Dick Turpin - The Legendary Highwayman and his horse Black Bess Dick Turpin Dick Turpin, much-romanticised through legend, was in fact an infamous highwayman, murderer and convicted horse-thief. He was tried and executed in York, assuring his place in English history and being forever linked with the city. The Only Way is Essex Richard ‘Dick’ Turpin was born in 1705 in Hempstead, Essex. His father John was an innkeeper and a butcher; Turpin became an apprentice butcher. He married at twenty and five years later, then with his own butcher’s shop, he aided the prolific deer-poaching Gregory Gang, disposing of carcasses. Landlord in Gangland London By 1734 Turpin had become landlord of a pub at Clay Hill. His association with the gang was such that he joined them in brutal attacks and robberies in the outer London area. In 1735 after three gang members were arrested the youngest betrayed his fellows, Turpin being named by The London Gazette. Foolishly Turpin and the gang immediately committed further shocking assaults in the Essex area with three more gang members arrested and executed at Tyburn on 10 March.

Turpin was named on the indictments for burglary. Dick Turpin’s Grave lies in St. George’s Graveyard in a mainly residential part of York Wanted Man Turning to highway robbery from April 1735, he plagued Epping Forest, Southwark and other London areas. On 10 July, identified and named as ‘Turpin the butcher’, along with Thomas Rowden with a bounty of £100 on their heads, the duo’s crimes continued throughout 1735. Next referred to in February 1737 Turpin reportedly spent the night at Puckeridge with his wife, her maid and another man. Turpin’s letter arranging the meeting (for horse stealing) was intercepted by the authorities. Turpin escaped while the others were arrested and imprisoned. Undeterred Highwayman The following month Turpin took up with highwaymen Matthew King and Stephen Potter, committing a series of robberies, culminating in an incident at Whitechapel when either King or Turpin stole a horse near Waltham Forest. Joseph Major, along with Richard Bayes, identified his animal, found tethered at The Red Lion, Whitechapel, and waited, along with the local constable, for the ‘owner’.

King’s brother eventually arrived leading them to his brother Matthew who received serious, but possibly accidental, gunshot wounds, dying the following month. Reports varied, stating Turpin or Bayes had shot King. Turpin fled into Epping Forest and on being spotted by Thomas Morris, who was armed, shot and killed him on 4 May with a carbine. ‘The Gentleman’s Magazine’ named Turpin as the suspect – a £200 reward was offered. Turpin a.k.a John Palmer comes to Yorkshire In June 1737, Turpin, under the alias John Palmer, lodged in Brough , East Yorkshire, posing as a horse trader. He regularly crossed the Humber committing crimes, stealing a horse from Pinchbeck, Lincolnshire, and riding it to his father’s at Hempstead. Leaving the horse behind, implicating his father who was subsequently committed to gaol, Turpin returned to Brough having stolen three more horses from a Thomas Creasy. Creasy finally tracked down and recovered his horses in autumn 1738, thefts for which Turpin was eventually tried.

His gravestone is the only one in the yard upstanding from the ground (top left) Locked up in York Castle After a minor incident in October 1738 Turpin threatened to shoot someone; three JPs attended and committed Turpin to the House of Correction at Beverley . The JPs’ suspicions of ‘Palmer’s’ lifestyle proved right when JPs from Long Sutton, Lincolnshire, confirmed Palmer was known there as a sheep-thief and suspected horse-thief who had evaded custody. Turpin was consequently transferred to York Castle on 16 October 1738, for the Assizes. Turpin’s final undoing came when his intercepted letter to his brother-in-law revealed his handwriting to James Smith who had taught Turpin to write. Smith travelled to York Castle identifying Turpin on 23 February 1739 and received the £200 reward originally offered following Morris’s murder. Found Guilty On 22 March York Assizes declared Turpin guilty on two charges of horse theft, passing the death sentence. Turpin bought a new frock coat and shoes, and hired five paid mourners.

On 7 April 1739 Turpin and John Stead (also a horse-thief) were paraded through York by open cart to Knavesmire, York’s equivalent of London’s Tyburn. Following the hanging, by a pardoned fellow highwayman, Turpin’s body was taken to an inn in Castlegate and buried next day in the graveyard of St George’s Church, Fishergate. It was shortly reportedly as stolen; however, the body-snatchers together with Turpin’s corpse were soon apprehended. The body was reburied, possibly with quicklime, and is alleged to lie in St George’s graveyard. Black Bess and the Legendary Journey to York In legend, Dick Turpin and Black Bess, his faithful mare, are synonymous for their supposed 200-mile ride from London to York, a tale originating in Rookwood (1834), a novel by William Harrison Ainsworth. It was in fact highwayman John ‘Swift Nick’ Nevison who, in 1676, after committing a robbery in Kent and urgently needing an alibi set off on the ride of his life reaching York in around 15 hours.

