ABSTRACT
In the darkness of the evening of 17 December 1796, two coaches drew slowly out of Chiltern Street, Marylebone, London. In the leading coach sat Constable William Bowyer, fearsome keeper of the local peace. He had just arrested five men, and he was guarding two of them. His other three prisoners sat, tied by the wrists, in the following coach. These other men remained in the custody of Bowyer's fellow constable, William Messenger. At Messenger's side huddled two women desperately trying to keep their identities hidden. They were travelling as informants to a crime, and they would have to face the receiving magistrate if they were to claim their reward. Bowyer had arrested his evening's catch at the Chiltern Street house of one James Freegrove, an illiterate tailor. 1 At least two of those apprehended were respected tradesmen of the area.
