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Nevison was tried and convicted for the theft of a horse and highway robbery at York assizes in 1677. He was imprisoned in York Castle but, on offering to inform against his accomplices was pardoned and was to be transported. In 1681 he was taken from gaol to be enlisted in a company of soldiers
283:
near
Gravesend. His famous ride to York, usually associated with the name of Dick Turpin, earned his title to fame, and King Charles, on hearing of his exploits, granted him a free pardon and dubbed him 'Swift Nicks'". The Gad's Hill reference and the pardon both appear in Defoe's account.
130:
In the mid-1670s his activities were under investigation and he was associated with men named Edmund Bracy, Thomas
Wilbore, Thomas Tankerd, John Bromett, and William (or Robert) Everson and John Brace or Bracy, which may have been his alias. The robbers used safe houses at
613:
central figure, gallant young gentleman, one
Nicholas Nevinson, who eventually takes to the road, and is forthwith engaged in long series of adventures, the outcome of which are the winning of pretty girl's hand, royal pardon for his
115:. After his discharge he returned to England and took care of his father for several years before adopting the same profession as many of his contemporary ex-soldiers, that of a highwayman. Basing himself around
111:). He ran away from home at the age of 13 or 14 and may have ended up in London. Forced to flee to Holland to evade the authorities he enrolled in the Duke of York's army and took part in the 1658
139:
and divided their spoils at the Talbot Inn at Newark. Nevison developed a reputation as a gentleman highwayman, never using violence against his victims, always polite, and only robbing the rich.
799:
369:
279:
for orchestra has as its fourth movement "Swift Nicks of Gad's Hill", with the comment that "Nicholas
Nevinson was a highwayman of the period who plied his business at
186:. He was taken to York where, because he had breached his pardon, was "told him he must dye, for he was a terrour to the country". Nevison was hanged at the
413:
202:
Nevison was idolised by the public, and ballads about his deeds were popular centuries after in the form of a folk song "Bold
Nevison the Highwayman" (
269:, Nevison is a gentleman who is cheated out of his fortune when gambling, wins several duels and finally profits from King Charles's clemency.
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779:
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match. When he was arrested and tried for the Gad's Hill robbery, he produced the Lord Mayor to support his alibi and was found not guilty.
804:
789:
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546:
354:
Swiftnicks' Christian name may be found in a postscript to
Jackson's Recantation 1674, in which 'Samuel Swiftnicks' tells the reader
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158:
and
Huntingdon to York some 200 miles (320 km) from the scene of the crime. He arrived at sunset and ensured he met the city's
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375:
191:
809:
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but escaped. A reward of £20 was offered for his recapture. He was arrested on 6 March 1684 at the Three Houses Inn in
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and tried for the murder of Darcy
Fletcher, a constable who had tried to arrest him near Howley Hall at Soothill in
547:"Bold Nevison - Percy Grainger ethnographic wax cylinders - World and traditional music | British Library - Sounds"
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The famous ride from Kent to York took place in 1676, after
Nevison had robbed a traveller at Gad's Hill, near
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recorded Taylor singing the song on a phonograph in 1908; the original recording is available on the
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Mr Nicks' Christian name may have been Samuel according to a footnote in the
Newgate Calendar.
85:. There are suggestions that the feat was actually undertaken by Samuel Nicks. The TV series
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603:. Wellington, New Zealand: Wellington Publishing Company. 21 June 1913. p. 9
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had an accomplice of the highwayman, Nick, who earned the nickname "Swiftnick".
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618:-Dick Turpin exploits, and a bright and quite highly respectable future.
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for a robbery he had committed earlier that day. The story inspired
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Wales, Tim (2004). "Nevison , John (d. 1684), highwayman".
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A Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain, Vol. 1
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Swift Nick Nevison the Highwayman – A Yorkshire Legend
658:(1962 ed.). Everyman's Library. pp. 104–105
25:
Blue plaque erected in 2009 at the Three Houses Inn,
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People executed by the Kingdom of England by hanging
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404:
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59:after a renowned 200-mile (320 km) dash from
734:facsimile published by Old Hall Press, Leeds 1993
727:facsimile published by Old Hall Press, Leeds 1993
190:on 4 May 1684 and buried in an unmarked grave in
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705:Wakefield its History and People Vols. 1 & 2
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338:"The Epic Ride to York - Nevison or Swifnicks?"
146:. Nevison escaped, using a ferry to cross the
417:(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
217:knew three verses of a song about Nevison.
