The Extraordinary Life of Deacon Brodie (A Full Account)
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for details.
If you spend any time in Edinburgh, chances are you’ll end up at Deacon Brodie’s Tavern, one of the most well-known pubs on the Royal Mile.
It’s always busy, especially in the summer, and I can guarantee you’ll soon be asking yourself, “Who was Deacon Brodie, anyway?”
After wondering about this more than once -more so after visiting the graveyard where he’s buried – I decided it was time to knuckle down and learn more about the man behind one of the most popular pubs on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.
Did Deacon Brodie really inspire one of Robert Louis Stephenson’s greatest novels and are the rumours about his double life really true?
In this post I’m going to be looking at the legend behind the pub name ~ the REAL Deacon Brodie. I’ll be exploring details of his crimes, how he was eventually caught and sharing his account with the hangman.
Deacon Brodie’s life was certainly a colorful one, even by today’s standards. But what led this once-respected craftsman to become one of Edinburgh’s most notorious legends?
Table of Contents
- Who Was Deacon Brodie? The Double- Life of Edinburgh’s Master Cabinet Maker
- What Crimes Did Deacon Brodie Commit?
- How & Where Did Deacon Brodie Get Caught?
- Confessions of The Gang – The Implicating of Deacon Brodie
- Where was Deacon Brodie Imprisoned?
- What Happened to Brodie & Where and When Was He Hanged?
- Where is Deacon Brodie Buried?
- Visiting Deacon Brodies soon? Pin This Post for later
Who Was Deacon Brodie? The Double- Life of Edinburgh’s Master Cabinet Maker
At first glance, Deacon Brodie might not seem like the type of man who inspired one of Robert Louis Stevenson’s most famous novels, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Who Was Deacon Brodie?
Deacon Brodie, born as William Brodie on 28 September 1741 and was the son of Francis Brodie and Cecil(y) Grant. Brodie was a Master Cabinet Maker, Deacon (head) of the Incorporation of Wrights and Masons and member of Edinburgh’s Town Council. He also led a double life, which was a heady mix of women, gambling and drink, and by 1768 had run up an enormous debt.
But dig a little deeper, and you’ll find plenty of secrets that make him the perfect real-life inspiration for the story’s dark double life.
Deacon Brodie – His Job As A Cabinet Maker
Cabinet making was in the Brodie family, with William’s father, Francis Brodie, being considered the pre-eminent Scottish cabinet maker in the 18th century.
In fact, when he died in 1782, he made his son a considerably wealthy man – leaving him £10,000, four houses and his business.
Brodie followed his father into the craft and, along with making cabinets, had a particular penchant for making and installing locks.
Such was Brodie’s skills as a lock maker that he saw himself in the enviable position of being a locksmith to some of Edinburgh’s most rich and famous.
A job that would put him in prime position to carry out his double life right under the noses of those who trusted him.
What Job Did Deacon Brodie Do?
Like his father, Francis Deacon Brodie built a reputation as a master cabinet maker, known for his expert craftsmanship. He was also a highly skilled locksmith, expertly creating and installing locks—an ability that would later play a key role in his infamous double life.
The Burglar & Womaniser – Brodie’s Double Life
As night fell over the streets of Edinburgh, Brodie’s double life emerged.
By day, he was a respected craftsman, but after dark, he had a very different world to maintain -one filled with gambling, whisky, and secret affairs.
He had two mistresses, Jean Watt and Anne Grant, who, somehow, remained unaware of each other’s existence. Between them, he had five illegitimate children to support, along with a growing taste for risk and luxury.
Despite his standing as a master cabinetmaker and renowned locksmith, his income couldn’t sustain both lifestyles.
Hoping to recover his losses through gambling, Brodie instead found himself drowning in debt and by 1768, it had become a serious problem.
What Crimes Did Deacon Brodie Commit?
Don’t for one minute believe that Deacon Brodie was an 18th-century version of Robin Hood, robbing from the rich to give to the poor.
Everything Brodie stole, he kept for himself to maintain his double life and pay off his debts.
Deacon Brodie, together with gang members George Smith, John Brown (alias Humphrey Moore) and Andrew Ainslie robbed various shops and premises throughout Edinburgh between 1786 and 1788.
Using his position as Master locksmith, Brodie obtained entry to the premises by making duplicate keys. All in all, the gang robbed nine premises with plans for more burglaries in the future.
