‘Mr. Strahan, in the social circle in which he moved, was equally esteemed; and down to even a week or two before the failure of the house, and the discovery of the frauds, to breathe a word of suspicion against his honesty would have been thought as unreasonable as to dispute the credit of the Bank of England’[1]
Summary
William Snow, later Strahan (see also Straeham/Strachan), was born on the 21st August 1807 to Robert and Margaret Snow. William studied at Eton and Camrbidge before pursuing a career in banking, eventually becoming a partner in his own firm ‘Strahan, Paul and Bates’. His crime, alongside Mssrs. Paul and Bates, was using for his own benefit the bonds entrusted to him by one of his clients. For his part in it, Strahan was sentenced to 15 years transportation, however he only served 5 years and even then, only in the UK. William died on the 2nd of July 1886, in Perugia Italy.
Early Life
William Snow was born on the 21st August 1807 in Westminster[2], likely at the Saville Row property owned by his parents Robert and Margaret Snow; he was, a month later, baptised on the 20th September 1807 at St. James’ Picadilly[3].
His mother was daughter of a printer on Snow Hill, William Strahan (1740-1785), and she was granddaughter of the famous William Strachan (1715-1785) who was renowned for being the King’s Printer, an MP and firm friend of Benjamin Franklin. When he died in 1785, he left behind him a fortune of £100,000, his own printing business, the King’s patent, a 1/20th share in the ‘Public Advertiser’ and 1/9th share in the ‘London Chronicle’. However, as Margaret’s father died before this, his brother Andrew received a vast inheritance. The third brother, George Strahan, went into the church, married and had two daughters.
Robert’s father was a banker; indeed, he was a partner in one of the oldest banks in the UK which could trace its lineage to the early part of Charles II’s reign[4]. In 1813, Robert went into partnership with William Sandby and John Dean Paul until Sandby died in 1826, whereupon they became sole partners at the 217/218 the Strand Office. There was also a navy agency business at no. 41 Norfolk Street ran originally by Mssrs Halford and Cooke which was taken over by Snow and Paul when Halford died in 1837[5].
William Strahan was educated at Eton and matriculated at St John’s College, Cambridge University on the 26th December 1825[6]. Whilst there, he became one of the earliest members of the Lady Margaret Boating Club (a club likely set up by his brother in October 1825) and its secretary: in 1828 the Cambridge Union complained that boating training clashed with debate nights, to which William responded –
‘Both Monday and Wednesday are days appointed for Cricket, and as there are many men that both pull in the boats and play at cricket, they were unwilling to give up either and the hour cannot be changed on account of Chapel’[7].
William won the Rowing Blue, a prestigious boating award, in the same year that he became president of the Cambridge University Boat Club in 1829[8]. Indeed, this was the year of the first Oxford vs Cambridge boat race; a race initiated by William who sent this letter on the 12th March 1829 to Oxford University-
‘The University of Cambridge hereby challenge the University of Oxford to row a match at or near London each in an eight-oar boat during the Easter vacation
– W Snow
St John’s College[9]‘
The first race took place at Henley on June 10th, 1829: Cambridge lost.
William graduated from Cambridge with a BA in 1830, that same year joining his father’s firm and inheriting a vast fortune from his great uncle who died without issue. William was bequeathed the manor at High Ashurst and £180,000 on the condition that he changed his surname. On the 24th September 1831 he was granted, by the King, the right to use both the Strahan surname and coat of arms[10].
In 1832, William joined the banking firm of his brother and father (Snow, Snow, Paul and Paul) to become Snow, Snow, Strahan, Paul and Paul[11]. In 1833 and 1835 we have him renting at 218 the Strand, the site of this banking firm and, when his father died in 1835[12], the firm rebrands as Snow, Strahan, Paul and Paul[13].
On the 9th February 1837, William married Elizabeth Anne Dorothea Fisher, the daughter of General Sir George B. Fisher, in a much talked about ceremony at charterhouse[14]. At 12.30pm the bridal party ‘moved from the Governor’s room at the Master’s noble residence to the Chapel, adown the great staircase of Queen Elizabeth, and through the monkish cloister…to the altar’[15]. Ms Fisher was led to the altar by her ancient uncle, Master of charterhouse, followed by bridesmaids wearing light blue silk trimmed with swansdown and white satin bonnets[16]. The mother of the bride followed, wearing pale lavender, her sister Mrs Captain Mould, William Strahan’s mother, in green velvet with a pink satin bonnet, followed by many others described as, by a reporter at the time, ‘full many a gem of rarest ray serene’[17]. Ceremony completed, the procession continued to the gallery where déjeuner à la fourchette was served to an audience of friends, relatives and well-wishers before, at 2.30pm, the bride and groom left in a carriage for High Ashurst: the writer remarked at this point that the carriage was ‘neatly plain’ in spite of its owner being worth half a million pounds[18].
Their marriage was blessed a year later with the birth of the eponymous William Strahan Jnr[19].
