On the afternoon of 8 August 1782, at approximately 4.05 pm., two elderly ladies, Frances Fortescue and Frances Trehearn, left their house to have dinner with a neighbour, Mrs Cotton. At 6.45 pm, however, a servant from another neighbour, Mr Kinder, came to the house to tell the two ladies that they should return home as their house had been ransacked.
The house had indeed been robbed and a large number of items had been taken. Frances Fortescue alone lost goods to the value of an estimated £300, including 30 yards of white satin, 18 yards of figured satin, 18 yards of silk, 12 yards of embroidered white satin, a gold watch and a large quantity of silver items. She also lost five guineas in gold coin.
There had been two servants in the house at the time of the robbery: Charlotte Goodall, who had worked there for some three years, and Elizabeth Steen, known as Betty, who had been there for just over a year. Both ladies had been tied up in their respective bedrooms, but by the time Frances Fortescue arrived home, they had both been released by some of the neighbours who had come to their aid.
Almost immediately, Frances noticed something rather strange about the theft. Only cupboards that had contained something of value had been broken open. It was as if the thieves had known precisely where to look. This was, perhaps, explained away by Charlotte Goodall, who said that she had been forced to show the intruders where the valuables were kept.
There was, however, something else which needed to be explained. Charlotte had told her mistress that she had been sweeping the floor when two or three men burst in, seized her, ordered her to lead them to the valuables, and then tied her up. The other servant, Elizabeth Steen, told a slightly different story. The house had been put up for rent and she told Frances that there had been a knock on the front door. Charlotte had assumed it was someone who had come to look at the house and let a gentleman in. No sooner was he through the door than some other men burst in after him. The more she thought about the matter, the more Frances Fortescue came to believe that one of her servants had conspired with the thieves and, at this stage, her suspicions fell upon Elizabeth.
Both girls were questioned at length by the constables and, finally, Elizabeth said that she would tell the truth. She had indeed been involved in the robbery but it had been at the instigation of Charlotte and a gang she was involved in. That gang included Charlotte’s mother, Priscilla Goodall, a man named John Edmonds and two others, John Simpson and his wife Elizabeth. In return for her testimony against the others, Elizabeth Steen was not charged with any offence.
In the event, John and Elizabeth Simpson could not be traced. The others, however, were arrested. Charlotte Goodall was charged with stealing, as was John Edmonds. Charlotte’s mother, Priscilla, was charged with aiding them and receiving some of the stolen property. There was also a fourth defendant, Stephen Bouchett, who was indicted for receiving some of the items, knowing them to be stolen. All four were tried before Mr Justice Ashurst, on 11 September 1782.
The first witness was Frances Fortescue, who said that when she returned home on the fateful day, both of her servants were crying. Charlotte had rushed into her arms, saying that she was sorry they had been unable to prevent the robbery. Frances had replied that as long as she had not been hurt, it was of no matter. Frances noticed that there was no sign of any disturbance in Charlotte’s room, and the only items that had apparently been taken from her were the two buckles from her shoes.
Joseph Kinder knew the two ladies quite well and had called at their house to see them at around 6.00 pm, on 8 August. He had found the door open and the house in disarray. Going upstairs, he had found both servant girls tied to their bedposts and had released them. After finding out where the two ladies had gone for dinner, Joseph then sent his servant to bring them back.
John Clifford was another neighbour and had gone into the house to assist Mr Kinder, once the robbery had been discovered. The following day, acting on information given to him by Elizabeth Steen, he searched a drain below the sink and found two shoe buckles. These were shown to Frances Fortescue, who identified them as the ones removed from Charlotte’s shoes. According to Elizabeth, Charlotte had removed them during the robbery, so that she could say she had been a victim too. They were hidden beneath the bed in her room but once the constables had been called, Charlotte had dumped these down the drain in order to hide the incriminating evidence.
Elizabeth Steen gave testimony, protected as she was now from the consequences of her actions. She told the court that some five months before the robbery she had seen Charlotte break open a chest in her mistresses bedroom and steal some pieces of satin, which she said she would pass on to her mother to pawn. Eventually, it was decided that the house should be robbed properly and it was arranged that it would take place on a day when the two old ladies were going out together. Once Frances had informed Charlotte that she was going to Mrs Cottons, the arrangements were made and it was Elizabeth who went to Priscilla Goodall’s house in Kingsland Road, to pass on the information.
Elizabeth and Charlotte were both involved in the robbery and went from room to room with the others, selecting the items to steal. Both were then told to wait a full hour before raising the alarm. They were each given two guineas for their assistance.
Elizabeth Greedy lived with John Edmonds in Priscilla’s house in Kingsland Road. She claimed that she knew nothing of the robbery, but on the day it had taken place, John had no money when he left the house at about noon. He returned at around 10.00 pm and seemed to suddenly have a good deal of gold in his possession.
The final witnesses told of various members of the gang selling or pawning some of the stolen items. Walter Roberts was a silversmith, with premises in Bishopsgate Street and he told the court he had purchased a pair of silver tongs and some spoons from Bouchett.
Samuel Stevens was a watchmaker in Whitechapel and Bouchett had visited his premises too, selling a silver spoon. In order to explain these sales, Bouchett claimed that he had had nothing to do with the robbery. He had been out fishing one day and had found a red handkerchief tied into a bundle. The items he sold had been inside and he was therefore guilty of nothing more than selling items he had found.
In the event, all four defendants were adjudged to be guilty. Charlotte and John Edmonds were both sentenced to death. Priscilla was sentenced to be burnt in the hand and then imprisoned for one year. In the event, that punishment was succeeded by a more stringent one, for she was later tried for assisting in the theft of items from Frances Trehearn and sentenced instead to fourteen years’ transportation. Bouchett also received the same sentence, and eventually he and Priscilla were sent to North America for those fourteen years.
On 15 October 1782, Charlotte Goodall and John Edmonds were hanged along with eight other men: Peter Verrier, Henry Berthond, William Hones, William Odom, Thomas Gladenboul, John Weatherby, John Lafore and John Graham.
Though she was not to know it, Charlotte earned a place in history on the day she died, for she was the last woman ever to be executed at Tyburn.