Speaker 1: Welcome to Criminalia, a production of Shondaland Audio in partnership
Speaker 1: with iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2: A native of Herford, William Spigott was an eighteenth century
Speaker 2: English highwayman and the leader of a gang of at
Speaker 2: least eight men. He was born in sixteen ninety one
Speaker 2: or perhaps sixteen ninety two, that's a little fuzzy, and
Speaker 2: was likely the son of the innkeeper of an establishment
Speaker 2: known as the Chief Inn.
Speaker 1: It said.
Speaker 2: William may have started his career as an apprentice cabinet
Speaker 2: maker in London, but he didn't follow his family's legitimate
Speaker 2: path in life, instead deciding on a more felonious one.
Speaker 2: He lived his life as a robber, poacher, burglar and murderer.
Speaker 2: Welcome to Criminalia. I'm Maria Tremarky and.
Speaker 1: I'm Holly Frye. William, at age twenty nine, was allegedly
Speaker 1: married and a father of three. Thomas Phillips, known as Cross,
Speaker 1: was a thirty three year old former seamen who could
Speaker 1: neither read nor write, and these two men met when
Speaker 1: Cross returned to England after time on the Mediterranean Sea,
Speaker 1: and they became, as the saying goes Thickest Thieves. Whether
Speaker 1: William was involved in criminal activity before his friendship with
Speaker 1: Cross is a little unclear, although some accounts of his
Speaker 1: life suggest that he did at least dabble. But the
Speaker 1: two men very much became partners in crime. They found
Speaker 1: themselves on trial more than once. The trials are intertwined,
Speaker 1: so we're going to try to keep our focus on
Speaker 1: the most dramatic and likely most popular of them. In
Speaker 1: Spigott's legend, he was known for being ruthless, and tales
Speaker 1: about him say he was the most fearsome of all
Speaker 1: highway robbers together he and his eventual gang because he
Speaker 1: took on others in his band in addition to Cross,
Speaker 1: committed an unknown number of crimes over more than a
Speaker 1: decade and only stopped when they got caught. William, though,
Speaker 1: is famous not just for those crimes, but also for
Speaker 1: his refusal during one trial to plead either guilty or not,
Speaker 1: and that decision meant that he would have to undergo
Speaker 1: a torture technique called penn ferte adieux, and we'll get
Speaker 1: into what that technique was. In a moment.
Speaker 2: People described William as a very quote impetuous man who
Speaker 2: was not eager to surrender and who was also difficult
Speaker 2: to catch. It had been about a dozen years before
Speaker 2: William was captured by men working for Jonathan Wild in
Speaker 2: early January of seventeen twenty one. Wild is a fascinating
Speaker 2: figure in his own right. He ran what's described as
Speaker 2: a mafia like empire that included everything from robbery to
Speaker 2: extortion to blackmail, and he was also known as a
Speaker 2: thief taker, which means he betrayed and captured other thieves.
Speaker 2: He made a career and a fortune out of playing
Speaker 2: on both sides of the law. He apprehended William and
Speaker 2: seven of William's gang at a Westminster tavern called.
Speaker 1: The Blue Boar.
Speaker 2: William had once said he quote swore he would kill
Speaker 2: a thousand before he would be taken. Seems like that
Speaker 2: number came in really short. Now apprehended, William Cross and
Speaker 2: another gang member named William Heater appeared at the January thirteenth,
Speaker 2: seventeen twenty one session at the Old Bailey Court. William Spigot,
Speaker 2: Cross and William Heater were the defendants charged with and
Speaker 2: these are likely not in an order to match each
Speaker 2: person's charges, though most were the same. Quote violent theft,
Speaker 2: highway robbery and violent theft and one of them was
Speaker 2: charged with receiving.
