Thomas Blood

Thomas Blood (* 1618 in County Meath , Ireland , † 23 August 1680 in London ) was a colonel and adventurer. He was best known in 1671 for his attempt to steal the English crown jewels .

Life

Early years

Blood was born in County Meath to a wealthy blacksmith. He came from a good family, his grandfather lived at Kilnaboy Castle and was a member of parliament. Like many Irish, he moved to England and initially fought for King Charles I in the Civil War . When a victory for the round heads became apparent, he changed camps and served under Oliver Cromwell with the rank of lieutenant. In 1653 - after the Civil War - he received a large estate in Ireland as a reward for his services. After the royal restoration in 1660, the rewards were confiscated and Blood fled to Ireland with his wife and son.

There he placed himself at the head of a band of Republican adventurers. First, he wanted to take Dublin Castle , capture the royal governor of Ireland, James Butler , the first Duke of Ormonde , and instigate a rebellion. But he was betrayed by an accomplice and stayed in different places in Ireland in disguise. After suspending a bounty, he fled to Holland and only returned to England a few years later, undetected. Until 1670 he practiced under the name Ayloffe as a doctor in Romford .

At the time he was one of the most popular men in England because of the adventurous entanglements in Ireland. In 1670 he appeared again in England: he freed a fellow condemned to death on the street, and in order to avenge himself on the Duke of Ormond, he tore him out of his car in the middle of London by force of arms and tried to get him by hand in Tyburn to tie to the gallows. But the Duke escaped and Blood had to go into hiding in London after this act.

Robbery of the Crown Jewels

In 1671, Blood dared to steal the English crown jewels. These were kept in a vault in the Martin Tower of the Tower of London , above which the custodian of the jewels, Talbot Edwards, lived with his family.

Blood disguised himself as a clergyman and visited the crown jewels in the tower. He feigned friendly contact with Edwards. Days later, Blood and his wife returned to the Tower, where they looked at the jewels again in the presence of Edwards. Mrs. Blood feigned severe abdominal pain and was taken to Edwards' apartment in the Tower to rest. "Thankfully," "Pastor Blood" brought four pairs of white gloves for Edwards' wife a few days later, to show his appreciation for the kindness he received towards his own wife. The fake minister's family, Blood and Edwards, became close friends and now met frequently. Edwards had a daughter of marriageable age and was happy when Rev. Blood proposed a meeting between an allegedly wealthy nephew of Blood and Edwards' daughter.

On May 9, 1671, Blood came to Edwards in the Tower at 7:00 am with his "nephew" and two other men. While the "nephew" pretended to meet Edwards' daughter, the others expressed a desire to see the crown jewels. They now went into the jewel room, and after Edwards had opened the doors and bars in front of the jewels, they hit him on the head with a hammer so that he went down. There he was handcuffed, gagged and stabbed. To hide the St. Edwards Crown, created in 1661 , Blood hit it flat with a hammer and hid it under his gown. The second man put the orb in his breeches . The scepter with the cross was too long to put in the pocket, so Blood's brother-in-law Hunt tried to break it. Meanwhile, Edwards' son, who was serving in the army in Flanders, came to visit his parents in the Tower after years. As soon as he got near the Martin Tower, Edwards woke up and started yelling "Murderer, robber!" Blood and his accomplices threw down the scepter and tried to escape. Blood was arrested while trying to get out of the tower through the iron gate.

When questioned, he insisted that he would only answer the king, and was then taken to the royal palace, where he was brought before Charles II , Prince Rupert, the Duke of York, and others. The king took great pleasure in Blood's courage, and he told the king that the crown jewels would bring in only £ 6,000 instead of the £ 100,000 estimated by the crown. The King asked Blood, "What happens if I give you your life?", And Blood replied, "I would strive to deserve it, Sire". Blood was actually pardoned, given land ownership in Ireland, and became a familiar sight in London and at court. Historians believe that the king was delighted with Blood's demeanor and audacity, and therefore deservedly pardoned him. No one has ever tried to steal the crown jewels again.

Late years and death

In 1679 he quarreled with his former patron, the Duke of Buckingham . Buckingham asked for £ 10,000 for offensive remarks Blood made about his character. Blood died peacefully on August 23, 1680 at his home in Bowling Alley, Westminster . His body was buried in the churchyard of St Margaret's Church (now Christchurch Gardens) near St. James's Park . Allegedly, his body was exhumed to officially determine his death. He was known for his tricks and it was suspected that he was only faking his death and funeral to avoid paying the heavy payments to Buckingham.

The words on Blood's epitaph are:

Here lies the man who boldly hath run through
More villanies than England ever knew;
And ne're to any friend he had was true.
Here let him then by all unpitied lie,
And let's rejoice his time was come to die.

Here lies the man who committed
More villainy than England ever saw;
Who never spoke true even to friends.
Here leave him now, unmourned by everyone,
And we are happy that he is finally different.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Blood, Thomas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Irish thief and adventurer
DATE OF BIRTH	1618
PLACE OF BIRTH	County Meath
DATE OF DEATH	August 23, 1680
PLACE OF DEATH	London