Alexander Day (also known as Marmaduke Davenport, Esq.) was a British sharper known for cons committed in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in September 1722. Originally from St Andrew Holborn, Day went under the name Marmaduke Davenport, Esq. and hired a carriage and

footman A footman is a male domestic worker employed mainly to wait at table or attend a coach or carriage. Etymology Originally in the 14th century a footman denoted a soldier or any pedestrian, later it indicated a foot servant. A running footman deli ...

to create the impression to shopkeepers in London that he was a respected member of the

gentry Gentry (from Old French , from ) are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. ''Gentry'', in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to Landed property, landed es ...

. Once the shop proprietors had supplied their goods, Day would flee without paying. In 1723, Day was arrested in connection with a robbery of a

mail coach A mail coach is a stagecoach that is used to deliver mail. In Great Britain, Ireland, and Australia, they were built to a General Post Office-approved design operated by an independent contractor to carry long-distance mail for the Post Office. ...

Clapham Clapham () is a district in south London, south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (including Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Ea ...

. Although he was ruled out as a suspect of this crime, he was indicted on four counts of defrauding and two counts of

grand larceny Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Eng ...

for crimes committed in the September of the previous year. After his trial, Day was found guilty on all counts of defrauding and was sentenced to two years' imprisonment at

Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey, just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, the pr ...

, which included standing twice in the

pillory The pillory is a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, used during the medieval and renaissance periods for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse. ...

and paying a fine of £200.

Criminal career

Alexander Day originated from the parish of

St Andrew, Holborn The Church of St Andrew, Holborn, is a Church of England church on the northwestern edge of the City of London, on Holborn within the Ward of Farringdon Without. History Roman and medieval Roman pottery was found on the site during 2001/02 exc ...

. He worked as a sharper in

where he went under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

Marmaduke Davenport Esq. to suggest that he was a member of the

. To further this claim, Day would say that he had a large estate in Durham and was engaged to a wealthy heiress. Day also claimed to have left his own coachman and horses at his country seat and needed to hire a carriage and footman in London. Once he had hired the carriage and footman, he took this entourage around numerous premises in the city, where he would convince shopkeepers that he was about to spend large amounts of money on their expensive goods. This perceived wealth and social status led him to be able to gain

credit Credit (from Latin verb ''credit'', meaning "one believes") is the trust which allows one party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party immediately (thereby generating a debt) ...

on purchases. Day would take delivery of upper-class items at his rented Queen Square property, but would fail to pay. Historian Hannah Grieg hypothesises that Day may have previously spent time in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

and

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, where he practised his craft and stole goods to furnish his

home and further convince his victims of his wealth.

Arrest and trial

In 1723, Day was arrested on suspicion of robbing the

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, though subsequent investigations ruled him out as a suspect. During this time, he was

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an indi ...

on four counts of defrauding and two counts of

. These charges referred to crimes committed in September 1722, which included: # the theft of gold and silver lace to the value of £55,First indictment # the defrauding of Thomas Gravestock, the proprietor of the gold and silver lace,Second indictment # the defrauding of Samuel Scrimpshaw for

cambric Cambric or batiste is a fine dense cloth. It is a lightweight plain-weave fabric, originally from the commune of Cambrai (in present-day northern France), woven greige (neither bleached nor dyed), then bleached, piece-dyed, and often ...

valued at £48,Third indictment # the defrauding of George Kendrick for tea valued at £51,Fourth indictment # the "felonious" theft of of rich

brocade Brocade () is a class of richly decorative shuttle (weaving), shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in coloured silks and sometimes with gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli", comes from Italian langua ...

, of cherry-powdered podesay and of white podesay at a combined value of £34,Fifth indictment # the defrauding of a Mr. Hinchliff, the proprietor of the brocade and podesay.Sixth indictment During the trial, Day stated that he had stolen to keep up with annual £200 payments on his Durham estate, which was mortgaged for £1,200, but he was unable to provide evidence of the Durham estate and could not provide a witness willing to testify to his reputation. The court did not believe his defence and he was found guilty of defrauding all persons in the case. On 24 April 1723, Day was sentenced to two years' imprisonment at

. This would include standing twice in the

, as well as a fine of £200. He would then be under

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

for the two years following his release. Peter King of the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

identifies that Day's first pillory was in

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

, where he was surrounded by a large crowd and was severely pelted with rotten vegetables and

faeces Feces (also known as faeces American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, or fæces; : faex) are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the ...

for an hour. A newspaper report published after Day's sentence stated that he was "a great master of his profession howould not be at liberty to follow his former profession any longer". The second pillory took place at

Ludgate Hill Ludgate Hill is a street and surrounding area, on a small hill in the City of London, England. The street passes through the former site of Ludgate, a city gate that was demolished – along with a gaol attached to it – in 1760. Th ...

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Alexander British robbers English criminals People from Holborn