John Swift Nick Nevison - Highwaymen and Highway Robbery John "Swift Nick" Nevison "The Glamorous Highwayman" John (also known as William) Nevison was one of Britain's most flamboyant highwaymen, a man whose exploits earned him praise from even King Charles II, who was so impressed by the activities of this gentleman-rogue that he nicknamed the highwayman Swift Nick - allegedly! A measure of his fame may be surmised from the fact he is the only highwayman except Claude Du Vall mentioned (albeit briefly) by name in Lord Macaulay's History of England. Much about his life is shrouded in mystery, and confused by conflicting accounts from such writers as Macaulay and seventeenth century pamphleteers, so it can be hard to sort fact from fiction. The Newgate Calendar entry on William (John) Nevison forms the basis for most modern biographical entries, although it doesn't mention the feat for which he is best known - the fabled ride to London that was later attributed to Dick Turpin. Most probably, Nevison was born at Wortley near Sheffield around 1639/40.

He came from a good family - according to reports his father is variously named as comfortably off wool merchant or a steward at Wortley Hall. Although he seems to have been prone to stealing and troublemaking at school, he worked as a brewer's clerk in London for several years before absconding to Holland with a debt he had been sent to collect. He then apparently served in an English regiment under the command of the Duke of York in Flanders, distinguishing himself as a soldier, before returning to England. He seems to have lived quietly with his father until the old gentleman passed away, leaving him impoverished - at which point he decided to take to the road. A charming man of tall gentlemanly appearance and bearing, it is claimed that Nevison never used violence against his victims. It seems that his romantic reputation was sealed through a renowned ride from the south of England to York in 1676, a feat later mistakenly attributed in popular legend to Dick Turpin and his horse Black Bess. The error arose in a novel called Rookwood written in 1834 by Harrison Ainsworth, who wrongly attributed the feat to Turpin.

In fact the ride was already on record in 1724 (when Turpin was still a butcher's lad in Whitechapel), in Daniel Defoe's A Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain , from which the following account is drawn: The Ride to York At 4am one summer morning in 1676, a traveller at Gads Hill in Kent, England was robbed by John Nevison. The highwayman then made his escape on a bay mare, crossed the River Thames by ferry and galloped towards Chelmsford. After resting his horse for half an hour, he rode on to Cambridge and Huntingdon, resting regularly for short periods during the journey. Eventually, he found his way to the Great North Road where he turned north for York. He arrived in York at sunset after a journey of more than 200 miles, a stunning achievement for both man and horse. He stabled his weary horse at a York inn, washed and changed his travel-stained clothes, then strolled to a bowling green where he knew the Lord Mayor was playing bowls.

He engaged the Lord Mayor in a conversation and then laid a bet on the outcome of the match - and Nevison made sure the Lord Mayor remembered the time the bet was laid - 8pm that evening. Later, Nevison was arrested for the robbery in Gads Hill and in his defence, produced the Lord Mayor of York as his alibi witness. The Lord Mayor could prove Nevison was in York at 8pm on the day of the robbery and the court refused to believe that a man would have committed that time in Kent and ridden to York by 8pm the same day. He was found not guilty of that crime and emerged as a folk hero, even impressing the king of England. The End of the Road There are few other accurate records of Nevison's career. His gang of six outlaws met at the Talbot Inn at Newark and robbed travellers along the Great North Road as far north as York and as far south as Huntingdon. He was arrested several times - in 1674, when he escaped from Wakefield goal before charges could be brought, and again in 1676 on charges of robbery and horse-stealing.

Nevison was sentenced to transportation to Tangiers, but returned to England (or escaped before the ship disembarked from Tilbury) and once more took to highway robbery. He was arrested yet again in 1681 and escaped with the ingenious rouse of 'playing dead' - getting an accomplice to masquerade as a doctor and pronounce him dead of the plague. The net was closing in around him however, especially after he killed a man called Fletcher, a constable who died while trying to arrest him. He was targeted by bounty hunters, and after a tip-off from the landlady was captured while drinking at the Magpie (or Plough) Inn at Sandal, near Wakefield. His execution was never in doubt and he was hanged at York Castle on May 4, 1684. The body was buried at St. Mary Church, York, in an unmarked grave. "Bold Nevison" Did you ever hear told of that hero, Bold Nevison it was his name, And he rode about like a brave hero, And by that he gained a great fame, Now when I rode on the highway, I always had money in store.

And whatever I took from the rich Why I freely gave it to the poor. I have never robbed no man of tuppence And I've never done murder nor killed. Though guilty I've been all my lifetime So gentlemen do as you please. Though the subject of frequently issued prose chapbooks and broadsides, there do not appear to be many versions of this 17th Century ballad of Nevison. This version of the ballad was sung by Joseph Taylor and recorded on a wax cylinder for Percy Grainger in 1908 No 32. John Nevison No 32. John Nevison an organisation dedicated to making Wakefield a better place in which to live, work or relax. No 32. John Nevison This plaque commemorate the arrest of highwayman John Nevison at Sandal Three Houses in 1685. Much of the following information has been put together from various internet sources but with some original research by local historian Kate Taylor. One website in particular has proved especially informative - only an extract appears here and we advise anyone interested in learning more to visit for more information.

Nevison's story as we today understand it is a mix of fact and legend - it is not always easy to be certain which is which! Even his name is a source of confusion being reported as John or Willam Nevison, Nevinson, Johnson or even Brace or Bracey. However, the story we have accepted for the purposes of our plaque is that John Nevison appears to have been born in Wortley, near Barnsley. Reports suggest that he came from a good family - his father could have been a comfortably off wool merchant or a steward at Wortley Hall. Although Nevison seems to have been prone to stealing and troublemaking at school, he worked as a brewer's clerk in London for several years before absconding to Holland with a debt he had been sent to collect. He then apparently served in an English regiment under the command of the Duke of York in Flanders, distinguishing himself as a soldier, before returning to England where he then lived with his father until his father's death.

