Highwaymen

Highwayman (pl. -men) - разбойник, бандит; thug - главорез, убиец, гангстер; wager - бас, облог.

Lies, Exaggeration and Truth The legend of the highwayman is that of a gentleman. High or low born, the legendary highwayman dressed well (with a kerchief over his face), was well-mannered, and used threats rather than violence. "Stand and Deliver" and "Your money or your life," were his greetings. This legend is one of long standing. In 1737 the Abbe le Blanc wrote of Englishmen's attitudes toward highwaymen: "Tales of their cunning and generosity were in the mouths of everybody, and a noted thief was a kind of hero."(Newark, 21) Thomas de Quincey (1785-184) wrote that being a highwayman required "a bountiful endowment of qualifications; strength, health, agility, and excellent horsemanship" and that "the very noblest specimen of man, considered as an animal, were the mounted robbers who cultivated their profession on the great roads." (Newark, 22) Henry Fielding was so concerned about the romanticism attached to the highwayman, that he asked Garrick to suppress his production of The Beggar's Opera, which made a hero out of a highwayman. (Newark, 25) Although there were well-born and well-mannered highwaymen, they were far outnumbered by those who practiced their trade with brutality. Violence and rape were common. When Tom Wilmot had difficulty removing a woman's ring, he cut off her finger.(Newark, 27) Origins of the Legend The gentleman highwayman has its origins in the English Civil Wars. When Charles I was defeated, many Royalist officers were ruined, their estates confiscated, and they were left without resources. These cavaliers set the pattern for the gentleman robber. Condemned to the gallows, former Cavalier Captain Phillip Stafford wore his finest clothes, and had a final drink at a tavern, promising to pay for it on his way back. Captain James Hind was the epitome of the gentleman robber. Hind was not a gentleman by birth, but the son of a saddlemaker who had a distinguished career in the civil war. He was also known to help the poor. Hind fought with Charles II. In 1651 he was arrested and hanged, drawn and quartered for treason rather than robbery. (Lives, 61) Captain Zachary Howard, a former Cavalier, reportedly held up Cromwell himself. However, he was no gentleman. Learning Lord General Thomas Fairfax was sending supplies to his home, Howard attacked General Fairfax's house, raping Lady Fairfax and her daughter while Fairfax was away. Highwaymen's Demise The demise of the highwayman began with the establishment of the Horse Patrol around London in 1805, and was furthered by the founding of the Metropolitan Police in 1829. Although highwaymen persisted in isolated areas, the growth of a paid police force meant their heyday was over. The last major gang was the "the Hanham and Cock-road Gang," a group of five men who robbed and brutalized residents around Brislington and Kensham. They were apprehended by a police sergeant in 1850. (Newark, 34) Highwaymen in 17th and 18th Century England Houndslow Heath was, for 100 years, between the 17th and 18th centuries, 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 frequently used as his base the Old Swan Inn at Wroughton-on-the-Green in Buckinghamshire. Turpin was a Yorkshireman, born 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 almost certainly was not made by him but by another highwayman, 'Swift Nicks' Nevison during the reign of Charles 2nd. 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 Ј100! Duval was hanged in 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." 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. One of my ancestors, 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 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 bled to death when Tom and Harry 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. Few highwaymen survived beyond their early twenties - they were usually betrayed for 'blood money' or were captured through their own stupidity.