Through folklore Turpin’s violent character has become that of a romantic and dashing highwayman. Related posts: sadie · July 4, 2014 on 4:04 pm ridiculous they killed him by hanging him Bob · May 6, 2015 on 9:51 am No it’s not, he deserved it, he was evil sadie, killing loads of people. JAKE · June 23, 2015 on 7:22 pm i know we been leaning about highwaymen JAKE · June 23, 2015 on 7:23 pm i leaned i lot from this so its epic Paul · July 4, 2015 on 11:58 pm Yes it’s true he was a baddie and got what he deserved really I guess.

The 7th of April 1739 AD, Dick Turpin hanged at York Dick Turpin hanged at York York , North Yorkshire The 7th of April 1739 AD The Dick Turpin of legend is a bold and gallant highwayman, famed for a breathless ride from London to York on his horse Black Bess to escape the law. The truth is far grubbier. Turpin was involved in crime from an early age, his publican father having links to smugglers (later in his career robbed by Dick Turpin when hiding out on the coast). He was from Hempstead in Essex , but was apprenticed to a butcher in Londonï¿½s Whitechapel in his youth. Married to Elizabeth Millington in 1728, Turpin set himself up as a butcher, but preferred to reduce his costs by stealing the cattle and sheep he purveyed. Caught in the act of stealing two beasts he fled, and from then on lived outside the law.

The career criminal was part of the notorious Gregory Gang who terrorised isolated homesteads in the home counties, poached royal deer, threatened to roast an old lady who refused to divulge where her money was hidden, and did a bit of horse stealing when time allowed. Turpin evaded capture when the gang was cornered at a pub in London, leaping from the window to make his getaway. On his own Turpin turned to highway robbery, teaming up with ï¿½Captainï¿½ Tom King, whose gallantry and flattery to his female victims has somehow transferred to the rougher Turpin, who by this time had killed to avoid capture. In a fight with the law Turpin accidentally shot his partner. The mortally wounded King told the constables all Turpinï¿½s secrets, his hideouts and friends. To evade justice Turpin rode to York on a stolen horse of legendary speed, though the 15 hour ride is a myth, and borrowed from the exploits of an earlier highwayman at that. In York Turpin lived as gentleman John Palmer, horse dealer, again keeping costs down by stealing his stock.

In a drunken moment he shot an inn-keeperï¿½s gamecock, was arrested and his business methods discovered. A letter to his brother-in-law in Hempstead was seen by his old schoolteacher who identified the hand-writing as Dick Turpinï¿½s. On April 7th 1739 the 32-year-old Turpin was taken to the Knavesmire in York to hang. Shamelessly milking the moment Turpin, dressed in new clothes, waved to the crowds on his way, and then on the gallows addressed them for a further half hour, his five hired mourners among them. When the moment came hangman Thomas Hadfield (ironically a pardoned member of the Gregory Gang) placed the noose around Turpinï¿½s neck, but the highwayman chose to make his own end and leapt from the scaffold, though he failed to break his neck and took five minutes to die. Even in death Turpin found drama, his body stolen briefly by grave-robbers to sell to anatomists, but it was restored and buried in the churchyard of St Georgeï¿½s church in York.

21463 views since 23rd February 2007 Comment From Andrea on 14th March 2013 I live in Germany and I listen the book IMMORTAL TURPIN from Arthy Ash and Julius E. DAY. In this book no es un sight that the hangman was a pardoned member of the Gregory Gang. Where from do you have this information? This interests me really very much. Unfortunately, I could not visit with my stay in York Turpins grave. For it I had no time. I was only in the Castle a museum. His biography is really interesting. No miracle that the people preserve his memory. I am anyway a fan of him. Many greetings Andrea Bageritz From Michelle on 30th January 2013 BRILLIENT SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO USEFUL!!!!!!!! Famous highwaymen in England By Ben Johnson | Comments For 100 years, between the 17th and 18th centuries, Hounslow Heath was the most dangerous place in England. Across the Heath ran the Bath and Exeter roads used by wealthy visitors to the West Country resorts and courtiers returning to Windsor.

