In the 18th century anvone who travelled to Bath by coach faced many dangers and discomforts. The roads were badly rutted, so that coaches often became stuck in the mud or overturned. Axles and wheels broke, horses became lame, luggage fell off and the jolting was so rough that occupants were sometimes thrown out. In the winter when conditions were at their worst a journey of 40 miles could take up to 14 hours and if this were not enough misery there was also the constant threat of highway robbery.
Highwaymen were common throughout England, as there was no police force and it was difficult to enforce the king's justice outside the towns.
They were not at all like the glamourous character portrayed in the Noves' poem -
`He'd a French cocked-hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chin,
A coat of claret velvet and breeches of brown doeskin.'
With few exceptions they came from the dregs of society, hardened criminals often driven by poverty to this particular way of life. The West Country roads leading to Bath and Bristol were famous haunts for highwaymen. Gibbets were erected at main crossroads to deter them but had little effect, such were the rich pickings to be had from travellers bound for the gaming tables and Assembly Rooms.
A most notorious gang of highwaymen terrorised this area in the 1750s. They held up coaches in broad daylight, threatening the occupants with pistols and taking not only money but also jewellery, wedding rings, watches, clothes and anything else of value.
The gang was led by a tough character called John Poulter who at one time had sworn an oath that he would never be captured alive. His very appearance was terrifying; a tall, swarthy man with a thick scar on his cheek. He made no attempt at disguise and had several times used his pistol on people who tried to defy him. Poulter led a gang of equally desperate men, outlaws and other fugitives from justice. There was no shortage of such men willing to join them, nor of the women followers who looked after them and always made sure there were plenty of stolen horses for a quick getaway.
Poulter's operations were very successful and he is known to have travelled as far afield as Jamaica spending or trading his ill-gotten gains. When he had spent up he always returned to Bath to prey once more on the long-suffering travellers. One afternoon in 1753 Poulter and his men held up and robbed a coach on Claverton Down just outside the city. From a Doctor Hancock he stole £35, a gold watch and some silver plate worth £150. There is no record of what he took from the other passengers but on that occasion one of them must have proved rather awkward, for Poulter suddenly grabbed a child from the coach and threatened to kill it if the man did not `deliver'.
This action incensed the travellers so much that, when they arrived in Bath, Doctor Hancock personally led a strong protest and demanded that action be taken to catch the villain. The Hue and Cry went out. The threat to kill an innocent child was strongly emotive and in response the local newspapers offered a huge reward for the capture of 'John Poulter, Highwayman'. Somewhere in the hills around Bath the Poulter gang had a secret hide-out where they thought they were safe. Only members of the gang and their women knew of its whereabouts and it was well guarded. However, the temptation of that huge reward offered by the newspapers proved too strong. There was no `honour among thieves' for John Poulter this time; he was betrayed by one of his own men.
The informer bribed the look-outs and the gang was taken by surprise. They were overpowered and their leader was taken alive. Highway robbery was an odious crime in the eyes of the law and the travelling public cried out for justice. They would settle for nothing less than execution. The verdict of `guilty' was unanimous and the judge showed no mercy. John Poulter was hanged from the gibbet on Claverton Down, close to the scene of his last fateful robbery.
Gruesome warning
Gibbet also refers to a gallows-type structure from which the dead bodies of executed criminals were hung on public display to deter other existing or potential criminals. It can also be used as a verb, denoting the action of placing criminals in gibbets. This practice is also called 'hanging in chains'.
Gibbeting was often the fate of traitors, murderers, highwaymen and sheep-stealers. The structures were therefore often placed adjacent to public highways. In England, Gibbet Hill marks one such site between Coventry and Kenilworth in Warwickshire; the same place name is used for a site near Haslemere in Surrey.
The dead bodies still went through the process of decomposition, and could easily be nibbled at by scavenging animals. To maintain hygiene, most cultures bury (or otherwise dispose of) their criminals just the same as normal citizens. It is only the most heinous criminals who warrant gibbeting. This public humilation, even after death, is a notable exception to most cultures' respect for the dead.
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