Author’s Note
‘Bow Street Runner’ was the colloquial term for a Bow Street Principal Officer. Six to eight such officers worked out of Bow Street, traveling around England (and occasionally abroad) if needed. Principal Officers wore plain clothes and carried a short tipstaff with a brass crown at one end.
Policing was rather different to what it is now. In most instances it was up to the victim to instigate legal action. Someone who’d been burgled could pay for an investigation; equally, he (or she) could refuse to prosecute the culprit.
Automatous clocks with erotic scenes painted on them really did exist. Few examples remain, but occasionally they come up for auction. Pornographic illustrations were readily available and Holywell Street was the place to go if you wished to purchase th