In 1839, aged 32, Elizabeth Strahan gave birth to a son, George[20] at their house in High Ashurst, Surrey. In the following couple of years, William Strahan was still banking with his brother, John Paul Baronet and JP’s son. Until on the 4th January 1842 his brother leaves the firm[21]. From 1841-1855, he is still recorded as occupying 217/218 on The Strand as a bank, where he is joined by a new partner, Robert Makin Bates (who had been a confidential clerk at the firm since 1820)[22]. A curious stipulation of this promotion was that, unlike the other partners, Bates would receive no part of the profits from the bank and instead, would have a fixed salary of £800, later increasing to £1000: this would be something he would later rely on in court.
In a bizarre twist of fate in 1844, William Strahan was made High Sheriff of Surrey, and was responsible for being the Queen’s judicial representative in the county[23]. Three years later, in 1846, William Strahan invests in shares in a major railway company[24]. On the 10th March 1847 Margaret snow, William’s mother, breathed her last.
Throughout this early period William was a keen cricketer, playing for Marylebone Cricket Club (Main FC: 1832-1848); Surrey (Main FC: 1839); Surrey (Main FC: 1846-1849); L to Z (Other FC: 1833); Gentlemen (Other FC: 1833-1835); England (Other FC: 1833-1834) and Surrey Club (Other FC: 1846-1848) respectively[25].
Aside from cricket, William and his bank developed keen philanthropic interests. On the 2nd January 1850, the bank of Strahan, Paul and Bates pledge £100 to ‘The Fund for Promoting Female Emigration’[26], on the 24th January for the ‘Nightly Shelter of the Homeless’[27], on the 11th February they are mentioned as bankers for the ‘Governesses Benevolent Institution’[28]. Independent from his company, on the 18th of that month, William became Trustee and banker for ‘The Irish National Flax and Hemp Company’[29]. On the 7th March 1850, William was in attendance of a dinner presided over by William Gladstone for the benefit of the ‘Philanthropic Farm School for the reformation of juvenile offenders’[30], on the 16th March donations to the ‘Church Missions to the Irish Roman Catholics’ were to be sent to the bankers[31] and for the Lambeth Thank Offering Church[32]. During this period, William becomes a father again with the birth of his son Henry, on the 3rd March 1850 in 34 Hill Street, Berkeley Square[33].
In January 1852, John Paul Dean’s father dies and John becomes a partner for the firm, receiving 4/9ths of the bank’s profiles to William’s 5/9ths. Before the month ended, William Strahan, as magistrate of Surrey, spoke of the extraordinary death of labourer Joseph Evil[34]. April 20th 1852 saw the birth of another son of William, Aubrey, who later became a world famous geologist[35] and on the 13th May that year, William sat on the council for the Peninsular Colonization Company[36].
26th October 1852, the King of Belgium authorised construction of a railway to connect the coal mines of Piedmont to the Bascoup of the Mons. As part of this he conferred the title of ‘Chevalier of the Order of Leopold’ on William whilst he was operating as chairman of the Marchienne-Au-Pont and Erquilennes Railway[37]. On the 23rd November, William is recorded as a trustee for the Lucca and Pistoja Railway Company[38] and on the 9th December 1852, as management for the Portland Iron Company in Scotland[39]
True to the expectations of his class William obtained a ‘game certificate’ for the year[40], issued September 1853.
In August 1854, William’s brother Robert dies[41].
It was on the 1st January 1851, William Strahan, alongside J.D. Paul and, to a lesser extent Bates, began to commit a most scandalous Victorian crime.
The Crime
Rev. Dr. John Griffith, Doctor of Divinity and Canon of Rochester Cathedral, had been banking with Strahan Paul and Bates since December 1830 (when it was then known as Snow, Paul and Paul) and regularly asked the bank to make small investments on his behalf[42]. The relationship was a beneficial one, with both parties gaining from the profits, until in 1850 Reverend Griffith asked the bank to invest in Danish 5 percent bonds. Between 4th February 1850 to the 16th April 1851, he directed the bank to invest a total of £5,000 in bonds which they would manage on his behalf with no authority to negotiate, pledge, transfer, or sell these securities, and to return the dividends in March and September of every year to him[43]. This worked for a time, the bank received their fee and John received his dividends, right up until the 16th March 1854, the date of the last payment[44].
On a chance visit to London, in June of 54, Griffith heard ‘whispered on a Sunday afternoon’ that the bank of Strahan, Paul and Bates had gone bankrupt[45]: the first public announcement was the 11th June, but there had been murmurs for some time. Surprised, he made an application to the bank enquiring about the state of his bonds and was told by Bates and Strahan that they were either sold or pledged, on hearing this he engaged his solicitors to go to Bow-Street and begin formal legal proceedings[46]. Once the application to Bow-Street had been lodged, two friends of Strahan’s appeared at Rev. Griffith’s Lower Berkeley Street address (the conversations are sadly omitted from the old bailey records) preceded by the man himself, William Strahan.
