November 27 - Why-oh-why-oh-why???

Posted on November 27, 2020

Today is the anniversary of a hoax!

Key Points

On this date in 1809, at 5:00 a.m., a chimney sweep arrived at 54 Berners Street, Westminster, London, England.

A maid answered the door and told him that they hadn’t ordered a sweep! His services were not required. The maid probably thought that the sweep had got the wrong address – but a few minutes later another sweep arrived – and then another and another. Twelve chimney sweeps who hadn’t been ordered arrived early that morning and had to be sent away.

But then a huge delivery of coal (that hadn’t been ordered) arrived, and wedding cakes… Then doctors, lawyers, vicars, priests – these had been told that someone in the house was dying and needed medicine, wills, or last rites! Then fishmongers, shoemakers, and other tradesmen… A dozen pianos and an organ were delivered and sent away! Most startling of all, in my mind: The Governor of the Bank of England, the Duke of York, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Lord Mayor of London – all these important folks arrived, claiming to have an appointment that had never been made.

What was going on?

The street was super congested with carts and carriages – and soon onlookers. Two onlookers were Theodore Hook and Samuel Beazley, who were watching from the house directly across from 54 Berners Street.

Soon police officers had to be stationed at each end of the street to stop deliveries and visits before they could dive into the narrow street and cause more confusion. A suprisingly large chunk of London basically came to a standstill!

Why was all of this happening?

I will explain how it happened, but you may still be wondering why-oh-why-oh-why!

Theodore Hooke

You see, Hook made a bet with his friend Beazley: he said he
could transform any house in London into the most talked-about address in a week.

Then he wrote THOUSANDS of letters in the name of the owner of 54 Berners, a woman named Mrs. Tottenham. Of course the letters were order things like coal and pianos and wedding cakes, or they were ordering services like will making and chimney sweeping. Each letter stated recommendations from “people of quality.”

Of course, this sort of hoax has real consequences. People lost time and money over this “joke.” Hook would have faced criminal charges – except for the fact that his guilt was never discovered.