Isaac (Ikey) Solomon

Ikey Solomon, a notorious receiver of stolen goods, is often now identified as one of the inspirations for the character of Fagin in Dickens’ Oliver Twist.

Solomon was living in lodgings in Lower Queen Street (now Queensbury Road), Canonbury, at the time of his arrest in New North Road in 1827. The police officer who visited his lodgings straight after the arrest found ‘a vast quantity of property, lace, handkerchiefs, veils, Irish linen, a watch, some bobbinet, and a quantity of caps … and a great quantity of Valencia waistcoat pieces … there was a large trunk full; all the articles were new, and might be worth £300 or £400 altogether’. This would be equivalent to perhaps £30,000 today.

Solomon was remanded to Newgate Prison pending his trial at the Court of King’s Bench, which was in Westminster. On the day of the trial, when he and his under-gaoler (misleadingly named Smart) reached Westminster Bridge, they were mobbed. They dived into a pub and had a glass or two of brandy. The next thing Smart knew he was too drunk to control events, and Solomon escaped, assisted by his father-in-law who had been privy to the pre-prepared plan.

Solomon’s wife had already been transported to Van Diemen’s Land, as Tasmania was then known, on similar charges. Solomon now made his way there voluntarily, but was soon tracked down by the authorities and taken back to London to face trial. On conviction, he was sentenced to 14 years transportation. Back to Tasmania he went, where he eventually won his freedom. He ended his days there, feted as a folk-hero for his exceptional derring-do.