Featured Article Summary #286

The London Monster was the name given to an attacker of women in London from 1788 to 1790. Renwick Williams, a Welsh maker of artificial flowers, was arrested in June 1790 and after two trials was sent to Newgate Prison for six years. He would verbally harass women with lewd remarks and then attack them with a knife, cutting their clothing and injuring their buttocks, thighs, or chest, using various methods such as hidden blades or knife-like devices. Over fifty women reported attacks, sometimes several in a day, and because the descriptions and methods varied, historians are unsure whether it was one attacker or multiple. As the attacks grew, a reward was offered, leading many innocent men to be arrested and released, and some women tried to protect themselves with protective clothing or coverings. Williams was ultimately found guilty even though some victims did not recognize him and there was no firm forensic evidence, so historians still debate whether he truly was responsible and suggest copycat attacks may have occurred. The London Monster began attacking in March 1788, first in Great Trinity Lane near Queen Victoria Street and then later that month near Bow Lane. In these early attacks, he cut and wounded women, and reports in the press described a young, shabby-looking man in careful detail. In May 1788 he escalated to stalking and obscene comments before stabbing Maria Smyth and other women, after which some victims fell seriously ill, and there were no reported attacks again until the next May. In May 1789, a man followed Sarah Godfrey from Bond Street to Piccadilly, made lewd propositions when she stopped at a shop, then followed her home to Charlotte Street and stabbed her in the upper thigh. That year also saw several similar attacks on women, with historians noting that in at least five serious cases, the stabbing was preceded by obscene, sexual comments. In 1790 the attacks changed from the earlier pattern of lewd remarks followed by stabbing to a more frequent series using different weapons. On 18 January, six assaults occurred, including the Porter sisters, Anne and Sarah, whose injuries and attacker description helped the public realize it was likely part of a wider, organized threat. As the attacks continued through late April and May—while newspapers complained about poor policing—large rewards and growing publicity brought many tips, but some arrests were made without proof, and even then victims still often failed to identify suspects. In early June 1790, Renwick Williams was tracked down after Anne Porter recognised him in St James’s Park and identified him at the Porters’ home. He was arrested and brought before the courts, where witnesses tried to identify him but their descriptions varied, and Williams argued he was working at an artificial flower factory during the attacks; he was convicted of felony at the Old Bailey on 8 July 1790. After critics pointed to conflicting evidence, senior judges agreed the felony charge was wrong, leading to a retrial for misdemeanour, where he was found guilty and sentenced to repeated terms of imprisonment, then released in 1796. He later published a pamphlet insisting he was innocent, married in 1797, and had a child born while he was still in Newgate.