Highwayman
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Hardened Villainy Displayed. Chapter 1. The Quiet Woman
The rain, which arrived on Wednesday evening, carried on a biting easterly and persisted throughout the following day. By Thursday at suppertime, news of the cancellation of the Gloucester Diligence had been received without complaint. George Tolley, Landlord of the Quiet Woman, listened as the rain lashed against the inn’s windows. In the hearth, Continue reading
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Illustrious Thieves: Highway Robbery in Early Modern Oxfordshire
In a previous post, we covered the story of the Dunsdon brothers. Today, we are looking at some other Highwaymen who haunted Oxfordshire’s roads during the Early Modern Period. Claude Duval and James Hind are the two most famous highwaymen associated with Oxfordshire. Duval was born in Normandy in 1643. He moved to Paris Continue reading
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Hardened Villainy Displayed
Prologue The night was dark, no hint of moonlight penetrated the thick banks of cloud. The wind blowing from the east brought fast-moving showers that would soon soak anyone foolish enough to be out of doors on such an evening. Better to be inside; in bed, or a tavern, with a welcoming fire and a Continue reading
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Alias ‘Galloping Dick’
The man now most closely associated with Jerry Abershawe was Richard Ferguson Born in either Herefordshire or Hertfordshire, sources differ; sometime in the 1770s, Ferguson earned a reputation as a juvenile delinquent as a young man, leading a gang of teenage boys in myriad criminal activities. Richard’s father was employed as a gentleman’s servant and, consequently, Continue reading
Hellish Fiends, and Brutish Men 