The subject chosen for this week’s feature by Margaret Mills, was one Frank Osborne, a gentlemanly highwayman, far removed from the archetypical highwayman such as Dick Turpin.

Indeed he had actually been born into a very wealthy family of goldsmiths in Colchester, but after amassing huge debts from gambling, in about 1680, he turned his attention to robbing people aiming to take their valuables to the near continent.

It was for this reason that he operated on the roads between Colchester and Harwich. Initially this proved to be quite lucrative until around 10 years later, he moved his area of operation to Hounslow Heath.

This proved his undoing because in 1690 he was finally run to earth, caught and in September of that year, executed, aged at just 29!

Listen again here, if you missed what Margaret told me today: –

Hope to see you once more next week,
Scott