Richard (Dick) Turpin 1705–1739 was a highwayman, poacher and burglar, and was eventually executed in York for horse theft. Almost 100 years later, he was romanticised by the Victorian novelist William Harrison Ainsworth and became the glamorous anti-hero we know today. Unfortunately, the romantic story of him riding 200 miles from London to York overnight is untrue. The truth behind the stories involving many of the following characters is also difficult to pin down.
‘Black Dick of the North’
Our attraction to stories of evil doings sometimes leads to dark histories being attributed to perfectly innocent historical figures. Another Richard, Sir Richard Beaumont 1574–1631, is a probable example of this. What is known for sure is that, as a cousin of Elizabeth I, he had estates in and around Mirfield. In 1609, he was knighted by James I and in 1610 founded Kirkheaton Grammar School. A JP for the county of York, he commanded the Kirkheaton troop, and was treasurer of the fund for disabled soldiers. In 1625 he became a member of parliament for Pontefract and in 1628, Charles I made him Baronet of Whitley.
But his nickname, ‘Black Dick of the North’, bestowed by James I – probably because he was swarthy and black-haired– was enough to spark tales of a darker nature. It is said that he was a highwayman, murdered a serving girl he rendered pregnant, was a gambler who didn’t pay his debts, and practised black magic. He died unmarried but had two illegitimate daughters, curiously both named Isabella. A bounder and a cad, then, who, according to legend, was either killed in a duel or executed in York – though it isn’t beyond the capabilities of the judiciary of the time for it to have been both; executions back then were designed to make sure that the transgressor didn’t do it again – it’s the only way.
To top all that he is said to haunt Black Dick’s temple each year on the night of 5 July with his chopped-off head tucked underneath his arm. Ya pays ya money and ya takes your choice which of these stories is nearer the truth, I suspect it’s a mixture of both, but never let the truth spoil a good story.
This brings to mind the story of a local lady whose name I will not divulge. When investigating this aspect of local history, she entered into Google search the words ‘Black Dick’ and got the shock of her life. I swear this is true, honest M’lud.
The photo is of Black Dick’s Temple overlooking Mirfield.
Robin Hood
This story brings us nicely to Robin Hood who is buried nearby at Kirklees Priory. Legend has it that on returning from the Crusades, he found that his lands had been stolen by the wicked Sheriff of Nottingham. Being of noble birth and highly skilled with both bow and sword, he managed to put together a band of merry men who had also been wronged by the wicked sheriff. They became highway men, robbers and thieves, but to justify it they gave some to the poor. He also became friends with a local rotund clergyman and very, very friendly with a local lady of nobility who went by the name of Marian.
It may come as a disappointment to some, but I have it on good authority that this is again entirely fictional. The reason I include it is that the story shows that wrongdoing carried out by someone with a charismatic personality – especially if it benefits the less fortunate – will be overlooked, perhaps condoned and even, although we might not want to admit it, admired.
American gangsters – the modern-day Robin Hoods?
John Herbert Dillinger 1903–1934, and Alphonse Gabriel Capone 1899–1947 were both American gangsters, they became influential and notorious during the depression of 1929–1939 and the alcohol prohibition era of 1920–1933.
The depression caused hardship to many, particularly the poor who were unable to find work or feed their families. Neither could they drown their sorrows with cheap booze or distil their own to sell for a few dollars. They inevitably saw the charismatic Dillinger, who was a bank robber, and the equally charismatic Capone, who distributed cheap booze, as hero figures willing to stand up to the authorities.
They had the reputation of giving to charities, or at least not taking from the poor, and were often described as modern-day Robin Hoods. The media of the time often exaggerated their exploits and colourful personalities but these two and many others of the time were often seen as the working man’s saviours and adulated by many. Even the authorities clambered to have their photos taken with them, as this one shows.
On the left is sheriff Lillian Holley, in the centre with his arm around Dillinger is chief prosecutor Robert Estill and on the right with his arm on Estill in a dominating pose is John Dillinger.
Dick Turpin and John Dillinger both died in their 30s. Turpin was executed and Dillinger was shot and killed by the police while trying to flee from a brothel, where he was recovering from a previous shootout. Capone spent the years 1931–1939 in prison and was then released into a Baltimore hospital suffering from late-stage syphilis. He lived the rest of his life as a sad recluse at his Florida estate and died of a heart attack in 1947, a few days after his 48th birthday. My guess is that he would have preferred to have gone in a blaze of glory like Dillinger.
Adolf Hitler
The last of my characters adulated by the masses, in this case by millions, is Adolf Hitler 1889–1945.
Hitler came to power in the early 1930s at a time when the German financial system was falling apart, not helped by the ongoing punitive war reparations required from the country by the Treaty of Versailles first signed in 1919. A charismatic figure like the others mentioned above, Hitler succeeded by seizing the moment: preying on the German people’s feelings of resentment and betrayal, he offered them someone to blame (see the ramble ‘Visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau’).
Hitler was no Robin Hood. He was a bully and a gangster surrounded by like-minded party members who ruled by terror and barbarism. Yet, he still received uncontrolled screaming adulation reminiscent of the Beatles concerts in the 60s. Hitler died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound a few days after his 56th birthday. Unless you believe in the rumour that he was seen working in a chippy in Barnsley in 1965, amazingly the very same chippy that Elvis worked at until his recent retirement.
The power of notorious figures
There are women who have become so obsessed by the power of these sorts of people that they have offered their hand in marriage to murderers on death row in the US. Surely this is madness.
It never ceases to amaze me how people can be uncontrollably captivated by criminals and murderers. There are other notorious names that have been romanticised that could easily have been added to this list, such as Jack the Ripper, the Great Train Robbers, the Kray twins, Billy the Kid, Bonnie and Clyde, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Edward (Ned) Kelly. In fact, I feel another ramble coming on, which of course in a tiny way is adding to their notoriety.