Speaker 1: Some victims came forward to testify with their stories. One man,
Speaker 1: John Watkins, positively identified both Cross and William Spiggott as
Speaker 1: two of the three thieves who had robbed him on
Speaker 1: Hounslow Heath on November twelfth, seventeen twenty. Heater was acquitted
Speaker 1: because of lack of evidence and his story with the
Speaker 1: gang ends here, but William Spiggott and Cross were charged
Speaker 1: with stealing Watkins quote guineas and one box a gold watch,
Speaker 1: twelve Holland shirts, two pair of lace ruffles, two cambrig bosoms,
Speaker 1: two lawn turnovers, two Muslin turnovers, two pair of stockings,
Speaker 1: a hat, a periwig, and twelve guineas the goods and
Speaker 1: money of Neil Sheldon Esquire. In his testimony, John declared
Speaker 1: that he recognized William Spiggott and that he had known
Speaker 1: him for many years.
Speaker 2: In court, both William and Cross refused to enter aplee
Speaker 2: any plea, and they also declared that until their belongings
Speaker 2: and that was money and horses, were given back to them,
Speaker 2: they would stand silent ah But there was a pertinent
Speaker 2: law at play. In sixteen ninety two, England had enacted
Speaker 2: a law titled an Act for Encouraging the Apprehending of Highwaymen,
Speaker 2: which meant that when highwaymen were arrested, the person who
Speaker 2: apprehended them could take the horses, money, and other belongings
Speaker 2: from the Felon.
Speaker 1: William, it said quote remained inflexible and insulted the court. Unfortunately,
Speaker 1: those exact words that he used in court that were
Speaker 1: so insulting were not recorded. Were wildly curious what they were,
Speaker 1: though still refusing to plead. That subversive behavior led the
Speaker 1: court to first threaten the men, and then if that
Speaker 1: didn't work, it was time for punishment by penfort adieux
Speaker 1: that translates directly from the French to pain, strong and hard.
Speaker 1: And this punishment was. This punishment which we're going to
Speaker 1: talk more about as William's story unfolds, was that you
Speaker 1: would be pressed to death, meaning that you would be
Speaker 1: laid out, tied with your limbs extended, and then have
Speaker 1: progressively heavier and heavier weight placed on your body until
Speaker 1: you either talked or died. Defendants who refused to enter
Speaker 1: a plea of either guilty or not guilty were at
Speaker 1: the mercy of the law and the authority of the
Speaker 1: court with penn forte dieux hanging over them. Very few
Speaker 1: defendants with trials that the old Bailey refused to enter
Speaker 1: a plea.
Speaker 2: We are going to take a break for a word
Speaker 2: from our sponsors, and when we're back, we'll talk in
Speaker 2: greater detail about what it meant to be pressed to
Speaker 2: death in the English court.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to criminalium. Let's talk about what it's like
Speaker 1: to have four hundred pounds sitting on your chest.
Speaker 2: Law stated that those convicted of specific serious crimes should
Speaker 2: receive the death penalty, and convicted highway robbers were on
Speaker 2: that list. They were sentenced by law to execution. Although
Speaker 2: pressing remained a punishment recorded on the books until seventeen
Speaker 2: seventy two, opinion on the punishment was mixed, with many
Speaker 2: finding it quote irrational and barbaric. This type of torture
Speaker 2: was quite popular in medieval times, but by seventeen hundred
Speaker 2: most people pretty much assumed it was an outdated punishment,
Speaker 2: no longer a sentence handed down from a judge. Through
Speaker 2: the Felony and Piracy Act of seventeen seventy two, England
Speaker 2: abolished the punishment for a defendant's refusal to plea, and
Speaker 2: the court determined that instead standing silent would automatically be
Speaker 2: equivalent to a conviction. By eighteen twenty seven, things reversed.
Speaker 2: Any prisoner refusing to plea was automatically determined not guilty
Speaker 2: but for our purposes. William did his business in the
Speaker 2: seventeen hundreds and was executed in seventeen twenty one, right
Speaker 2: before the punishment of pressing was abolished.
