LIBERTY S LIBERTINE

See Also: THE LORD MAYOR OF LONDON

The principal source of the Wilkes family's wealth was a malt distillery in Clerkenwell that stood next to the Church of St John of the Cross. Their second son John was both clever and charming. A decision was made that he should become a gentleman. At the age of 21 he was married off to a Buckinghamshire heiress who was a decade older than he was. By then he had realised that he was inclined towards rakishness. He was initiated into the Hell Fire Club. Thomas Potter, the dissolute son of an Archbishop of Canterbury, was also a member of the group. He helped to nourish the youth s predisposition into full-blown libertinism.

Through Potter, Wilkes came to know the Grenville brothers, who were also Buckinghamshire landowners. The sibs led one of the era's principal political factions. In 1757 Wilkes was found a seat in the House of Commons. He proved to be a poor Parliamentary orator. However, he was a fluent writer. Therefore, he authored political pamphlets. He increased his impact by starting the North Briton, a weekly newspaper.

In 1763 George Grenville broke away from the rest of his family and accepted the office of First Lord of the Treasury (Prime Minister) from King George III. Wilkes abused his former associate in the pages of the North Briton. The ministry responded by launching a seditious libel action against the publication. The writer's response was to flee to France. However, with time his financial resources became depleted. It became apparent that either he could remain in Paris, which would probably result in his being imprisoned for debt, or that he could return to Britain and see how events might play themselves out.

A general warrant had been used in the attempt to arrest Wilkes. In the interim there had been two important legal rulings that had gone against the writ's use. The exile had come to be regarded as being a symbol of liberty. Upon his return to London in 1767 he found that he had become a celebrated figure. The following year he presented himself at the Court of the King's Bench, which sat in Westminster Hall. There, the presiding judges ordered that he should be held in the King's Bench Prison.

Wilkes was placed in a coach so that he could be taken to the gaol. However, on Westminster Bridge, a mob stopped the vehicle and freed the prisoner. The fact that he wanted the legal proceedings against him to go ahead meant that he did not wish to regain his liberty at that juncture. His opinion was ignored. He was paraded along the Strand and through the City of London. A hearty carouse at The Three Tuns Tavern in Spitalfields ensued. As the crowd began to thin out, Wilkes assumed a disguise and slipped away. He then made his way to the prison where he asked to be incarcerated. Subsequently, he was convicted of seditious libel and given a two-year-long sentence.

Wilkes concluded that the best way of materially advancing himself was through political activity. The Parliamentary opposition would have happily taken him into its ranks. However, his past experiences inclined him to be wary of becoming somebody else's political pawn. The City had a lively and relatively democratic political culture of its own. Therefore, he opted to develop his own powerbase within it. The Wilkites mushroomed into being one of London's two principal radical parties. In 1769 he was elected to serve as the Alderman for the Ward of Farringdon Without. The following year he was released from prison.

Parliament regarded its proceedings as being its own private concern. To report on them was held to be a breach of its privilege. In 1771 the House of Commons summoned two printers to appear before it so that they could be interrogated about a number of accounts of its debates that had been published. One of the men was a political associate of Wilkes. The alderman addressed the situation by whipping up political opinion within the City. The settlement made it clear to Parliament that, within its own confines, only its officials had the power to arrest people. The ministry concluded that politically the situation had become too charged for it to be able to continue with the matter. As a result, newspapers started to cover Parliamentary proceedings in a routine manner.

In 1774 Wilkes was elected to serve as the Lord Mayor of London. During his year in office, he proved to be both a highly conscientious official and a generous host. Five years later he was appointed to be the City Chamberlain. This meant that at last his personal finances had a sound footing.

Wilkes had been sympathetic to the American colonists concerns. When the War of American Independence had started, he had opposed its waging. He had done so not because he believed that the Americans should be independent but because he had regarded the war effort as being futile. The conflict killed off radicalism as a political force within the City.

In 1774 Wilkes had been re-elected to the Commons. His political views were more progressive than those of most M.P.s. However, his opinions were less militant than was generally appreciated. His actions with regard to general warrants and press freedom had given him a name for being the great champion of liberty. However, in both instances his conduct had been essentially a response to a predicament that had developed around him. He always regarded himself as being a loyal supporter of the Crown. In his later years he attended royal lev es. There is a story that during a conversation that he once had with George III, he remarked that his barrister John Glynn had been a Wilkite but that he himself had not.

Wilkes regarded with abhorrence both the French Revolution and the events that followed it. However, his old reputation still clung to him. Therefore, in 1794 a mob broke the windows of his townhouse under the erroneous belief that he was sympathetic towards the Revolutionaries. He declined to prosecute anyone over the matter, declaring that They are only some of my pupils now set up for themselves.

Location: Fetter Lane, EC4A 1(EQ). A statue of Wilkes. (orange, blue)

30 Grosvenor Square, W1A 1AE (orange, purple)

The King's Bench Prison, Borough High Street, SE1 1(JA)

Westminster Bridge, c.SW1A 2JR (red, turquoise)

David Backhouse 2024