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Dick Turpin became England’s most
famous ever highwayman. Although the
English country roads had always been
plagued by ruthless robbers, it was not
until after the defeat of King Charles I
in the English Civil War that the present
day image of the highwaymen came
about.
After Charles I was beheaded January
30th 1649, his son Charles II fled to
France to escape Oliver Cromwell’s
armies.
During the years that followed,
officers that served for the Royals had
their estates confiscated by Cromwell,
this leaving them in poverty. Many of
these officers then began robbing
travelers, mainly on the roads leading to
London.
These once wealthy and well educated
individuals used fine horses, were well
dressed with their distinguishable three
cornered hats, and treated their victims
with respect, often giving them enough
money back to allow them to reach their
intended destinations.
Dick Turpin however, was no gentleman.
He was born the son of a farmer and
sometimes Inn keeper. His first brush
with the law was when he began cattle
rustling. He managed to escape capture as
he went into hiding for a while before
returning to crime as a smuggler.
After another encounter with the
authorities, he moved on and joined a
gang that robbed isolated farmhouses,
often using torture as a means of finding
out where money and valuables were
hidden.
In 1735, Turpin’s gang became
famous after the London Evening News
began reporting their raids. Fame had its
down side though as a sum of £50 was
put on their heads, two of Turpin’s
gang were soon captured.
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Although Turpin evaded capture,
he was forced into hiding once
again. While in hiding, Turpin came
across a well dressed gentleman on
a fine horse traveling to London.
He drew his pistol while informing
the gent of his intentions of
relieving him of his money and
horse, only to find out he had just
tried to rob England’s most
famous highwayman at that time
‘Captain Tom King’.
The pair soon saw the funny side
of that incident and agreed to work
together as highwaymen, this being
when King learned Turpin how noble
highwaymen treated their
victims.
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Richard O'Sullivan as
Turpin
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They holed up in Epping Forrest as
they began a highly lucrative venture
robbing travelers passing that way on
route to London. By 1737, Turpin had
gained such notoriety that he had another
bounty of £100 placed on his
head.
Later that year, a gamekeeper named
Morris tracked Turpin down and tried to
apprehend him at gunpoint. The highwayman
responded by drawing his pistol and
shooting Morris dead.
Turpin’s next brush with the law
came when a horse he had stolen was
tracked down to a stable in Whitechapel.
The law apprehended Captain King by
mistake and as Turpin tried to rescue his
comrade, a shot fired from Turpin’s
guns hit King, resulting in his
death.
Turpin then took the decision to leave
the area and traveled north to Yorkshire
where he began living as a respectable
citizen under the name John Palmer.
Turpin then often traveled to
Lincolnshire where he rustled cattle and
horses as well as carrying out a few
highway robberies to fund his new
lifestyle.
His capture came after he shot a
cockerel belonging to one of his
neighbours. He was subsequently hauled
before the local magistrates. As his true
identity was called to question, Turpin
found himself locked up in York Castle
whilst an investigation took place. The
authorities soon found out they were
holding the famous highwayman. A
following trial found him guilty of two
murders.
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Dick Turpin was sentenced to
death and hanged at Tyburn gallows
on the site of present day York
racecourse April 19th 1739.
His corpse had to be buried a
few times as body snatching was a
lucrative business at that time, a
few attempts to make off with his
body were foiled.
After quicklime was used to
inter his corpse, it has remained
at its final resting place across
from St Georges church in York /
England.
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Dick Turpin's head
stone at York
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Turpin’s legend has him riding
his horse Black Bess on an epic 190 mile
journey from Kent to York in about 15
hours.
Historians however now credit this
feat to the 17th century highwayman
John
Nevison who had robbed a sailor in
Kent and rode to York where he met up
with friends to establish an alibi. The
two stories seem to have been confused
over the years that followed.
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