Quilt Arnold
Encyclopedia
Quilt Arnold was one of the chief assistants of 18th century London
's master criminal and thief-taker Jonathan Wild
. Very little is known about his life and what details we do have come by way of Jonathan Wild
himself. The best secondary work of reference is Gerald Howson's biography of Jonathan Wild
.
We know that sometime in 1716 Arnold was taken on by Wild and given the responsible position of "Clerk of the Northern Roads". Wild would have told the authorities that Arnold's remit was to keep the Northern Roads clear of thieves but his main task was to organise crime along them.
Arnold was instrumental in the arrest of Wild's arch-rival Jack Sheppard
on 22 July 1724. He nearly died when Sheppard fired a pistol at him but the pistol flashed in the pan and Sheppard was apprehended. On 22 October of the same year he arrested Joseph "Blueskin" Blake. Blake subsequently attempted to cut Jonathan Wild
's throat but his pen-knife was blunt and Wild survived.
In early 1725 Arnold and Wild helped a certain Roger Johnson to escape from the custody of a constable in the "Three Crowns" at Stratford-le-Bow. It is not clear whether they started a riot or rescued Johnson with pistols. As a result of this incident, Arnold was arrested along with Wild on 15 February 1725. He applied for bail on 1 April but was refused.
Wild was executed on 24 May 1725 but Arnold was eventually released. There was a rumour that he was contracted to marry Mary Wild - Jonathan Wild
's widow - but whether this was true or not, or whether the marriage ever took place, is unknown.
With Wild dead, Arnold attempted to take up thief-taking on his own account but ran afoul of an Edward Burnworth who was similarly occupied. The last we hear of Arnold is his being the loser in an alehouse encounter with Burnworth in March 1726 where he was forced to drink brandy and gunpowder at pistol point and then knocked down.
Arnold's dates of birth and death are unknown. Given his senior position with Jonathan Wild
in 1716 he was perhaps born sometime around 1690. He does not appear in any court records or newspapers after 1726 but it would be pure speculation to assume his death at around this time.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's master criminal and thief-taker Jonathan Wild
Jonathan Wild
Jonathan Wild was perhaps the most infamous criminal of London — and possibly Great Britain — during the 18th century, both because of his own actions and the uses novelists, playwrights, and political satirists made of them...
. Very little is known about his life and what details we do have come by way of Jonathan Wild
Jonathan Wild
Jonathan Wild was perhaps the most infamous criminal of London — and possibly Great Britain — during the 18th century, both because of his own actions and the uses novelists, playwrights, and political satirists made of them...
himself. The best secondary work of reference is Gerald Howson's biography of Jonathan Wild
Jonathan Wild
Jonathan Wild was perhaps the most infamous criminal of London — and possibly Great Britain — during the 18th century, both because of his own actions and the uses novelists, playwrights, and political satirists made of them...
.
We know that sometime in 1716 Arnold was taken on by Wild and given the responsible position of "Clerk of the Northern Roads". Wild would have told the authorities that Arnold's remit was to keep the Northern Roads clear of thieves but his main task was to organise crime along them.
Arnold was instrumental in the arrest of Wild's arch-rival Jack Sheppard
Jack Sheppard
Jack Sheppard was a notorious English robber, burglar and thief of early 18th-century London. Born into a poor family, he was apprenticed as a carpenter but took to theft and burglary in 1723, with little more than a year of his training to complete...
on 22 July 1724. He nearly died when Sheppard fired a pistol at him but the pistol flashed in the pan and Sheppard was apprehended. On 22 October of the same year he arrested Joseph "Blueskin" Blake. Blake subsequently attempted to cut Jonathan Wild
Jonathan Wild
Jonathan Wild was perhaps the most infamous criminal of London — and possibly Great Britain — during the 18th century, both because of his own actions and the uses novelists, playwrights, and political satirists made of them...
's throat but his pen-knife was blunt and Wild survived.
In early 1725 Arnold and Wild helped a certain Roger Johnson to escape from the custody of a constable in the "Three Crowns" at Stratford-le-Bow. It is not clear whether they started a riot or rescued Johnson with pistols. As a result of this incident, Arnold was arrested along with Wild on 15 February 1725. He applied for bail on 1 April but was refused.
Wild was executed on 24 May 1725 but Arnold was eventually released. There was a rumour that he was contracted to marry Mary Wild - Jonathan Wild
Jonathan Wild
Jonathan Wild was perhaps the most infamous criminal of London — and possibly Great Britain — during the 18th century, both because of his own actions and the uses novelists, playwrights, and political satirists made of them...
's widow - but whether this was true or not, or whether the marriage ever took place, is unknown.
With Wild dead, Arnold attempted to take up thief-taking on his own account but ran afoul of an Edward Burnworth who was similarly occupied. The last we hear of Arnold is his being the loser in an alehouse encounter with Burnworth in March 1726 where he was forced to drink brandy and gunpowder at pistol point and then knocked down.
Arnold's dates of birth and death are unknown. Given his senior position with Jonathan Wild
Jonathan Wild
Jonathan Wild was perhaps the most infamous criminal of London — and possibly Great Britain — during the 18th century, both because of his own actions and the uses novelists, playwrights, and political satirists made of them...
in 1716 he was perhaps born sometime around 1690. He does not appear in any court records or newspapers after 1726 but it would be pure speculation to assume his death at around this time.