The Paisley Union Bank Robbery

A bank safe in central Glasgow is opened on a Monday morning and it is simply empty. No smashed counters, no injured staff, no dramatic shootout, just a silence where a king’s ransom used to be. We dig into the 1811 theft from the Paisley Union Bank on Ingram Street, a meticulously planned housebreaking that would be worth roughly £13 million today, and we ask the uncomfortable question: how do you defend against criminals who treat your locks like a solvable puzzle? 

We follow the money trail from the Edinburgh mail coach and its iron cash box to the holiday calm of Glasgow Fair weekend, when the timing is perfect and the city is distracted. A witness sees three men in the early hours, bundling parcels and slipping away to hire a post chaise, and that small observation becomes the spark for a cross-border hunt. With early Glasgow policing still limited, the Procurator Fiscal drives the investigation while clues point south, towards London and the specialist world of skeleton keys, wax impressions and underworld craftsmen. 

The story sharpens when Bow Street Runners trace a parcel to a notorious blacksmith and identify suspects including Huffy White, James McCool and an expert lock picker. Arrests follow, evidence mounts, and then the case takes a turn that feels almost unbelievable to modern ears: bargaining, pardons and a partial return of stolen cash. We bring it all back to Scotland for the long tail of the crime, where McCool’s later greed and a brazen legal challenge help trigger the very courtroom reckoning he thought he could outsmart. 

If you love Glasgow true crime, Scottish legal history and classic detective work built from human details rather than technology, press play, then subscribe, share the show, and leave us a review. What part of the investigation would you have followed first?

Transcript

Welcome To Glasgow’s Darker Past

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Welcome to A Dark City, the podcast that delves into the shadowy underbelly of Glasgow, a city with a storied past and a reputation for resilience. Here we uncover the chilling true stories of serious crimes that have left their mark on the city's history. From notorious gangland wars to unsolved mysteries, join us as we explore the darker side of Glasgow and the people whose lives were forever changed by its crimes.

A Theft Worth Millions Today

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To be strictly correct, it was not the crime of robbery at all, as it did not involve violence. It was a high value theft by housebreaking and opening lockfast places. High value indeed, as at that time, a sum of money of this magnitude was indeed a king's ransom, and, relative to average earnings, is the equivalent of 13 million pounds today. The Paisley Union Bank was established in 1788 and quickly set up branches in towns all over Scotland. One of the principal branches was at 49 to 51 Ingram Street Glasgow. It was a busy branch, handling business from all parts of the city and surrounding countryside. Every Saturday morning, the bank agents, Messrs. Forbes and Co. of Edinburgh, would send a large consignment of banknotes, gold guineas, and silver coins to augment the bank's stock of currency. The supply of money was contained in a strong iron box and transported by the Edinburgh mailcoach, which arrived at the Black Bull Inn on Argyll Street, at Glassford Street, every Saturday afternoon. The afternoon of Saturday, 13 July, 1811, was no exception, and the box duly arrived. That day the box was unusually heavy, but the bank porter managed to carry the well-chained box to the bank premises in Ingram Street, where he lodged it in its large iron safe. He then locked up the bank for the weekend. As it was also a holiday, Glasgow Fair Saturday, the porter and his wife decided to walk to Glasgow Green to sniff the calder air and see the shows.

The Weekend Break In Revealed

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On the morning of Monday, July 15th, when the porter opened the door and swept out the offices, everything was found to be in order. However, about 10 a.m., when the manager himself opened the iron safe, he saw that the inner safe drawers had been ransacked and were completely empty. Even the iron box had been opened, and the bank was left without a shilling in its coffers. By Tuesday, 15 July, a reward of 500 guineas, 525 pounds, was being offered for information leading to the conviction of the culprits and recovery of the money. Before the reward was announced, a local tradesman, David Clatcher, told officials in the bank that about three or four o'clock on the morning of Sunday 14th of July, he was looking out of a window of his house in Taylor Street, which overlooked the wall adjacent to Munn's Tavern, opposite the bank. He saw three men jump over the wall from Ingram Street and conceal themselves behind it. The three men got busy, arranging parcels of paper, tying them up, and placing them in bags. They then exchanged some of their clothes before they made off towards the old coachyard in High Street, where he lost sight of them. In 1811, the Glasgow police were not the investigative organization they were later to become. Their duties were restricted to guarding the bank and assisting to search suspects and places. It was not until 1819 that Britain's first criminal officer, Lieutenant Peter McKinley, was appointed by Glasgow Police,