These travellers provided rich pickings for highwaymen. Dick Turpin is one of the best remembered highwaymen who operated in this area, although he was often to be found in North London, Essex and Yorkshire . Turpin was born in Hempstead in Essex in 1706 and trained as a butcher. Turpin frequently used the Old Swan Inn at Wroughton-on-the-Green in Buckinghamshire as his base. He was finally imprisoned in York and was later hanged and buried there in 1739. His grave can be seen in the churchyard of St. Denys and St. George in York . Turpin's famous ride from London to York was almost certainly not made by him but by another highwayman, 'Swift Nicks' Nevison during the reign of Charles II. Nevison also ended up on the gallows at York and the leg-irons which held him while in prison there before his execution can be seen in York Castle Museum . The most gallant of the Heath's highwaymen was French-born Claude Duval. He was idolised by the ladies he robbed, as he made much use of his 'gallic charm'. His manners it seems were impeccable as far as his lady victims were concerned!

He once insisted on dancing with one of his victims after robbing her husband of £100. Claude Duval was hanged at Tyburn on 21st January 1670 and buried at Convent Garden. His grave was marked (now destroyed) by a stone with the following epitaph:- "Here lies Duval, if male thou art, look to your purse, if female to thy heart." Claude Duval painting by William Powell Frith, 1860 Most of the highwaymen were not like Duval, they were really no more than 'thugs', but one exception was Twysden, Bishop of Raphoe who was killed carrying out a robbery on the Heath. Three brothers, Harry, Tom and Dick Dunsdon were famous 18th century highwaymen in Oxfordshire, known as "The Burford Highwaymen". Legend has it that Sampson Pratley fought one of these brothers in the Royal Oak Inn in Field Assarts. The fight was really a wager to see who was the strongest and the prize was to be a sack of potatoes for the winner.

Sampson Pratley won, but never got his potatoes as two of the brothers, Tom and Harry, were caught shortly afterwards and hanged at Gloucester in 1784. Their bodies were brought back to Shipton-under-Wychwood and gibbeted from an oak tree. Dick Dunsdon had bled to death when Tom and Harry had had to cut off one of his arms to free his hand which was trapped in a door-shutter, as they were attempting to rob a house. A condemned highwayman's last journey to Tyburn was graphically described by Jonathan Swift (author of Gulliver's Travels) in 1727: As Clever Tom Clinch, while the Rabble was bawling, Rode stately through Holbourn, to die in his Calling; He stopt at the George for a Bottle of Sack, And promis’d to pay for it when he’d come back. The Maids to the Doors and the Balconies ran, And said, lack-a-day! he’s a proper young Man. But, as from the Windows the Ladies he spy’d, Like a Beau in the Box, he bow’d low on each Side...

'Tom Clinch' was a highwayman named Tom Cox, the younger son of a gentleman, who was hanged at Tyburn in 1691. Dick Turpin - Highwaymen and Highway Robbery Dick Turpin "The Spurious Highwayman" Dick Turpin is probably the most famous highwayman of all. Mention the name to most people, and they will tell you he was a daring and dashing highwayman who famously rode from London to York on his faithful mare, Black Bess, in less than 24 hours. However, the popular Turpin legend contains not a grain of truth. In reality, Turpin's fictitious great ride was made by 17th-century highwayman John 'Swift Nick' Nevison , who early one morning in 1676 robbed a homeward-bound sailor on the road outside Gads Hill, Kent. Deciding he needed to establish an alibi, Nevison set off on a ride that took him more than 190 miles in about 15 hours.

In addition, it was only at the very end of his life, while waiting to be hanged at York racecourse, that Turpin exhibited any of the swaggering nonchalance, heroism, or derring-do usually attributed to him. Prior to that, both his existence and his criminal ventures had been squalid, to say the least.ï¿½ The Essex Gang Dick Turpin was born in 1706 in rural Essex, the son of John Turpin, a small farmer and some-time keeper of the Crown Inn. Some biographers say he was born in Thackstead, others name Hempstead. Young Dick probably served an apprenticeship with a butcher in Whitechapel- in those days, a village on the fringes of the capital. During his apprenticeship he "conducted himself in a loose and disorderly manner." When his apprenticeship was over, he opened a butcher shop, and began to steal sheep, lamb and cattle. Caught in the act of stealing two oxen, he fled into the depths of the Essex countryside to save himself. After resurfacing, he tried his hand at smuggling, but proved as inept at this venture as he had at cattle rustling.