Now without paternal support, Nevison is thought to have turned to crime, acting as part of a gang of highwaymen along the Great North Road between Huntingdon and York where most of his victims were robbed, possibly basing himself at the Talbot Inn in Newark. Nevison was something of Robin Hood character, developing fame and notoriety for his expolits. One thing in his favour was that he generally tended not to hurt his victims (but see below). The legend of Swift Nick: Nevison is renowned for a horse ride between Kent and York, allegedly accomplished on one horse in less than a day. This feat earned him the nickname 'Swift Nick' = a name supposedly conferred on him by King Charles II. The story is as follows (taken from the Stand and Deliver website): At 4am one summer morning in 1676, Nevison robbed a traveller (possibly a sailor) at Gads Hill in Kent. It seems likely that the traveller recognised Nevison, causing Nevison to make his escape on a horseback, crossing the River Thames by ferry and galloping towards Chelmsford.

After resting his horse for half an hour, he rode on to Cambridge and Huntingdon, resting regularly for short periods during the journey. Eventually, he found his way to the Great North Road where he turned north for York. He arrived in York at sunset after a journey of more than 200 miles, a remarkable achievement for both man and horse. He stabled his weary horse at a York inn, washed and changed his travel-stained clothes, then strolled to a bowling green where he knew the Lord Mayor was playing bowls. He engaged the Lord Mayor in a conversation and then laid a bet on the outcome of the match - and Nevison made sure the Lord Mayor remembered the time the bet was laid - 8pm that evening. Later, Nevison was arrested for the robbery in Gads Hill and in his defence, produced the Lord Mayor of York as his alibi witness. The Lord Mayor could prove Nevison was in York at 8pm on the day of the robbery and the court refused to believe that a man would have committed that time in Kent and ridden to York by 8pm the same day.

He was found not guilty of that crime and emerged as a folk hero, even impressing the king of England and hence acquiring the nickname of Swift Nick. There are few other accurate records of Nevison's career. His gang of six outlaws met at the Talbot Inn at Newark and robbed travellers along the Great North Road as far north as York and as far south as Huntingdon. He was arrested several times - in 1674, when he escaped from Wakefield goal before charges could be brought, and again in 1676 on charges of robbery and horse-stealing. Nevison was sentenced to transportation to Tangiers, but returned to England (or escaped before the ship disembarked from Tilbury) and once more took to highway robbery. He was arrested yet again in 1681 and escaped with the ingenious rouse of 'playing dead' - getting an accomplice to masquerade as a doctor and pronounce him dead of the plague. The net was closing in around him however, especially after he killed a man called Fletcher, a constable who died while trying to arrest him.

He was targeted by bounty hunters, and after a tip-off from the landlady, was captured while drinking at an Inn at Sandal. Today, it is believed that the inn he was arrested at was the Three Houses Inn, which stands today at the corner of Barnsley Road and Chevet Lane and thought to be one of the oldest pubs in Yorkshire. Indeed, the chair he was supposed to have been sleeping in at the time of his arrest is now kept at St Helen’s Church, Sandal Magna. Nevison was taken to York for trial following his arrest and it seems that his execution on this occasion was never in doubt. He was hanged at York Castle in 1685. The body was buried at St. Mary Church, York, in an unmarked grave. One piece of research unearthed by Kate Taylor suggests that Nevison may have been implicated in the murder of a farmer: an extremely rare chap book dating from 1677 survives in the Minster Library at York. It gives an account of a then very recent murder committed in a village near Wakefield (perhaps Sandal itself).

A prosperous farmer was tortured and then killed in the night when a gang of six men and one woman broke into the house. In fact it was the woman who, watched by the farmer's wife who had been tied up and gagged, thrust the knife into the farmer's chest. The chap-book tells us no more of the story. However, when Nevison was tried, one member of his gang - the only woman - gave evidence against him and acknowledged the size and make-up of his gang, though not, of course, admitting to any murder herself. It seems pretty certain that Nevison was involved in this local murder. On the map... © 2017 Wakefield Civic Society. Registered Charity Number: 236034 Web Design by Statement , Corporate Members of Wakefield Civic Society Nevison, Swift Nicks, the highwayman - Main Page St. Helen's Church William (or John) Nevison - The Terror of the Great North Road A Highwayman who, dying Of the Plague as was thought, reappeared as his own Ghost, and was finally executed at York in 1684 ( see Note 1 ).

The Sandal connection: Nevison was apprehended at the Magpie (the old Three Houses Inn) in Sandal Magna in 1684. He was then conveyed to York and subsequently hanged. Nevison is also possibly one "Swiftnicks" (or "Swift Nicks") - the highwayman who made the epic ride to York, which was later incorrectly ascribed to Dick Turpin in the novel Rookwood by Harrison Ainsworth. In these pages about the highwaymen Nevison, Swiftnicks and Turpin, much use has been made of the following works: a. The Newgate Calendar (Nevison's story), read more . b. Swiftnicks in Preface to the Newgate Calendar, read more. c. A Complete History of the Lives and Robberies of the Most Notorious Highwaymen, Footpads, Shoplifts & Cheats of Both Sexes, by Capt. Alexander Smith*, (4) . d. Lives and Exploits of English Highwaymen, Pirates and Robbers, by Capt. Charles Johnson*, (5) . e. Nevison The Highwayman by Sheila Holmes, January 1989.