A Witness Spots The Suspects

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and two years later, the Glasgow Criminal Department was established, twenty-two years before Scotland Yard detectives were appointed in 1842. In those early days, the Procurator Fiscal personally investigated serious crimes, and so Mr. Bennett, the Procurator Fiscal for Glasgow in 1811, was in charge of the investigation into the bank robbery, assisted by sheriff officers and messengers-at-arms. On hearing the information given by Mr. Clacker, he went immediately to the coachyard in George Street, operated by Mr. Sandy Leith. Mr. Leith and his assistant remembered distinctly that about 6 a.m. on Sunday, 14th of July, they were wakened by three Englishmen wishing to hire a post chaise, a small coach, to take them to Edinburgh.

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Mr.

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Leith was reluctant to do business on the Sabbath, but relented when one of the men told them that a relative had taken ill suddenly in Edinburgh. The coach left Glasgow without delay, heading for Airdrie, then Mid Calder, Up Hall, and onward to Edinburgh. On hearing this, Mr. Bennett lost no time in informing the Edinburgh authorities and requesting that every likely place be searched for the three Englishmen who were obviously the main suspects. As it appeared likely that the three housebreakers were heading for London, Mr. Lickley, head manager of the bank in Paisley, after consultation with his legal advisor, Mr. Walkinshaw of Glasgow, decided that both men should travel to London

Measuring Locks And Testing Keys

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by the next mail coach to get the Bow Street runners involved in the investigation. Bow Street Runners were privately employed court officers who investigated crimes within the jurisdiction of Bow Street Magistrates' Court. While Messrs Lickley and Walkinshaw were heading for London, James McCrone, a messenger at arms, was busy carrying out inquiries in Glasgow. He established that the three Englishmen had lodged for three weeks prior to the robbery at the lodging house run by a Mrs. Stewart in the Broomy Law near Carrick Street. She remembered them handling skeleton keys, plans and drawings, and, over a period of two months, returning at two or three in the morning. She said that she had been asked to take a parcel to a local carrier for carriage to London. It was later established that the three robbers had entered the bank during a number of nights preceding the robbery to get measurements and wax impressions of the locks. They also tested the skeleton keys and returned them to London for adjustment, so that everything was ready for the night of the crime. This information was sent to Messrs Likely and Walkinshaw, who, by this time, had made contact with two of the most famous Bow Street runners, Stephen Lavender and John Vickery. On receiving the information about the parcel from Glasgow, Lavender and Vickery went immediately to the Glasgow Wagoners Carrier's Office in London, and soon had the details of the parcel and what they read raised their hopes. The parcel was addressed to a Mr. John Scoltcock, a blacksmith, Tower Street, London, whom they knew was a notorious character who made false and skeleton keys for London's underworld. The parcel had been sent by a Mr. Little, which they knew was an alias used by one of London's greatest robbers, Huffy White. A few months before, White

Bow Street Runners Follow The Parcel

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had escaped from the prison hulks in Portsmouth, and a widespread search for him had been in vain. On re-examining the descriptions of the three suspects, Lavender and Vickery were of the opinion that Huffey White fitted one of the descriptions, while his main associate James Moffat, alias McCool, fitted another. The third man they reckoned to be Harry French, an expert lock picker. White, McCool, and French were now wanted men, so Lavender and Vickery decided to search Scoltcock's blacksmith shop for evidence of their whereabouts. Meanwhile, all three thieves had returned, as expected, to London, and met up with White's wife and Scoltcock. They all agreed to stay at the Scoltcock's house, and plans for a good meal that evening were made as a precursor to the sharing out of the money. As the meal was ready, White and his wife sat with the Scoltcock family waiting for McCool and French to arrive. When there was a knock on the door and officers Lavender and Vickery entered with their assistance. Huffy White was immediately recognized and tried to escape through a window, but he was arrested and handcuffed. A search of White and the house exposed ample evidence of the crime. The box, which had been used by the gang to mail the sketches, skeleton keys, and other letters between McCool and the blacksmith were found. All the occupants were arrested. It was later established that McCool had inexplicably changed their plans and decided to lodge elsewhere that night, thus escaping arrest. It is at this point in the case that English legal procedures of the