Before long customs agents compelled Turpin and his gang to lay low. Many people think of Dick Turpin as a lone highwayman, however for the majority of his criminal career he was a member of the Essex Gang (also known as the Gregory Gang). Members of Turpin's gang are known to have included: Thomas Barnfield, Mary Brazier, John Fielder, Jasper Gregory, Jeremy Gregory, Samual Gregory, Herbert Haines, John Jones, James Parkinson, Joseph Rose, Thomas Rowden, Ned Rust, William Saunders, Richard Turpin, Humphry Walker, and John Wheeler. There may have been other members who were either not identified or who were only occasional associates of the Gang.ï¿½ Turpin and his gang invaded isolated farmhouses, terrorizing and torturing the female occupants into giving up their valuables. A typical attack took place at Loughton, in Essex, where Turpin heard of an old widow woman rumoured to keep at least ï¿½700 in the house. When the woman gamely resisted all of Turpin's efforts to discover the money's hiding place, he hoisted her into the open fire until she gave up her treasure.

Robbing remote farmhouses was the Gang's speciality, and it was only towards the end of his criminal career that Turpin was actually involved in highway robbery. Flushed with success-and money-Turpin and his mates proceeded to rob their way around the Home Counties, frequently employing torture as a weapon of persuasion. By 1735, the London Evening Post regularly reported the exploits of Turpin and 'The Essex Gang' and the King had offered a reward of ï¿½50 for their capture. Eventually, local constables captured two of the gang, Turpin himself narrowly missing capture by bursting out a window.ï¿½ Epping Forest Turpin headed back into the familiar East Anglian countryside and lived rough for some time., until he began working with 'Captain' Tom King, one of the best-known highwaymen of the day and the kind of swashbuckling, devil-may-care character into which legend would later transform Turpin. From a cave in Epping Forest from which they could watch the road without being seen, they robbed virtually anyone who passed their hiding place. Even local peddlers started to carry weapons for protection.

By 1737, Turpin had achieved such notoriety that another bounty of ï¿½100 was placed on his head- a reward that unwittingly transformed him from a common footpad into a murderer. On 4th May, 1737, a gamekeeper named Morris tracked Turpin to Epping Forest, but when he challenged him at gunpoint, Turpin drew his own gun and shot Morris dead. The fugitive's next exploit was nothing less than bizarre. One night, while on the road to London, he took a fancy to a particularly fine horse ridden by a man called Major and forced him to exchange it for his own jaded mount. Mr. Major didn't take the loss lying down. He issued handbills around the pubs of London, describing the horse and naming Turpin as the thief. The horse was traced to the Red Lion pub in Whitechapel, where Turpin had stabled it. When Tom King came to collect the horse, he was arrested. Turpin, who had been waiting nearby, rode toward the constables holding King and fired at them.

Unfortunately, he was a dreadful shot, and the bullets hit King rather than his captors.ï¿½ The End of the Road Before he died, King provided the constables with sufficient information to force Turpin to again live rough in Epping Forest. Realizing that he could not long escape capture if he remained in the London area, Turpin set off for Yorkshire., where he settled under the name of John Palmer, financing his fancy lifestyle with frequent excursions into Lincolnshire for more horse and cattle rustling and the occasional highway robbery. One day, returning from an unsuccessful hunt he shot his landlord's rooster. When the landlord complained he threatened to kill the landlord as well. He was taken into custody while local authorities made enquiries as to how exactly 'Mr. Palmer' made his money, and inevitably the constables learned of several outstanding complaints made against 'John Palmer' for sheep and horse stealing in Lincolnshire.

Turpin waited in the dungeons of York Castle while these charges were investigated, but even then things might not have gone too badly for him if he hadn't written a letter to his brother, requesting him to 'procure an evidence from London that could give me a character that would go a great way towards my being acquitted.'ï¿½ Unfortunately for Turpin, his brother was too mean to pay the sixpence postage due and so returned the letter to the Post Office. There, by a great coincidence, Turpin's former schoolmaster, Mr. Smith, saw it and recognized the handwriting. He took the letter to the local magistrate and, with his permission, opened it. Despite the fact that it was signed John Palmer, Smith identified the writer as Turpin. Smith was subsequently dispatched to York to make positive identification; which he did.ï¿½ Convicted on two indictments, Turpin was sentenced to death. Pleas from his father to have the sentence commuted to transportation fell on deaf ears. Between his sentence and execution, visitors frequented Turpin's cell. He bought new clothes and shoes and hired five mourners for 10 shillings each.

