Search results
Richard Turpin ( bapt. 21 September 1705 – 7 April 1739) was an English highwayman whose exploits were romanticised following his execution in York for horse theft.
- The man and the myth are entirely different. False perceptions about Dick Turpin can be traced to William Harrison Ainsworth’s 1834 novel Rockwood. Ainsworth casts Turpin as a dashing highwayman gallantly outwitting corrupt authorities, performing robberies in a gentlemanly, almost honourable fashion.
- Turpin began his career as a butcher. Turpin was born in Hempstead, Essex, in 1705. His father’s job as a butcher offered him early direction in his career but also a route into crime.
- He did not discriminate between rich and poor. Turpin is often depicted as a Robin Hood figure stealing from the wealthy, a hero to the downtrodden. This was simply not the case.
- Turpin committed a series of robberies in 1735. Turpin’s career as a highwayman began with a series of robberies between Epping Forest and Mile End starting on 10 April 1735.
Mar 1, 2024 · As a butcher in the 1730s, Dick Turpin began stealing sheep and cattle, bringing him to the attention of the notorious deer-poaching Essex (or Gregory) Gang. As his association with them increased, Turpin got involved with their signature crime of raiding homes.
Dick Turpin was an English robber who became celebrated in legend and fiction. Son of an alehouse keeper, Turpin was apprenticed to a butcher, but, having been detected at cattle stealing, he joined a notorious gang of deer stealers and smugglers in Essex.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Nov 1, 2022 · Known in our collective imagination as a dashing highwayman who robbed the rich, saved damsels in distress and eluded the law, Georgian highwayman Dick Turpin (1705 –1739) is one of the most notorious criminals of the 18th century. However, our perception of Turpin is ultimately almost entirely untrue. In reality, he was a highly ...
It’s not just impeccable manners and sartorial elegance that we wrongly associate with Dick Turpin. One of his most famous exploits, the ride through the night from Kent to York, was actually carried out by a man called John ‘Swift Nick’ Nevison, some 30 years before Turpin was born.
Feb 27, 2024 · Dick Turpin was an 18th-century English highwayman whose exploits became famous almost 100 years after he was executed for horse theft. The romanticized image of Turpin as a Robin Hood figure is largely a myth perpetuated by works of fiction — but that hasn’t stopped authors and playwrights from idolizing the career criminal for ...