( 10 ) (* Both of the good captains' works also feature in the Newgate Calendar.) ~~~ The Highwaymen - Nevison, Swiftnicks and Turpin ■ William Nevison (perhaps John or James, there are several variations). He was born about 1639 in Yorkshire. He was captured in the old Three Houses Inn in Sandal Magna in 1684 and hanged at York in 1684 (** see Execution Dates, side panel). On the strength of The Records of York Castle, it has been suggested that Swiftnicks/Swift Nicks and Nevison are the same man, but other sources (Smith and Johnson) make no suggestion of his being Swiftnicks. Nor, earlier still, did Defoe, in the account of the ride to York in his Tour through Britain. ■ Samuel ( ? ) Nicks. Dubbed "Swiftnicks" or "Swift Nicks" by King Charles II. There are two versions of the ride, the first, Captain Alexander Smith's account , has the journey starting in Barnet, London. The second account, by Daniel Defoe , has the ride starting further south across the River Thames.

In this version, Nicks made the epic ride from Gadshill, Kent to York in a single day in 1676. According to Arthur L. Hayward, who edited the work by Captain Alexander Smith , "Nicks is possibly John Nevison, also known as William Nevison". Later, Nicks was apparently "made a captain in the Lord Moncastle's regiment in Ireland, where he married a great fortune, and afterwards lived very honest." ■ Dick Turpin (1706 - 1739) was active some time after Nevison and Swiftnicks. William Harrison Ainsworth in the 1834 novel Rookwood, credits Turpin with the ride from London to York. It was pure fiction. Read more about Turpin ..... Turpin, whose life we know, did not ride to York; Swiftnicks, of whose career we know hardly anything, apparently did. Read more about this puzzle.... ^ top The Epic Journey by Nevison ..... The stories about Nevison, Swiftnicks and Turpin have been conflated.

Nevison may have been a completely different character to Nicks, although there is some doubt; Turpin never made the epic ride. Nevison was executed in 1684, Turpin was not born until 1705. Nicks was of Nevison's period and apparently met Charles II (1630 - 1685). Nevison's romantic reputation was not just because of his daring deeds, charm, gallantry, but also as a consequence of his reputed epic ride from Kent to York in a day, some 350 kilometres (220 miles) or so - no mean feat! Although that ride was not mentioned in his story in the Newgate Calendar ( 1 ). However, he was a murderer, and self-appointed judge of who deserved to be robbed and, of course, he doubtless took care to ensure that only deserving cases should receive any of his ill-gotten gains. The story is that at 4am one summer morning in 1676, a traveller at Gadshill in Kent was robbed by Nevison. He then effected his escape on a bay mare, crossing the River Thames by ferry and on to Chelmsford, Essex.

After resting his horse for half an hour, he rode on to Cambridge and Huntingdon. Eventually, he found his way to the Great North Road [now more or less the A1] and headed north for York, where he arrived in the early evening. He then placed a bet with the Lord Mayor of York at 8pm on the outcome of a game of bowls - his alibi was in place. It had taken him about 15 hours altogether. Nevison or Swiftnicks (if they be the same) was acquitted of the Kent robbery at his trial because he could prove that he was in York at 8pm that evening, it was surely an impossible feat for him to have committed a crime some two hundred miles further south in the same day! or was it Swiftnicks who rode that day? Are they one and the same? The snag with Nevison story is that that the ride is attributed in The Newgate Calendar and other original sources to one Mr Nicks - dubbed Swiftnicks , with whom the highwayman Captain Richard Dudley was associated (Dudley was executed in 1681).

Daniel Defoe's account of the ride to York in his Tour through Britain makes no link between Swiftnicks and Nevison, and neither does the Dudley story. Captain Alexander Smith's A Compleat HISTORY of the LIVES and ROBBERIES of the Most Notorious Highway-men, etc. ( 4 ) also makes no connection between Nevison and Swiftnicks, and nor did Captain Charles Johnson, in a long account of Nevison's life ( 5 ), make any suggestion of his being Swiftnicks. Read more from the Newgate Calendar ( 1 ). The records at York Castle suggest that Nicks and Nevison were indeed one and the same, but other sources do not. In any event, Defoe's description of Swiftnicks' journey is so similar to the popular Nevison tale that it is obviously the same story; whereas the alternative version of Swiftnicks' journey described in the Richard Dudley piece has the starting point as Barnet, North London at 5am, not Gadshill, Kent at 4am.

According to the Dudley story Swiftnicks apparently mended his ways "and was made a captain in the Lord Moncastle's regiment in Ireland, where he married a great fortune, and afterwards lived very honest." Nevison, on the other hand, met a very different end in York. "In all his exploits, Nevison was tender of the fair sex, and bountiful to the poor. He was also a true loyalist, and never levied any contributions upon the Royalists." ( 5 ) He was a discerning and caring mugger! Castleford - My Home Town - 1676 - James Nevison (Highwayman) 1676 - James Nevison (Highwayman) About this time, James Nevison (nicknamed 'Swift Nick') the notorious Highwayman, roamed these parts and his named is still remembered locally more than 300 years later. According to folk law he robbed the rich to give to the poor but in truth he appears to have been nothing more than a very charming common criminal. A deep cutting through the rock between Pontefract and Ferrybridge is still called 'Nevison's Leap' and an Inn was named after him.

He was finally captured while drinking at the Magpie Inn at Sandal near Wakefield and executed at York on May 4th., 1684. Note: Also referred to as John Nevison and William Nevison with his date of death being given as 1682, 1683 and 1684. Nevison was most probably born at Wortley near Pontefract in 1648 and hanged at York in 1684. It seems that his romantic reputation was sealed through a renowned ride from the south of England to York in 1676. Popular legend says Dick Turpin made this famous ride on a horse called Black Bess fifty years later but this is not true - the highwayman who rode from Kent to York in one day was James Nevison. This is the story: At 4 a.m. one summer morning in 1676, a traveller at Gads Hill in Kent, England was robbed by Nevison. The highwayman then made his escape on a bay mare, crossed the River Thames by ferry and galloped towards Chelmsford.

