Turpin! Dangerous, but daring, charming and quite sexy, Dick Turpin roamed 17th Century England, waylaying wealthy travellers, brandishing his pistols and shouting ‘Stand and Deliver! Your money or your life!’ He took whatever he wanted, but for the right ladies, this might just have been a kiss. Then, with a swirl of his cloak, and a hearty laugh, he would gallop away on his wonderful horse, Black Bess. Nobody could catch Turpin! He was a busy chap, and he certainly got around. Wherever you go, it seems there are anecdotes about his adventures, places are named after him, and he was evidently in and out of an awful lot of pubs.
Our Turpin. These are Turpin tales from our part of Derbyshire: He was born in Horsley and stayed in a cottage next to the church and in a farmhouse. He robbed people at Kilburn Toll Bar and on Dunge Hill near Heage. He stayed at The Peacock Inn, Oakerthorpe, and lost one of his pistols there. His ghost comes back, from time to time. Maybe he is looking for it. He stayed at the Bull Inn in Higham. Although this pub is long gone, the building is now called ‘Turpin Cottages’. Most famously, he rode from London to York in one day, passing through Blackbrook as he dashed down Dalley lane and over the Chevin. His ghost can sometimes be seen standing at the crossroads on the Ashbourne Road or galloping across the Chevin. Sometimes he trots down Dark Lane. He frequented the Holly Bush at Makeney, and, like most of us, he didn’t want to leave. His ghost is still there. Just down the road, there is a place called ‘Turpins’, named after the great man. He also sits in a tree in Duffield sometimes. If anyone knows which tree, please get in touch.
The Nasty Truth about Turpin. What a Pity. Sorry. He was a violent criminal. Born in Essex in 1705, he probably started his adult life as a butcher. Later, he joined the infamous Essex Gang. They broke into houses, beat up the residents and tortured them until they revealed any hidden valuables. One of their tricks was to hold a person down in the fire. In 1735, most of the other gang members were caught, but Turpin escaped and became a highway robber in the south. After a couple of years, his notoriety was so great that there was £100 reward for anyone who could capture him. He fled, eventually settled in Yorkshire, and changed his name to John Palmer. He enjoyed a wealthy lifestyle, funded by highway robbery and livestock theft in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. He did not, however, undertake the epic ride from London to York. That was somebody else. It is probably worth noting that not many people wanting to go from London to York in a hurry would pass through Belper. In the 18th Century, the fastest way would be to follow the Great North Road, part of which is now called the A1. Eventually, Turpin was arrested for stealing horses and threatening an innkeeper in a quarrel. He was held in gaol at York Castle while these and other crimes were investigated. There, he made the fatal blunder of writing a letter to his brother. There was a problem with delivering the letter, and, when it was returned, his handwriting was recognised at the post office, so John Palmer was unmasked as Dick Turpin. He was sentenced to death in 1739. The curious flocked to York Castle to catch a glimpse of the famous criminal. He played up to his audience, telling jokes and drinking. On the day of his execution, he dressed in fine clothes, shouted out about his crimes and murders, bowed to the spectators and flung himself off the ladder. He met his end in grand, swashbuckling style, however brutish his life had been. The myth making which grew around Turpin seeded sites and stories all around the country, Derbyshire included. There is no historical reason why Dick Turpin should be linked to this area, given that he was most active first in the south, then in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. This does not, of course, prove that he never set foot here. Just that it is not very likely. There were plenty of other highway robbers in the 17th and 18th centuries. Some of them operated in Derbyshire. The roads, such as there were, were dangerous places. Turpin is not a very rare name. 3,748 people bear that name today. It may have come from Old Norse (Thor), or from the Latin, Turpis (meaning base or ugly – some early Christians adopted certain names to show humility). Place names can have very long histories indeed, and Turpins on the Makeney Road was already called Le Turpins in 1596. When places are named ‘Turpin’ it does not always mean Dick Turpin, although some buildings are given that name as a link to folklore. The holiday rental on the Ashbourne Road in Blackbrook is an example of that. We have got roads (not very good ones, in Turpin’s day), we have got highwaymen, we have got Turpins. We have probably not got Dick Turpin, though. So why all the stories?
Birth of a Legend Well-dressed vagabonds with twinkling eyes, doomed anti-heroes, highwaymen riding, riding up to the old inn door…. If in truth they were nasty criminals, where did the romance come from? Even when highway robbery was common, right up to the early 19th century, the highwayman, although feared, had a certain cachet. Maybe it was the boldness, maybe it was because they travelled freely. Some famous individuals had a reputation for style and gallantry. Some were known to treat poor people generously. John Nevison, Claude Duval and Tom King were all associated with these more attractive traits. They would still rob you blind, of course. The popular highwayman really took off as a story character after Turpin’s death, and often bears his name. The first source for this character was published in 1739: ‘The Genuine History of the life of Richard Turpin’, by Richard Bayes. It was not very genuine. Publications about notorious criminals were a popular source of entertainment, so stories spread far, no matter how slender a relationship they had with the truth. Much later, in 1834, a gothic romance novel – ‘Rookwood’ by Harrison Ainsworth was published. This story features Turpin as a dashing adventurer with a horse called Black Bess. This fictional Turpin is the one who made the epic ride from London to York, and he is the one who worked every old road in the country, staying at every old inn. Highwayman stories were so popular in the 19th century that it was felt the young were becoming corrupted by their influence. 4th February, 1852: The Derby Mercury reported that a 16 year old boy tried to perform a highway robbery, and that he had ‘The Life and Adventures of Tom King the Highwayman’ in his pocket. 13th August 1867: Several papers carried the story that George Spendlove, a milk delivery boy, shot an old lady in Belper. George had spent many hours reading highwayman tales. Be careful what you read! You might end up a highwayman.
Does that Wrap it up for our Turpin, then? We may not have a proven historical Turpin. That’s not the end, though. There is more to uncover here. Come back next time. Meanwhile…. Have you seen a mysterious figure, with or without horse, in any of our Highwayman hotspots? You are not alone. Sightings are part of our living heritage. Please email [email protected] to share your story. References Most of the information above is available in plenty of places, but these were the main sources: ‘The Haunted Places of Derbyshire’ by Jill Armitage. David Bell’s ‘Derbyshire Ghosts & Legends’ ‘The Lore of the Land’ by Westwood and Simpson. http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout
