perform the grand tour; and it is reported that having sailed from
Naples to Constantinople, he there imbibed so great an admiration for
the manners of the Turks, that on his return to England in 1766, he
caused a portion of his family mansion to be taken down, and to be
rebuilt in the form of a harem. His lordship was not long in completing
his new establishment; and, like the persons whose customs he imitated,
he gave to its inmates certain rules, by which he directed that their
conduct and demeanour should be regulated.
The disgusting passions of his lordship, however, knew no bounds; and
agents were employed in London, whose duty it was to select new objects
for the gratification of his lustful desires. Amongst others who were
thus engaged in this degrading office were the women Griffenburg, who
was a native of Germany, and the wife of a Dr. Griffenburg, and Harvey,
whose names appear at the head of this article. They were both women of
low education, and their duty was to discover and point out persons who
might be deemed worthy of the attentions of their employer, and in case
of necessity to aid him in securing the end which he had in view. In the
course of their brutal and inhuman searches in this occupation, they
unfortunately discovered a young woman of considerable personal
attractions, and of some respectability, named Woodcock, who kept a
milliner's shop on Tower-hill; and Mrs. Harvey acquainting his lordship
with her residence, in November 1767, he directly proceeded to the spot
for the purpose of pursuing his diabolical designs. Calling at Miss
Woodcock's shop, he purchased some articles of trifling value, with a
view of making an acquaintance with her; and then having succeeded in
opening a conversation with her, he invited her to accompany him to the
theatre. Miss Woodcock declined the offer, saying that her religious
opinions taught her to believe that theatrical entertainments were
incompatible with the due exercise of the worship of the Almighty; and
his lordship finding all his efforts to attain his object vain, retired,
but only to put his agent, Mrs Harvey, to work.
Introducing herself as a customer, this infamous woman called repeatedly
at the shop of her intended victim, and purchased ruffles and other
articles of millinery. On the 14th of December, however, she proceeded
to take active measures in her plot; and then ordering a pair of lace
ruffles to be made by the following day, she directed Miss Woodcock to
take them herself to her residence in the Curtain-road, Shoreditch,
declaring that they were for a lady of rank and fortune, who was
desirous of encouraging her in her business, and who, if the order was
punctually obeyed, would, without doubt, become an excellent customer.
The ruffles were finished and carried home at the appointed time; and
then Miss Woodcock being invited in, was received politely by Mrs.
Harvey, who pressed her to stay to tea. She declined the invitation, on
the ground that it would be dark before she could reach home if she
remained; but at this moment a man named Isaacs came in, who said that
he was going to the theatre, and Mrs. Harvey expressing a desire at once
to convey the goods which had been brought to her to the lady for whom
they were ordered, it was eventually agreed, after some objections on
the part of Miss Woodcock as to her dress, that as Isaacs must hire a
coach, they should all go together.
At this time Lord Baltimore's carriage was waiting in the neighbourhood,
and the Jew going out, called it up, and all three got into it, Miss
Woodcock making no remark as to whether it was a private or a hired
conveyance. The coachman drove at a great pace; and after they had
traversed many streets, the vehicle was driven into the court-yard of a
house which appeared to be that of a person of consideration. Mrs.
Harvey and Miss Woodcock then alighted, and being ushered into the
house, they were conducted through several apartments until they reached
one in which an elderly gentleman, afterwards known as Dr. Griffenburg,
was seen seated; and he immediately retired, saying that he would
acquaint the lady of the house with their arrival. Lord Baltimore soon
afterwards entered; and Miss Woodcock was alarmed to find that he was
the person who had visited her shop. He bid her rest quiet, however,
saying that he was only the steward of the lady whom she was to see, and
then quitted the room, but soon afterwards returned with Mrs.
Griffenburg, who conversed with her as if she had expected her coming
and was the lady of the house. Orders were afterwards given for tea; and
on the equipage being removed from the table, Lord Baltimore presented
some trinkets to Miss Woodcock, which he said he had purchased for her.