Speaker 1: As he handed down Williams and Cross's sentences, the judge
Speaker 1: gave a speech describing the nature of their crimes. That
Speaker 1: entire speech is quite long, and we're just going to
Speaker 1: hit some highlights, which frankly are also a little bit long.
Speaker 1: This speech began, quote, you have been tried, and upon
Speaker 1: evidence that leaves not the smallest doubt, have now been
Speaker 1: found guilty. The judge continued, and quote, without a motive
Speaker 1: to tempt you, but the blackest that ever disgraced human nature,
Speaker 1: a willingness to earn the wages of iniquity, and how hardened,
Speaker 1: how determined were the preparations you made, you will justly die.
Speaker 1: It is now my duty to pronounce that dreadful sentence,
Speaker 1: an office which to me is ever painful.
Speaker 2: The judge continued quote that the prisoner should be laid
Speaker 2: on the bare ground, without any litter, straw, or other covering,
Speaker 2: or without any garment about him, except something to hide
Speaker 2: his prevy members. He shall lie upon his back, His
Speaker 2: head shall be covered in his feet shall be bare.
Speaker 2: One of his arms shall be drawn with a cord
Speaker 2: to one side of the room, and the other arm
Speaker 2: to the other side, and his legs shall be served
Speaker 2: in the like manner. Then there shall be laid upon
Speaker 2: his body as much iron or stone as he can bear,
Speaker 2: and more. He against whom this judgment shall be given
Speaker 2: forfeits his goods to the King. Friday next, the day
Speaker 2: after tomorrow, will in this world be your last. But
Speaker 2: think of the more dreadful day to come when you
Speaker 2: appear before a far more awful tribunal, before the great
Speaker 2: judge of all mankind. Think of how you will stand
Speaker 2: before him.
Speaker 1: Through our modern eyes, it probably seems unlikely or even unimaginable,
Speaker 1: that anyone would choose the punishment of pressing. But by
Speaker 1: choosing that method of execution, criminals had one last chance
Speaker 1: to show off their bravery and their rebellion against authority
Speaker 1: and against the rules. Because they stood silent. William and
Speaker 1: Cross were automatically determined guilty. They were brought back to
Speaker 1: Newgate to the press room, the torture room, but the
Speaker 1: sentence of pressing was just too much for Cross to bear,
Speaker 1: and before the torture even began, he agreed to plead,
Speaker 1: and he pled not guilty. He faced the charges levied
Speaker 1: against him, and he was found guilty, convicted, and sentenced
Speaker 1: to death by hanging, not pressing. But actually he'd be
Speaker 1: back on trial before that execution was even carried out.
Speaker 2: Remember earlier when we mentioned that William quote remained inflexible
Speaker 2: and insulted the court by standing silent. Because of that
Speaker 2: aforementioned inflexibility, and of course his convictions, William was brought
Speaker 2: to Newgate to begin his sentence quote to endure the
Speaker 2: torture of the press. He was eventually brought back to
Speaker 2: the Old Bailey for a second trial when the press
Speaker 2: became too much for him. After a reported four hundred
Speaker 2: pounds were placed on his chest, he changed his mind
Speaker 2: about standing silent.
Speaker 1: Before William was given the press, Thomas Purney, the Ordinary
Speaker 1: of Newgate, tried to quote dissuade him from the occasion
Speaker 1: of his own death and from cutting himself off from
Speaker 1: that space and time which the law allowed him to repent.
Speaker 1: So Pernie's role as Ordinary of Newgate was that he
Speaker 1: was the chaplain of Newgate Prison and his duty was
Speaker 1: to provide spiritual care to prisoners with death sentences. But
Speaker 1: it seems like William Spiggott may not have valued that council.
Speaker 2: We're going to take a break for a word from
Speaker 2: our sponsors. When we return, we'll talk more about pressing
Speaker 2: and why both men were hanged.