After resting his horse for half an hour, he rode on to Cambridge and Huntingdon, resting regularly for short periods during the journey. Eventually, he found his way to the Great North Road where he turned north for York. It is claimed that Nevison jumped the narrow gorge called 'Nevison's Leap' and then crossed the River Aire at Castleford during this ride. He arrived in York at sunset after a journey of more than 200 miles, a stunning achievement for both man and horse. He stabled his weary horse at a York inn, washed and changed his travel-stained clothes, then strolled to a bowling green where he knew the Lord Mayor was playing bowls. He engaged the Lord Mayor in a conversation and then laid a bet on the outcome of the match - and Nevison made sure the Lord Mayor remembered the time the bet was laid - 8 p.m. that evening. Later, Nevison was arrested for the robbery in Gads Hill and in his defence, produced the Lord Mayor of York as his alibi witness. The Lord Mayor could prove Nevison was in York at 8 p.m.

on the day of the robbery and the court refused to believe that a man could have committed a crime in the early morning in Kent and ridden to York by 8 p.m. the same day. He was found not guilty of the crime and emerged as a folk hero, even impressing the King of England. Nevison was a charming man of tall gentlemanly appearance and bearing and it is claimed that he never used violence against his victims. My thanks to Mike Marshall who along with Leonie run the Fretwelliana Web Page . He says "You report that Nevison was born at Wortley, near Pontefract, and that his father was a steward at Wortley Hall. However there is only one Wortley Hall in England and that is located at the only other Wortley --- a remote little village near Sheffield". He also sent me the following from his site as evidence of this: John Hobson's Diary Entry for 19 Aug 1727/8 (looking back to earlier days) 19th At Pilley. There was there Mr. Skelton, who has been game-keeper to the Wortleys for above 60 years. He was born in the year 1642.

He knew old Sr Francis Wortley who got the battle at Tankersly moor. He was afterwards taken prisoner by the Parliament forces at Wolton hall, and was put in the Tower of London, where he died, and was buried at Westminster. He was a tall, proper man, with grey hair, and one of the first who took up arms for the king. This Mr. Skelton, when he was about eight years, went into the service of young Sr Francis Wortley, who then lived at St. Hellen's well, nigh Monkbretton, having for some time before resided beyond sea, but was permitted to come back by the Parliament upon the death of his father, whom he had disoblieged upon this account. There was a certain man call'd Bailie, of Dodworth, who by the Commission of Array had been pressed into the king's service; this man deserted, and was retaken; whereupon young Sr Francis, without any tryall by a court-martiall, caused him to be hang'd upon a tree near Wortley Hall.

Old Sr Francis was so much displeased at his son for so rash an action, that, to avoid his anger, he went into Italy, and staid there till his father's death. This young Sr Francis had no legitimate issue by his lady, but left a naturall daughter by Mrs. Newcommen, the elder called . . , the younger, Penelope. He died at Turnham green, nigh London, where he had a fine seat, and was buried at Westminster. He was a little lean man, with yellowish hair; drunk very hard, and seem'd to be melancolick, and troubled in mind. His eldest daughter was married to the late Sidney Wortley, esqre. At St. Hellen wells there was a room called the yellow chamber, thro' which, if any one attempted to carry a candle in the night, it would burn blue and go out immediately: and over the kitchin there was an open gallery; and this Mr. Skelton, as he has sate by the fire, has often seen the apparition of a boy or a girl walk along the gallery. This house is now pulled down, and lately rebuilded by Mr.

Sydney Wortley, for a habitation for a mistress of his, Mrs. Grace Bingly, who now resides there. At the same time, there lived with this Skelton . . Nevison, who afterwards was an exciseman; but, being out of his place, became an highwayman, and was ordered to be transported; but, returning before the time limited, he was thereupon executed at York. At the same time there lived there a young woman, mother to the present dame Walker, of Pilley; one Wood, of Burton Smithies, made love to her; whereupon two of Sr Francis Wortley's servants (one of them call'd Lapish) quarreled with him, and one of them clove Wood's head with a spade, in the court at St. Hellen's. They were sent to York, and, at the intercession of Sr Francis, came of. It was said that they pretended Wood was attempting to ravish her, so they cleared themselves by saying that what they did was in defence of the young woman. This Skelton was quarter-master to a private troup which was raised to quench, the Farnley wood plot, and assisted at the taking of .

. Oates and Greathead. He also went along with his master, Sydney Wortley, to York, to the revolution, and saw Sir John Riersby, then governour, deliver the keys of the city to my lord Danbye; and he went along with his master to Exeter, where he met the Prince of Orange, who thanked Mr. Wortley for the good service he had done at York, and promised to see him paid. This Skelton is now 86 year old; is very hearty, and rides about to look after the game in Mr. Edward Wortley's liberty. Wortley Hall, in which Nevison's father was employed as a steward, is still a very famous building in Wortley village near Sheffield. However there is no Wortley Hall anywhere in the Leeds/Pontefract area. Also, Pilley and Tankersley, mentioned in the diary entry, are immediately adjectent to Wortley Village near Sheffield. - Mike. An account of the gentleman highwayman John Nevison written by Marie Campbell and titled "The Devil Takes The Highway" was available from Whins Wood Publishing House, Keighley. Unfortunately it appears to be out of print.

john nevison : definition of john nevison and synonyms of john nevison (English) John Nevison John Nevison (1639 – 4 May 1684), also known as William Nevison, was one of Britain's most notorious highwaymen , a gentleman-rogue supposedly nicknamed Swift Nick by King Charles II after a renowned 200-mile (320 km) dash from Kent to York to establish an alibi for a robbery he had committed earlier that day. The story inspired William Harrison Ainsworth to include a modified version in his novel Rookwood , in which he attributed the feat to Dick Turpin . There are suggestions that the feat was actually undertaken by one Samuel Nicks. Nevison was born in Wortley near Barnsley in present-day South Yorkshire and initially worked as an exciseman around Barnsley before turning to crime, operating from the Talbot Inn at Newark . He had a reputation for not using violence against his victims, most of whom he and his gang attacked along a stretch of the Great North Road between Huntingdon and York.

