Stephen Sayre

Stephen Sayre (1736–1818) was a member of a thousand-strong American community living in London at the time of the outbreak of the War of Independence in 1775. A close associate of John Wilkes, the radical Lord Mayor of London, Sayre, a merchant and a city sheriff, is alleged to have planned to kidnap George III with the help of the London mob. The King was to be taken to the Tower of London, before being bundled off to his ancient patrimony in Hanover.

Details of this improbable scheme were revealed to the British government in October 1775 by Lord Rochford, the minister responsible for domestic security. It was a time of acute political tension, and the authorities were already alert to the possibility of some form of subversive action. In the Proclamation of Rebellion, issued in the autumn, the population was asked to be aware of "diverse wicked and desperate Persons", and asked to inform the authorities of any "traitorous Conspiracies and Attempts against Us, Our Crown and Dignity."^[1]