Sally Salisbury
Encyclopedia
Sally Salisbury real name Sarah Pridden and also known as Sarah Priddon, was a celebrated prostitute
in early 18th-century London. She was the lover of many notable members of society, and socialised with many others.
In 1722 she stabbed and wounded a client. As a result she was sentenced to one year's imprisonment. She was sent to Newgate Prison
to serve her sentence but died in prison after only nine months.
. After losing a valuable piece of lace she ran away and took to life on the streets of the slum district of St Giles
. Here she turned to various forms of street trading. She became well known in London as "the beautiful little wench who sells pamphlets to the schoolboys and apprentices...in Pope's Head Alley in the City of London", but her pamphlet sales were merely a sideline to her more lucrative trade, charging the boys half a crown for an hour of her time. The notorious roué Colonel Francis Charteris made her his mistress, but abandoned her when she was 14, after which she was taken in by the bawd, Mother Wisebourne, whose house in Covent Garden
was among the most exclusive and expensive brothels of the time. She adopted the name Salisbury from one of her lovers. After Wisebourne's death she moved on to the house of Mother Needham
in Park Place.
was a great admirer, willing to pay "the highest price for the greatest pleasure" and she boasted that she had "at least half a score" of lords as clients. The Duke of Richmond
, the poet and diplomat Matthew Prior
, and Nell Gwyn
's son, the Duke of St Albans
all patronised her, and even the future George II
was rumoured to have been amongst her lovers.
She spent time in Marshalsea
and Bridewell
prisons for minor offences and debt. After a riot at Wisebourne's house in 1713 she was sent to Newgate Prison
but was released by Judge Blagney who had become infatuated with her.
The stabbing took place as the result of an argument over some opera tickets that a customer, John Finch, the son of the Countess of Winchelsea and brother to Lord Finch
, had given to Sally's sister instead of Sally. During the argument in the Three Tuns Tavern in Chandos Street, Covent Garden
, Finch and Salisbury both became angry and Salisbury snatched up the knife she had been given with her meal and stabbed Finch in the chest. She was apparently immediately remorseful and called for a surgeon to attend Finch. Finch was gravely ill for some time, but forgave Salisbury on the spot. When he later recovered, he wished to visit her in prison to reiterate his forgiveness.
The incident was the talk of the town, as Salisbury was a celebrity in London and her every move reported. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
wrote to the Countess of Mar in Paris of the gossip a few days after the event:
on 24 April 1723. Her lawyer claimed that the act had not been premeditated and that Mr. Finch's forgiveness should count in her favour. The defense also tried to argue that Sally had acted to defend her sister from Mr. Finch's dishonorable amorous intentions, rather than from jealousy. The prosecution mocked her reputation and claimed that Finch's forgiveness showed only his amiable character and offered nothing in the way of mitigation. The jury found her guilty of assaulting and wounding Finch but acquitted her of intent to murder. She was sentenced to pay a fine of 100 pounds, a year's imprisonment and to find sureties for her behaviour for two years.
Salisbury's esteemed patrons did not abandon her: she received visitors while in prison awaiting trial and the courtroom was packed with notables of London society during the trial. After she was taken to Newgate, she continued to receive visitors who brought her luxury goods and made sure that she was comfortable during her imprisonment. After serving nine months of her sentence she died of "brain fever brought on by debauch", almost certainly syphilis
, and was buried in the churchyard of St. Andrew, at Holborn
.
's Authentic Memoirs of the Life, Intrigues and Adventures of the Celebrated Sally Salisbury, both from 1723, as well as receiving mention in César de Saussure's A Foreign View of England.
She is a possible inspiration for the harlot, Moll Hackabout, in Hogarth
's A Harlot's Progress
: her lover Charteris features in the series and, like Moll, Salisbury had spent time in Bridewell. She was thought to be the satirical subject of the song Sally in Our Alley until the author, Henry Carey
, claimed he had not heard of her when he wrote it.
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
in early 18th-century London. She was the lover of many notable members of society, and socialised with many others.