The conversation began with William’s surprise that Griffith could find no information. Indeed he stated that they had been working tirelessly ‘day and night in making up their accounts’ and that if legal proceedings continued it would be to the detriment of the creditors and Griffith himself as ‘the securities had been disposed of….[with] no chance of recovering them’[47]. Continuing, he stated that were he to abstain from legal proceedings, that the bonds would be recovered by himself and John Dean Paul and that, had Griffith gone to the bank before, he would have received promissory notes to that effect. Lastly, he admitted shared blame for the loss of bonds and assured John that this was ‘the first dishonest act of my life, I never before in my life defrauded any man of sixpence’[48]. The Reverend Griffith, no doubt unimpressed, asked when this happened and was told 6 weeks ago, and upon further questioning about the amount, William admitted that in total £100,000 of securities had been misappropriated.
William’s parting comment, appealing to Griffith’s better nature, was that ‘many others who were similarly circumstanced with myself had been very kind to them’. Griffith responded that this was not out of spite that he was pursuing this but out of duty, and were he to have any more questions, then to speak to his solicitor Messrs. Fearon, of Great George-street.
On this day, Bates was in custody, John Dean Paul was running from the law and there was a warrant out for William’s arrest[49].
On Wednesday 20th June, William was arrested as he tried to enter his friend Mr. Scrivener’s house at 29 Bryanstone Square (the police forewarned of his visit) and questioned the next day. When John Dean Paul was arrested, he remarked –
‘Mr. Strahan is to be pitied. A year or two ago he was worth £180,000 and now he is worth not so many pence. He has nine children and a beautiful residence in Dorking’[50].
On the Friday of that week, witnesses were cross-examined and right up until the 12th September, an inquiry was in place.
Interestingly, a report into the House of Detention, where the men were held, found gross negligence and favouritism from the governor at the time, Mr. Frederick Hill[51]. Just prior to the governor leaving he is reported to have told his deputy, John Sims, to ‘treat the three prisoners – Strahan, Paul and Bates – in the same way in the same way as all respects up to that time…visitors were to be admitted to them at all times of the day without being questioned: their names were not recorded…the cell doors of the prisoners were left open all day…they had wine…the letters of the three prisoners sent out, and also sent to them, are not examined…money, watch and other articles in [their] possession[52]’.
Sims reports on several occasions that the Governor, the chaplain, and other warders had not only allowed Strahan to receive visitors, but to receive them in the governor’s house[53]. The three men were also allowed to exercise in the governor’s garden before 12 o’clock each day, an unprecedented luxury, but that was nothing compared to the time when Mrs Strahan was taken to meet her husband privately. Apparently she arrived ‘early in the day…where she remained with her husband till about seven in the evening, when they both went to his cell, and she remained till 10 at night. She was then returned to the governor’s house’.
The next day she breakfasted with Strahan and prayed in the chapel in the governor’s pew. The average number of daily visits each of the imprisoned bankers received was between 4-12[54], the usual for a prisoner was around 2 a year.
Bail was posted for William on the 2nd August, initially at £6,000 and increased to £10,000 due to increased severity of evidence[55]. Upon leaving, William said to one of the other wardens, Nathanial P. Forth, that he was ‘…getting more harsh every day and the next thing I expect to hear is to go into the common cell’ and, not finished, he continued ‘The magistrates are a set of radicals they are no gentlemen; never mind, I leave you today; but as for captain Hill, I shall reward him for this kindness to me[56]’.
At the Central Criminal Court, on the 18th September, a true bill (a bill of indictment by a grand jury with sufficient evidence) was served and the prisoners were detained again: the men asked for more time to prepare their defence and a trial date was set for October.
So, what happened? A contemporary examination of the bankruptcy of the bank at the time, found that as little as 6 years before the money problems, the business was solvent: there was a deficiency of £110,000 but Strahan had £100,000 in unencumbered assets and Paul had £30,000.
The cause therefore, according to a petition by Robert Makin Bates’ to the Queen whilst serving his sentence, was that against his better judgement, John Dean lent £100,000 to a Mr. Gandall in October 1853 via a Banker’s Acceptance: BA’s are like cheques based on the creditworthiness of the banking institution, instead of the individual or business acting as the drawer.
He stated ‘you may date the ruin of this house to these acceptances’[57]. Bates advised on the 31st December of that year to close the bank as, whilst they had the money to pay the loan, it could beggar the business: he was ignored. When it turned out that Gandall’s financial affairs were in dire straits, and that the money lent for public works in France could only be repaid if these very same works were finished, Strahan and Paul decided that if they stood any hope at all of seeing their money again, they’d have to keep lending him money.
This explained why in 1854, Paul sold off Rev. Giffith’s bonds to a Mr Beattie, to recoup their losses. For a time he also purchased new bonds in place of them, to pay the dividends, but eventually sold these off too. Strahan, from what can be discerned from the court papers, had knowledge of this and by his tacit consent, was indicted[58].