The gang’s known crimes have been recorded as follows:
Date of Crime | Premises Robbed | Location | Items Stolen |
9 October 1786 | James Wemyss | 24 plain gold rings with precious stones, 5 seals set in gold, 1 gold broach, 2 silver set broaches, 2 set crosses, 3 set ear-rings, 4 silver tea spoons (+1 plain one), 10 new silver table spoons, 1 silver tureen spoon, 2 silver punch spoons, 1 silver seal and block, 12 silver stock buckles, 3 single silver shoe buckles, 46 pairs of silver knee buckles and 4 single knee buckles | |
8 December 1786 | The Exchange, Edinburgh | £10 - £12 in money stolen that was contained in a canister | |
24 December 1786 | The Hardware Store of John & Andrew Bruce | Unknown | Lady’s gold watch, a plain gold watch, a small gold watch, 1 small single cased watch, 2 silver watches, gold rings, breast pins & lockets, several knee & shoe buckles, 2 lancet cases full of lancets |
16 August 1787 | The Grocery Store of John Carnegie | St Andrew’s Street, Leith | 350 lbs of black tea |
29 October 1787 | The College Library at Edinburgh University | Edinburgh University | Ceremonial Silver Mace |
Christmas 1787 | The house of John Tapp | Unknown | 18 guinea notes, a twenty-shilling note, a silver watch, rings, miniature picture of a gentleman |
8 January 1788 | The Silk Merchant shop of Inglis & Horner | The Cross, Edinburgh | Silks and cambric’s worth between £300 and £400 |
5 March 1788 | Edinburgh Excise Office | Chessel’s Court, Canongate Edinburgh | Disturbed while raiding the cashier’s office. Managed to carry away some banknotes & two bottles believed to contain wine |
During Brodie’s confession, the details of future crimes were given. These included jewellers, stage coaches and even the Bank of Scotland!
Links With an Unsolved Bank Robbery
An unsolved robbery dating 13 August 1768, much earlier than when Brodie was active, was attributed to the gang when Brodie was caught.
A mix of banknotes – worth £830 in total – was stolen from the compting-house of Johnstone and Smith, bankers at the Exchange in Edinburgh. According to newspaper reports, it was widely believed that the thieves had gained access using a false key.
This suspicion likely led to Brodie and his associates being quickly linked to the crime after their arrest. However, no concrete evidence was ever found to prove their involvement.
How & Where Did Deacon Brodie Get Caught?
Brodie wasn’t caught in Edinburgh as you might expect, but in Amsterdam.
After fleeing Edinburgh on March 6, 1788, authorities caught up with him and discovered Brodie hiding in a cupboard at an inn in Amsterdam.
How Was Deacon Brodie Caught?
Deacon Brodie was caught in Amsterdam after fleeing a botched raid on 6 March 1788. He was caught when his letters home raised suspicion. He was tracked down and found in a cupboard.
On arrival in Amsterdam, Brodie sent letters home via a Mr Geddes, a fellow passenger aboard the Endeavour. However, Geddes became suspicious and handed the letters over to the authorities. This led to a King’s messenger, named Williamson tracking Brodie down and arresting him.
OK, so Brodie might have been arrested in Amsterdam, but that wasn’t what led to his downfall.
His fate was sealed when he fell asleep on watch during a raid on the Edinburgh Excise Office, a careless mistake that ultimately led to the capture of his entire gang.
The Gang are Disturbed During Their Raid
The plan to rob the Excise Office was going well until James Bonar, Deputy Solicitor of Excise, returned unexpectedly at around 8.30pm. Having originally believed that they were ‘safe’ for at least two hours, Bonar’s appearance came completely out of the blue.
With Ainslie being the watch inside, Brodie was the eyes on the outside and failed to hear the whistle that alerted the gang to any dangers. As Bonar made his way up the stairs inside the office, Brodie darted out from behind a door and fled.
They fled with only £16 in proceeds between them.
The Morning After in Which Brodie Makes His Escape
The morning after the raid, Brodie was in a state of blind panic, realising his best chance at freedom – and survival – was to leave Edinburgh as quickly as possible.
The opportunity came the very next morning, March 6, when Brodie left Edinburgh and, by noon, was on his way to London, seeking help from his cousin, William Walker.
Six days later, Brodie arrived in London, hoping to find refuge.
After evading Williamson, the King’s Messenger who had tracked him from Edinburgh, Brodie’s time in London came to an end on March 23, when he boarded a ship bound for the Netherlands.
But is this part entirely true?
It’s said that Brodie boarded the Endeavour, a ship originally bound for Edinburgh, but managed to bribe the captain to take a detour to the Netherlands instead. It must have been quite a bribe.
With a £150 bounty on his head and an additional £50 reward for his conviction, it was only a matter of time before Brodie was captured.
His gang members weren’t as fortunate. Andrew Ainslie, caught inside the Excise Office, was arrested almost immediately and quickly became King’s Evidence. One by one, the rest of the gang was apprehended, tightening the noose around Brodie.
The final fate of Brodie’s gang members is listed below.
Name | Occupation | Final Fate |
George Smith | Originally a hawker & locksmith from Boxford, Berkshire. Travelled England with his wife hawking goods. Later established a grocers shop in Edinburgh’s Cowgate | Hanged at Edinburgh along with Deacon Brodie on 1 October 1788 |
Andrew Ainslie | A ‘sometime shoemaker’ | Turned King Evidence and received a Pardon |
John Brown (aka Humphrey Moore) | A known criminal – fled to Edinburgh after escaping from England after receiving a sentence of 7 year | Turned King Evidence and received a Pardon. Rumoured to have died a beggar on the streets of London |
Confessions of The Gang – The Implicating of Deacon Brodie
John Brown was the first to turn informant, likely lured by the £150 bounty on offer.
