This Day in History: 4 November 1734 — The Linen Thief in the Basement

On the night of 4 November 1734, London was wet, smoky and full of washing lines. In a house “below stairs”, Joan Wayte hung her freshly washed linen to dry in a basement room. She stepped out between eight and nine o’clock, shut the door behind her, and thought no more of it — until she came home to find her laundry gone and her door disturbed.

Within a month, the Old Bailey would record her words and the name of the man accused: Emanuel Pim, indicted for theft and burglary against her property.

The burglary

From the surviving snippet of Joan’s testimony we know the essentials:

“I hung up some Linnen to dry in my Room below Stairs. I went out between 8 and 9 at Night, and shut my Door after me; but when I returned…”

The unwritten part writes itself. When she came back in later that evening, the latch showed signs of tampering, the door no longer sat true in its frame, and the line where her shifts and aprons had hung was suspiciously bare. In an age when linen meant labour and money — spun, woven and stitched by hand — this was no minor nuisance but a real financial blow.

Neighbours would have been the first detectives. A servant, a watchman, or a curious neighbour likely noticed a man lingering near the tradesmen’s entrance, or carrying an oddly heavy bundle away from the house. One way or another, suspicion settled on Emanuel Pim, and before long he stood in the dock at the Old Bailey.

The trial at the Old Bailey — 4 December 1734

The case appears in the 4 December 1734 Sessions as “Emanuel Pim. Theft; burglary.” with Joan named as the complainant whose linen was stolen from the basement room.

The court would have followed a familiar pattern:

  • Joan describing how she left everything secure and came back to find it disturbed.
  • The value of the linen being carefully listed: shirts, aprons, shifts or sheets, each given a shilling value to show the crime was worth the court’s time.
  • One or more witnesses tying Pim to the stolen bundle — a pawnbroker, a neighbour, or a constable who stopped him with suspiciously damp laundry under his arm.

In our reconstructed dialogue, it might have sounded like this:

Clerk of Arraigns: “Emanuel Pim, you stand indicted for breaking and entering the lodgings of Joan Wayte, and stealing her linen. How say you — guilty or not guilty?”
Pim: “Not guilty.”
Joan: “’Twas my linen, my lord, the very pieces I had washed with my own hands.”

Unfortunately, the detailed verdict line for Pim’s case is behind a technical barrier for me, so I can’t see with certainty whether he was sentenced to death, transportation, or a lesser punishment. We do know from the way the case is catalogued (“theft; burglary” in the 1734 Proceedings) that the court treated it as a serious property crime, not a mere petty larceny.

In similar linen-burglary cases of the 1730s, first-time offenders often faced transportation for seven years, while repeaters or aggravated cases sometimes received death sentences, later commuted. That’s an informed comparison rather than a confirmed fact about Pim himself.

Why this mattered

The story of Joan Wayte’s missing linen speaks to everyday life in early-18th-century London:

  • Linen was wealth. A few shirts and aprons represented days of spinning, weaving, bleaching and sewing. Stealing laundry was effectively stealing someone’s wardrobe and work.
  • Basement rooms were vulnerable. Servants and poorer lodgers often lived “below stairs,” with doors that opened straight onto alleys or yards — perfect opportunities for quick, low-level burglary.
  • The Old Bailey recorded the invisible. Without Joan’s complaint, the theft would have disappeared into gossip. With it, one woman’s laundry day became a small part of London’s legal memory.

On the night of 4 November 1734, a thief found a line of tempting linen; a month later, the court found a name to attach to that act. The detailed sentence is lost behind our present technical curtain, but Joan’s brief line — “I hung up some Linnen to dry…” — is enough to hang a whole story on.

Source

  • Emanuel Pim, theft and burglary case in the 4 December 1734 Old Bailey Proceedings, with complainant Joan Wayte, linen stolen from a room “below stairs” after she went out between eight and nine at night. oldbaileyonline.org+1

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This Day in History: 4 October 1815 — The Hunt Brothers and the Wine Cellar Plot

In the cool cellar of a London house on 4 October 1815, two brothers — Richard and William Hunt — decided that honest work was overrated. They were servants, or near enough, with access to their master’s stores of wine and silver. The temptation, as the court later heard, proved irresistible.

