1.  starter activity
Watch this clip from ‘Horrible Histories’ on the highwayman Dick Turpin. What can you learn about his life? According to the clip was he a ‘gentleman thief’ or a ‘violent thug’?

2. Was Dick Turpin a gentleman thief or a violent thug?
 Key words: highwayman
Was Dick Turpin a gentleman thief or a violent thug?
 Learning objectives
TBAT distinguish ‘myth’ from ‘reality’
Identify reasons why highwaymen grew & declined in popularity

3. Read about the real life of Dick Turpin in Wilkes (p
Read about the real life of Dick Turpin in Wilkes (p.64-5) or Dawson (p.84).
 How similar/different is his life to another outlaw we’ve studied?
Which of these words describes the real life highwayman?
Dashing, brutal, ruthless, handsome, scruffy, fashionable, common, gentlemanly, romantic, mysterious, frightening, heroic, murderous, crafty

4. Visit the sources around the room & make a note on your data collection sheet on what type of source it is, who produced it and when
What words from the list below would you use to describe the Dick Turpin in your source? Make a note of these words on your sheet. You can also add your own description words.
Then make a judgement- does it show Turpin as a gentleman of the road, a common thug or somewhere in between? Explain why?
dashing brutal ruthless handsome
scruffy fashionable common gentlemanly romantic
mysterious frightening heroic murderous crafty

5. dashing brutal ruthless handsome
Accordingly, having broke open the Door, they beat and abused Mason in a most terrible Manner, and when they had beat him as they thought enough, they kicked him under the Dresser and there left him... Mason’s little Girl in her Fright got out of bed, and without any Clothes ran into the Hog-sty and there hid herself... Then they went up Stairs and broke every Thing they could lay Hands to... found a hundred and twenty Guineas, which they took after they had done as much Mischief as they possibly could, they went away very satisfied.
Richard Bayes, The Genuine History of the Life of Richard Turpin, (1739)
dashing brutal ruthless handsome
scruffy fashionable common gentlemanly romantic
mysterious frightening heroic murderous crafty

6. dashing brutal ruthless handsome
This is the front cover of a magazine in 1905.
These magazines turned the story of the famous highway robber, Dick Turpin, into an adventure.
In one particular story, Turpin tries to reassure a young woman while he holds up and robs a stagecoach.
dashing brutal ruthless handsome
scruffy fashionable common gentlemanly romantic
mysterious frightening heroic murderous crafty

7. dashing brutal ruthless handsome C
This is an e-fit of Dick Turpin produced by North Yorkshire Police in 2009.
Police experts used descriptions from newspapers which were issued to aid his capture in 1739.
He was heavily scarred from an outbreak of smallpox that he had as a child.
dashing brutal ruthless handsome
scruffy fashionable common gentlemanly romantic
mysterious frightening heroic murderous

8. dashing brutal ruthless handsome
This is an illustration from William Harrison Ainsworth’s novel Rookwood, written in 1834.
Dick Turpin was one of the leading characters in the novel.
This shows the scene in the novel where Turpin escapes on Black Bess. Although most of the novel was not about Turpin it was the bit that appealed most to readers rather than any of the rest of the work.
The appeal of the scene was to create a new legend about Turpin and his exploits.
dashing brutal ruthless handsome
scruffy fashionable common gentlemanly romantic
mysterious frightening heroic crafty murderous

9. dashing brutal ruthless handsome
Use extract from text book with students
(Extract from the Crime and Punishment Through Time OCR textbook, 2010)
dashing brutal ruthless handsome
scruffy fashionable common gentlemanly romantic
mysterious frightening heroic murderous crafty

10. dashing brutal ruthless handsome F
This is a family drama series than ran on TV between
The series starred Richard O’Sullivan as Dick Turpin.
It was loosely based on the adventures of the 18th Century highwayman.
dashing brutal ruthless handsome
scruffy fashionable common gentlemanly romantic
mysterious frightening heroic murderous crafty

11.  Your task
Study Dawson p.85. Draw a line down the centre of your page. On one side jot down reasons why highway robbery became more common. On the other side reasons why it became less common.
 How important was the government compared with other factors in reducing the threat of highway robbery?

12.  Homework
Produce a wanted poster for the ‘real life’ DT. Your poster should tell us about:
His background before becoming a highwayman
Those he worked with
Examples of his crimes
It should have the ‘look and feel’ of a wanted poster

13. Was Dick Turpin a gentleman thief or a violent thug?
 Key words: highwayman
Was Dick Turpin a gentleman thief or a violent thug?
 Learning objectives
TBAT distinguish ‘myth’ from ‘reality’
Identify reasons why highwaymen grew & declined in popularity
 Plenary