In 1722 she stabbed and wounded a client. As a result she was sentenced to one year's imprisonment. She was sent to Newgate Prison
Newgate Prison
Newgate Prison was a prison in London, at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey just inside the City of London. It was originally located at the site of a gate in the Roman London Wall. The gate/prison was rebuilt in the 12th century, and demolished in 1777...
to serve her sentence but died in prison after only nine months.
Biography
She was born around 1690-1692 and given the name Sarah Pridden. Her father was a bricklayer. At the age of nine she was apprenticed to a seamstress in AldgateAldgate
Aldgate was the eastern most gateway through London Wall leading from the City of London to Whitechapel and the east end of London. Aldgate gives its name to a ward of the City...
. After losing a valuable piece of lace she ran away and took to life on the streets of the slum district of St Giles
St Giles, London
St Giles is a district of London, England. It is the location of the church of St Giles in the Fields, the Phoenix Garden and St Giles Circus. It is located at the southern tip of the London Borough of Camden and is part of the Midtown business improvement district.The combined parishes of St...
. Here she turned to various forms of street trading. She became well known in London as "the beautiful little wench who sells pamphlets to the schoolboys and apprentices...in Pope's Head Alley in the City of London", but her pamphlet sales were merely a sideline to her more lucrative trade, charging the boys half a crown for an hour of her time. The notorious roué Colonel Francis Charteris made her his mistress, but abandoned her when she was 14, after which she was taken in by the bawd, Mother Wisebourne, whose house in Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
was among the most exclusive and expensive brothels of the time. She adopted the name Salisbury from one of her lovers. After Wisebourne's death she moved on to the house of Mother Needham
Elizabeth Needham
Elizabeth Needham , also known as Mother Needham, was an English procuress and brothel-keeper of 18th-century London, who has been identified as the bawd greeting Moll Hackabout in the first plate of William Hogarth's series of satirical etchings, A Harlot's Progress...
in Park Place.
Celebrity prostitute
She was celebrated for her beauty and wit and attracted many aristocratic customers. The Secretary of State, Viscount BolingbrokeHenry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke
Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke was an English politician, government official and political philosopher. He was a leader of the Tories, and supported the Church of England politically despite his atheism. In 1715 he supported the Jacobite rebellion of 1715 which sought to overthrow the...
was a great admirer, willing to pay "the highest price for the greatest pleasure" and she boasted that she had "at least half a score" of lords as clients. The Duke of Richmond
Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond
Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, 1st Duke of Lennox, 1st Duke of Aubigny was the illegitimate son of Charles II of England and his mistress Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth....
, the poet and diplomat Matthew Prior
Matthew Prior
Matthew Prior was an English poet and diplomat.Prior was the son of a Nonconformist joiner at Wimborne Minster, East Dorset. His father moved to London, and sent him to Westminster School, under Dr. Busby. On his father's death, he left school, and was cared for by his uncle, a vintner in Channel...
, and Nell Gwyn
Nell Gwyn
Eleanor "Nell" Gwyn was a long-time mistress of King Charles II of England. Called "pretty, witty Nell" by Samuel Pepys, she has been regarded as a living embodiment of the spirit of Restoration England and has come to be considered a folk heroine, with a story echoing the rags-to-royalty tale of...
's son, the Duke of St Albans
Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans
Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, KG was an illegitimate son of King Charles II of England by his mistress Nell Gwynne.-Life:...
all patronised her, and even the future George II
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
was rumoured to have been amongst her lovers.
She spent time in Marshalsea
Marshalsea
The Marshalsea was a prison on the south bank of the River Thames in Southwark, now part of London. From the 14th century until it closed in 1842, it housed men under court martial for crimes at sea, including those accused of "unnatural crimes", political figures and intellectuals accused of...
and Bridewell
Bridewell Palace
Bridewell Palace in London, originally a residence of King Henry VIII, later became a poorhouse and prison. The name "Bridewell" subsequently became synonymous with police stations and detention facilities in England and in Ireland...
prisons for minor offences and debt. After a riot at Wisebourne's house in 1713 she was sent to Newgate Prison
Newgate Prison
Newgate Prison was a prison in London, at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey just inside the City of London. It was originally located at the site of a gate in the Roman London Wall. The gate/prison was rebuilt in the 12th century, and demolished in 1777...
but was released by Judge Blagney who had become infatuated with her.