As the evening advanced she became anxious to return, and expressed her
fears that her relatives would be surprised at her long absence; but his
lordship, in order to divert her from this purpose, took her to view the
apartments in the house, and at length, on her becoming still more
importunate, insisted that she should stay for supper. Private orders
having been given for the preparation of this meal, and Mrs. Griffenburg
having retired, his lordship began taking liberties of an indecent
character with the young lady; but on her exclaiming against this
treatment, Mrs. Harvey and Dr. Griffenburg appeared, as if to aid in
opposing her escape in the event of her attempting to obtain her
liberty. Supper was soon afterwards served; but it does not appear that
any idea was entertained by Miss Woodcock of an intention to detain her
forcibly until after this meal, when Lord Baltimore told her that there
were no coaches to be had then, and that she must remain for the night.
Mrs. Griffenburg and Mrs. Harvey now endeavoured to prevail on the young
lady to go to bed; but she declared that she would never sleep in that
house; and although they conducted her to a room in which they went to
rest, she continued walking about till the morning, and lamenting her
unhappy fate. Looking out of the window at about eight o'clock, she
observed a young woman passing, to whom she threw out her handkerchief,
which was then heavy with tears, intending to attract her attention and
send to her father for assistance; but the two women, jumping out of
bed, prevented the possibility of her holding any communication with
her, and upbraided her for what they called the rejection of her good
fortune, declaring their wishes that they were in her happy situation.
The women now quitting the room, Lord Baltimore and Dr. Griffenburg came
in soon afterwards; when the former said that he was astonished at her
outrageous behaviour, as he had promised that she should go home at
twelve o'clock: but she replied that they had no right to detain her,
and that she would go home directly, as her sister, and particularly her
father, would be inexpressibly anxious on occasion of her absence.
To this no answer was made; but Lord Baltimore conducted her down
stairs, and ordered breakfast. She refused, however, to eat, and having
wept incessantly till twelve o'clock, at that hour she once more
demanded her liberty. His lordship then said that he loved her to
excess; that he could not part with her; but that he did not intend any
injury to her, and would write to her father: and on this he wrote a
letter, of which the following is a copy, and in it sent a bank-note of
two hundred pounds:--
"Your daughter Sally sends you the enclosed, and desires you will not be
uneasy on her account, because everything will turn out well with a
little patience and prudence. She is at a friend's house safe and well,
in all honesty and honour; nothing else is meant, you may depend on it;
and, sir, as your presence and consent are necessary, we beg of you to
come in a private manner to Mr. Richard Smith's in Broad-street
Buildings."
Having addressed this to her father, he showed it to her, and desired
that she would write a few words at the bottom, signifying her
compliance with its terms; and terrified by her condition, she wrote,
"Dear Father--This is true, and should be glad you would come this
afternoon. Your dutiful daughter."--From the statement of the young
lady, it appears that after this she conjured his lordship to give her
her liberty, pointing out to him, in the most striking manner, the
degradation to which she was subjected; but all her arguments were in
vain, and she was again compelled to pass the night, as before, in the
room with Mrs. Griffenburg and Mrs. Harvey. In the morning, by
permission of his lordship, she wrote a letter to her father, desiring
him to come to her immediate assistance, but saying that she had been
treated with "as much honour as she could expect;" but she still
declined holding any conversation with his lordship, and used all her
efforts to make her situation known to the passers-by. In this, however,
she was checked by his lordship and the women, who threatened to throw
her out of window in the event of her making any disturbance. Towards
the middle of the day she was told that her father had called at Mr.
Smith's, but had refused to wait until she was sent for; but at midnight
Mr. Broughton, his lordship's steward, brought intelligence that Isaacs,
the Jew, having offered a letter to Miss Woodcock's father, was stopped
till he should give an account where the young lady was secreted. Lord
Baltimore was, or affected to be, in a violent passion, and vowed
vengeance against the father; but in the interim the Jew entered, and
delivered a letter which he pretended to have received from Miss
Woodcock's sister, and she took it to read: but she had wept so much
that her eyes were sore; and of all she read, she could only recollect
this passage:--"Only please to appoint a place where and when we may
meet with you."