On 7th April, 1739, Dick Turpin rode through the streets of York in an open cart, bowing to the gawking crowds. At York racecourse he climbed the ladder to the gibbet and then sat for half an hour chatting to the guards and the executioner. An account in the York Courant of Turpin's execution, notes his brashness even at the end, "with undaunted courage looked about him, and after speaking a few words to the topsman, he threw himself off the ladder and expired in about five minutes." Thus in death at least, Turpin attained some of the gallantry that had eluded him in life. "Rookwood": The Birth of a Legend The spurious legend of Dick Turpin was established in 1739 with the book Life of Richard Turpin, and sealed with the novel Rookwood (1834) by Harrison Ainsworth in which the highwayman 'Dauntless Dick Turpin' with his horse Black Bess is a secondary character. Ainsworth's description of an epic ride from Westminster to York caught the popular imagination and turned a fairly average pot-boiler into a runaway best-seller.

During the next 50 years, replays of the Turpin story, as told by Ainsworth, appeared in magazines, cheap novels, and ballads, not just in Great Britain but around the world. History, romance, and legend rapidly blurred and, eventually, the fictional ride of Ainsworth's Turpin totally eclipsed the villain's real exploits. The metamorphosis of Dick Turpin, house-breaker, torturer, murderer, horse-stealer and all-round real nasty piece of work into Dick Turpin, Highwayman and Knight of the Road was complete. 7 April 1739 – Dick Turpin | Execution of the day Execution of the day 8 April 1944 – Bruno Lüdke » 7 April 1739 – Dick Turpin You may know him better as a highwayman extraordinaire. But in actual fact Richard ‘Dick’ Turpin was hanged for stealing horses on this day in 1739. Of course, there was way more to it than that and he was indeed a highwayman and a murderer.

However seeing as it was only coincidence that they caught up with him at all, how on earth were the bumbling authorities going to pin proper blame on one of the most infamous lawbreakers of that time? Turns out they didn’t need to lift a finger. Turpin won himself a death penalty all on his tod. Dandy highwayman? Forget all thoughts of ‘Stand and deliver’, kisses for the ladies and funny one-liners for the men. That’s all a big myth. It appears that he was never so debonnaire. Instead, his dodgy career unromantically kicked off in Essex, where he teamed up with a set of mates. They’d hijack homes in remote areas and relieve the occupants of their valuables. Apparently one feisty widow failed to hand over her £700 to the motley crew, so he hanged her over the open hearth until she was toasted into submission. A Dick e-fit at York Castle No home county was safe, but the ‘Gregory Gang’ soon out-grew their turf for fear of being caught.

There was a price on each of their heads now – a very nice earner of £50, which in those days was a small fortune, funded by the King’s coffers no less. So it came as no surprise when gang members were apprehended (often mid-pilfer) that they were sent to do the Tyburn jig. Cock robbing Spooked by the close shave, having escaped the law by a sliver and now living rough in Epping to avoid the law, old Turpin decided there was more to life. He did a runner up to Yorkshire, where he settled down under the pseudonym of John Palmer, his estranged wife’s maiden name. This veneer of respectability however was a sham. He was back on the robbing game before you could say “Dick”. But he was careful not to steal on his own doorstep. No, he scooted down to Lincolnshire for a stint of cattle or horse rustling, poaching, even highway robbery to fund his life of respectability. But things changed after he returned without spoils following one such foray south. Turpin shot his own landlord’s cockerel, and was promptly hauled into custody.

There they made enquiries into how he made a living and that’s when the Lincolnshire lawbreaking caught up with him. Stamp undelivered But this was ok. He could survive this if only he could blag his way out of it. So Turpin turned to his brother in London, sending him a letter asking him to come up with a character witness in London that would prove Turpin’s respectability. But he hadn’t used a stamp, so when his brother refused to stump up the sixpence to have it delivered it was returned to sender and fatefully en route, it fell into the hands of someone who could identify him – Turpin’s former teacher who was aware of all the dodginess. As a result he was shipped up to York to identify Turpin and the game was up. He was found guilty of stealing horses and the punishment was death by hanging. Nice threads His death was scheduled on this day in 1739 and in honour of his loss of life, he bought some new clothes and even bribed some people in the crowd to mourn his passing. But get this, his executioner was only Thomas Hadfield, one his old mates from ‘Gregory’s gang’ who’d been reprieved.

