The Tower of London is known for being an impenetrable fortress, which has only ever
been stormed really once during the Peasant’s Revolt. It’s considered to have been a barbaric
place of torture where prisoners were racked, and where queens were beheaded on the Tower’s
lawns in horrific executions. It was one of the most feared prisons in History, and for
this it was deemed to have been a great place to keep some of the most valuable jewels in
the world, the English Crown Jewels. Still today the Crown Jewels are kept inside the
Tower inside of the Waterloo Barracks, in which billions of pounds of valuables are
displayed, but they do still serve a purpose as during coronations and state occasions
they are used in the ceremonies by the monarchy. Today though we look at the incredibly story
of when in 1671, a very daring man attempted to steal the English Crown Jewels. Remember
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One of the most audacious attempts to steal incredible riches saw Colonel Blood almost
manage to succeed in one of the craziest heists in history. Thomas Blood was an Irishman born
in County Meath in 1618, and he came from a good family, his father being a blacksmith,
and his grandfather lived in a castle and was an MP. When the English Civil War broke
out, Blood came to England to fight for the royalist cause and Charles I, however when
it was looking likely that Cromwell and Parliament would win, he switched sides fighting for
the roundheads. When Charles I was defeated and subsequently executed, Blood was rewarded
with a large estate by parliament, and he also was made a Justice of the Peace. When
Charles II returned to the throne during the restoration, Blood returned to Ireland fleeing
what would happen to those like him who fought for Parliament. However, in Ireland he joined
a plot with other dissenting Cromwellians and former soldiers and then tried to take
control of Dublin Castle, and take the Governor, the Lord Ormonde a prisoner.
This ultimate failed, and yet again Colonel Blood was forced to flee, but now he was a
notorious criminal, and he left for Holland with people seeking his life. He became one
of the most wanted men in England and Ireland, however bizarrely in 1670, he returned to
England changing his name and he began to work as a doctor or an apothecary in Romford
Market in London. He was then part of another grand plot to kidnap Lord Ormonde his nemesis,
with Blood tracking his movements. Ormonde was take from his coach by Blood’s henchmen
and then taken along Piccadilly to be hanged at Tyburn, but Ormonde somehow was freed by
a servant who chased on his horse. However, Blood’s reputation as a criminal and as
a man willing to commit murder and terrible crimes was enhanced. But he then decided to
create an elaborate scheme to steal the Crowd Jewels. Blood was a man of daring, and who
would defiantly do virtually anything to continue his notorious reputation.
Blood did not wait for long, and within 6 months he made his attempt to steal the jewels.
Around April 1671, he visited the Tower and was dressed at the time as a parson, or a
priest and he was joined by a woman pretending to be his wife. At the time inside the Tower
of London, you could view the jewels if you paid a small fee to do so. Similarly to like
an entrance fee, you could admire the riches if you wished to. Blood paid this money, but
whilst he was viewing them, his female accomplice faked an illness. She then complained that
she had a stomach problem, and begged the Master of the Jewel House, the 77 year old
Tablot Edwards who had just been appointed to this job to fetch some ailment. Hearing
the commotion, Mrs Edwards, Talbot’s wife summoned Blood and his fake wife into her
apartment, as it was next to where the jewels were being kept. She invited them upstairs
to their apartment to recover, and following this Blood and his wife thanked the Edward’s
family for their care, and they left.
A few days later, Colonel Blood then returned to the Tower of London and thanked both Talbot
Edwards and his wife for their care, and he gave Mrs Edwards four pairs of white gloves
as a way of saying thank you. He became close with the family. And allegedly even an offer
was made for Blood’s fake nephew to marry the daughter of the Edwardses, and Blood said
they would be given several hundreds of pounds in income following the marriage. On the 9th
/May 1671, he visited the tower again, and Talbot Edwards was convinced by Blood to show
him the jewels, and also his alleged nephew and two of his friends. The men were waiting
for dinner prepared by Mrs Edwards for Blood and his companions, and the Jewels were kept
behind a metal grille, inside of the Martin Tower. It was then when Colonel Blood enacted
the plan to steal the Crown Jewels.
