Turpin's Cave
Encyclopedia
Turpin's Cave is an area of Epping Forest
in Essex
which has been attributed as a hiding place of the highwayman
Dick Turpin
.
Dick Turpin knew Epping Forest well and organised many criminal activities from a base between the Loughton Road and Kings Oak Road, which in legend became known as 'Turpin's cave'.. After an incident in May 1737, Turpin escaped to Epping Forest, where he hid (according to accounts "in a cave"). He was seen by Thomas Morris, a servant of one of the Forest's keepers close to what is now 'The Robin Hood' pub. Morris armed with pistols, attempted to capture Turpin on 4 May; Turpin however shot and killed him with a carbine
. The murder was reported in The Gentleman's Magazine
The terrain in most of Epping Forest comprises Bagshot Beds
, which are sand and gravel and not solid enough to provide habitable caves such as the one illustrated.
Though several locations for Turpin's hiding place were suggested, legend attributed it to a site off Wellington Hill at High Beach. D'Oyley, the Loughton surveyor, who drew up the maps for the Epping Forest Commission in the 19th century marked the area to the north of Loughton Camp
as Dick Turpin's Cave and the name was applied to a pub at that location B H Cowper, who excavated Loughton Camp in the 1870s referred to maps identifying Turpin's cave within the camp, but found no evidence of a cave there. However an identifiable dug-out was visible in the 19th century as in 1883 John Croumbie Brown wrote "Turpin's Cave is as much one of the exhibitions of Epping Forest as Turpin's Oak is of Finchley Common, and who shall begrudge to the admirers of each, in these unromanic and proaic days, the indulgence of their tastes".
The Turpin's Inn pub dates from some time in the 19th century as it was visited by John Davidson in 1893 who complains in his "Random Itinery" of being made to pay a deposit for the drinking pot there. A housing development has since been built over the pub but next to it was a fenced-off dug out in the clay and gravel soil described as Turpin's Cave, all or part of which was visible when the photograph was taken in the 1960s.
The site in Epping Forest is not the only one with the name Turpin's Cave. There is a "Turpin's Cave" at the edge of Bostall Woods
in Plumstead
Another site knowm as Dick Turpin’s Cave is near Rammamere Heath at Aylesbury.
Epping Forest
Epping Forest is an area of ancient woodland in south-east England, straddling the border between north-east Greater London and Essex. It is a former royal forest, and is managed by the City of London Corporation....
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
which has been attributed as a hiding place of the highwayman
Highwayman
A highwayman was a thief and brigand who preyed on travellers. This type of outlaw, usually, travelled and robbed by horse, as compared to a footpad who traveled and robbed on foot. Mounted robbers were widely considered to be socially superior to footpads...
Dick Turpin
Dick Turpin
Richard "Dick" Turpin was an English highwayman whose exploits were romanticised following his execution in York for horse theft. Turpin may have followed his father's profession as a butcher early in life, but by the early 1730s he had joined a gang of deer thieves, and later became a poacher,...
.
Dick Turpin knew Epping Forest well and organised many criminal activities from a base between the Loughton Road and Kings Oak Road, which in legend became known as 'Turpin's cave'.. After an incident in May 1737, Turpin escaped to Epping Forest, where he hid (according to accounts "in a cave"). He was seen by Thomas Morris, a servant of one of the Forest's keepers close to what is now 'The Robin Hood' pub. Morris armed with pistols, attempted to capture Turpin on 4 May; Turpin however shot and killed him with a carbine
Carbine
A carbine , from French carabine, is a longarm similar to but shorter than a rifle or musket. Many carbines are shortened versions of full rifles, firing the same ammunition at a lower velocity due to a shorter barrel length....
. The murder was reported in The Gentleman's Magazine
The Gentleman's Magazine
The Gentleman's Magazine was founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term "magazine" for a periodical...
The terrain in most of Epping Forest comprises Bagshot Beds
Bagshot Beds
In geology, the Bagshot Beds are a series of sands and clays of shallow-water origin, some being fresh-water, some marine. They belong to the upper Eocene formation of the London and Hampshire basins, in England and derive their name from Bagshot Heath in Surrey. They are also well developed in...
, which are sand and gravel and not solid enough to provide habitable caves such as the one illustrated.
Though several locations for Turpin's hiding place were suggested, legend attributed it to a site off Wellington Hill at High Beach. D'Oyley, the Loughton surveyor, who drew up the maps for the Epping Forest Commission in the 19th century marked the area to the north of Loughton Camp
Loughton Camp
Loughton Camp is an Iron Age Hill fort in Epping Forest, one mile North West of the town of Loughton.The camp's earthworks cover an area of approximately 10 acres and are visible today as a low bank and ditch encircling the main camp...
as Dick Turpin's Cave and the name was applied to a pub at that location B H Cowper, who excavated Loughton Camp in the 1870s referred to maps identifying Turpin's cave within the camp, but found no evidence of a cave there. However an identifiable dug-out was visible in the 19th century as in 1883 John Croumbie Brown wrote "Turpin's Cave is as much one of the exhibitions of Epping Forest as Turpin's Oak is of Finchley Common, and who shall begrudge to the admirers of each, in these unromanic and proaic days, the indulgence of their tastes".
The site in Epping Forest is not the only one with the name Turpin's Cave. There is a "Turpin's Cave" at the edge of Bostall Woods
Bostall Heath and Woods
Bostall Heath and Woods is an area of 159.1 hectares of woodland with areas of heathland located in the London Borough of Greenwich ward of Abbey Wood and adjacent to Lesnes Abbey Woods. The area to the south of the A206 is Bostall Woods and to the north is Bostall Heath...
in Plumstead
Plumstead
Plumstead is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. Plumstead is a multi cultural area with large Asian and Afro-Caribbean communities, in similarity to local areas such as Woolwich and Thamesmead...
Another site knowm as Dick Turpin’s Cave is near Rammamere Heath at Aylesbury.