The hour of retirement being now arrived, Miss Woodcock refused to go up
stairs, unless she might be assured of not receiving any insult from his
lordship. She had not taken any sustenance since she entered the house;
and on this night she lay down in her clothes on a bed in which Mrs.
Harvey reposed herself. She then asked this woman if she had ever been
in love, and acknowledged that she herself was addressed by a young
fellow, who appeared very fond of her, and that they were to settle in
business as soon as the marriage should take place; and she desired Mrs.
Harvey to show her the way out of the house that had been so obnoxious
to her: but the answer of the latter was, that though she had lived in
the house several years, she did not herself know the way out of it.
On the following morning, when Miss Woodcock went down stairs, she
pleaded earnestly with Lord Baltimore for her liberty; on which he
became most violently enraged, called her by the vilest names, and said
that if she spoke to him on the subject any more, he would either throw
her out of the window, or send her home in a wheelbarrow with her
petticoats tied over her head; and turning to Isaacs the Jew, he said,
"Take the slut to a mean house like herself;" which greatly terrified
her, as she presumed he meant a house of ill fame.
The sufferings she had undergone having by this time made her extremely
ill, Lord Baltimore mixed a draught for her, which he insisted on her
drinking; and in the afternoon he compelled her to sit by his side to
hear him converse upon subjects of religion, in the course of which,
however, he ridiculed everything sacred, and denied the existence of a
soul.
After supper he made six several attempts to ravish her within two
hours; but she repulsed him in such a determined manner, that he failed
in accomplishing his dishonourable purpose. On that night she lay with
Mrs. Harvey, but could get no rest, as she was in fear of renewed
insults from his lordship.
On the Monday morning she was told that she should see her father; and
having been supplied with a change of linen by Mrs. Griffenburg, she was
about mid-day hurried into a coach with Lord Baltimore, Dr. Griffenburg,
and the two women, and with them conveyed to Epsom, where, as we have
already said, his lordship had a country-seat. Here she was told that
resistance was useless, and that whatever objection she might make to
submit to his lordship's desires, force would be used if her consent was
not given. At supper she partook of some refreshment; and immediately
afterwards she was conducted to a bedchamber, accompanied by the two
women, who began to undress her. From weakness she was unable to make
much resistance; and from the same cause she was prevented from opposing
Lord Baltimore, who, it turned out, was in a bed which was in the
apartment, and who, in spite of her cries and entreaties, twice effected
his horrid purpose. In the morning Mrs. Harvey came to her, and she told
her what had passed; but the only answer which was given, was a desire
that she would make no more fuss, for that she had made noise enough
already. It would appear that after this the proceedings of his lordship
were, to a certain extent, acquiesced in by Miss Woodcock; but it was
not until several days had elapsed that she ascertained the name of the
person who had dishonoured her. On the afternoon on which she made this
discovery, the whole party returned to London, and Miss Woodcock was
there introduced to Madame Saunier, the governess of his lordship's
illegitimate children. On the next day his lordship gave her some money;
and when night advanced, directed that she should repair to his bed.
Having been permitted on the night before to sleep by herself, she
requested that the same favour might be again granted to her; but his
lordship's commands being positive that she should share his couch, she
consented on certain terms, which were fulfilled, while, according to
her statement, a crime of a still more atrocious nature was committed.
It may now be inquired whether no steps were taken by Miss Woodcock's
friends in order to procure her discovery, and her return to the roof of
her parents; and it appears that some circumstances having been learned
which induced them to guess the real place of her concealment, Davis,
her lover, proceeded to Southampton-row, Bloomsbury, where his
lordship's house was situated, and while watching there saw her at the
window. He immediately communicated the discovery which he had made to
her father, and the advice of Mr. Watts, an attorney, having been taken,
a writ of _habeas corpus_ was obtained. These proceedings, however, were
heard of by his lordship, and he conversed with Miss Woodcock on the
subject, and, as she alleged, extorted from her a promise to declare
that she had remained at his house voluntarily and of her own free-will,
promising to recompense her by settling upon her an annuity for life.