The famous ride from Kent to York took place early one summer's morning in 1676, after Nevison had robbed a sailor at Gad's Hill, near Rochester, Kent who recognised him. Nevison escaped, using a ferry to cross the Thames at Tilbury , and then galloping via Chelmsford , Cambridge and Huntingdon to York (some 200 miles (300 km) from the scene of the crime), where he arrived at sunset. There he ensured he met the city's Lord Mayor , entering into a wager on a bowls match. When he was subsequently arrested and tried for the Gad's Hill robbery, he produced the Lord Mayor to support his alibi . The court believed his claim and he was found not guilty of that particular robbery. Nevison was, however, found guilty of theft and transported to Tangier later that same year. He returned to England and life as a highwayman in 1681. He was eventually arrested at the Three Houses Inn in Sandal Magna near Wakefield and tried for the murder of Darcy Fletcher, a constable who had tried to arrest him near Howley Hall in Batley .

[1] He was hanged at York Castle in May 1684 and buried in an unmarked grave in St Mary's church, Castlegate. References Walker, J.W. (1966), Wakefield its History and People Vol.1&2 3rd Edn, S.R. Publishers External links Highwaymen: capture and punishment | The Gazette The Gazette: 350 Years Highwaymen: capture and punishment The word ‘highwayman’ is thought to have entered the English language in 1617, but became a more ubiquitous term after the English Civil War, when outlawed, disaffected, pistol-owning royalist officers – unskilled in trade and unable to find work – sought means of supporting themselves by robbery on the road. Romanticised in legend, the line between romantic folklore and criminal fact has at times been blurred. But what is clear is that in 1692, an ‘Act of Parliament for the Apprehending of Highway Men’ established monetary reward for the capture of highwaymen, and immunity to those who gave away their accomplices. Appeals for those yet to be captured were circulated in the burgeoning press.

The Gazette contains descriptions of these notorious men who terrorised the country’s roads with a certain amount of flair, and the occasional show of violence. Richard Turpin Dick Turpin is probably the most famous of all highwaymen. An appeal for the capture of Turpin and other wanted criminals of the ‘Essex gang’, with whom Turpin began life as a serial (sometimes violent) thief, appeared in The Gazette in 1734 ( Gazette issue 7379 ).

This was for the poaching of deer, at that time a capital offence (since the passing of the Black Act, 1723, Gazette issue 6574 ), before he turned to highway robbery: ‘The Persons undernamed are charged upon Oath for committing several Robberies in Essex, Middlesex, Surry, and Kent, and are not yet taken, for each of whom a Reward of Fifty Pounds is advertised in the Gazettes of the 4th and 7th of January last past, and of the 8th and 11th of this Instant February.’ One member, Samuel Gregory, is described as ‘about Five Feet Seven Inches high, has a Scar about an Inch and half long in his light Cheek, is fresh colour’d, wears a brown Wig, and about 23 Years old, is a Smith or Farrier by Trade.’ Thomas Rowden was ‘a little Man, well-set, fresh coloured and full faced, has small Pockholes in his Face, wears a Blue Grey Coat, and A light Wig, a Pewterer by Trade, aged about Thirty Years’ and Herbert Haines, ‘a Barber or Perriwig maker by Trade… is about Five Feet Seven Inches

 high, of a pale Complexion, wears a brown Wig, and a Brick colour'd Cloth Coat, aged about 24 Years.’ And Richard Turpin, ‘a Butcher by Trade, is a tall fresh colour'd Man, very much marked with the Small Pox about 26 Years of Age, about Five Feet Nine Inches high, lived some Time ago at White-chappel, and did lately Lodge somewhere about Millbank, Westminster, wears a Blew Grey Coat, and a light natural Wig.’ The gang were far from lovable rogues, often torturing the inhabitants of the houses they broke into to force them to reveal where their valuables were hidden.

Turpin shoots Matthew King and Thomas Morris A number of Gazette issues contain an advertisement for the capture of Dick Turpin in June 1737. By now, Turpin had escaped to his old haunt, Epping Forest, where he was hiding following the shooting of Matthew King, also a highwayman (thought to be in error). Turpin was spotted by a servant of the forest’s keepers, Thomas Morris, who he shot and killed when Morris had attempted to capture him.

The reward was now a significant £200 for this wanted man ( Gazette issue 7612 ): ‘Whereas it has been represented to the King, that Richard Turpin did, on Wednesday the Fourth Day of May last, barbarously murder Thomas Morris, Servant to Henry Tomson, one of the Keepers of Epping Forest; and that the said Richard Turpin hath, at divers Times, committed several notorious Felonies and Robberies in and near the said Forest, and other Places near the Cities of London and Westminster; His Majesty, for the better discovering and bringing the said Richard Turpin to Justice, it pleased to promise his most gracious Pardon to any one of the Accomplices of the said Richard Turpin, who shall discover him, so that he may be apprehended and convicted of any of the said Offences.

