Subscribe to the BlogThe legend of Dick Turpin, the highwayman, as seen in movies and period dramas on TV paints a picture of a swash-buckling devil-may-care type of likeable villain. Although he was certainly a villain, with an arguable devil-may-care attitude towards his victims, the real history is somewhat darker than what romantic legend likes us to believe. Turpin was supposedly born at the Spaniard's Inn in Hampstead in London, but we know from parish records that he was actually born at The Bluebell Inn in Hempstead, Essex.
At 16, Turpin traveled to London and became a butcher's apprentice in Whitechapel, marrying his childhood sweetheart, Elizabeth Millington not long after. When they moved back to Essex in 1728, it is thought that this is when Turpin began his interest in crime as he supposedly began stealing cattle and sheep to supply his butchery business.
We know from police records that Turpin was wanted for stealing stealing two oxen, and after a warrant as raised for his arrest he fled with his wife into the Essex countryside where he fell in with a notorious gang known as the Gregory gang. The gang specialized in forced entry into isolated farms and houses, terrorizing occupants and looting their valuables. In 1735, the London Evening Post regularly reported the exploits of 'The Essex Gang' and King George II offered a price of £50 for their capture. Although there is a lot of conjecture among historians about what Turpin actually was responsible for, there is one piece of evidence which shows that his character had an evil side.
Reads Weekly Journal dated the 8 February 1735 survives and reports of an event that we know from future testimonies by members of the Gregory gang that Turpin took part in. The article read:
"On Saturday night last, about seven o'clock, five rogues entered the house of Widow Shelley at Loughton in Essex, having pistols and threatened to murder the old lady, if she would not tell them where her money lay, which she obstinately refusing for some time, they threatened to lay her across the fire, if she did not instantly tell them, which she would not do. But her son being in the room, and threatened to be murdered, cried out, he would tell them, if they would not murder his mother, and did, .... "
The article continues about how the gang then overstayed their welcome drinking wine from the cellar and cooking some meat for their supper before stealing some horses and leaving.
After the 3 ring-leaders of the gang were caught and hanged for one of their crimes, implicating Turpin at the same time, Turpin went into partnership with a Tom King who was another famous highwayman of the time. It is claimed that they met one evening when Turpin attempted to rob King not knowing who he was and King apparently responded: "What is this; dog eat dog?" They formed a companionship and terrorized the local area around Epping Forest. When caught in a shoot-out one night with some police, Turpin accidentally shot King. This is where the legend certainly starts to be embellished as Turpin begins his now infamous through-the-night ride from London to York. This is supposedly a journey of some 200 miles that Turpin apparently completed in less than 15 hours, reaching York well before news of his misdemeanors could arrive. We know today that even with the strongest of horses this would not have been possible. Various inns along the legendary route claim to have had Turpin as a guest on that night.
After inventing a new life and the identity of a 'John Palmer' in Yorkshire, Turpin now posed as a legitimate horse dealer. It is thought that Turpin knew little about horse breeding and mainly made his money by stealing horses and selling them, sometimes back to their original owners. Having no money and being drunk and disorderly one night, Turpin was put into jail, and the authorities inquired as to how Palmer made his money and learned of outstanding complaints against him for horse stealing in Lincolnshire. Turpin was transferred to York's debtors' prison (now part of York Castle Museum) .
Although he was never convicted of being a highwayman, Turpin was convicted of being a horse-rustler. On 22 March 1739, 'John Palmer alias Richard Turpin' was convicted at the Grand Jury House in York on two indictments of horse-rustling. On 7 April 1739, Dick Turpin was taken through York in an open cart to arrive at Knavesmire (now York racecourse) where he was hanged. The York Courant, covering the event, notes Turpin's brashness: "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."
Turpin's body is said to have been buried at St George's Church, York with the headstone reading simply "John Palmer". However it is claimed that shortly after the burial, his body was dug up and stolen by body-snatchers working for anatomists. It has also been claimed that the body was quickly recovered and reburied in the same spot in the churchyard, this time being covered with quicklime to destroy the remains. There is no headstone at the precise location, which today remains undiscovered.
By: Jonathan J.
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