The banks loans spiralled, and rather than facing the loss incurred they increased them, until there was nothing left. No property unsold, no customers bonds to pilfer; they were boracic, broke. Far from William Strahan’s estimation of £1,000 in sold bonds, by the end the bank was in debt by £652,593. At their bankruptcy hearing on the 19th June[59], the partners disclosed the firm’s losses in full, a point they would later rely on in court and Edmund Whymper, famous mountaineer and diarist, writing in his journal on the 22nd June stated –
‘A London bank has failed (Strahan, Paul and Co) which has made moneyed men rather dull. They have debts to the amount of £750,000 and next to nothing to pay it with. How they have managed it, nobody knows, for the last partner brought in to the business £180,000. They have made away with securities that were placed with them to keep (that is, stole them) and one clergyman has lost by this means, £22,000.’[60]
The trial was on the 22nd October 1855 at the Old Bailey and was attended by a massive media circus, indeed admission into the court itself was so popular, that entry could only be obtained through ‘tickets’ from the sheriffs. The court was witnessed by heads of banks, MPs and ‘fashionably dressed ladies’[61]. How these once honourable men could sink so low as to rob others was beyond belief. That is, if they were convicted[62].
Edmund Whymper, this time writing on the 18th September 1855, considered it thus
‘The firm of Strahan, Paul and Bates are now going to take their trial for making away with securities confided to them. The Recorder said in his charge to the Grand Jury, that this offence did not come under the head of felony, so I expect they will get off far more leniently than they ought.’[63]
The trial began. Just before 10 o’clock the defendants entered into the dock, followed by the judges Mr. Baron Alderson, Mr. Baron Martyn and Mr. Justice Willes accompanied by Alderman Sir R.W. Carden and Eagleton, Mr. Sheriff Kennedy and Mr. Under-Sheriff Stone. For the Prosecution, the Attorney General, Mr. Bodkin and Mr. Poland. For the defence each man had their own: with Sir Frederic Therisger and Mr. Balyntine for William Strahan, Mr. Serjeant Byles and Mr. Hawkins for Paul, and Mr. E James QC for Bates. An opening gambit by Sir Frederic Thesiger, was to submit a proposal that the defendants plead twice Not Guilty to the crime and a ‘special plea’ as the defendants had already admitted to crimes, prior to prosecution, in their bankruptcy hearing[64]. Baron Alderson, who said that this was without precedent, denied this. Following this there was a delay until 11 o’clock as one of the star witnesses had not arrived; postponement was then discussed before the witness turned up[65].
The defendants were charged with 3 counts, contrary to good faith selling the Danish bonds, having sold and negotiated the bonds and conspiracy to sell the objects: the punishment for said crimes was transportation for no less than 7 years and no more than 14 or 3 years imprisonment as well as a whipping. They pleaded Not Guilty.
The Attorney General addressed the judges with the following: ‘[these men are] known to most of us, and had hitherto maintained a high position in society and a character of unquestioned integrity and honour, which prevented them of being supposed capable of the offence with which they are now charged’ going on to say [66] ‘the present charge is not only involving penal consequences of great magnitude, but also affecting the honour and character of those gentleman at the bar’. He went into detail laying out the timeline of the crimes and ending with a refutation of the ‘special plea’ as the bankruptcy declaration made no mention of Mr. Griffith’s bonds, but of others who had suffered by their machinations instead[67].
Sir Frederick Thersiger then took the stand, drawing attention to the fact that there was no evidence linking William Strahan to the crime except the conversation with Griffith and even that was dubious: he finished passionately exhorting the lordships to decide if there was any evidence at all to go the jury. Mr. Baron Alderson said there was a sufficiency, Baron Martin and Justice Willes concurred. When Bates’ lawyer plead likewise, he too was told there was evidence against his client, all the more so as he was more a ‘more active part in the affairs of the bank.’[68]
Rising, Thersiger harangued the jury once more, ‘the gentleman now before you have for many years maintained a high position in society and a character of the highest honour and integrity. I cannot forget the position of Mr. Strahan, possessed of wealth and station, respected numerous friends, surrounded by an affectionate family. …I am not insensible to the fact that for weeks and weeks publications have appeared in the papers in which the conduct of these gentleman has been strongly arraigned, and every prejudice excited against them in the public mind’. He finished with a warning about the judges and jury being biased by the crime against Strahan and what they had read in the papers[69]. Mr. Baron Alderson said it would not. Continuing, Thersiger reiterates that there is no evidence tying William to the crime, only Paul.
Mr. Serjeant Byles, defence for Paul, followed Thersiger taking a different tack and appealed from a character perspective, referring to Paul as ‘benevolent’, ‘a religious man’ and a ‘person of unquestioned integrity and honour’[70]. Mr. James, lawyer of Bates, called to attention that whilst Bates was a partner in the firm, he was a ‘sleeper’ and received no immediate monetary benefit from the sale as he was paid a fixed salary and not a percentage of profits[71].
