BEDLOE, WILLIAM (1650-168o), English informer, was born in Chepstow on April 20, 165o. He appears to have been well educated ; he was certainly clever, and after coming to London in 1670 he became acquainted with some Jesuits and was occa sionally employed by them. Calling himself now Capt. Williams, now Lord Gerard or Lord Newport or Lord Cornwallis, he trav elled from one part of Europe to another ; he underwent imprison ments for crime, and became an expert in all kinds of duplicity. Then, in 1678, following the lead of Titus Oates, he gave an account of a supposed popish plot to overthrow the English Government, and his version of the details of the murder of Sir E. B. Godfrey was rewarded with £500. Emboldened by his suc cess he denounced various Roman Catholics, and having become very popular lived in luxurious fashion. Afterwards his fortunes waned, and he died at Bristol on Aug. 20, 1680. Bedloe wrote a Narrative and impartial discovery of the horrid Popish Plot (1679), but all his statements are extremely untrustworthy.
See J. Pollock, The Popish Plot (1903) ; A. A. Marks, Who killed Sir Edmond Berry Godfrey? (19o5) ; Sir John Richard Hall, Four Famous Mysteries (1922) ; R. W. Postgate, Murder, Piracy and Treason (1926)