75:to include a modified version in his novel
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230:I've now robb'd a gentleman of two-pence,
119:, he targeted those travelling along the
51:, a gentleman rogue supposedly nicknamed
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414:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
407:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
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234:But guilty I've been all my life time,
99:Nevison was born in 1639, probably in
47:, was one of Britain's most notorious
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570:
402:
241:I've always had money in great store;
232:I've neither done murder, nor killed,
81:, in which he attributed the feat to
785:Executed people from South Yorkshire
780:People from Wortley, South Yorkshire
745:William Nevison The Newgate Calendar
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239:I's when that I rode on the highway,
127:in the south and York to the north.
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374:, Wakefield Council, archived from
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39:(1639 – 4 May 1684), also known as
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805:17th-century executions by England
790:British people executed for murder
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795:People executed by Stuart England
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243:And whatever I look from the rich
708:(3rd ed.), S. R. Publishers
682:Hanagan, Mike; Cox, Pat (2012),
308:"Swiftnicks, according to Defoe"
725:Memorials of a Yorkshire Parish
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245:I freely gave it to the poor.
16:English highwayman (1639–1684)
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483:. 27 October 1681. p. 2.
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223:British Library Sound Archive
162:, entering into a wager on a
732:Chronicles of Old Pontefract
438:UK public library membership
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192:St Mary's Church, Castlegate
7:
574:Swift Nick Of The York Road
263:Swift Nick of the York Road
236:So gentlemen do as you will
10:
826:
810:Burials in North Yorkshire
688:, Pat Cox / Mike Hanagan,
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73:William Harrison Ainsworth
526:ballads.bodleian.ox.ac.uk
453:John "Swift Nick" Nevison
250:(Lyrics taken from 1850s
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730:Padgett, Lorenzo (1905)
105:West Riding of Yorkshire
456:, stand and deliver.org
702:Walker, J. W. (1966),
652:Defoe, Daniel (1724).
633:. Goodmusic Publishing
571:Edgar, George (1913).
506:Hanagan & Cox 2012
423:10.1093/ref:odnb/19970
248:
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597:"Some Recent Fiction"
344:. Overtown Miscellany
314:. Overtown Miscellany
227:
24:
631:"Kentish Suite Pack"
775:English highwaymen
577:. Mills & Boon
480:The London Gazette
261:In the 1913 novel
34:
436:(Subscription or
336:Sargent, John S.
306:Sargent, John S.
150:and galloped via
113:Battle of Dunkirk
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117:Newark-on-Trent
109:South Yorkshire
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57:King Charles II
41:William Nevison
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675:Bibliography
660:. Retrieved
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635:. Retrieved
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616:Claude Duval
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605:. Retrieved
601:The Dominion
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579:. Retrieved
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554:. Retrieved
551:sounds.bl.uk
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529:. Retrieved
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458:, retrieved
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426:. Retrieved
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380:, retrieved
376:the original
371:John Nevison
370:
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346:. Retrieved
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316:. Retrieved
311:
301:
276:
271:
267:George Edgar
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213:folk singer
211:Lincolnshire
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176:Sandal Magna
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44:
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37:John Nevison
36:
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27:Sandal Magna
18:
770:1684 deaths
765:1639 births
662:4 September
637:4 September
607:4 September
581:4 September
556:15 December
531:15 December
494:Walker 1966
348:4 September
318:4 September
254:printed in
88:Dick Turpin
83:Dick Turpin
759:Categories
475:"No. 1644"
440:required.)
288:References
281:Gad’s Hill
256:Manchester
188:Knavesmire
170:bound for
160:Lord Mayor
152:Chelmsford
137:Wentbridge
125:Huntingdon
53:Swift Nick
49:highwaymen
293:Citations
252:broadside
225:website.
180:Wakefield
156:Cambridge
31:Wakefield
460:12 April
428:12 April
382:18 April
275:'s 1935
123:between
78:Rookwood
45:Nevinson
723:(1917)
209:). The
172:Tangier
133:Tuxford
101:Wortley
95:History
692:
434:
198:Legacy
184:Batley
148:Thames
178:near
164:bowls
69:alibi
690:ISBN
664:2022
639:2022
609:2022
583:2022
558:2021
533:2021
462:2013
430:2013
384:2013
350:2022
320:2022
207:1082
204:Roud
135:and
65:York
61:Kent
419:doi
265:by
258:.)
63:to
55:by
43:or
761::
611:.
599:.
549:.
524:.
513:^
477:.
411:.
391:^
361:^
352:.
340:.
322:.
310:.
194:.
154:,
103:,
29:,
666:.
641:.
585:.
560:.
535:.
432:.
421::
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