The case was adjourned to the next morning: Paul and Strahan were held in custody; Bates was on bail. Edmund Whymper wrote ‘Strahan and co were tried today, but I have not heard the result.’[72].
The trial resumed in earnest at 10 o’clock the next morning, all were in attendance and on time. Discussion began again about the ‘disclosure’ of double-dealing in the bankruptcy declaration but, after cross-examination by the Attorney General, it was decided that the disclosure was not for the purposes of true ‘disclosure’ but an attempt to protect themselves from prosecution for criminal acts[73]. Likewise, according to Baron Alderson, William Strahan while not necessarily complicit in the initial selling of Rev. Griffiths, he would have been ‘cognizant’ and ‘generally’ aware of the other partner’s doings[74]. As to Bates, the case was ‘less strong’ and that it was not up to the jury to decide the men’s innocence.
They deliberated for 30 minutes before they returned their verdict. Guilty in the first and third counts.
Mr. Baron Alderson, passing sentencing on all three said –
‘The prisoners at the bar had been found guilty of the offence of disposing of securities entrusted to them as bankers by their customers for safe keeping, and for their use by which they (the prisoners) had appropriates under circumstances of temptation, to their own. A greater or more serious offence could hardly be imagined in a great commercial community like this, or one that tended more to shake the confidence of all persons as that which they had so long, and for some time so honourably conducted… All the prisoners had been well educated, and had moved in a position of society. The punishment which was about to fall on them therefore, would be far more severe, far more heavy, and much more keenly felt than would probably by persons in a lower condition.’[75]
Sentence passed, they were removed into custody, taken to Newgate Gaol and the court was adjourned. William ‘bore himself with more of firmness…paid marked attention to the evidence…[and] throughout maintained a quiet gentlemanly bearing, had full command over his feeling to the last, and appeared unmoved’: Dr. Griffith ‘wept bitterly’[76].
The public went wild.
Whymper wrote on this day –
‘Yesterday the trial of Straham, Paul and Co came off (2nd day) and it really is quite refreshing to hear the sentence, which is 14 years transportation. I doubt whether any two ever deserved it so much as Messrs Strahan and Paul. As for Mr Bates, I don’t think he was quite so guilty. Fine day.’[77]
And either feeling charitable, or sneering, continuing –
‘Very wet day. Mrs Strahan has large property of her own, so ruin will not come on all of the family.’[78]
Justice was served.
Or was it?
Imprisonment
William stayed at a number of prisons during his confinement, first at Newgate then onto Millbank Prison on the 3rd December 1855, from there to Lewes on the 20th August 1858 and finally Woking Invalid Convict Prison in April 1859[79].
In the January of 1856, William Strahan’s brother the Rev. Henry Snow lodged a petition to receive shares from his late mother’s estate as executor. Shares, which were lodged with William as co-executor, had in fact been sold them off to help his bank[80]. Likewise, their father’s shares were disposed of in the same way. William was brought from prison whilst Mr. Evans, the adjudicator, decided but no verdict could be reached. In this same year, on the 11th March, William was brought up from Millbank, appearing to be ‘in excellent health’, to go to a bankruptcy trial with Paul and Bates regarding monies received whilst trustee of a company[81].
A correspondence from 1857 to Mr. Lawrence from H. Waddington, on behalf of the Home Secretary, allays fears about transporting the bankers stating that ‘the government has no intention of removing the convicts….from this country at present’[82].
There is correspondence throughout William’s stay in Millbank regarding his pardon and release; on the 5th April 1858, M.P Lord John Manners was involved and pressed for his release but is told by H. Waddington (on behalf of Home Secretary Sir George Grey), that ‘[there is no] sufficient reason to justify him advising her majesty to interfere with the prisoner’s sentence’[83]. Likewise, Baron Sidney Herbert M.P is told, on the 4th May 1858, ‘I am directed by Secretary Walpole[84] to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 21st on behalf of William Strahan and I am to express to you his regret that after full consideration of all the…case, he cannot feel justified consistently with his public duty in advising her majesty to interfere with the convict’s sentence’[85].
William was taken to the partially built Woking Invalid Convict Prison, on or around the 28th April 1858, to aid in the building of further wings: a curious choice since William had ever been a pen pusher all his life and not a bricklayer. Interestingly, he was designated prisoner no.1 the first man on the ground, aged 51. He was described as having ‘Fair skin, brown hair, Hazel eyes, 5’10 [in height and was] slender’, protestant and married with 9 children: his wife at this time was keeping a low profile at 3 Victoria Road, Old Charlston, Kent[86].
As reported in The Scotsman on the 20th September 1858[87]: it will have been 3 years since William Strahan and Sir John Paul were imprisoned for crimes of fraud and that a memorandum was being prepared, by the leading banks of London and with the ‘concurrence of all who desire to see the law of England respected’, calling for the release of the prisoners.
