It was one of those evenings - dark, cold and forbiddingly foggy. It was just such evening when highwaymen might have appeared in Epping Forest. Without thought for their safety, and clutching their purses closely, forty-six members and guests appeared from out of the mist to hear Georgina Green talk about Dick Turpin at Toot Hill Village Hall.
Georgina had studied Dick Turpin well. With illustrations drawn from books, contemporary maps and current photographs of some of the locations of Dick’s escapades, Georgina sought to distinguish fact from fiction. Turpin’s links were local; Loughton, Edmonton and a “cave” in Epping Forest, where he was thought to have hidden. However, perhaps sadly, the romantic, heroic vision of Dick, as portrayed in newspapers, gave way to a cruel, reckless and perhaps disloyal reality. At his eventual trial in York, Dick carelessly failed to defend himself adequately. He was sentenced to be hanged. And there was no Black Bess .... A very entertaining talk!
Rob Brooks