London Arrests And A Pardon Deal

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time appear somewhat bizarre compared to what we recognize as justice today and exhibit some of the characteristics of the rotten borough system that pervaded the English establishment in the 18th and 19th centuries. Soon after the arrests by Vickery and Lavender, negotiations were opened up by McCool with the Bow Street Runners and the Paisley Union Bank Delegation. It was proposed that if the bank would grant a free pardon to Huffy White and the others, the bank would receive £12,000 of the stolen money. Messrs Likely and Walkinshaw accepted the offer and set off for Glasgow with the £12,000, rejoicing in their success. After a few months, James McCool was finally arrested by Lavender and Vickery, but McCool denied everything, so witnesses were brought from Glasgow to identify him. Several witnesses had no hesitation in his recognizing Macall, and proceedings were commenced to transport him to Glasgow. He arrived at Glasgow in chains and in the custody of an Edinburgh sheriff officer, Archibald Campbell, on the 10th of April 1812, and locked up in the toll booth at Glasgow Cross. He engaged a lawyer who found a flaw in the original warrant, and he was liberated by the Lords of Justiciary in Edinburgh on the 2nd of July 1812. After three years, thinking that everything would be forgotten, McCool, now in the company of a young woman, returned to Scotland and rented a grand house in Portobello with servants and a carriage. He used £20 notes to pay for the comforts they both enjoyed, and had no trouble in passing the banknotes, especially as none of them were from Paisley Union Bank at this time. However, his luck ran out when he tried to lodge £800 of Paisley Union banknotes

McCool’s Return And Fatal Arrogance

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at the bank of the Paisley Bank's Edinburgh agent, Sir William Forbes and Company. The master of the Leith Police, a former Bow Street runner, FG Denavan, arrived at the bank. McCool quickly regained his composure and appeared indignant at the suggestion that the money was stolen. He was so convincing that he was allowed to leave the bank with the promise that he would make inquiries and return. He never returned to the bank and quickly set off for London. On his arrival in London, he quickly took legal advice and convinced his lawyer to raise civil actions at the Court of Session in Edinburgh against the Paisley Union Bank for the £800 and against Sir William Forbes and Company for £1,800. He also demanded compensation from the Paisley Union Bank for his incarceration in the Glasgow Toll booth. Five years elapsed with actions and counteractions between the parties, but they were finally brought before the Edinburgh Lord Chief Commissioner and a jury on the 11th of May 1820. It was decided that the Paisley Union Bank's action against McCool should be heard first. The bank produced as many of the original witnesses as they could, although a few of them had since died, including Mrs. Stewart, the thieves' landlady at the time of the crime. In her place, the star witness was Mrs. Stewart's niece, Margaret Macaulay. As she approached the witness box, McCool tried to leave the court unnoticed, but was brought back to hear her damning evidence. After the closing speeches, the jury found in favour of the bank. Due to the evidence obtained by the court, the Lord Advocate instructed that McCool be kept under observation in the court, and, a few hours later, issued a warrant committing McCool to prison to await being indicted to stand trial in Edinburgh for the capital crime of the 1811 theft from the bank. On June 19, 1820, McCool again arrogantly faced his accusers, and his lawyer put forward a number of legal arguments to try to gain his release, but to no avail. The evidence laid was the same as that of the previous civil action, but on this occasion McCool was on trial for his life. The most important witness against him was the London blacksmith John Scolt Cock, who admitted making the skeleton keys and other implements for McCool and his friends. He had also received drawings of safes and plans of

Guilty Verdict And A Poisoned Escape

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the Paisley Union Bank. McCool's friends deserted him in his time of need. The jury, without retiring, gave their verdict of guilty. The Lord Justice Clerk, with great solemnity, sentenced McCool to death by hanging. The execution was scheduled for 22nd December, but McCool cheated the hangman two or three days before by taking poison which had been smuggled to him in prison. So ended the career of an audacious and intelligent criminal, who, but for his greed and arrogance in raising the civil actions against the banks, would probably have remained free to enjoy his newfound riches.