It drew attention to a new act which permited only 3 years sentencing for the crime which Strahan committed and continued: ‘In holding Strahan and his partner under the old law, the Government are acting under precisely the same principles as if they were to hang a man sentenced to death, although in the interval between his sentence and the execution capital punishment had been abolished…’[88].
The memorial was received on the 3rd March 1859, presented by R. K. Hodgson on behalf of the ‘merchants’ and ‘inhabitants’ of London[89]. Secretary Walpole responded that very day saying that there had been ‘no instance’ where a sentence had been reduced based upon changes in the law. He then remarked, in what we can assume to be a snarky voice, this was likely because others ‘mostly in humble life, without influential friends to press their designs upon the notice of the Secretary of State’ did not attempt such a thing [90]. He continued that the new legislature passed was in no way in relation to ‘affect former proceedings’, and that the ‘Home Office is against a present entire remission, and the nature extent and gravity, of the offences point to the conclusion that a severer punishment than that which could have been inflicted under the present law’[91]. In summary, were they to be tried under the present law, they would suffer all the greater. However, Walpole backtracks slightly and says that a reduction of 14 years penal servitude after transportation to 4 years may be ‘deemed to satisfy…justice’.
A. Beattie, of 42 Wellington Square, wrote to Walpole to arrange a meeting regarding the release of the prisoners and was told, on the 15th July 1859, that the Home Secretary is sadly busy but that if he wished to offer ‘further explanations’ on the case Walpole will gladly listen and should, hopefully, decide the prisoner’s fate in the next week[92].
The contents of the meeting have lamentably not been discovered; however the aftermath is assured, on the 21st October 1859 William Strahan was released from prison, his sentence having only been partially served.
Aftermath
Fresh from his stint at Woking Prison, William left the London scene, no doubt much abashed, and purchased Blackmore Hall in Sidmouth where he was joined their by his wife and 6 of their children[93]. In 1861, aged 55, he is recorded in the census as living with his wife (44), his daughter Annie (20), Margaret (15), Blanche (13), Henry (11) Aubrey (9), Eda (7), their cook Hannah Bush (51), parlour maid Susan Prior (21), house maid and lady’s maid. So, certainly not entirely as destitute as his co-conspirators claimed before the trial .
On the 19th May 1863, William’s daughter Margaret married Captain W. G. Martin in the parish church in Sidmouth in a service presided over by Rev. John Henry Snow. In October of that same year, his eldest daughter Annie married Leiutenant-Colonal Barstow in a service ran by the previously mentioned reverend and nephew[94], in addition to his 3rd son, Lieutenant C. Strahan, marrying Rose daughter of General Dick in Mossoorie[95].
In 1871, we is still reported as William residing at Blackmore Hall with his wife, their daughters Blanche (23) and Eda (17), their elderly cook Hannah (61) with a new domestic servant and lady’s maid.
In November 1874 the 9th and, assumed, last dividend was paid to creditors of the Bank of Strahan, Paul and Bates[96], a month later, on the 23rd December, Eda Strahan marries Procter Hawtrey[97] at Sidmouth’s parish church.
On October 6th 1879, Blanche Strahan marries Mr. Arthur Lemon at the chapel in the British Embassy in Rome[98]. At this point, the William and his wife are either already living in Italy or are considering the move after their daughter’s wedding: the exact date and nature of their move is, alas, unknown.
William Strahan the Younger died on the 1st January 1886 in Bombay[99].
William Strahan ex-banker and pariah, died on the 2nd of July 1886 at No. 5, Piazzo Vittorio Emanuele, Perugia in Italy[100] followed by his wife 6 months later on January 11th 1887 at the Villa Margherita, Viale Michelangelo, in Florence aged 71[101].
While the man himself was gone, the specter of Strahan and his crimes still haunted the land of the living even 44 years after his death: on his estate inheriting £2,000 (after the passing of one of his sons) the creditors of the once bank, or the creditors children, received dividends in 1899[102].
Trivia
The case of Strahan, Paul and Bates likely influenced and inspired Charles Dickins to write Little Dorritt[103].
Robert Snow, Strahan’s brother, took a former employee to court for theft of goods from the 72 Portland Place property 1841: the defendant was found Not Guilty[104].
A letter sent to Strahan, Paul and Bates from Rotherham bank was stolen in 1834: the defendents were found Guilty[105].
[1] D. Morrier Evans, Facts, Failures and Frauds (FORGOTTEN BOOKS 2015).
[2] Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Christening Index, 1530-1980 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2008
[3]London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; Reference Number: DL/T/090/003
[4] D. Morrier Evans, Facts, Failures and Frauds (FORGOTTEN BOOKS 2015).
[5] Ibid.
[6] (Venn.lib.cam.ac.uk, 2019) <http://venn.lib.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/search-2018.pl?sur=snow&suro=w&fir=william&firo=c&cit=&cito=c&c=all&z=all&tex=&sye=&eye=&col=JOHNS&maxcount=50> accessed 4 July 2019.
