Dick Turpin (1705 -1739) was a highway man and horse thief who paid the ultimate price for his way of life
“As he went along the streets in the tumbril he bowed to the ladies in the crowds who had come to see him and doffed his hat. Then having arrived at the York Tyburn on the Tadcaster Road, he mounted the ladder to the scaffold and talked to the hangman for half-an-hour before suddenly throwing himself off and into eternity” (Extract from A. Stacpoole, The Noble City of York).
A commemorative stone can be found in St George’s churchyard where he was reputedly interred in quick lime after his body was stolen, recovered and then re-buried.
He may well have been a bad egg, but his name lives on in legend. Not sure I agree with hanging someone for the theft of a couple of horses. But different times, different remedies. The end I guess he most likely knew would end badly, he could just as easily been shot and killed by the authorities.
ReplyDeleteHe killed at least one man, possibly two, as well as the highway robbery and theft. My daughter is a big fan of 'Horrible Histories', and the Dick Turpin segment is one of her (our!) favourites. Imagine the odds of being caught out by a postman who identified your writing on a letter because he'd taught you to write at school many years previously!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter and I are also fans of the show. The Dick Turpin song is one of my personal favorites. Matt totally failed in de-glamorizing the highway robber as he was completely sexy as Dick Turpin. Another favorite of mine was another one he was the lead in, the Patchacuti one. :D
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