She in consequence wrote a letter to her father to that effect, which
was delivered by one of his lordship's servants; and on Mr. Watts'
proceeding to the house to serve the writ of _habeas corpus_, she made a
declaration to him having the same tendency. Lord Baltimore then said
that it was necessary that she should go before Lord Mansfield and make
a similar statement, and she was accordingly conveyed to his lordship's
house in Bloomsbury-square. They were there shown into different
apartments; and Miss Woodcock's friends having heard of the proceeding,
were also in attendance in an ante-chamber, where they awaited the
result of the conference.
The young lady, on being examined by Lord Mansfield, expressed her
willingness to remain with Lord Baltimore, but desired to see her
friends first. She was then conducted to the room where her father was
awaiting the conclusion of her examination; and there the first question
which she asked was, "Who is Lord Mansfield?" Having been satisfied upon
this head, and also that he had the power to set her at liberty, she
desired to see him again, and then said that she wished to go home with
her father, and that she would no longer remain with Lord Baltimore.
On Miss Woodcock's discharge, Mr. Cay, a baker in Whitecross-street (to
whom her father had delivered the two hundred pound bank note which had
been enclosed in the letter by Lord Baltimore), conveyed the young lady
to Sir John Fielding, before whom she swore to the actual commission of
the rape by his lordship.
The two women, the coadjutors of his lordship, had been already taken
into custody, on the charge of decoying away the girl; and a warrant was
now issued for the apprehension of Lord Baltimore. His lordship,
however, secreted himself for the present, but surrendered himself to
the Court of King's Bench on the last day of Hilary Term, 1768; when the
two women being brought thither by _habeas corpus_, they were all
admitted to bail, in order for trial at Kingston, in Surrey, because the
crime was alleged to have been committed at his lordship's seat at
Epsom.
In the interim Miss Woodcock went to the house of Mr. Cay, in
Whitecross-street; but not being properly accommodated there, she
proceeded to the house of a friend, where she lived in great privacy and
retirement till the time arrived for the trial of the offending parties.
Bills of indictment being found against Lord Baltimore and the two
women, they were all brought to trial before Lord Chief Baron Smythe;
and, after the evidence against them had been given, in substance as may
be collected from the preceding narrative, Lord Baltimore made the
following defence, which was read in Court by Mr. Hamersley, solicitor
to his lordship:--
"MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,--I have put myself upon my country, in hopes
that prejudice and clamour will avail nothing in this place, where it is
the privilege of the meanest of the king's subjects to be presumed
innocent until his guilt has been made appear by legal evidence. I wish
I could say that I had been treated abroad with the same candour. I have
been loaded with obloquy; the most malignant libels have been
circulated, and every other method which malice could devise has been
taken to create general prejudice against me. I thank God that, under
such circumstances, I have had firmness and resolution enough to meet my
accusers face to face, and provoke an inquiry into my conduct. _Hic
murus aheneus esto,--nil conscire sibi._ The charge against me, and
against these poor people who are involved with me, because they might
otherwise have been just witnesses of my innocence, is in its nature
very easy to be made, and hard to be disproved. The accuser has the
advantage of supporting it by a direct and positive oath; the defence
can only be collected from circumstances.