Speaker 1: In the end, Welcome back to criminalia. As we mentioned,
Speaker 1: William and Cross had a second for their original crimes
Speaker 1: and were also indicted again when additional evidence surfaced. William
Speaker 1: and his accomplices stood in the same court at the
Speaker 1: Old Bailey, this time for the crimes they were originally
Speaker 1: charged for. Plus as we said, a few others. Charles Sibylded,
Speaker 1: for instance, was robbed on Finchley Common. When deposed, Charles
Speaker 1: stated he was assaulted by three men who were on
Speaker 1: horseback on August twenty fifth, seventeen twenty so, only a
Speaker 1: few months before he testified. He continued that one of
Speaker 1: the men displayed a pistol to his right while another
Speaker 1: ruffian did the same to his left. The third robber,
Speaker 1: he said, was the one who bound him. The third
Speaker 1: robber was a highwayman in his own right, a man
Speaker 1: named William Burrows. The robbers replied to this story that
Speaker 1: they knew absolutely nothing about that event.
Speaker 2: This time, William and Cross were convicted primarily on testimony
Speaker 2: from Joseph Linny, a clergyman of ill repute who himself
Speaker 2: had turned to gambling and highway robbery and who had
Speaker 2: been an associate in their gang, or perhaps still was.
Speaker 2: Lindsay turned King's evidence in return for a pardon, which
Speaker 2: meant he only had to testify against his fellow criminals
Speaker 2: for a shorter sentence or potentially none at all, and
Speaker 2: he did. This testimony enraged William because Lindsay wasn't true
Speaker 2: to the gang, but mostly because William had once quote
Speaker 2: rescued Lindsay when he was nigh being taken, and in
Speaker 2: the defending him, was wounded and in danger of his life.
Speaker 2: In the court, the victim, Charles Sibbild, who proby just
Speaker 2: mentioned specifically not maybe recognized only Joseph Lindsay, testifying he
Speaker 2: had seen his face and heard his voice during the assault.
Speaker 2: The other attackers, he said, had covered their faces.
Speaker 1: Not a single testimony we unearthed described William or Cross
Speaker 1: as gallant or brave. As we've talked about among other
Speaker 1: highway robbers this season, William Spiggott was never compared to
Speaker 1: Robin Hood. The jury reached a verdict quickly, and the
Speaker 1: punishment was inevitable. William and Cross were sentenced to execution
Speaker 1: by hanging in February of seventeen twenty one.
Speaker 2: According to Pernie, quote, the reasons, as far as I
Speaker 2: could learn from Spigot of his enduring the press were
Speaker 2: that he might preserve his effects for the use of
Speaker 2: his family, that it might not be urged to his
Speaker 2: children that their father was hanged, and that Lindsay should
Speaker 2: not triumph over him by saying that he had sent
Speaker 2: him to dieburn. He continued, quote, The first point is unconvincing.
Speaker 2: Since those dying under the press forfeited their goods to
Speaker 2: the Crown, it does not appear that the material well
Speaker 2: being of Spiggot's family was his primary concern. Rather, as
Speaker 2: the second and third points suggest, he sought to maintain
Speaker 2: a reputation as a man of courage and resolution, as
Speaker 2: the leader of a gang, not a victim.
Speaker 1: Pernie also described during the torture the blood was quote
Speaker 1: flushed and forced up into his face, and reported that
Speaker 1: William would only say, quote, pray for me, Pray for me.
Speaker 1: After being pressed and still alive. William, according to Perney, quote,
Speaker 1: constantly attended the prayers in the chapel twice a day
Speaker 1: and stated that William was quote truly penitent, as sincerely
Speaker 1: so as he who showed his sorrow by his tears.
Speaker 1: William endured the torture of three hundred and fifty pounds
Speaker 1: on his chest. He broke down when another fifty pound
Speaker 1: weight was added. According to Pernie, William quote gasped out
Speaker 1: that he would plead, and of course that meant execution
Speaker 1: by hanging instead.