[7] Ged Martin, ‘The Cambridge Union And Ireland 1815-1914 – Chapter 6 – Ged Martin’ (Gedmartin.net, 2019) <https://www.gedmartin.net/the-cambridge-union-and-ireland-1815-1914-chapter-6> accessed 4 July 2019.
[8] (Venn.lib.cam.ac.uk, 2019) <http://venn.lib.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/search-2018.pl?sur=snow&suro=w&fir=william&firo=c&cit=&cito=c&c=all&z=all&tex=&sye=&eye=&col=JOHNS&maxcount=50> accessed 4 July 2019.
[9] ‘Origins Of The Boat Race | The Boat Race’ (The Boat Race, 2019) <https://www.theboatrace.org/origins> accessed 4 July 2019.
[10] ‘Page 1998 | Issue 18855, 30 September 1831 | London Gazette | The Gazette’ (Thegazette.co.uk, 2019) <https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/18855/page/1998> accessed 4 July 2019.
[11] D. Morrier Evans, Facts, Failures and Frauds (FORGOTTEN BOOKS 2015).
[12] Joseph Hume, The Bankers’ Magazine ; And Journal Of The Money Market (16th edn, Waterlow & Sons, printers 1845).
[13] Findympast.com. Westminster, Poor Law And Parish Administration 1833-35.
[14] ‘Full Text Of “The Registers And Monumental Inscriptions Of Charterhouse Chapel”‘ (Archive.org, 2019) <https://archive.org/stream/registersmonumen00coll/registersmonumen00coll_djvu.txt> accessed 4 July 2019.
[15] Blackwood’s Lady’s Magazine Of The Belles Lettres, Music, Fine Arts, Drama, Fashion, &C And Gazette Of The Fashionable World (Blackwood and Page 1845).
[16] Ibid.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid.
[19] British India Office Deaths & Burials. P.63.
[20] ‘1912MNRAS..72..253. Page 254’ (Articles.adsabs.harvard.edu, 2019) <http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/full/seri/MNRAS/0072//0000254.000.html> accessed 4 July 2019.
[21] ‘Page 16 | Issue 20057, 4 January 1842 | London Gazette | The Gazette’ (Thegazette.co.uk, 2019) <https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/20057/page/16> accessed 4 July 2019.
[22] Findympast.com. Westminster, Poor Law And Parish Administration 1841-55.
[23] ‘The Gentleman’s Magazine’ (Google Books, 2019) <https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=mydIAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA307&lpg=PA307&dq=%22strahan+of+ashurst%22&source=bl&ots=A5GVuPKwgB&sig=ACfU3U1zRn4KWOu02mo01KKk15RSvRVkJw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiCtuia_rHiAhXnSxUIHTkWC4oQ6AEwBnoECAcQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22strahan%20of%20ashurst%22&f=false> accessed 4 July 2019.
[24] ‘Parliamentary Papers’ (Google Books, 2019) <https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=InoSAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA277&lpg=PA277&dq=%22william+strahan%22+ashurst&source=bl&ots=zdVXcXCPyT&sig=ACfU3U3OOOL5sqcTlYo33MB3gQFTdz5rJg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjN2d2vg7LiAhVUr3EKHRj9DSc4ChDoATAIegQIBRAB#v=onepage&q=%22william%20strahan%22%20ashurst&f=false> accessed 4 July 2019.
[25] ‘Surrey County Cricket Club 1St XI Fixtures’ (Kia Oval, 2019) <https://www.cricketarchive.com/Surrey/Players/37/37750/37750.html> accessed 4 July 2019.
[26] The Morning Post, ‘Fund For Promoting Female Emigration’ (1850).
[27] London Evening Standard, ‘Nightly Shelter For The Houseless’ (1850).
[28] The Morning Post, ‘Governesses’ Benevolent Institution’ (1850).
[29] The Morning Post, ‘Preliminary Prospectus – The Irish National Flax and Hemp Growing Company’ (1850).
[30] London Evening Standard, ‘Philanthropic Farm School’ (1850).
[31] Oxford University and City Herald, ‘Church Missions To The Irish Roman Catholics’ (1850).
[32] Chelmsford Chronicle, ‘Lambeth Thank Offering Church’ (1850).
[33] The Morning Post, ‘Births’ (1850)
[34] Lloyd’s Weekly Newspaper, ‘Mysterious Death’ (1852).
[35] John Bull, ‘Births’ (1852).
[36] Caledonian Mercury, ‘The Peninsular Colonization Company’ (2019).
[37] Morning Advertiser, ‘Belgium And Germany’ (1852).
[38] London Daily News, ‘Lucca And Pistoja Railway Company’ (1852).
[39] Exeter Flying Post, ‘Portland Iron Company Scotland’ (1852).
[40] Sussex Advertiser, ‘Game List- County Of Surrey – First Publication’ (2019).