"My defence is composed, then, of a variety of circumstances, all
tending to show the falsity of this charge, the absurdity of it, the
improbability that it could be true. It will be laid before the jury,
under the direction of my counsel; and I have the confidence of an
innocent man, that it will be manifest to your lordship, the jury, and
the whole world, that the story told by this woman is a perversion of
truth in every particular. What could induce her to make such a charge,
I can only suspect:--Very soon after she came to my house upon a
representation to me that her father was distressed, I sent him a
considerable sum of money: whether the ease with which that money was
obtained from me might suggest the idea, as a means of obtaining a
larger sum of money, or whether it was thought necessary to destroy me,
in order to establish the character of the girl to the world, I know
not; but I do aver, upon the word of a man of honour, that there is no
truth in anything which has been said or sworn of my having offered
violence to this girl. I ever held such brutality in abhorrence. I am
totally against all force; and for me to have forced this woman,
considering my weak state of health, and my strength, is not only a
moral, but a physical impossibility. She is, as to bodily strength,
stronger than I am. Strange opinions, upon subjects foreign to this
charge, have been falsely imputed to me, to inflame this accusation.
Libertine as I am represented, I hold no such opinions. Much has been
said against me, that I seduced this girl from her parents: seduction is
not the point of this charge; but I do assure your lordship and the
jury, this part of the case has been aggravated exceedingly beyond the
truth. If I have been in any degree to blame, I am sure I have
sufficiently atoned for every indiscretion, which a weak attachment to
this unworthy woman may have led me into, by having suffered the
disgrace of being exposed as a criminal at the bar in the county which
my father had the honour to represent in parliament, and where I had
some pretensions to have attained the same honour, had that sort of an
active life been my object.
"I will take up no more of your lordship's time than to add that, if I
had been conscious of the guilt now imputed to me, I could have kept
myself and my fortune out of the reach of the laws of this country. I am
a citizen of the world; I could have lived anywhere: but I love my own
country, and submit to its laws, resolving that my innocence should be
justified by the laws. I now, by my own voluntary act, by surrendering
myself to the Court of King's Bench, stake, upon the verdict of twelve
men, my life, my fortune, and, what is dearer to me, my honour.
"March 25, 1768."
"BALTIMORE."
The substance of the defence of Mrs. Griffenburg and Mrs. Harvey
consisted principally in alleging that Miss Woodcock had consented to
all that had passed, and that no force had been used towards her either
by Lord Baltimore or themselves.
The whole of the case having now been heard, Lord Chief Baron Smythe, in
a clear and lucid manner, proceeded to sum up the case to the jury.
Having pointed out to them the law of the case, as it affected the
charge against the prisoners, and their defence, his lordship proceeded
to recapitulate the evidence which had been produced, in doing which he
was occupied during a period of three hours. He concluded by
saying,--"In point of law, the fact is fully proved on my lord and the
two other prisoners, if you believe the evidence of Sarah Woodcock. It
is a crime which in its nature can only be proved by the woman on whom
it is committed; for she only can tell whether she consented or no: it
is, as my lord observes, very easy to be made, and hard to be disproved;
and the defence can only be collected from circumstances; from these you
must judge whether her evidence is or is not to be believed. Lord Hale,
in his 'History of the Pleas of the Crown,' lays down the rules:--1. If
complaint is not made soon after the injury is supposed to be received;
2. If it is not followed by a recent prosecution; a strong presumption
arises that the complaint is malicious. She has owned the injury was
received December 22; the complaint was not made till December 29; but
she has accounted for it in the manner you have heard. The strong part
of the case on behalf of the prisoners is her not complaining when she
was at Lord Mansfield's, the supreme magistrate of the kingdom in
criminal matters. You have heard how she has explained and accounted for
her conduct in that particular, which you will judge of. Upon the whole,
if you believe that she made the discovery as soon as she knew she had
an opportunity of doing it, and that her account is true, you will find
all the prisoners Guilty; if you believe that she did not make the
discovery as soon as she had an opportunity, and from thence, or other
circumstances, are not satisfied her account is true, you will find them
all Not guilty: for if he is not guilty, they cannot be so; for they
cannot be accessory to a crime which was never committed."
After an absence of an hour and twenty minutes, the jury returned with a
verdict that the prisoners were not guilty.
This singular affair was tried at Kingston, in Surrey, on the 26th of
March, 1768.