Speaker 2: While William and Cross were held until their executions, they
Speaker 2: each had some things to say about themselves. When reminiscing
Speaker 2: about his life as he awaited his execution, William claimed
Speaker 2: to Pernie that he'd committed numerous robberies. He was called
Speaker 2: the scourge of Southern England's coaching routes, and according to him,
Speaker 2: he primarily robbed on the roads leading from London out
Speaker 2: to Hounslow Heath, Kingston and where he boasted about the
Speaker 2: crimes he'd pulled off, but said to Perney, though quote
Speaker 2: it was in vain to mention his numerous robberies on
Speaker 2: the highway.
Speaker 1: Both William and Cross seemed to revel in their own notoriety.
Speaker 1: Like William, Cross too, boasted about his life of crime,
Speaker 1: saying he quote seemed to glory in the robberies he committed,
Speaker 1: and bragged to Perney that he, William and William's other
Speaker 1: accomplices committed a great number of highway robberies. Cross described
Speaker 1: how they once robbed quote one hundred passengers in a
Speaker 1: single night. That particular tale, well, it's now considered to
Speaker 1: be a lot more exaggeration with just a dash of
Speaker 1: fact in it.
Speaker 2: Right, like he was present, But the rest of the
Speaker 2: story is not right. Cross was hanged, and so was William,
Speaker 2: who happened to be executed by hanging on the same
Speaker 2: day as fourteen other people on February eleventh, seventeen twenty one,
Speaker 2: at Tyburn Tree Gallows.
Speaker 1: Oh, would you like a swig from the hip flask?
Speaker 2: As long as it's not called robin Hood, Yes, is.
Speaker 1: Not, but it's pretty predictable in its name because you
Speaker 1: know I was gonna call it penforte dieu.
Speaker 2: Of course, I want a drink that will press me.
Speaker 1: It out, no, but it will. It will have a
Speaker 1: little bit of hardness. And because that's a French saying
Speaker 1: and I was just in the mood, I wanted to
Speaker 1: kind of change up one of my very favorite go
Speaker 1: to drinks, a French seventy five, which isn't really French,
Speaker 1: but that's a different that's a different story.
Speaker 2: A drink doesn't matter.
Speaker 1: U, and I wanted to do it with something that
Speaker 1: is a little bit more of I don't think it's painful,
Speaker 1: but it may take you by surprise and feel a
Speaker 1: little sharp than a French seventy five. So a French
Speaker 1: seventy five, in case anybody doesn't know, is gin, champagne,
Speaker 1: simple syrup, and lemon juice, usually served in a champagne glass. Delicious.
Speaker 1: They're very popular brunch or you know, anytime, any time
Speaker 1: in your life. And I really do love them. I
Speaker 1: didn't used to, and then I got a taste for them,
Speaker 1: and now it's one of my big faves.
Speaker 2: I have a question for you about the French seventy five.
Speaker 2: Was it the gin that was early problematic for you
Speaker 2: or was that not the part.
Speaker 1: That was a part of it? Yeah, and my entry
Speaker 1: point was into them. There's a restaurant near me that
Speaker 1: makes them with the gin that I like, which has
Speaker 1: a little bit more of a floral note to it
Speaker 1: instead of the juniper piney thing. But I like them
Speaker 1: in various ways, and they're easy because there are a
Speaker 1: number of different ingredients. They are four ingredients, but they're
Speaker 1: all pretty easy to get a hold of and they're
Speaker 1: easy to switch out. There's nothing complicated. You can build
Speaker 1: it in the glass. It's all good. It's fun to
Speaker 1: play with. So for this one into your glass, you
Speaker 1: will put not any gin but an ounce of acavit
Speaker 1: or aquavite. I've heard it pronounce both ways. I have to,
Speaker 1: so for a reminder. It's come up on the show before,
Speaker 1: but many seasons back. So that is a spirit that
Speaker 1: is popular in Scandinavian countries. It is. There are different
Speaker 1: flavors of it or different notes of it, depending on
Speaker 1: where you get it and what country has manufactured it.
