Susannah King

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Robin Sharkey on 9th November 2025

Susannah King and Elizabeth Crompton – and HENRY KING charged with receiving OLD BAILEY TRIAL SESSION Starting 13 January 1796. THE MAIN PLAYERS SUSANNAH KING aged 30, lived in a house in a court off Monmouth Street, in the back room up two pairs of stairs. ELIZABETH CROMPTON, aged 35, was Susannah’s co-accused. Elizabeth was married, and her husband was a sailor. She lived in a room in a house at No. 6, Old Belton-street, Long-Acre. The first floor front room of the same house was rented by Henry Jones who lived there with his wife and daughter. WILLIAM PLATTEN and his wife FRANCES lodged in King Street in Seven Dials, where they lived “down in a kitchen”. On Thursday 26 November 1795, they had clothing, abox and some mutton, stolen from them. He had been at work, and his wife had been away from the house for a few hours after lunchtime. Frances Platten said also missing was a pound of steak. All the items they kept in a box had been taken. ANN NORMAN lived opposite the Plattens. About 2 o’clock on Thursday 26th November she went and stood at a “two pair of stairs window”. She gave evidence that she a woman, who she identified later as Susannah King, standing by a post, about twenty yards from Platten's door. And ashe said “bout twenty minutes after that, I observed a woman coming out of Platten's house, with a large bundle in her apron.” She later identified both women at the Bow Street court. The defence counsel, Mr Ally challenged her identification of the two accused women. But Ann Norton claimed she had clear sight of Susannah King standing near the post because “I never took my eyes from King till I saw Crompton coming out of Platten's door.” And although Elizabeth Crompton had a bonnet on she also claimed to be able to clearly identify her just coming along the street. SEARCHING THE WOMENS’ ROOMS The Plattens did not go to the constables at Bow Street to report the loss until Tuesday 1st December 1795. They had been given information by someone – probably the witness Ann Norman – in consequence of which they got a warrant from the magistrate to search Elizabeth King’s house. At her rented room the Plattens, together with a constable, found Elizabeth working with her mother and another old lady. In the room they found two aprons and a cravat in a box without a lock; all belonging to the Plattens. In Elizabeth’s pocket the constable found a duplicate of a pawnbroker’s receipt for nankeen breeches. Elizabeth claimed she’d got everything from Susannah Crompton. The constable and William Platten then went to Henry Jones’s room and found there one cravat, one apron, and a bonnet all belonging to Platten and his wife. Elizabeth Crompton was also present in Jones;s room, ironing something. She said she was only there because she’d begged a favour of the Jones daughter to wash a few things and now she was ironing them. The constable got a magistrate’s warrant for the PAWNBROKER’S at 22, Bridges-street, Covent-garden. There he found the stolen nankeen breeches, as well as a coat and two shirts - Mr Platten was with him to identify the things. The pawnbroker’s later evidence at trial was that the two women had come to the shop before, and they’d brought these items on Thursday afternoon 26th November. Crompton was the one who pledged the things with him, in the name of Hannah Jordan. JONES CHARGED Jones was charged with receiving. However he was found not guilty probably because of a point made by defence barrister, Mr Ally, which was that because Jones’ occupation was a printer, his place was open to journeymen and people going about his business. Therefore it couldn’t be clearly proved that he had received the item– it could have been anyone coming and going there who had left them. WOMEN's DEFENCE The women both relied on the same defence. Susannah King related their story, and Elizabeth Crompton relied on the same facts. It was a story with a large element of cock-and-bull. Susannah said she’d been approached by a stranger, a woman named Mrs Jordan, looking for Elizabeth Crompton. This woman said she’d come from the ship where Elizabeth Crompton ‘s husband was, and she had a message for his wife. Susannah located Elizabeth at her brother’s, having taken Mrs Jordan with her. Then because she’d put Susannah to trouble, the Jordan woman took them to Queen Street and bought them two beers. Then she said she was sick and needed to eat and took them to buy a pound of beef steaks in Earl Street and they fried them up and ate them. Then, after another pot of beer the Jordan woman asked Elizabeth to