Sally Salisbury | |
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 Engraving of Sally Salisbury from theAuthentic Memoirs of the Life, Intrigues and Adventures of the Celebrated Sally Salisbury (1723) | |
| Born | Sarah Pridden c. 1690 London, England |
| Died | 1724 (aged 33–34) Newgate Prison, London, England |
| Other names | Sarah Priddon |
| Occupation | Prostitute |
| Criminal information | |
| Criminal status | Died in prison |
| Conviction | Violentassault |
| Criminal penalty | 1 year in prison |
Sarah Pridden (c. 1692 – 1724), commonly known asSally Salisbury, was a celebratedprostitute 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, the politicianJohn Finch, who was a son ofDaniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham andAnne Finch, Countess of Nottingham. She was foundguilty ofassault, butnot guilty ofattempted murder. Salisbury was sentenced to one year's imprisonment. She was sent toNewgate Prison to serve her sentence but died in prison after only nine months.
She was born around 1690–1692 and given the name Sarah Pridden. Her father was a bricklayer. At the age of nine, Salisbury wasapprenticed to aseamstress inAldgate. After losing a valuable piece oflace, Salisbury ran away and took to life on the streets of the slum district ofSt Giles. Here she turned to various forms of street trading. She became well known in London as "the beautiful little wench who sellspamphlets to the schoolboys and apprentices...in Pope's Head Alley in theCity of London". Her pamphlet sales were merely a sideline to her more lucrative trade, charging the boys half acrown for an hour of her time.[1] The notoriousrake ColonelFrancis Charteris made her hismistress, but abandoned her c. 1704, when she was 14 years old. Following her abandonment, Salisbury was taken in by thebawd,Mother Wisebourne, whose house inCovent Garden was among the most exclusive and expensive brothels of the time. She adopted thesurname Salisbury from the name of one of her lovers. After Wisebourne's death, Salisbury moved on to the house ofMother Needham in Park Place.
Salisbury was celebrated for her beauty andwit, and consequently attracted many aristocratic customers. TheSecretary of State for the Northern Department (1710–1713) andSecretary of State for the Southern Department (1713–1714),Viscount Bolingbroke was a great admirer of Salisbury, willing to pay "the highest price for the greatest pleasure". She boasted that she had "at least half a score" of lords as clients.[2] TheDuke of Richmond, the poet and diplomatMatthew Prior, andNell Gwyn's son, theDuke of St Albans all patronised her, and even the futureGeorge II was rumoured to have been amongst her lovers.[3]
She spent time inMarshalsea andBridewell prisons for minor offences and debt. After ariot at Wisebourne's house in 1713, Salisbury was sent toNewgate Prison. She was released by Judge Blagney, who had become infatuated with her.
Thestabbing took place as the result of an argument over some opera tickets that a customer had given to Sally's sister instead of Sally. The customer was the politicianJohn Finch, a son ofDaniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham andAnne Finch, Countess of Nottingham. Finch was also a brother toDaniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea. During the argument in theThree Tuns Tavern inChandos Street,Covent Garden, Finch and Salisbury both became angry. 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 was reported.Lady Mary Wortley Montagu wrote to Lady Frances Pierrepont, the exiledCountess of Mar (wife ofJohn Erskine, Earl of Mar) inParis of the gossip a few days after the event:[4]
The freshest news in town is the fatal accident happened three nights ago to a very pretty young fellow, brother to Lord Finch, who was drinking with a dearly beloved drab, whom you may have heard of by the name of Sally Salisbury. In a jealous pique she stabbed him to the heart with a knife. He fell down dead immediately, but a surgeon being called for, and the knife drawn out of his body, he opened his eyes, and his first words were to beg her to be friends with him, and kissed her. She has since stayed by his bedside till last night, when he begged her to fly, for he thought he could not live; she has taken his advice and perhaps will honour you with her residence in Paris.
— Lady Mary Wortley Montagu – c. 25 December 1722
Salisbury was charged with violentassault and tried at theOld Bailey 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 defence also tried to argue that Sally had acted to defend her sister from Mr. Finch's dishonorable amorous intentions, rather than from jealousy.[5] 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 tomurder. She was sentenced to pay a fine of 100pounds, a year's imprisonment, and to findsureties for her behaviour for two years.
Salisbury's esteemed patrons did not abandon her: she received visitors while in prison and awaiting trial. 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 certainlysyphilis,[2] and was buried in the churchyard ofSt Andrew Holborn.
She was the subject of a number of biographies, among them the anonymousThe Genuine History of Mrs. Sarah Pridden, usually called Sally Salisbury, and Her Gallants, and Captain Charles Walker'sAuthentic Memoirs of the Life, Intrigues and Adventures of the Celebrated Sally Salisbury, both from 1723, as well as receiving mention inCésar de Saussure'sA Foreign View of England.
She is a possible inspiration for the harlot Moll Hackabout, inWilliam Hogarth'sA 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 songSally in Our Alley until the author,Henry Carey, claimed he had not heard of her when he wrote it.
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