'And as a further Encouragement, his Majesty is pleased to promise a Reward of Two Hundred Pounds to any Person or Persons who shall discover the said Criminal, for as he may be apprehended and convicted as aforesaid, to be paid upon such Conviction, over and above all the Rewards to which the said Person or Persons may otherwise be entitled.’ It goes on to again describe Turpin’s appearance: ‘The said Richard Turpin was born at Thacksted, in the County Essex, is about Thirty Years of Age, by Trade a Butcher, about Five Feet Nine Inches high, of a brown Complexion, very much marked with the Small Pox, his Cheek bones broad, his Face thinner towards the Bottom, his Visage short, pretty upright, and broad about the Shoulders.’ Turpin escaped to York under the alias John Palmer. After robbing farmhouses and stealing horses in the area, he was arrested and imprisoned in York Castle, and was soon given the death sentence. Dressed in a new frock coat, Turpin was led to the gibbet and hanged, aged 34, on 7 April 1739.

John ‘Swift Nick’ Nevison Yorkshire-born John Nevison, also known as William Nevison, was a notorious robber and highwayman, about which there are many conflicting stories. What separates him from Dick Turpin is that he is said to have shunned violence and only robbed the rich. The nickname ‘Swift Nick’ was coined (allegedly by King Charles II) after Nevison had ridden a remarkable 200 miles to York from Kent in one day in 1676 to enable him to have an alibi after he had carried out a robbery. Once in York, he left his exhausted horse at an inn and laid a bet at a bowls match in clean clothes, making sure to engage the Lord Mayor of York in conversation. As travelling such a distance in a day was unthinkable at the time, this alibi was believable enough for him to be found not guilty. Nevison’s gang of six outlaws met at the Talbot Inn at Newark and robbed travellers along the Great North Road in the years that followed. He was arrested several times, and his escape from jail in 1681 led to a public call for his capture.

He had been sentenced to transportation to Tangier before his escape, when he went on to murder a constable, Darcy Fletcher, who was trying to arrest him ( Gazette issue 1664 ): ‘Whereas John Nevison, committed at York Assizes in the year 1676 for Robbery and Horse stealing, was afterwards reprieved, upon promise to discover his Accomplices, and continuing in Goale for some years after, without making any such Discovery, he was at length ordered to be transported, and being taken out of Goale and listed in Captain Grahams Company designed for Tangier. He immediately ran away, and has ever since absconded himself, and subsisted by Stealing and Robbing upon the High Ways, especially in the Countys of York, Derby, and Nottingham, and hath lately Murdered one Fletcher, who had a Warrant from a justice of Peace to apprehend him.

This is to give notice that His Majesty hath been pleased to Order the Right Honourable the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury to cause the sum of Twenty pounds, to be paid to such Person or Persons as shall apprehend and secure the said Nevison to bring him to justice.’ Perhaps this call helped to enable his capture – after which he again escaped in 1681, this time by playing dead and procuring an accomplice to pretend to be a doctor and pronounce him dead of the plague. He was arrested for the final time in 1684, and was hanged at the Knavesmire, York. Claude Duval Reputedly the most gallant of all highwaymen, Duval was born in Normandy in 1643 and moved to England to become a footman to the Duke of Richmond. At some point he turned to highway robbery, operating roads leading to London from the north. During one robbery attempt, Duval the charmer took only a small amount of loot when the gentleman victim allowed him to dance a coranto with his wife, later accepting only £100 of the £400 her husband had on his person.

This incident was immortalised in a painting by William Powell Frith, but the story has many versions. Nevertheless, the authorities offered a large reward for Duval’s capture, and on 20 January 1669 ( Gazette issue 437 ), confirmation of the execution at Tyburn of this courteous rogue for six robberies was published: ‘London, Jan.

21 On Monday last at the Sessions held at The Old Bailey for the City of London and County of Middlesex, was condemned that notorious highway man and Robber Claude de Val, Six Indictments having been found against him, of many more that were there ready to be proved if it had been necessary; this day he was publickly executed at Tyburn, His Majesty having immediately upon his first being taken, excluded him from all hopes of pardon, upon what intercession soever, He having notwithstanding His Majesties Proclamations, persevered in his infamous course of life in defiance of justice and in great affront to His Majesties Government.’ An excerpt from the inscription on Duval's gravestone at St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden, reads: ‘Here lies Du Vall: Reader, if Male thou art/Look to thy purse; if Female, to thy heart.’ Philip Twysden Kent-born Philip Twysden was consecrated as Bishop of Raphoe from 1747 to 1752, having been nominated by King George II. An Oxford graduate and doctor of civil law, he is said to have become bankrupt after spending the family’s savings in London.

The story goes that he was killed when he turned highwayman and carried out the stagecoach robbery of a doctor one November night on Hounslow Heath in 1752. His promotion appears in The Gazette on 28 February 1746 ( Gazette issue 8619 ): ‘And also for the Promotion of the Reverend Dr. Philip Twysden to the See of Raphoe’. The Gazette documents no wrongdoing on Twysden’s part, perhaps in line with the cause of death being circulated that it was due to an inflammation.

Notification of his death and his successor appeared on 1 January 1753 ( Gazette issue 9229 ): ‘The King has been pleased to order Letters Patent to be passed under the Great Seal of the Kingdom of Ireland, for the Translation of the Right Reverend Father in God, Doctor Robert Downes, Bishop of Down and Connor, to the Bishopric of Raphoe, vacant by the Death of Doctor Philip Twysden, late Bishop thereof.’ Lesser-known highwaymen Other highwaymen who may not have made it into folklore but were no less infamous at the time, were also documented in the Gazette, with some particularly lively descriptions, such as these two men awaiting trial at Newgate Prison in 1679 for whom there is a call for witnesses ( Gazette issue 1446 ): ‘Two notorious Highwaymen, viz Thomas French, formally convicted for Robberies on the Highways at Oxon; he is a tall lusty black Man, short black hair, black hat, a white camlet Coat lined with serge of the same colour, a strait well limbed man speaks a little through the nose, his strait coat of a dark grey colour, and a pair of Buff Breeches, aged 3

0 years or thereabouts.

