first applied to Whitefriars? Cunningham’s Handbook of London (1850) states: “ALSATIA. A cant name given before 1623 to the precinct of Whitefriars, then and long after a notorious place of refuge and retirement for persons … Continue reading
The Milford Lane Bermudas
The major problem with the historical slang discussed in the previous post is that our main source for it, the canting vocabularies, cannot be taken as proof of what was actually voiced. Not only do contemporary dictionaries dramatically transform the … Continue reading
The London Spy visits Whitefriars
What happened to the sanctuaries after the passing of the 1697 act against “pretended privileged places” is a difficult question. In at least one case, a sanctuary survived it: Southwark Mint continued to harbour debtors until 1722. Perhaps this was … Continue reading
John Evelyn and Saint Martins In The Fields
A curious entry in John Evelyn’s diary, and the only one I’ve found concerning sanctuary: [1687] 25th March. Good Friday. Dr Tenison preached at St. Martin’s on 1 Peter ii. 24. During the service, a man came into near the … Continue reading
Luttrell on Winter
Continuing the search for documents about Captain Francis Winter, leader of the Alsatians in the riot against the Templars, here are extracts from Narcissus Luttrell’s A Brief Historical Relation of State Affairs from September 1678 to April 1714. This is … Continue reading
The Ordinary of Newgate’s account of Captain Francis Winter
The Ordinary of Newgate was the curious title of that prison’s chaplain. One of the perks of the post was the right to the publication of the biographies and last words of the condemned, and it is the account of … Continue reading
Posted in alsatia
Tagged c17, francis winter, ordinary of newgate, riot, temple, whitefriars
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Francis Winter’s Last Farewell
In 1691, the lawyers of The Temple, itself a liberty, sought to block up a gate connecting it to Whitefriars. The Alsatians, seeing this as an impediment to their movements in and out of their sanctuary, raised a mob, attacked … Continue reading
Posted in alsatia
Tagged c17, francis winter, illustration, riot, song, temple, whitefriars
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