But Hadfield didn’t get to use his skills on this day, as Turpin actually jumped off the scaffold, which was tantamount to suicide. The irony is that shortly after he was buried, Turpin was unearthed again and swiped by body snatchers. If you fancy some live action Dick why not try the Dick Turpin – The TV Series starring Richard O’Sullivan…you know, him from that ‘Me and My Girl’. Also on this day BBC Inside Out - Highwaymen East Midlands: Week commencing Monday July 7, 2003 HIGHWAYMEN OF THE PEAK The Peak District was a hunting ground for highwaymen Stand and deliver! Inside Out goes time travelling and uncovers how there were rich pickings in the East Midlands for highwaymen during the 16th and 17th centuries. Back in the 16th and 17th centuries travellers really did take their lives into their own hands trying to navigate the perilous Derbyshire Peak. Highwaymen ruled the highways, maps weren't available until 1760, and sign posts simply didn't exist.

The chances of getting lost on the moors, especially during the winter months, or getting held up by a masked horseman were an all too common story. Inside Out goes time travelling - fasten your seat belts, be prepared for a bumpy ride! The wild wild Peak Derbyshire Historian Howard Smith has researched the perils of travelling on England's highways. Travellers faced a wide range of perils "The biggest dangers facing travellers on the peak was 250 years ago. Derbyshire was like the wild west. Travellers feared moving around this county like no other." Stone markers were a real turning point in navigating the Derbyshire Peak. They offered guidance and reassurance for thousands of lost and lonely travellers. Although most travellers were illiterate, they would be able to figure out local place names, although deciphering local dialect would be another challenge entirely. The Derbyshire market town of Alfreton is a good example of the problem travellers faced. Alfreton appears on numerous stops in many different ways, variously appearing as Offerton, Allforton and Alfarton. Stand and deliver For most travellers their biggest fear was encountering a highwayman.

The word 'highwayman' came into the English language in 1617 although examples of highway robbers date back to medieval and Elizabethan times. Highwaymen were common on the Peak's roads The very name of highwayman conjures up a romantic image of a bygone age where men like Dick Turpin held up stage coaches and robbed their rich passengers. The origins of modern highwaymen have their roots in the English Civil War. The execution of Charles I in 1649 left the many Royalist officers without the means of supporting themselves. These men with no trade nor skill other than soldiering were forced to take to the road - they robbed to survive. Your money or your life? A prime target for highwaymen was the road which linked Derby and Chesterfield where there were rich pickings. Local writer Peter Elliott has researched the crimes that took place against the travellers along this ancient highway. "The stretch of road was such a hot spot for highwaymen. It gave them time to size up their victims in Derby and then ride out and wait." Highwaymen had an average life expectancy of 28, most died by hanging and then their bodies were hung in gibbets at crossroads as a warning to law breakers.

Dick Turpin Dick Turpin is perhaps the most famous of highwaymen conjuring up images of a dashing and daring criminal. The truth is rather less impressive. Turpin's famous ride from London to York in less than 24 hours on his horse Black Bess is likely to have been a myth. Dick Turpin was here - the highwayman was later immortalised in the popular novel Rookwood by Harrison Ainsworth Early in his career Turpin's main speciality was robbing remote farmhouses with his gang. It was only later in his life that he turned to highway robbery. By 1737 Turpin had achieved such notoriety that a bounty of £100 was placed on his head. To escape capture, he relocated to Yorkshire, settling under the name of John Palmer. He financed his flamboyant lifestyle with forays into the Lincolnshire countryside for horse, sheep and cattle stealing and highway robberies. Eventually the law caught up with Turpin, and he was incarcerated in York Castle dungeons under sentence of death. He was executed at York Racecourse in 1739 after being paraded around the streets of York in an open cart.

Daylight robbery The old Great North Road which ran between Newark, East Retford and Tuxford was a happy hunting ground for robbers stealing from wealthy travellers. FAMOUS HIGHWAYMEN Dick Turpin - born 1706 and trained as a butcher. Tried smuggling and then joined the Essex Gang who invaded isolated farmhouses. Turned to highway robbery late in his career. John Nevison - born 1648. This flamboyant highwayman never used violence. James MacLaine - A respectable gentlemen by day and a highwayman by night. His accomplice was William Plunkett. Hanged at Tyburn in 1750. Claude Duval - renowned as a courteous rogue. Born in France in 1643. Mainly robbed around London. Hanged at Tyburn in 1670. 'Captain' Tom King - a swashbuckling highwayman who worked with Turpin later in his career. Killed accidentally by Turpin during a raid. Robin Hood - early Nottingham 'highway robber', fame for giving from the rich to the poor. The best known East Midlands highwayman was John Nevison who was nicknamed 'Swift Nick'.

