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THE ROAD TO HOUNSLOW – STAND AND DELIVER
The 81 bus traveled between Slough Station
via Langley, Colnbrook and London Airport to Hounslow Bus Station. Colnbrook was a 17th Century
village with many hills and bridges over the winding River Coln. As the bus left the village confines and came
to the western entrance of London Airport at Harmondsworth, it passed by the
Head Office of Penguin Books. Penguin
Books was headquarters here from 1937 until 1990s when it merged with Viking
and was moved to London to form the Penguin Group.
 |
| Scenes of Slough Slough, once decried by John Betjeman in a ten-stanza poem and later as the setting for the television programme, The Office |
Hounslow was once,
after London, the most important coaching centre in England. Today, it is a London Borough with a centre
and the usual shops, but part of the old Heath still remains and is one of
London’s largest nature reserves. The
Heath was once part of the extensive Forest of Middlesex, which between the 17th
and 19th Centuries covered over 25 square miles. London Airport was built on an area of the
forest, as was much of the surrounding urban area.
Hounslow Heath was used
for training purposes by both sides during the Civil War, which was fought
between 1642 and 1651. I have to admit
that I share the view along with many historians that these series of battles
should be collectively referred to as the EnglishRevolution since this technically was what it was and also can serve as a
reminder to both the Americans and the French that ours was the first. The War
was between Parliamentarians or Roundheads
and Royalists or Cavaliers and
consisted of three wars: the first two were against Charles I (1642-1646 and 1648-1649) and the third, against Charles II (1649-1651). The wars ended on 3rd September,
1651 when the Roundheads proved
victorious at the Battle of Worcester. The wars resulted in the beheading of Charles
I at Whitehall on 30th January 1649, the exile of his son, Charles
II and the abolishment of the monarchy and the establishment of the Commonwealth of England (1649-1653) and
then the Protectorate (1653-1659)
under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell.
What the wars and establishment of the new rule actually meant in terms
of the constitution was that the monarchy could no longer govern without
Parliament’s consent, which marked the first time in modern history that such a
precedent was set.
In addition to its use
as a training site, Hounslow Heath has a colourful past. For over two hundred years, the Heath was the
most dangerous place in England. Since
both the Bath and Exeter Roads crossed it and were extensively used by the
wealthy travelling to Windsor and the West Country, the Heath became the haunt
of Highwaymen, as it could provide ample cover for such Gentlemen of the road. The
first such brigands were Royalists
officers who took to the open road when
they were labeled as outlaws with the founding of the Commonwealth. Once a coach
came to a halt at the request of a Highwayman, occupants were told to Stand and Deliver, which required them
to hand over their valuables. A
Highwayman’s life was short and few lived beyond their twenties either being captured
or killed during the act of robbery or else betrayed for the bounty offered by
the authorities and hanged in public as places such as Tyburn (close to where Marble Arch now stands). Once dead, their bodies were
often returned to the site of their crimes where they were left to hang and rot
and act as a deterrent to others. Such Gibbets, as these gruesome remains were
called, were once so plentiful on Hounslow Heath that they became landmarks and
marked on the maps of the 18th Century.
Many Highwaymen gained popular support with the poor since their victims were most often the rich. Although many were pure villains, some resembled Robin Hood and gave their ill gotten gains to the poor and never stole from women and children. Their popularity was such at one time that it was seen as an honour to be held-up and robbed by a gentleman-robber.
Highwaymen entered the popular culture of the 18th Century when poems and songs were written about them and their exploits. In 1728, John Gay wrote The Beggar’s Opera, which was produced on the London stage and ran for 62 performances, a record at that time. The Opera satirised Italian Opera and has a highwayman, Macheath, as its hero. Some critics including Henry Fielding author of Tom Jones became disturbed at the romanticism associated with highwaymen and asked that the production be withdrawn.
The Beggar’s Opera was revived over the years and was made into a film in 1953 with Laurence Olivier as Macheath and a cast including Dorothy Tutin, Hugh Griffith, Stanley Holloway and, making his film debut, Kenneth Williams.
Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill wrote a new musical adaptation of the Opera, Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera) in 1928 setting it in the 1800’s and introducing a socialist leaning that caused grief to Hitler and his henchmen. Most of the music of this production was new and introduced audiences to both the actress Lotte Lenya and to the song, Mack the Knife (original title is Die Moritat von Mackie Messer) which has since been given both a jazz and a big-band treatment by Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and Bobby Darin.
Life is a jest,
and all things show it,
I thought so once, and now I know it.
------oooOOOooo------
 |
| Cavalier and Roundheads Left: The Gay Cavalier by Franz Hals |
 |
| Left: Charles I; Middle: Oliver Cromwell; Right: Charles II (known as the Merrie Monarch) |
 |
| A romantic view of the Highwayman, Claude Duval |
Many Highwaymen gained popular support with the poor since their victims were most often the rich. Although many were pure villains, some resembled Robin Hood and gave their ill gotten gains to the poor and never stole from women and children. Their popularity was such at one time that it was seen as an honour to be held-up and robbed by a gentleman-robber.
