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People who escaped from the Tower of London.

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This is an attempt to list all the people known to have escaped from the “impregnable” Tower of London. It may be that other names need to be added. The dates given are the dates of escape:

Ralph de Flambard, 1101

Roger Mortimer, later Earl of March, 1322.

Thomas Berkeley, 1320s. Note not listed in main source below. See Edward II, The Unconventional King, by Kathryn Warner, p. 175.

Robert Hauley, 1378

John Shakell, 1378

Sir John Oldcastle, 1413

Sir John Mortimer, (twice) 1420s. Later captured and executed. Note not listed in main source below. See The Reign of Henry VI, R. A. Griffiths. “So unsatisfactory  had conditions of imprisonment become that keepers of prisons, especially the Tower, were afraid of their own prisoners.” (p.138)

Sir Humphrey Neville, 1463

Alice Tankerfelde Woolff, 1534. Recaptured and probably executed.

Brian O’Connor, 1552

Thomas Stucley, 1553.

Sir Anthony Fortescue, 1561

William Ogier, 1560

John Arden, or Ardent, 1597

John Gerard, 1597

2nd Duke of Somerset, 1610

Hugh Oge Macmahon, 1641. Recaptured and executed.

Edward Martin, Dean of Ely, 1642. Recaptured.

Daniel O’Neill, 1642

Arthur, Lord Capell, 1648. He was recaptured and beheaded.

Michael Hudson, 1648

George Cooke, 1651.

Lt. General John Middleton, 1651

Lt. General Sir Edward Massey, 1652

Thomas Dalyell, 1652.

Major General Robert Montgomerie, 1654

Tudor Thomas 1654. Recaptured.

Colonel Mallory, 1658. Recaptured.

John Lambert, 1660

William Lee, 1665

William Alton (Dutch Spy) 1673

Lord Edward Griffin, 1690. Recaptured.

Major General Dorrington, 1691

Colonel John Parker, 1694

4th Earl of Clancarty, 1695

5th Earl of Nithsdale, 1715

Christopher Layer, 1722. Recaptured and executed.

George Kelly, 1736

An unnamed subaltern in 1916. He returned.

Source: http://www.camelotintl.com/tower_site/prisoners/escape.html

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17 responses to “People who escaped from the Tower of London.”

  1. David Avatar
    David

    But why would anyone want to escape?

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    1. super blue Avatar
      super blue

      Are you seeking an award for the most inane question of the year?

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  2. sparkypus Avatar
    sparkypus

    Yep why would anyone want to escape a dank, malodorous, freezing, cramped, disease-ridden, pitch black cell with only Roland Rat and his family for company?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. super blue Avatar
      super blue

      I don’t know – perhaps he thinks it was a mediaeval equivalent of the Hilton.

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  3. David Avatar
    David

    You are right as usual. I had been reading too much Ricardian literature – it had convinced me that in 1483 the Tower was not a place to be feared at all. It was a comfortable Royal residence and did not gain its sinister reputation until the Tudor period.

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    1. super blue Avatar
      super blue

      In the fifteenth century, some of the Towers were royal apartments and others were prisons but the balance changed drastically after that.

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    2. mry4441 Avatar
      mry4441

      Correct in 1483 it was. It was also where kings went to stay before their coronation. I believe even the Tudor usurper went there the night before his coronation.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  4. Plus ca change … | murreyandblue

    […] to death by beheading, to be carried out on 24 February. With the help of his weeping Countess, he escaped from the Tower disguised as her equally lachrymose maid, the day before his execution had been set. Both lived on […]

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  5. THE ANCIENT DOORS OF ENGLAND. | murreyandblue

    […] ‘ENTER ME IF YOU DARE’..Old photos of the doors of the cell known as “Little Ease’ in the Tower of London.. […]

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  6. THE ANCIENT DOORS OF OLD ENGLAND.. – A MEDIEVAL POTPOURRI

    […] ‘ENTER ME IF YOU DARE’..Old photos of the doors of the cell known as “Little Ease’ in the Tower of London.. […]

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  7. 123scottland Avatar
    123scottland

    actully they missed the 5th earl of winton

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    1. super blue Avatar
      super blue

      Yes. I am not sure why but Nithsdale’s escape, which a gangster tried to emulate recently (and we covered it), is much better known. We shall investigate further …

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