His role in the crime quickly faded into the background as he received a King’s Pardon for the information he provided. Brown even led authorities to a stash of duplicate keys – likely made by Brodie and Smith – hidden beneath a stone at the base of Salisbury Crags near Arthur’s Seat.
While Brown revealed everything, he didn’t implicate Brodie, and at that point, Brodie’s involvement in the crime remained unknown.
George Smith’s Confession
In a statement given to Sheriff Archibald Cockburn four days after the robbery, George Smith, desperate to save himself, spilled everything.
He revealed that it was Brodie who had planned the raid, scouted the premises on his own beforehand, and even taken an impression of the key to the Excise Office.
He revealed everything about the theft of the tea from Carnegie’s grocery shop in Leith, explaining how Brodie kept watch outside. Smith also provided details of the robbery of the ceremonial mace from Edinburgh University, recounting how Brodie had insisted, “I must have it.”
Smith didn’t hold back – other robberies followed, and with each new revelation, Brodie’s fate was sealed. He quickly became a wanted man.
Where was Deacon Brodie Imprisoned?
Deacon Brodie was dragged back to Edinburgh from Amsterdam in chains and imprisoned in the notorious Tollbooth Prison that once stood outside St Giles’ Cathedral. His trial began on the 27th August 1788 at 9am in the morning.
He was tried with gang member George Smith.
The Tollbooth is the one formerly found in West Parliament Square just outside St Giles’ Cathedral. It’s the one now marked with the Heart of Mid-Lothian, you know the place that you’re supposed to spit on for good luck.
Don’t confuse it with the Canongate Tolbooth. Although a prison, Canongate Tolbooth would see debtors, and in the early days Covenanters, behind its walls rather than the more determined criminals like Brodie or Jean Waldie and Helen Torrence, Edinburgh’s first body snatchers.
During his trial, the depth of Brodie’s involvement in the robberies slowly came to light. Duplicate keys are said to have been found at his house, along with disguises and pistols presumably used in the raid on the Excise Offices.
The letters that Brodie had sent back via Mr Geddes were also used as part of the evidence and it is here that Brodie’s fate is sealed.
Brodies Life in Prison
Denied visits from friends and family under the instruction of the Magistrate, Brodie’s time in prison was spend thinking about his crimes and listening to workmen building his scaffold outside his window.
It was reported that Brodie would rather wait his fate with the hangman than commit suicide if poison or a dagger had been laid before him.
The night before he was hanged, Brodie went to bed at 11pm, sleeping till 4am. He rose at eight and an hour later was having his wig dressed and powdered ready for his date with the hangman that afternoon.
What Happened to Brodie & Where and When Was He Hanged?
From his trial on August 27 to the day he was sentenced to hang, less than two months passed.
Wearing a full suit of black with a powdered wig, Brodie, together with Smith, were brought out of the Tollbooth at 2.20 pm. When the rope was discovered to be the wrong length, according to the Hampshire Chronicle, Brodie ridiculed the proceedings.
How Did Deacon Brodie Did?
Deacon Brodie was sentenced to hang in Edinburgh’s Old Tollbooth, High Steet on 1st October 1788 along with George Smith. The rope from which he hung was adjusted three times before it was a suitable length. Brodie went to his death in front of a crowd of 40,000 people which included his own daughter Cecile.
It is said that Brodie himself had helped raise funds for the construction of the gallows some years prior. It is also said that Brodie cheated the hangman by wearing a steel collar, but whether either tale is true, I cannot say.
You can explore the background to events for free online in William Roughead’s The trial of Deacon Brodie, written in 1906 via Archives.org website.
Where is Deacon Brodie Buried?
Following his hanging on 1 October 1788, Deacon Brodie was buried in The Orthodox Chapel of St Andrew, originally St Cuthbert’s Chapel of Ease. His grave has no headstone but is said to be in the northeastern corner of the graveyard.
The graveyard today is better known as Buccleuch Burial Ground on Chapel Street, Edinburgh.
The site today looks rather forlorn and over its time even rented out its church hall to a skating academy.
Evidence of another dark side of Edinburgh also exists here. Caged lairs hug the outer walls on the right as you enter the burial ground, evidence that the site was once targeted by body snatchers who stole cadavers to sell to the surgeons in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Deacon Brodie’s Last Will & Testament
The Last Will and Testament of Deacon Brodie was printed in the Hampshire Chronicle on 20 October 1788.
He finishes with the words:
To my good friends and old companions, Messrs, BROWN and AINSLIE, I bequeath my villainy, an whole other bad qualities, not doubting but their own will secure them a rope at last.
And lastly, my neck being now about to be embraced by an halter, I recommend to rouges, sharpers, thieves, and gambles, as well as high as in low stations, to take care of theirs, by leaving off all wicked practices, and becoming a good member of society. Dated October 8
You can read Brodie’s will for yourself via a subscription to The British Newspaper Archive. Or take a read of the superb website deaconbrodie.com, a fabulous resource for everythign relating to the case.
Visiting Deacon Brodies soon? Pin This Post for later
