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THE SWEENEY TODD STORY

London's East End is credited to many of Britain's most famous criminals, Sweeney Todd among them. Born on 26th October 1756 in Brick Lane then a slum within a dangerous and overcrowded district, within the buildings generally there was a family to each room, the few rags on their backs comprising the principal part of their property. Todd's mother was not yet in her twenties and inhabited the attic of a decaying building, both his parent worked if work was available weaving silk, work however was infrequent, both his parents were alcoholics spending their time and what little money they had drinking gin. Sweeney Todd's father gave little help in raising his son his only input being the occasional drunken beating, his mother was unable to have anymore children so Sweeney was an only child, Sweeney Todd was later to say of his mother "My mother used to make quite a pet of me, I was fondled, kissed and called pretty boy. But later I used to wish I was strong enough to throttle her."

A young Sweeney Todd however did manage to find a way of escaping the drudgery of daily life, the Tower of London was little more than a mile walk away from his home, at the time it was primary a prison for political prisoners but was also open to the public and people were invited to come and view its instruments of torture, this was done with the intent of discouraging crime and disobedience. The Tower also housed the royal zoo which had lions, tigers, hyenas and wolves, but it was those instruments of torture which so intrigued the ghoulish fascination of Sweeney Todd and he returned time and again to see them.

In the 17th to 18th century northern Europe was a great deal colder than it is today, during winter the Thames would freeze over and the ice was so thick and stable Londoners would stage frost fairs on the ice with rows of stalls and booths, they would sell food and offer entertainment, the ice was so thick they would even light fires on the ice. During these harsh winters many people would freeze to death particularly vulnerable were those amongst the poor, coal was scarce and expensive as the ships and barges were no longer able to bring fresh supplies. The winter in Sweeny Todd's twelfth year was particularly severe and as the coal dried up people found it impossible to maintain consistent heat for themselves, as bitterly cold week followed bitterly cold week people were freezing to death in their homes. For Sweeney Todd's family there was no work and the last of their money had been spent on gin. One morning the 12 year old Sweeney Todd awoke to find his parents gone, whether they had gone out to search for more gin and froze to death in the streets or whether they had simply left him to his fate is unknown, but the event left Sweeney Todd emotionally scared, in time he came to believe that hey had perished in that terrible winter, upon his capture he said "The church I was christened at burnt down the day after, and all the books burned, my father and mother are dead, and the nurse was hanged and the doctor cut his throat."

Its is not known how Sweeney Todd survived that winter alone, but survive he did and his next known whereabouts was when he became an apprentice to a cutler in Holborn London, at the time child labour was quite common, however children who had been orphaned or abandoned were vulnerable to the worst of it, children who didn't have a parent or guardian were at the mercy of the parish and the parish to off load them out of there care would apprentice them to whom ever would take them, the child basically becoming their new masters property to do with as he pleased, the system was clearly open to terrible abuses, and to anybody who knows Charles Dicken's novel Oliver Twist, the story maybe fiction but the conditions he describes are far from fanciful, children were taken on and forced to commit crimes so if caught the children would face the hangman's noose sparing their masters necks.
The man Sweeney Todd was an apprentice to was a cutler, cutlers were artisans who worked in metal, John Crook, Sweeney Todd's new master was a specialist in razors, Todd it seems learnt a lot from his master for it was here he learnt the skills to design and build his revolving chair he would later use in his crimes. His apprenticeship however came to an abrupt end when in 1770 he was accused of petty theft, brought before a magistrate and sent to Newgate Prison for 5 years.

Newgate prison no longer exists, but in its day was notorious and greatly feared by Britain's criminal classes, it was where all the most infamous and distinguished villains were sent. Many who entered Newgate never survived their sentences, conditions were so bad that without money to bribe the gaolers' survival was difficult and that's without even taking into account coping with your fellow violent inmates.
Sweeney Todd however survived by being taken on as an assistant to the prison barber, he secured his new role due to his experience as a cutler sharpening razors. The barber was a fellow inmate called Plummer who was serving 10 years for embezzlement. In those days a barber's role was considerably greater than simply cutting hair and shaving, they actually served as a doctor as well, performing minor operations and treating many minor ailments, in fact being able to wield their blades on human flesh was the measure of a barber in the day. In the filthy disease ridden Newgate Prison the barbers skills were no doubt in great demand and it was from Plummer Sweeney Todd learnt his trade. Being Plummers assistant however didn't save him from cruel beatings inflicted by fellow prisoners as well as gaolers, one such beating occurred whilst Plummer watched on without intervening until Sweeney Todd was all but beaten to death.

In 1775 at 19 years of age and with a new profession Sweeney Todd was released from Prison. It seems he didn't immediately return to crime, but instead became a mobile barber setting himself up on street corners, at markets or fairs and offering his services to passers-by's. Five years after his release with the help of a lady friend he had earned enough money to set himself up with premises near Hyde Park corner, the lady who was helping him he referred to as his wife although there is no record of him actually being married.
However Sweeney Todd's temper was to reveal its self when a young gentleman, slightly the worst for drink came into be shaved, while being shaved he described the favours a lady had given him, in describing the lady Todd concluded he was talking about his wife and slit his throat from ear to ear before absconding.

Sweeney Todd's next known whereabouts was in Fleet Street where he set up another barber shop and hung his now famous sign 'Easy shaving for a penny, as good as you'll find anywhere.' Fleet Street back then was known for its lawlessness and not a place a stranger would want to venture after dark and it was these reasons which attracted Sweeney Todd to the area.
Todd's next known murder was recorded although not at the time attributed to him in the Daily Courant on 14/04/1785:
'A horrid murder has been committed in Fleet Street on the person of a young gentleman from the country while on a visit to relatives in London. During the course of a walk through the city, he chanced to stop to admire the striking clock of St Dunstan's church and there fell into conversation with a man in the clothing of a barber. The two men came to an argument, and of a sudden the barber took from his clothing a razor and slit the throat of the young man, thereafter disappearing into the alleyway of Hen and Chicken Court and was seen no more'
Where his life when from there, is a matter of contention there are many numerous but conflicting reports.