Yorkshire history

Thought to have been born between the years 1639 and 1648, in Wortley near the town of Promfret, or Pontefract in Yorkshire, James - or William - or John Nevison began his criminal career at an early age it has been suggested, when he stole a silver spoon from his own father.

As with many biographies of the common man, that of Nevison is poorly documented, and much of the finer detail has been added by subsequent writers. So much so that any attempt to try to get to the real Nevison is likely to end in disappointment. All I can try to achieve here is as fair a representation of events as can be attained from very scant and oft times unreliable sources. Indeed, there is doubt cast upon one of Nevison's most famous exploits, some attributing it to another, whilst others contend that Nevison and that other were one and the same. I hope all becomes clearer later! It is a sad necessity that in order to remain as close to reality as possible, the narrative has to be kept brief in order to keep as much romanticism from creeping in as possible.

His family, which were originally from Cumberland, and which had relations in the county of Kent, could be considered middle class by the standards of the time. The men folk were either ministers of religion or lawyers. This might explain why the young Nevison started out as an Excise man in the area of nearby Barnsley. Exactly how long this employment lasted is uncertain, because, it is said, he was evicted from his lodgings and then became a highwayman. What prompted this apparent reversal of career one can only speculate, but it is possible that he was using his position in the Excise to 'feather his own nest' and was discovered, which would explain his eviction, and his sudden change in direction. That however is pure speculation it has to be remembered. What ever the reason, Nevison based his highway robberies along the Great North Road between Newark and Huntingdon where he is supposed to have provided some sort of 'protection racket' for drovers who frequently used the highway to move their cattle to the markets of London. Nevison has been described as tall and handsome, and of gentlemanly appearance, and that he never used violence, against his robbery victims at least. In the summer of 1676, at about 4 a.m., a traveller was robbed by Nevison at a place called Gad's Hill (near Gravesend) in Kent, rather further south than his usual haunts. It was however apparently well planned, because, Nevison then took the ferry across the River Thames and galloped north to Chelmsford on his (reportedly) bay mare.

What happened next has gone down in folk lore, often attributed to Dick Turpin, and even to yet another, a highwayman called Nicks, who some also maintain was an alias for Nevison anyway! Travelling by lesser roads, Nevison rode his mount ever northwards, first to Cambridge via Braintree, Bocking, and Wethersfield, thence to Huntingdon by way of Fenny Stanton and Godmanchester, and on to the Great North Road itself according to Daniel Defoe. Always heading north, Nevison was galloping towards York, resting his horse when and wherever he could. He eventually arrived at York in the evening of the same day as the robbery in Kent, a journey of some 200 miles on the same horse. One suspects that not enough credit has been done the horse that day, for the achievement was incredible. Stabling the courageous horse at an inn in York, Nevison then changed from his travel worn apparel, whether he had such a change of clothing in his portmanteaux, or whether he had to purchase new is uncertain, but if the former, then this adds yet more to the possibility that the whole exercise was planned. His next action was to stroll onto a local bowling green where the mayor of York was playing a game, and upon engaging the mayor in conversation, laid a wager as to the outcome of the game. Nevison by some means ensured that the mayor would remember the time of their encounter, 8p.m. on the evening of the robbery at Gad's Hill some 200 miles distant. The original victim of the robbery in Kent must have named Nevison, and somehow, he was identified a little later, and brought to trial for the robbery. However, Nevison produced the same mayor of York as his alibi, and the court, totally disbelieving that any man - or horse - could make such a journey in the time allotted, was simply not possible, and Nevison was therefore acquitted. For all that he was acquitted, Nevison at once became a hero of the people, and even impressed the king, Charles II, who it is said, provided the sobriquet of 'Swift as Nick' Nick then being a euphemism for the Devil. There has been some conjecture that in fact that nickname belonged to another, one Samuel (?) Nicks, but most sources for once seem to agree that Nevison was 'Swift Nicks'.

Now with a gang of six, Nevison continued his highway robberies along the length of the Great North Road, until 1676, when Elizabeth Burton, who after her arrest for stealing, informed on the Nevison gang, betrayed them to the justices. The sentence Nevison received strikes a note of discord because, rather than the usual hanging, he was transported to Tangiers. It might be that the authorities doubted they would get even a conviction if the death penalty were threatened. Or maybe Nevison's claim that he never used violence against his victims was truth making the death penalty unwarranted, and he was therefore seconded into the army then maintaining a presence at Tangiers. He remained in Tangiers for five years, returning to England in 1681, whereupon he immediately resumed the career he knew best - highway robbery.

Nevison, despite a reward offered by the Crown, evaded capture for the following four years, always managing to evade the several bounty hunters who were bent upon his arrest. The story then goes that while he was taking his ease at the Magpie Inn, near Sandal, close to Wakefield in Yorkshire, his pursuers eventually caught up with him, and he was indeed arrested. It was during his arrest that Nevison killed one of the constables, a man called Fletcher, from then on his fate was never in further doubt. An entry in the Wakefield Sessions for the 9^th October 1684 says "Order for Constable of Sandal to pay John Ramsden 10 shillings and six pence for the Constable of Sandal and William Hardcasle, Gentleman, three days conveying one Nevison, a highwayman, to the Castle of York and two shillings and six pence for obtaining the order." Transported to York, Nevison was hung at the York Tyburn on the Knavesmire on the 4^th May 1684, and subsequently buried in an unmarked grave at St. Mary's church.

There are however several versions and interpretations of these events, different people have been offered as alternatives for the identity of whom ever made the famous ride north to York; more detailed accounts are offered for the life and career or Nevison also. All I can do here is to show any interested reader that there exists perhaps an opportunity for further in depth research should anyone be so inclined. Maybe one day, the real, true account of Nevison's activities will be published, and end all the speculation and conjecture. Whether Nevison was indeed one of that very rare breed, a Gentleman Highwayman, or simply a romanticised mugger it is hard to tell after the passage of time, and the changing standards of society. What does seem certain is that his reputation was nothing like Turpin's, the violent criminal to whom romantic history has ironically attributed it thereby robbing Nevison of the honour of his famous ride.

The ballad published in prose chapbooks and broadsides recounting Nevison's exploits, which began this brief narrative concludes:

Now when I rode on the highway,
I always had money in store.
And whatever I took from the rich
Why I freely gave it to the poor.

I have never robbed no man of tuppence
And I've never done murder nor killed.
Though guilty I've been all my lifetime
So gentlemen do as you please.

It was sung by Joseph Taylor and recorded on a wax cylinder for Percy Grainger in 1908.