pawn some things for her. Elizabeth asked Susannah to accompany her. They returned the pawn money from the items to the woman. Next, after a glass of peppermint at the bar the Jordan woman took them with her to buy some things and she made Elizabeth a present of two old aprons. Elizabeth gave Susannah the aprons plus the old cravat. Elizabeth agreed with all this and said also that Mrs Jordan had given her the bonnet that was found in Henry Jones’s room, and he knew nothing of it. Mr Ally downplayed the value of the items, especially those that appeared very old – this in order to ensure the total value was not found to be above 40 shillings, which would result in a sentence of death if found guilty. BOTH FOUND GUILTY SENTENCED to SEVEN YEARS’ TRANSPORTATION. ______________ Both Elizabeth Crompton and her co-accused, Susannah King, sailed on the ill-fated convict transport ship, 'Lady Shore', Given that they ended up together in a totally foreign country in Uruguay (and possibly later at Buenos Ayres in Argentina) Elizabeth and Susannah at least had each other for support to begin with. After their trial in January 1796, they were in Newgate Prison together for another fourteen months. Then, on Saturday 11th March 1797, “thirty-five female convicts and one male (Major Semple) were removed from Newgate, and delivered on board the ship Lady Shore, lying off Woolwich, bound for New South Wales”. (Norfolk Chronicle, Sat 18 March 1797, p.4). After the women had been a month on board at Woolwich, the Lady Shore sailed down to Portsmouth, arriving on 15 April 1797. The ship had then on board at Portsmouth “110 men women and children belonging to the New South Wales Corps, and 70 convicts, only two of which are males viz major Semple and Knowles.” (per Hampshire Chronicle, 22 April 1797). Semple was aged 38 and Launcelot Knowles was aged 65 years. LADY SHORE SAILS Part of the NSW Corps on board the ship included eight or so Frenchmen who'd been taken prisoner in England. Having being condemned to death, they’d then been reprieved to serve as soldiers at Botany Bay. While ‘Lady Shore’ was at Portsmouth, these men formed a plan to seize the ship when out to sea. The younger male convict, Major Semple, learned of the mutiny plan and informed the ship's captain. He, Captain Wilcox, complained to the Transport Board about the danger of proceeding to sea with such men with arms in their hands. [ per ‘Belfast Newsletter’ 4 August 1798, being information from the purser, Mr Black, later writing back to England]. The Colonel of the regiment of the NSW Corps was sent to investigate “but he, perhaps hesitating to give credit to Semple, and from the Benevolence of his own heart entertaining a better opinion of his men than they deserved, overruled Captain Wilcox’s desire.” (per Belfast Newsletter 4 August 1798) And Lady Shore departed Portsmouth on 22 April 1797, headed for Botany Bay with a mutinous men on board. MUTINY On 1st August, when the ship was about four days off the coast of South America, the French mutinied, aided by several Irish soldiers. [per ‘The Naval History of Great Britain’ by William James, at p.1797] After murdering the second mate and captain and putting 29 officers, wives, children and the convict Semple into a longboat on the ocean, the mutineers got the ship under sail. They went to Montevideo (Uruguay) with the convict women, plus elderly convict Launcelot Knowles, the surgeon Mr Fyfe, and the marines of the NSW Corps. For the next seven years, nothing was known about the fate of the convict women, or the other people who were at the mercy of the mutineers. But seven years later, in late 1804, four Spanish ships were captured by the English off Cadiz. On board one of these was the convict Launcelot Knowles (now aged about 72) and on another ship were three of the NSW Corps soldiers. The men said they’d come from Buenos Ayres and the Spanish were letting them go to England (they were to have been released at Cadiz to find an English shipto take them home). FATE OF FEMALE CONVICTS According to their testimony the 67 female convicts had integrated into life in South America as described at the top of this page under the description of the ship. That wording comes from the men’s testimony and is reported in several British newspapers for example: ‘Caledonian Mercury’ of Thursday, 3 Jan, 1805 and ‘Freemans Journal’, Thursday, 3 Jan 1805, p.4

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Penny-Lyn Beale on 2nd August 2023

UK Criminal Registers - Criminal Entry Records. Ship; Lady Shore No; 26 Trial; 13 January 1796 Age; 30 years. [born abt. 1767] Place of Transportation; Beyond the Seas.