Some historians believe that it was Nevison, and not Dick Turpin, who made the famous London to York ride in less than 24 hours. Nevison's gang of six outlaws met at the Talbot Inn at Newark and robbed travellers along the Great North Road as far north as York. The gang were betrayed by Elizabeth Burton in 1676 when she was arrested for stealing. Nevison was transported to Tangiers, but returned to England in 1681, taking up highway robbery once again. When he was finally caught, Nevison was sentenced and hanged at York in 1684. Black Harry Black Harry was a notorious early 18th century highwayman. He robbed the pack-mule trains between Tideswell and Bakewell. He was eventually arrested by the Castleton Bow Street Runners, and was hung, drawn and quartered on the Gallows Tree at Wardlow Mires. In 1772 the death penalty was imposed for being armed and disguised in high roads and open heaths. Gibbeting the corpse was popular right up until the mid 19th century.

Gibbeting regularly took place at Wardlow in Derbyshire with executions being held in Derby. Prince Charming? The threat of attack by highwaymen continued into the 19th century, but after 1815 the crime became less common. The last mounted robbery in England is said to have taken place in 1831. By the late 19th century the highwayman had become a romanticised figure, making a brief comeback in pop culture with Adam Ant and the New Romantics in the 1980s. Today's travellers in the Peak are lucky - their journey is likely to be short, well sign-posted and uneventful. The most dramatic thing that they can expect is a rock fall or a stray mountain sheep! See also ... Revealed: What 'devilishly handsome' highwayman Dick Turpin REALLY looked like | Daily Mail Online Revealed: What 'devilishly handsome' highwayman Dick Turpin REALLY looked like He is the legendary highwayman who roamed the countryside ruthlessly robbing almost anyone unfortunate enough to cross his path. Over time Dick Turpin has been wrongly romanticised into a swashbuckling and carefree rogue.

And his image as a strapping and handsome villain boldly riding his trusty steed Black Bess is also fictitious, it has been revealed. For police experts and historians have teamed up to produce the first 'real' image of Turpin in the 270 years since he went to the gallows. Devilishly handsome? Forensic experts used the latest technology to recreate the face of Dick Turpin, 270 years after he was hanged for his crimes Instead of a 'dandy highwayman' with the rugged good looks to send ladies swooning, Turpin had a pock-marked face with distinctly ordinary features. Using the latest technology, staff from North Yorkshire police have produced an e-fit image of the notorious criminal for an exhibition at York's Castle Museum. 'The results are not pretty,' said Dr Katherine Prior, a museum researcher. 'Richard Turpin is one of the most infamous highwaymen in the world, but interestingly very little information on what he actually looked like survives. There are no drawings or paintings of Turpin created during his lifetime. All we have to go on are the descriptions from newspapers which were issued to aid his capture.

'We have worked with North Yorkshire Police to create an e-fit of Mr Turpin, just like they would do from a description of a criminal today.' The real story of Turpin is very different to the one depicted in many books and on television. The son of a farmer and publican from rural Essex, Turpin was born in 1706 and probably became a butcher's apprentice on the outskirts of London. His life as an outlaw began when he was caught stealing two oxen and fled into the countryside to escape arrest. He tried his hand at smuggling before teaming up with a gang to carry out more serious, violent and unpleasant crimes. Wanted poster: Forensic experts worked with York's Castle Museum to create an E-fit of Turpin, just like they would do from a description of a criminal today The gan targetted isolated farmhouses and terrorised and tortured the occupants into giving up their valuables. In one raid in Essex, Turpin heard of an old woman rumoured to keep £700 in the house. She refused to divulge the hiding place until Turpin hoisted her into an open fire. Turpin and his crew robbed their way around the home counties, frequently torturing their victims.