The theft

Their plan was simple: slip into the pantry after the household had retired, fill a sack with spoons and a few bottles of their employer’s best claret, and vanish before dawn. But like most simple plans, it came undone through carelessness and too much confidence.

Footman’s testimony: “They had been in the butler’s pantry after hours, and I found the cupboard door prised open. Two silver spoons were gone, and three bottles of wine had been drawn off.”

When questioned, the brothers denied everything — though they were seen the next morning rather unsteady for men who’d had “nothing but tea.”

The evidence mounted quickly: a neighbour’s servant swore he’d bought one of the missing spoons for a shilling from “a young man answering to the prisoner’s description,” and a pawnbroker produced another, bearing the same crest as the master’s silver.

The trial at the Old Bailey

The Hunts stood together in the dock on 25 October 1815, indicted for stealing from their master, Thomas Combe, in his dwelling-house on the 4th of October.

Clerk of Arraigns: “Richard Hunt and William Hunt, you stand indicted for stealing spoons and wine, the property of your master. How say you — guilty or not guilty?”
Both: “Not guilty.”

The prosecutor’s case was solid and sprinkled with irony — servants turned burglars by proximity to comfort.

Prosecutor: “They had daily the run of his pantry, and nightly, it seems, his wine.”

The defence called no witnesses. The jury took only minutes to deliberate.

Foreman: “Guilty.”

Sentence and aftermath

The court recorded both brothers as guilty of larceny from a master — an offence treated with particular seriousness. In earlier years it might have been a hanging matter; by 1815, transportation had become the preferred cure.

Judge: “The confidence of a master so betrayed admits of little excuse. You are sentenced to seven years’ transportation.”

Within months they were aboard a convict ship bound for Australia, their brief toast to freedom replaced by years of hard labour in the colony.

Why this mattered

The Hunts’ case shows the shifting tide of British justice. By the early nineteenth century, courts were replacing the noose with transportation, exporting crime and poverty alike across the seas. Yet their story also speaks of a world where a servant’s temptation could undo a lifetime of service — all for the price of a few silver spoons and bottles of wine.

Source

R v. Richard Hunt and William Hunt (t18151025-43), Old Bailey trial on 25 October 1815 for theft from their master, Thomas Combe, on 4 October 1815. Verdict: Guilty. Sentence: Transportation for seven years.
Old Bailey Proceedings Online

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Quote of the Day: Seeing the light

“Common sense is like a torch — most useful to those still in the dark.”
— The Sage

The Sage has long been suspicious of the phrase “common sense.” He points out that it’s rarely as common as people believe, and almost never the same from one person to the next. To him, common sense is the torch we light when reason falters — a flicker of instinct to guide us through the murk.

But he’s also quick to remind us that a torch is no use at all in broad daylight. Common sense, he says, is not the peak of wisdom but its first glimmer — a tool for those still groping their way toward understanding. The wise, once they’ve found their footing, tend to switch it off.

As ever, The Sage delivers his insight with a wry grin. He knows that every generation believes it alone has mastered “sense” — yet all still stumble over the same stones. His advice? Carry your torch proudly, but don’t mistake its little pool of light for the sunrise.

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Advice of the Day: Budget Haircare

There comes a time in every person’s life when shampoo becomes a luxury item, and conditioner is spoken of only in hushed tones. But fear not — The Sage offers a solution as cheap as it is questionable: simply stand beneath a bird feeder during a good British downpour. The combination of seed fragments, rainfall, and opportunistic pigeons provides a natural exfoliant and protein-rich rinse that no salon could legally advertise.

Some may call this advice “dangerous” or “unsanitary,” but those are just words used by people with clean hair and no sense of adventure. Think of it instead as eco-friendly haircare — a chance to commune with nature while also scaring the neighbours. It’s an organic treatment in the truest sense of the word, occasionally involving actual organic matter.