It was reported that Blood and his men carried canes that had rapier blades and daggers concealed
inside of them, as well as pistols. They entered the vault where the Jewels were kept, and
one of the accomplices stood by the door keeping watch, whilst others were with Blood and Edwards.
As the door closed, they threw a cloak over Edwards, and bashed him over the head with
a hammer, and knocked him to the floor. The elderly guardian of the jewels was then beaten,
bound, gagged and stabbed to keep him quiet. Following this, the men then removed the grille
keeping the jewels locked away, and they then stole the Crown Jewels.
Blood used his hammer to flatten St Edward’s Crown so he could hide it under his coat,
and his brother in law cut the Sceptre with the Cross in two as it didn’t fit in his
bag. A third man stuffed the sovereign orb down his trousers in classic robber fashion.
Whilst this was going on, the elderly Talbot Edward was still bound, but he was struggling
a lot, and it’s thought that at some point the alarm was raised about the theft of the
Crown Jewels. It’s claimed in some senses he shouted ‘murder and treason’ that raised
the alarm, but also that his son may have raised the alarm after hearing the commotion
and alerting that the crown was stolen.
The party of thieves then tried to flee the Tower of London, and they ran to their horses
at St Catherine’s Gate, where they dropped the sceptre and they fired their pistols at
the guards who tried to stop them. The group ran by tower wharf next to the tower, and
apparently they even tried to look for alleged thieves to trick the guards, but they were
chased by Captain Beckman, Edward’s brother in law. Blood took his pistol and shot at
him, he missed and Blood was apprehended near an iron gate. The Crown had fallen from his
cloak, and was found and Blood refused to name his co-conpirators. He said, ‘It was
a gallant attempt, however unsuccessful. It was for a crown.’ Eventually the globe and
orb were recovered, and several stones on them were missing and loose, and the co-conspirators
captured.
The London Gazette reported the events as, ‘Whitehall, May 9. This morning about seven
of the clock, four men coming to Mr. Edwards, Keeper of the Jewel House in the Tower, desired
to see the Regal Crown remaining in his custody; he carries them into the room where they were
kept, and shows them; but according to the villainous design they it seems came upon,
immediately they clap a gag of a strange form into the old man’s mouth; who making what
noise and resistance he could, they stabbed him a deep wound in the belly with a stiletto,
adding several other dangerous wounds on the head with a small hammer they had with them,
as is believed, to beat together and flatten the Crown, the make it more easily portable;
which having, together with the Ball, put into Bags, they had to that purpose brought
with them; they fairly walked out, leaving the old man grovelling on the ground, gagged
and pinioned.’
Following his capture, Colonel Blood refused to answer to anyone but the King, and was
taken to the King’s palace in chains. He was questioned by the King, The Duke of York,
Prince Rupert and other members, but at some point during the meeting, Blood was bizarrely
pardoned. He was also given land in Ireland worth £500 a year too, which caused outrage.
It’s believed that the King may have feared revenge from Blood’s followers, and that
the King may also have been impressed and amused by the audacity of Colonel Blood and
his plan to steal the Crown Jewels. He was even invited back to court a number of times
after. Some even alleged that Charles II himself was involved in the plot, as he wished for
more money and he was broke.
So Colonel Thomas Bloods plan to steal the Crown Jewels from the famous Tower of London
was foiled, and was subject to much controversy and debate. He was an infamous trickster,
and some even believed that he was responsible for faking his own death due to the fact he
owed money, and may have done this to avoid paying debts. The Crown Jewels since Bloods
attempt have never been subject to theft or attempts, but today they are still housed
within the Tower of London at one of the world’s most famous castles.
Once again thanks for watching.
To support our channel, please make sure to subscribe.
Once again thanks for watching.