Highwaymen entered the popular culture of the 18th Century when poems and songs were written about them and their exploits. In 1728, John Gay wrote The Beggar’s Opera, which was produced on the London stage and ran for 62 performances, a record at that time. The Opera satirised Italian Opera and has a highwayman, Macheath, as its hero. Some critics including Henry Fielding author of Tom Jones became disturbed at the romanticism associated with highwaymen and asked that the production be withdrawn.
 |
| Top Left: Hogath's Highwayman based on John Gay's The Beggar's Opera; Top Right: Illustration of a scene from The Beggar's Opera; Bottom Left: John Gay; Bottom Right: Henry Fielding |
The Beggar’s Opera was revived over the years and was made into a film in 1953 with Laurence Olivier as Macheath and a cast including Dorothy Tutin, Hugh Griffith, Stanley Holloway and, making his film debut, Kenneth Williams.
 |
| Scenes from the film of The Beggar's Opera with Laurence Olivier as Macheath and Dorothy Tutin as Polly Peachum and directed by Peter Brook |
 |
| The Supporting Cast of the Film included: Left: Hugh Griffin; Centre: Stanley Holloway; and Right: Kenneth Williams |
Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill wrote a new musical adaptation of the Opera, Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera) in 1928 setting it in the 1800’s and introducing a socialist leaning that caused grief to Hitler and his henchmen. Most of the music of this production was new and introduced audiences to both the actress Lotte Lenya and to the song, Mack the Knife (original title is Die Moritat von Mackie Messer) which has since been given both a jazz and a big-band treatment by Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and Bobby Darin.
 |
| Left: Bertolt Brecht; Middle: Kurt Weill; Right: Lotte Lenya |
 |
| Left: Ella Fitzgerald; Centre: Louis Armstrong; Right: Bobby Darin |
Of all the highwaymen
of the 17th and 18th Centuries, Claude Duval and DickTurpin are perhaps the best known.
Claude Duval was French and considered to be gallant and is said to have
danced with an especially beautiful victim on the Hounslow Heath and allowed
her husband to go when he paid him £100.
Duval was eventually brought to trail and hanged in 1670 at Tyburn. His body was displayed at a tavern and later
removed and buried at St. Paul’s Church, Covent Garden and interned under the
central aisle where there is an inscription.
But it is Dick Turpin that is most remembered today.
 |
| Tyburn Left: William Hogath's The Execution of the Idle 'Prentice Click here to watch a short video of the history of Tyburn Tree |
Dick Turpin is believed
to have been trained as a butcher in Whitechapel, but turned poacher-burglar-horse thief and murderer. He is best remembered for a supposed 200 mile
overnight ride from London to York with his horse, Black Bess, which was made
famous by William Harrison Ainsworth in a novel written about one hundred years
after his death. Apparently Richard Dick Turpin became a member of a gang,
known as The Essex Gang, who began
their life of crime as deer poachers, but who eventually stepped-up their
escapades to include burglary as well as some GBH! Eventually the gang
members were caught, but Dick Turpin remained free and took up highway robbery and soon became
notorious for his activities around London.
On 4th May,
1737, it is said that he committed murder and the high price of £200 was put on his head. During an altercation in the East Riding of
Yorkshire, he apparently shot someone’s cockerel and then threatened to shoot
another who tried to intervene. This led
to his being bound over for refusal
to pay a fine imposed and he was committed to the House of Correction at Beverley.
Once it became clear that he was also wanted for an assortment of other crimes,
the authorities had him transferred to York
Assizes where he could answer them. At
York, he was tried for horse theft, an act punishable by death since 1545. He was found guilty and sentenced to death
and was taken by cart on 7th April, 1739 to Knavesmire, the equivalent of Tyburn in York, where he was
hanged. He was buried in the churchyard
of St. George’s Fishgate, but bodysnatchers
stole his body, however the public captured them and recovered Dick Turpin’s
body and reburied it.
The life and exploits of
Dick Turpin quickly passed into legend, but it was the ride between London and
York that the 19th Century author William Harrison Ainsworth included
in his novel, Rookwood that elevated
him and his horse into romantic mythology. In the book, Turpin, referred to as Palmer, escapes on his horse, Black
Bess, and together they attempt flee to young.
Black Bess gives her all and
in so doing dies from exhaustion and stress.
The death of Black Bess caught the imagination of readers and the ride quickly became forever incorporated
into the legend of Dick Turpin.
------oooOOOooo------
As a footnote to this story:
just a few hundred yards from where I lived in Langley, there was a huge
chestnut tree. This was a beautiful tree with a remarkable shape to
it. A short way from the tree was an old
country house that had been used during World War II by a government organization. When I knew the house, it was rather the
worse for wear and had been converted into a number of apartments. I learned that the house and tree had once
been part of an estate, which had been sold as parcels of land over the years,
first for farming, as a number of small holdings, and then for building new
homes.
According to the lady
that told me about the tree and the house, a highwayman once sheltered beneath
the branches of the tree after holding up a coach on the London Road, which was
not far off. She also said that he used to wait there for the daughter of the Squire to pass by as
she ventured out for a walk in the grounds.
She said that it was believed that the young woman and the highwayman
were very much in love. Whether their
relationship went further and the two rode off together into the night, she did not
know and sadly I never discovered. I like
to think that they did, however the possibility also exists that the highwayman was
shot dead during a robbery or captured and perhaps hanged for his crimes.
Sometime after hearing this
story, I discovered the Brazilian song, O Cangaciero, which was translated as The
Bandit of Brazil. I remember that
the English lyrics had a line that says that a young girl escapes her father and rides away across the
mountains with the Bandit. I have always
associated this song with the story of the Highwayman and the Squire’s
daughter.
------oooOOOooo------
I thought so once, and now I know it.
------oooOOOooo------