Speaker 1: But one of the primary flavors is Carraway, and I
Speaker 1: really love Caraway anyway. So if you get some play
Speaker 1: with it, it's so fun you can make mules with it,
Speaker 1: you can you know, play with it in a variety
Speaker 1: of different high balls, like it's a great spirit. It's
Speaker 1: one of my favorites. So you're gonna do an ounce
Speaker 1: of aquavit your two ounces of champagne, just like you
Speaker 1: were doing a French seventy five a half ounce of
Speaker 1: lemon cello instead of lemon juice, because we also want
Speaker 1: it to be a little harder hitting to go along
Speaker 1: with that idea of hard and painful. And then you
Speaker 1: will do simple syrup. I'm gonna say to taste on
Speaker 1: this one, and that can be anywhere from just a
Speaker 1: quick splash to half an ounce, two or three quarters
Speaker 1: of an ounce, depending on how all of those other
Speaker 1: flavors come together for you. I love lemon and caraway together,
Speaker 1: which is another reason I wanted to do this, because
Speaker 1: they're like great and baked goods. But this is kind
Speaker 1: of like the not too sweet version of that. And
Speaker 1: that's also going to depend on your bubbly whether you
Speaker 1: go as champagne or you do a prosecco or even
Speaker 1: a cava, and even within those, how dry or not
Speaker 1: you want it. So the simple syrup, I'm gonna say,
Speaker 1: is to your taste. I like a little sweeter sometimes
Speaker 1: with these, so I would do because then it really
Speaker 1: has like a yummy bakery situation. So I end up
Speaker 1: closer to half to three quarters of an ounce delicious,
Speaker 1: And that is the the pen to make the mocktail
Speaker 1: is really easy. We have done on the show before,
Speaker 1: and I think we actually put it in the book
Speaker 1: as a sub for aquavite using you're gonna make Carraway tea,
Speaker 1: which you can do by crushing Carraway seeds and using
Speaker 1: those and then pouring your hot water over it. Or
Speaker 1: you can occasionally find like a Carraway tea available in
Speaker 1: bag form, so either of those is great. You still
Speaker 1: only need an ounce, so then you still have additional
Speaker 1: Carraway tea to make more of these drinks, or just
Speaker 1: if you want to have tea, you'll use a light
Speaker 1: ginger in lieu of your bubbly and you'll use lemon
Speaker 1: juice or lemon syrup in substitution for your lemon cello.
Speaker 1: That will also affect whether or not you want to
Speaker 1: put more syrup in. So it is to your taste,
Speaker 1: and if you tweak it and you get it the
Speaker 1: way you want it. This will become one of those
Speaker 1: things you want often in both cocktail and mocktail form,
Speaker 1: unless you don't drink it all, in which case just
Speaker 1: the mocktail form. It's great. So that is the pin
Speaker 1: Forte Dux. It's a little pretentious name. I love it
Speaker 1: because I'm a little pretentious and I own that. But man,
Speaker 1: what a yummy, bubbly sip it is. If you make this,
Speaker 1: I hope that you love it, and that I also
Speaker 1: hope you enjoyed this wild story. Listen. I can't help
Speaker 1: but fixate on this idea of a completely barbaric torture
Speaker 1: that was de rigueur for a long time, exactly wild.
Speaker 1: We will be right back here next week with another
Speaker 1: tale of highway robbery, possibly more torture I don't know,
Speaker 1: and definitely more drinks to go with it. We hope
Speaker 1: you join us for it. Criminalia is a production of
Speaker 1: Shondaland Audio in partnership with iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from
Speaker 1: Shondaland Audio, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.