Benjamin Penrin, a thick, well-fed Man, light brown short hair, pock-broken, with several Cuts in his face, viz. the forehead, cheeks, nose, and chin; he is a reputed Fencer he wears a brown camlet Coat, lined with, blew serge, a light coloured Hat, a strait Coat and Breeches of a cinnamon colour, a Waistcoat underneath of flowered Silk, laced the Sleeves with a silver or counterfeit Lace, aged betwixt 30 and 40.’ Another ‘felonious’ highway robbery, this time of Elizabeth Watson by two men on foot, is described in an advertisement in The Gazette, 11 April 1741 ( Gazette issue 8005 ).

The detail goes as far as to describe a wart on one of the men's fingers: ‘Elizabeth Watson, Wife of William Watson, of Helmsley Blakeamoor, in the County of York, on Thursday the Twenty Sixth Day of March last, between the Hours of Seven and Eight of the Clock in the Morning, was set upon assaulted and robbed in the King's Highway by two Men on Foot, to the said Elizabeth unknown, the one a middle sized Man, with a round full Face, strong made and a little Bulky, with a large crook'd headed Stick in his Hand, having on a dark Moor Grey Coat, light coloured Stockings, and a white Cap under his Hat, seemed to be about Thirty Years of Age, but had then his Face black'd; the other a tall slender Man, long visaged, having on a Drab coloured double breasted Coat, with a pretty large Cape, dark blue worsted Stockings, and a white Cap under his Hat, had a large seeded Wart upon his Right Hand near the low Joint of his fore Finger, and a large round headed Stick in his Hand, seemed to be about Thirty Years of Age, but had his Face then also black'd' It goes on to describe the treatment

 doled out to the unfortunate victim: 'after they had so robb'd her they tyed her Hands behind her Back, and both her Legs together, and wrap'd up a Stone in her Handkerchief and put the same into her Mouth, and so left her'.

There is sometimes a sense of the victim’s turn of phrase in the descriptions, such as of these two highwaymen armed with pistols who robbed brandy merchant James Smith in 1795, for example ( Gazette issue 13853 ): ‘One of which Men was about five Feet Eight Inches high, stout made, and rather inclinable to be fat; appeared to be about Thirty-five Years of Age, dark coloured Hair cut short, and wanted shaving very much’.

In once instance, a community rallied round to assist in the capture of John Shrimpton, a highwayman who had extensively pillaged the area of High Wycombe and who was hanged in 1713 for robbery and murder ( Gazette issue 5028 ): ‘Whereas John Shrimpton, formerly Soap-boiler in the Town of High Wiccombe, in the County of Bucks, a lusty brown Man, generally wears a Wig, has lost the Sight of one eye, but not much disfigured therewith, hath committed several Robberies on the High Ways between London and Oxford (for several Months) to the great detriment of the said Town of Wiccombe: the Inhabitants of the said Town have, besides the 40 l allowed by an Act of Parliament, raised by Contribution the Sum of 20 l more; which said 20 l is lodged in the Hands of Thomas Philipson at the Amsterdam Coffee house behind the Royal Exchange in London, and shall be paid by him to any Person or Persons that shall, before the 25th of December next, apprehend to take the said John Shrimpton, so that he may be brought to justice.’ From John Hawkes, a

 yeoman who was 'violently assaulted' in November 1814 by two men who 'cut off a part of his left ear' before taking money ( Gazette issue 16963 ), to a post boy carrying the Norwich mail in March 1757 told to hand it over to a man on horseback 'otherwise he would blow his Brains out' ( Gazette issue 9684 ), these were far from pleasant encounters.

Post boys would ride alone between inns to collect post, often carrying cash, and were easy targets for highwaymen ( Gazette issue 7920 ). Additional rewards for capture of attackers were frequently offered by the General Post Office over and above the amount offered by the Act of Parliament. The last mounted highway robbery in England is said to have taken place in 1831, with documenting of incidents in The Gazette rare from about 1818. Image: 'Dick Turpin shoots fellow highwayman, Tom King', Mary Evans Picture Library Actions Australian Bushrangers - Highwaymen and Highway Robbery Australian Bush Rangers In the early years of the European settlement of Australia, a Bushranger meant simply a person with the survival skills needed to live in the Australian 'bush'. It inevitably evolved into a term used to refer to those men (and women) who in the 19th-century abandoned all social rights and privileges to take up "Robbery under Arms" as a way of life, using the bush as their base.

Many of these bushrangers gained considerable notoriety in their own short life-times, some even achieving the status of folk heroes, and the term has become overlaid with an aura of glamour from the songs, legends and films that have grown up around the name. Depending on one's point of view (and economic/social status!), they were either unfortunate victims of hard economic times with an understandable contempt for authority, or glorified highway robbers who took to the roads as an easy way to exist. The Early Years The early bushrangers were generally British convicts who had escaped from assigned service in the penal colonies of New South Wales (from 1788) and Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania; from 1804). They had no respect for the rights of others and nothing to lose for their robbery and murder, depriving travellers and farms alike of money, horses, food, guns and clothing. Though greatly feared, many escapees had little chance of surviving in the bush and few lived long in freedom. If they didn't die of starvation, sickness or exposure, they were either killed by the police and landowners .