[41] County Courts Chronicle, ‘Bankruptcy’ (1856).
[42] ‘Central Criminal Court’ (Oldbaileyonline.org, 2019) <https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?div=t18551022-955> accessed 4 July 2019.
[43] Ibid.
[44] Ibid.
[45] Ibid.
[46] Ibid.
[47] Ibid.
[48] Ibid
[49] Ibid.
[50] Morning Post, ‘The Case Of Strahan, Paul & Co.’ (1855).
[51] The Morning Post, ‘Meeting Of Middlesex Magistrates’ (1855).
[52] Ibid.
[53] Ibid.
[54] Ibid.
[55] D. Morrier Evans, Facts, Failures and Frauds (FORGOTTEN BOOKS 2015).
[56] The Morning Post, ‘Meeting Of Middlesex Magistrates’ (1855).
[57] D. Morrier Evans, Facts, Failures and Frauds (FORGOTTEN BOOKS 2015).
[58] Ibid.
[59] Ibid.
[60] ‘Whymper’s London Diary, January-June 1855 | British History Online’ (British-history.ac.uk, 2019) <https://www.british-history.ac.uk/london-record-soc/vol43/pp1-17> accessed 5 July 2019.
[61] D. Morrier Evans, Facts, Failures and Frauds (FORGOTTEN BOOKS 2015).
[62] ‘Whymper’s London Diary, July-December 1855 | British History Online’ (British-history.ac.uk, 2019) <https://www.british-history.ac.uk/london-record-soc/vol43/pp17-38> accessed 5 July 2019.
[63] Ibid.
[64] D. Morrier Evans, Facts, Failures and Frauds (FORGOTTEN BOOKS 2015).
[65] Ibid.
[66] Ibid.
[67] Ibid.
[68] Ibid.
[69] Ibid.
[70] Ibid.
[71] Ibid.
[72] ‘Whymper’s London Diary, July-December 1855 | British History Online’ (British-history.ac.uk, 2019) <https://www.british-history.ac.uk/london-record-soc/vol43/pp17-38> accessed 5 July 2019.
[73] D. Morrier Evans, Facts, Failures and Frauds (FORGOTTEN BOOKS 2015).
[74] Ibid.
[75] Ibid.
[76] Norwich Mercury, ‘The Trial Of Messrs. Strahan, Paul And Bates’ (1855).
[77] ‘Whymper’s London Diary, July-December 1855 | British History Online’ (British-history.ac.uk, 2019) <https://www.british-history.ac.uk/london-record-soc/vol43/pp17-38> accessed 5 July 2019.
[78] Ibid.
[79] England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment 1770-1935. Woking Prison. P27
[80] Globe, ‘Court Of Bankruptcy’ (1856).
[81] London Evening Standard, ‘Bankruptcy Court, 11Th March’ (1856).
[82] Home Office Criminal Entry Books: 1782-1871. P148
[83] Home Office Criminal Entry Books: 1782-1871. P228
[84] Spencer Horatio Walpole, Home Secretary at the time
[85] Home Office Criminal Entry Books: 1782-1871. P105
[86] England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment Browse, 1770-1935.
[87] The Scotsman, ‘The Imprisoned Bankers’ (1958).
[88] Ibid.
[89] Home Office Criminal Entry Books: 1782-1871. P230
[90] Home Office Criminal Entry Books: 1782-1871. P228
[91] Home Office Criminal Entry Books: 1782-1871. P230
[92] Home Office Criminal Entry Books: 1782-1871. P318
[93] ‘HISTORY: Home To The Good, The Great, The Brave – And The Fraudulent…’ (Midweek Herald, 2019) <https://www.midweekherald.co.uk/news/history-home-to-the-good-the-great-the-brave-and-the-fraudulent-1-5447398> accessed 8 July 2019.
[94] Exeter Flying Post, ‘Marriages’ (1863).
[95] Morning Post, ‘Marriages’ (1869).
[96] Globe, ‘Friendly Societies’ (1874).
[97] Reading Mercury, ‘Marriages’ (1874).
[98] Pall Mall Gazette, ‘Marriages’ (2019).
[99] ‘Page 4688 | Issue 26082, 26 August 1890 | London Gazette | The Gazette’ (Thegazette.co.uk, 2019) <https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/26082/page/4688> accessed 8 July 2019.
[100] Ibid.
[101] London Evening Standard, ‘Deaths’ (1887).
[102] Surrey Mirror, ‘A Dividend After Forty-Four Years’ (2019).
[103] Barbara Weiss, ‘Secret Pockets And Secret Breasts: “Little Dorrit” And The Commercial Scandals Of The Fifties’ (1982) 10 Dickens Studies Annual.
[104] Central Criminal Court’ (Oldbaileyonline.org, 2019) <https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?div=t18410104-411> accessed 24 July 2019
[105] Central Criminal Court’ (Oldbaileyonline.org, 2019) <https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?div=t18340904-3> accessed 24 July 2019.