Richard Smithers

Approximately 12 men from the Bow Street Runners participated in a raid on 23rd February 1820. Information of the Cato Street Conspiracy was provided to the Bow Street Runners, likely thanks to the efforts of an agent provocateur. The Runners, armed with short cutlasses and William Lacey pistols (both markedly inferior to the arms wielded by the conspirators) entered the building at approximately 8:30 PM. They entered through the first floor and found a man standing guard in the stable with a blunderbuss and a sword, and another armed with a short rifle and a sword. After moving to secure the men, Richard Smithers and others ascended the ladder up to the loft, which at this point was functioning as the base of operations for the Spencean Philanthropists. The rest of the Runners remained with the two men in custody on the first floor.

The loft was divided into two rooms, with the majority of the 25 men in the room where the ladder led up to. One of the guards shouted a warning to his compatriots above; warning them of the presence of the Bow Street Runners within the stable before Smithers could fully ascend. A brief standoff ensued between the three Runners and the men in the loft. The leader of the Spencean Philanthropists and one of the main planners of the Cato Street Conspiracy drew his sabre and retreated to the doorway of the second room, away from the ladder where met confronted Richard Smithers with a sword thrust near the heart, killing him almost instantly. Two of his fellow Runners reported that Smithers cried out “Oh my God!” before falling and died immediately following this fatal wound.

The rest of the loft erupted with violence, and the candles lighting the stable were put out by the conspiracists in an effort to aid in their escape. One of the conspiracists was reported to have yelled “Kill the buggers; throw them downstairs!” There were numerous gunshots, which helped illuminate the now dark stables, but the situation was intensely confusing for all sides involved. Those in the loft struggled to descend the contested space of the ladder, and many fell through the opening and suffered injuries while doing so.

The Bow Street Runners and the Coldstream Guards captured a number; the Runners were responsible for the majority of those captured. In addition to the capture of the conspirators, several Bow Street Runners played important roles in the subsequent trials. Of the 11 named men that took part in the raid, all with the exception of Smithers and one other were present and gave testimony that helped the jury come to their conclusions regarding the culpability of the conspirators.