The Second Wave The glorious heyday of "bushranging" came after the discovery of gold in the 1850s. Many began ambushing gold shipments and raiding those wealthy squatters with properties near the gold towns. The police of the time (those that hadn't already resigned the force to go after gold themselves) were frankly incompetent and corrupt, and had little hope of keeping things under control. This second wave of bushrangers was considerably more at home in the bush than their escaped convict predecessors. They were generally native-born, bush-bred young men, often the sons of free poor settlers, who combined a contempt for authority with a spirit of reckless adventure. No one knows exactly how many there were, but at any time there were probably several hundred active bushrangers. Some of them were motivated by social injustice, and some were simply eager to acquire notoriety, though very few ever achieved the riches to enable them to escape their circumstances.

Some like 'Mad' Dan Morgan were ruthless and vicious murderers, but others were almost admired for their reckless daring and gallant treatment of women, adopting such romanticized names as "Captain Moonlight" or "Captain Thunderbolt." The Ending By the 1880s the last of the bushrangers had vanished. Most of them died by violence at an early age; those who were not shot by the police were usually hanged. The most notorious names that stand out from the crowd include Frank Gardiner, Ben Hall, Fred Ward, and of course... Ned Kelly, who went on to become Australia's unofficial (?) folk hero. RootsWeb: NEVISON-L Re: Swift Nick Date: Tue, 7 Sep 1999 06:43:10 -1000 Hi James, Thank you for your email concerning Swift Nicks. It is hard to separate fact from fiction. He may or may not have left descendants. Any descendants should have had a noticible amount of money. I have vistited the cell in York where John Nevison was held before his hanging. They call him William but that is said to be his brother's name.

Aliases were convenient in his line of work. He was born near Tankersley where another John Nevinson was rector for many years, dying in 1634. Rector John, who names many relatives in his Will, was a nephew of Christopher Nevinson, Doctor of the Civil Law, who was commissary to Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, having married Cranmer's niece. Christopher was born at the Bridge End, Wetheral Parish, Cumberland, about 1510. A lot of work is yet to be done in connecting the several Nevi(n)son families in Yorkshire. I am still waiting to learn your immediate ancestry in order to see if you fit easily into one of the already assembled families. I know that you are on the NEVISON mailing list but under another address. In case you haven't yet heard, the 3rd International Nevi(n)son Reunion is being planned for September 2000 in Kent. I hope that you will be there. Rock >Do you or anyone know more about our famous ancestor.

A highway man called >John Nevison aka Swift Nicks: > >Acclaimed In Song And Story > > I never robbed any poor man yet > And I was never in the tradesman's debt > But I robbed the lords and the ladies so gay > And I carried home the gold to my love straight away. > >Some of the 'gentlemen of the road' were no more than common thieves and >murderers, but there is no denying that more than a few had a flair that was >to make their name and kind famous for centuries after >their deaths. The grave of Dick Turpin in York, today marked only by a worn >headstone, has attracted many tourists to the final resting place of the man >who has come to symbolize the English highwayman. Turpin has been the >subject of more dramas than any other historical villain, but this is >largely due to William HarrisonAinsworth's 1834 novel Rookwood which >sanitized and glamorized the life of the outlaw who began hiscareer as a >cattle thief and had a distinct tendency towards sadism and violence.

It >also introduced Turpin's egendary horse Black Bess (who never actually >existed in real life) and attributed to him the famous ride from London to >York to establish an alibi, which was actually performed by another >highwayman, John Nevison, known as 'Swift Nicks'. > >Nevison was born in 1640, in not London but Yorkshire, the son of a >middle-class merchant. He was given to petty thieving during his school >years and his later employment as a clerk in London. Returning to Yorkshire >after seeing service as a soldier in Flanders, he found himself impoverished >after the death of his parents, and using the last of his money to purchase >a horse, a sword and a pair of pistols, decided to eke out an existence by >the road. With his companions, including Edward Bracey, a relation, Nevison >set up a headquarters at Farndon in Nottinghamshire, and continued to live a >double life alternating between this house and his home in York where he was >known as a respectable member of the community.

The party were traditional >highwayman, and also ran a form of protection racket whereby traders and >farmers who regularly used the North Road they haunted made them a monthly >payment. In return for this, they were never robbed, and kept safe from >robbery by other villains as well. Nevison's success was so great that by >the time he was in his mid-twenties, it was estimated he had made enough >money to permanently retire. By all the accounts of his victims, he was >civil and obliging, especially to the ladies, and never stole from Royalist >parties, being of that inclination himself. > >Nevison was arrested in 1674, 1676, and 1681 after robberies in Yorkshire >and Leicestershire, each time managing to escape, the last with the aid of a >friend who played the part of a doctor and informed the prisoner's jailers >that the man was dying of the plague. After a sleeping draught was secretly >given to him so that he appeared to be dead, they were frantic to get the >contaminated corpse out of the prison as soon as possible.

Nevison was >obediently removed in a coffin, and after recovering from his ordeal, >returned to his old ways. He became the stuff of legends among the common >people, who told stories of how he had died in Leicester jail, but that his >ghost still haunted the roads. However, the authorities were not convinced, >and realized the truth of what had happened. In July 1681, Nevison was >forced to add murder to his crimes by killing an innkeeper who had attempted >to turn him in. He was finally betrayed by a woman who ran the Plough Inn >near Wakefield, where he was fond of stopping after a robbery, and returned >to jail in York Castle. Still vehemently protesting his innocence, he was >hanged, after a short trial, on March 15, 1684. > 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.

Question: John ‘Swift Nick’ Nevison found notoriety as what?
Answer: Highwayman