07/04/2026
"This Rogue is theirs, and we the honeft Folks.
Of Knaves and Fools, we don’t fay that we have neither,
But Knave and Fool are feldom found together."
Epigram on Turpin, by a Gentleman of York
Stamford Mercury (April 1739)
On this day in the year 1739, a notorious felon by the baptismal name of Richard Turpin from the County of Essex went to the gallows at York Tyburn attired in a smart new frock coat and shoes.
Yet in spite of the ignominy of falling prey to body snatchers necessitating an undignified burial in quick lime, his conviction at the York Assizes for the capital offence of stealing a mare, gelding and foal from one Thomas Creasey would soon pave the way for his arrival into the annals of historical legend with whispers of courageous derring-do and a horse named ‘Black Bess’.
And, the myth which swirls around this rogue of a highwayman the good folk of Essex once claimed as their own is now indelibly entangled, along with the remains of the man himself within the chronicles of the City of York.
Requiesce in pace.
⚰ Churchyard of St George. York. UK.
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