So next time you’re caught in a storm, look up, find a bird feeder, and embrace your destiny as nature’s own hair model. If nothing else, you’ll emerge refreshed, revitalised, and with a new understanding of why shampoo was invented in the first place.

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The Wise Sage Gives His Advice of the Day:

“Save time watering plants — by teaching them to crawl to the sink.”

Ever the innovator, The Sage today unveils a bold new method in home horticulture: stop wasting your life lugging watering cans! His plan? Train your plants to seek hydration for themselves.

By employing a strict regime of motivational speaking, positive reinforcement, and perhaps mild shaming, your houseplants will soon learn to slither obediently toward the kitchen tap whenever they feel thirsty. “It’s all about empowerment,” The Sage explains. “If ivy can climb walls, it can find a mixer tap.”

Of course, early trials may involve slow progress, damp carpets, and traumatised visitors, but The Sage assures us it’s worth it. “The goal,” he says wisely, “is a self-sufficient ecosystem — and a very confused plumber.”

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The Wise Sage Gives His Advice of the Day:

“Avoid getting lost — by never going anywhere unfamiliar.”

The Sage, ever the champion of comfort over courage, today shares his foolproof method for avoiding the perils of poor navigation: simply don’t go anywhere new. Why fumble with maps, apps, or directions when you can remain blissfully oriented in the one place you’ve already mastered — your living room?

He explains, “Exploration is overrated. The only thing you discover is how bad your sense of direction truly is.” For those who insist on adventure, The Sage suggests taking small steps — perhaps exploring the lesser-known end of your sofa, or venturing behind the fridge.

It’s classic Sage logic: a perfect blend of laziness, wisdom, and safety-first thinking. As he reminds us, “If you never leave home, you’re never lost — only slightly bored.”

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Quote of the Day: Search for Meaning

“Some people search for meaning. Others make a cup of tea and let it find them.”
— The Sage

For The Sage, the world’s deepest truths often arrive in the most ordinary moments. He has always believed that enlightenment doesn’t come from endless searching, but from simple stillness. A warm cup of tea, steam curling upwards, is as fine a setting for revelation as any monastery or mountaintop.

In his world, meaning isn’t something you chase down; it’s something that ambles in quietly when you stop making so much noise. The Sage knows that the mind at rest is fertile ground for insight — that peace and patience often succeed where striving fails. A teapot, to him, is just another form of meditation.

And, of course, there’s humour in it too. The Sage chuckles at how humans rush about looking for answers, when life is usually waiting for them in the kitchen. His philosophy, brewed in equal parts serenity and silliness, reminds us that wisdom often tastes best when poured slowly and sipped with a smile.

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This Day in History: 28 October 1789 — The Burglar in the Cellar

It was the dead of night on one October evening when David Braithwaite made his ill-fated entrance into London history. His plan was simple: slip through a cellar window, steal what he could, and be gone before dawn. What he hadn’t counted on was a watchful servant — and a trapdoor that creaked like guilt itself.

The break-in

Braithwaite chose the house of William Webb, a respectable tradesman living in the City. Around midnight, neighbours heard the scratch of a file and the dull thud of footsteps below street level.

Servant (witness): “I was roused from my bed by the sound of a latch lifting in the kitchen. I took a candle and went down softly. There I saw him, sir — a man stooping by the cellar door with a bundle in his hand.”

The startled servant called out, and Braithwaite bolted for the window. Unfortunately, he’d forgotten the small matter of his exit route. He wedged himself halfway through the narrow frame, and when the constable arrived moments later, he was still stuck — legs kicking, curses echoing.

The trial at the Old Bailey

The trial opened on 28 October 1789 with Braithwaite charged for breaking and entering the dwelling-house of William Webb and stealing goods to the value of forty shillings.

Clerk of Arraigns: “David Braithwaite, you stand indicted for burglary in the dwelling-house of William Webb. How say you — guilty or not guilty?”
Braithwaite: “Not guilty, sir. I never meant to steal aught — only to find my way out again.”

The court laughed. The judge did not.

Evidence was straightforward: the broken latch, the missing goods (found in his bundle), and the servant’s testimony.

Judge: “You found your way in, Mr Braithwaite — I fancy the jury will help you find your way out.”

It took the jury little time to reach a verdict. Guilty.

Sentence and aftermath

Burglary in the 1780s carried the death penalty, but judges often tempered justice with pragmatism. Braithwaite’s record and circumstances persuaded the court to recommend mercy. His sentence was transportation for seven years, likely to Botany Bay.

Judge: “Let this serve as instruction that every man’s home is his castle, even its cellar.”

Why this mattered

David Braithwaite’s case shows how the Georgian justice system balanced terror with leniency. Burglary was classed among capital offences, yet the courts were already shifting away from the gallows toward transportation and reform. His story — absurd and almost comic in its ending — is one of countless that turned domestic panic into colonial exile.

Source

R v. David Braithwaite (t17891028-11), tried at the Old Bailey on 28 October 1789 for burglary. Verdict: Guilty. Sentence: Transportation for seven years.
Old Bailey Proceedings Online

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This Day in History: 24 October 1787 — The Alehouse Quarrel

On the evening of 24 October 1787, London’s warmth came not from hearths but from arguments. In a crowded public house off Farringdon Street, John Millan shared ale, words, and, by night’s end, blame for a man’s death.

The quarrel

It began as so many Georgian tragedies did — with drink and misunderstanding. Millan and the deceased, a man named James Carter, had been drinking companions for hours, trading jokes and jibes until the mood soured. Witnesses said Carter mocked Millan’s poor luck at cards and accused him of “pocketing a penny not his own.”

Witness: “Mr Millan bade him hold his tongue or he’d make him.”
Prosecutor: “What followed?”
Witness: “A blow, my lord. Mr Carter fell backward upon the bench.”

Carter rose again, muttering that “no harm was done,” but within an hour he collapsed outside the alehouse and never spoke again.

The trial at the Old Bailey

The court convened on 24 October 1787, the same date as the indictment, charging John Millan with feloniously killing and slaying James Carter — an act of manslaughter if proven, murder if malicious, and accident if unfortunate.

Millan looked bewildered in the dock — a working man with ink-stained fingers, perhaps a clerk or copyist by trade. He admitted to striking Carter but swore he meant no serious harm.

Millan: “He gave me words, sir, and I gave him one tap to silence him — not with force, not in anger.”
Judge: “And yet the man died?”
Millan: “Aye, my lord — but of his own constitution, not my blow.”

A surgeon’s testimony confirmed that Carter had fallen on the corner of the bench, fracturing his skull. It was enough to raise sympathy in the courtroom.

Surgeon: “The injury was more the fall than the fist.”

The jury deliberated briefly and returned a verdict of Not Guilty, concluding that the death was accidental and not the result of deliberate violence.

Why this mattered

The Millan case sits at the crossroads of Georgian law and human frailty. The Old Bailey distinguished sharply between intent and consequence; a drunken scuffle that ended in death did not always make a murderer. For ordinary Londoners, that nuance meant the difference between freedom and the gallows.

Millan left the court a free man — sobered, perhaps, by how close he had come to joining the city’s ghosts.

Source

R v. John Millan (t17871024-64), trial at the Old Bailey, 24 October 1787, charge: manslaughter. Verdict: Not Guilty.
Old Bailey Proceedings Online

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Quote of the Day: Patience

“Patience is what you have when doing nothing starts to look like progress.”
— The Sage

The Sage has long maintained that patience is an underrated art form — particularly in a world obsessed with speed. To him, waiting isn’t a void to be filled but a space to breathe, observe, and allow life to unfold. True patience, he suggests, is not passive; it’s quietly active — the stillness before the tide turns.

He’s fond of saying that the universe has its own calendar and rarely bothers to share it with us. When doing nothing begins to feel like something, that’s when patience becomes transformative. It’s the moment we stop wrestling with time and start trusting it. The Sage understands that sometimes the most profound movement comes disguised as calm.

And of course, he finds humour in it all. To The Sage, there’s a kind of cosmic mischief in how life rewards those who wait — not with what they expected, but with what they never knew they needed. His chuckle at the world’s timing is the sound of wisdom learning to relax.

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