Violent Robbery on Mr & Mrs Bellamy

Several sets of gallows are shown in this drawing of
the Rev’d Whitfield Preaching on Kennington Common  c.1739 

During the 2020/21 covid pandemic Brian Bouchard was catching up on back issues of The Times and came across the following entries

June 8th 1791

On Monday evening as Mr. and Mrs. Bellamy, of Ewell, were returning home in a post-chaise, they were stopped between Morden and Ewell, by three footpads, who robbed them of two gold watches, about 90l. besides rings, hair-pins, and other articles; the villains having robbed them of all they could, brutally dragged them out of the chaise, and cut Mr. Bellamy in so barbarous a manner with cutlasses, that he lies dangerously ill of his wounds.

June 9th 1791

Monday evening near Ewell, Mr. Ellis, of Whetstone, and Mr. Hutchinson, of Aldermanbury, were robbed of their watches, &c. by three footpads, supposed to be the same who robbed Mr. Bellamy, as they answer the same description and attempted the same cruelties.

On further investigation he found an entry in The Newgate Calendar (Vol. 3)

ROBERT WALPOLE CHAMBERLAIN,
EXECUTED FOR ROBBERY.

This thoughtless young spend- thrift and footpad, who was executed on Kennington Common, the 5th of August, 1793, had his life marked by very strange vicissitudes. He was found guilty, at the Croydon assizes, of having some time before committed a footpad robbery, attended with many circumstances of cruelty, upon Captain Bellamy, near Epsom; and was hanged some short time after with a coiner, of the name of Vernon. His father was a butcher in Leadenhall Market, who died while lie was very young, and left him to the care of a mother, who was too foolishly fond to exercise any control over him. As he had no inclination for business, be was allowed to pass away his time idly, and his mother gave him a regular supply of two hundred pounds per annum, to enable him to live like a gentleman. She also occasionally paid his debts, which he was by no means sparing to contract.

To supply, however, his extravagance with greater prodigality, be bad recourse to robbery, and was twice capitally convicted, but bad the good fortune to get the punishment commuted for transportation. On the first conviction he was permitted to transport himself, which be did, to Ireland, till part of his time was expired, and the rest remitted : he also got off the second sentence; and, his mother dying about the same time, left him a legacy of ten thousand pounds! On this occasion lie was seriously advised, if possible, to retrieve his character; and, that he might not have the temptation of want for the renewal of his offences, the executor of his mother’s will suffered him to draw upon him at discretion. But so indiscreet and imprudent a use did he make of this indulgence, that in less than three years nearly all the money was exhausted. He had for some time existed by depredations, and was at length taken up for a house-robbery. While in prison Mrs. Bellamy recognised him; and, at the age of three-and-twenty, he suffered for a robbery, committed two years before, after squandering a very respectable fortune. He demeaned himself decently at the gallows, and his body was taken away in a hearse.

The particulars of the robbery for which he paid his life a forfeit are as follow : — Mr. Bellamy deposed that on the 6th of June, 1791, he, in company with Mrs. Bellamy, his wife, was stopped in a post-chaise near Epsom, by three footpads, who demanded his watch and money, and threatened to blow his brains out if he refused : that he (Mr. Bellamy,) presented a pistol at them, and said he was ready for them; on which the prisoner (Chamberlain) fired a pistol into the carriage, and immediately afterwards, witli one of his companions, dragged Mr. Bellamy out of the chaise, took his watch and money from him, and then wounded him with a cutlass in a very dangerous manner. Mrs. Bellamy corroborated the whole oi her husband’s evidence, and positively swore to the person of the prisoner, who, she deposed, took bank-notes from her to the amount of ninety pounds, telling her that he would blow her brains out if she turned her head ; and that he would teach Mr. Bellamy to carry pistols again; that on the 1st of May last she was sent for to the New Gaol in the Borough, where she immediately recollected the prisoner, who turned from her, and could not he prevailed upon to look her in the face.

Not much is known of Captain Bellamy but we believe he was Captain Humphrey Bellamy who had served in 2nd Horse Guards (The Blues).  He was the grandson of Sir Edward Bellamy and only child of Humphrey Bellamy, the elder.    Following the death of his father the son took over the tenancy of Lea Hall, Walthamstow during 1786. In 1790 Bellamy sold Lea Hall to William Northage and subsequently took up residence in Ewell.

Having been crippled by Chamberlain’s attack Captain Bellamy was reduced to poverty, he moved back to London and by 1813 resorted to writing begging letters to various people including Col. Mc Mahon (Private Secretary to the Sovereign) .

Based on an idea of Brian Bouchard 2021