In 1735 the King offered a £50 reward - around £8,500 at today's prices - for his capture. The London Gazette gave his description as 'a tall fresh-colour'd man, very much mark'd with the Small-Pox, about twenty-six years of age, about five feet nine Inches high, liv'd some time ago at Whitechapel, and did lately lodge somewhere about Millbank, Westminster, wears a blue-grey coat, and a light natural Wig.' Within two years the bounty on his head doubled after the gang committed another heinous act. By this time Turpin had teamed up with 'Captain' Tom King, one of the best known highwaymen of the day, with a carefree nature and code of honour that was later falsely attributed to Turpin. King laughed in Turpin's face when he pulled a gun on him and demanded his money as he rode on horseback and they became partners in crime. Before long King was accidentally shot dead by Turpin. King was arrested when he went to collect a horse and Turpin, who had been wating nearby, fired at the constables and killed his accomplice instead. Realising he had to change location, Turpin rode to Yorkshire.

But the story that he rode from London to York in less than 24 hours was pure fiction. This most famous Turpin tale was invented a century later by the author William Harrison Ainsworth in his 1834 novel 'Rookwood.' In reality Turpin ended up living under a false name and his identity was revealed after he was arrested for a minor misdemeanour. Suspicions were aroused as allegations of his criminal behaviour surfaced. But he was trapped by a letter he sent to his brother from the dungeons at York Castle. His hand-writing was recognised and he was revealed as Dick Turpin and sentenced to death. On 19th April 1739 Turpin rode through York in an open cart bowing to the crowds. After chatting to the guards with his head in a noose he then boldly threw himself off the ladder to his death. Today a new interpretation of his 18th Century death row cell in York opens at the Castle Museum. And his realistic image is the final piece in the jigsaw.

Ian Greaves, one of the police e-fit specialists, said: 'It is nice to think that we are able to assist in putting a true picture together of the infamous highwayman, who spent his last days in the city of York.' Turpin's life of crime: * Turpin was a notorious member of the Essex Gang who ruthlessly robbed farmhouses across the Home Counties. * In one raid at Loughton, Essex, they escaped with an old woman's huge cash savings of £700 (£120,000 at today's prices) after Turpin is said to have hoisted her into an open fire to give up the treasure. * After a £50 reward (£8,500 today) was put on his head, Turpin narrowly escaped arrest by smashing through a window. * He teamed up with 'gentleman' highwayman Tom King after trying to rob him at knifepoint. King laughed and said:'What dog eat dog? Come brother Turpin.

If you don't know me, I know you and shall be glad of your company.' * In May 1737 he became a murderer when he shot a gamekeeper named Morris who tracked him to Epping Forest and challenged him at gunpoint. * Turpin killed his partner King by accident when he shot at constables who were arresting him. * Adopting the name John Palmer, he was arrested for a minor crime and revealed as the notorious highwayman when a letter from his jail cell in York gave him away. * Turpin's infamous non-stop ride from London to York was actually carried out by a 17th Century highwayman John 'Nick' Nevison but used in a book about Turpin. Dick Turpin for kids 21 September 1705 - 7 April 1739 Page Under Construction On 7th April, 1739, Dick Turpin was hanged at the Tyburn, which is on the modern day York Race Course otherwise known as the Knavesmire. Who was Dick Turpin? Dick Turpin was a butcher's son, born in Hempstead, Essex in 1705.

He was also a violent highwayman who was executed in York, after being charged for murder. Why is Dick Turpin famous? Turpin is one of the most infamous highwaymen in the world. Amost a hundred years after his death, he became the subject of legend. Author Harrison Ainsworth wrote stories about Turpin, presenting him as a fearless and gentlemanly hero. He also virtually invented the most famous episode in Turpin legend: Turpin's non-stop ride from London to York on his faithful mare, Black Bess, in less than 24 hours. Ainsworth's fiction was soon mistaken for fact, spawning a host of local legends. Also on this day .... 7 April 1770 - William Wordsworth, one of the great English poets, was born on this day at Cockermouth, Cumberland, England. He was orphaned as a boy and he lived with his sister in the Lake District. In 1843, when he was seventy-four, Wordsworth was appointed Poet Laureate, the poet chosen to write poetry for the King or Queen. The title 'Poet Laureate' comes from the laurels with which the ancient Greeks traditionally crowned their most celebrated poets.

The present Poet Laureate is Carol Ann Duffy, who was appointed in May 2009. The post will be held for a fixed ten-year period. William Wordsworth most well know poem is about daffodils and begins: I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. 7 April - World Health Day

Question: In what year was highwayman Dick Turpin hanged?
Answer: 1739