Stabbing
Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea
Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea and 3rd Earl of Nottingham, KG, PC was a British politician. Styled Lord Finch until 1730, he was the eldest son of Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham and his second wife Anne Hatton, daughter of Christopher Hatton, 1st Viscount Hatton...
, had given to Sally's sister instead of Sally. During the argument in the Three Tuns Tavern in Chandos Street, Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, Finch and Salisbury both became angry and Salisbury snatched up the knife she had been given with her meal and stabbed Finch in the chest. She was apparently immediately remorseful and called for a surgeon to attend Finch. Finch was gravely ill for some time, but forgave Salisbury on the spot. When he later recovered, he wished to visit her in prison to reiterate his forgiveness.
The incident was the talk of the town, as Salisbury was a celebrity in London and her every move reported. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
The Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was an English aristocrat and writer. Montagu is today chiefly remembered for her letters, particularly her letters from Turkey, as wife to the British ambassador, which have been described by Billie Melman as “the very first example of a secular work by a woman about...
wrote to the Countess of Mar in Paris of the gossip a few days after the event:
Trial and imprisonment
Salisbury was charged with violent assault and tried at the Old BaileyOld Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
on 24 April 1723. Her lawyer claimed that the act had not been premeditated and that Mr. Finch's forgiveness should count in her favour. The defense also tried to argue that Sally had acted to defend her sister from Mr. Finch's dishonorable amorous intentions, rather than from jealousy. The prosecution mocked her reputation and claimed that Finch's forgiveness showed only his amiable character and offered nothing in the way of mitigation. The jury found her guilty of assaulting and wounding Finch but acquitted her of intent to murder. She was sentenced to pay a fine of 100 pounds, a year's imprisonment and to find sureties for her behaviour for two years.
Salisbury's esteemed patrons did not abandon her: she received visitors while in prison awaiting trial and the courtroom was packed with notables of London society during the trial. After she was taken to Newgate, she continued to receive visitors who brought her luxury goods and made sure that she was comfortable during her imprisonment. After serving nine months of her sentence she died of "brain fever brought on by debauch", almost certainly syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
, and was buried in the churchyard of St. Andrew, at Holborn
Holborn
Holborn is an area of Central London. Holborn is also the name of the area's principal east-west street, running as High Holborn from St Giles's High Street to Gray's Inn Road and then on to Holborn Viaduct...
.
Legacy
She was the subject of a number of biographies, among them the anonymous, The Genuine History of Mrs. Sarah Pridden, usually called Sally Salisbury, and Her Gallants, and Captain Charles WalkerCharles Walker
Charles David "Charlie" Walker is an American engineer who flew on three Space Shuttle missions in 1984 and 1985 as a Payload Specialist for the McDonnell Douglas Corporation...
's Authentic Memoirs of the Life, Intrigues and Adventures of the Celebrated Sally Salisbury, both from 1723, as well as receiving mention in César de Saussure's A Foreign View of England.
She is a possible inspiration for the harlot, Moll Hackabout, in Hogarth
William Hogarth
William Hogarth was an English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic and editorial cartoonist who has been credited with pioneering western sequential art. His work ranged from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like series of pictures called "modern moral subjects"...
's A Harlot's Progress
A Harlot's Progress
A Harlot's Progress is a series of six paintings and engravings by William Hogarth. The series shows the story of a young woman, Mary Hackabout, who arrives in London from the country and becomes a prostitute...
: her lover Charteris features in the series and, like Moll, Salisbury had spent time in Bridewell. She was thought to be the satirical subject of the song Sally in Our Alley until the author, Henry Carey
Henry Carey (writer)
Henry Carey was an English poet, dramatist and song-writer. He is remembered as an anti-Walpolean satirist and also as a patriot. Several of his melodies continue to be sung today, and he was widely praised in the generation after his death...
, claimed he had not heard of her when he wrote it.