Legend says Dick Turpin thundered into York on his famous horse Black Bess after a breathless ride from London. That ride belongs to fiction, but York really was where his story ended at the gallows.
There is a real prison, a real execution ground and a pub where his body spent the night. There is also a pub with a daring escape story that is probably far too good to be true.
Follow the Dick Turpin trail
In central York: Begin with the Red Lion’s escape legend on Merchantgate. Then visit York Castle Museum, the Blue Boar on Castlegate and St George’s Churchyard to follow the final chapter of Turpin’s story.
For keen walkers: The Knavesmire, where he was hanged, is well away from the city centre. Make it a separate trip, or miss it and enjoy the four central stops.
1. The Red Lion: the escape that York refuses to forget
Merchantgate, York YO1 9TU
Start with the pub story. A board outside the Red Lion says Turpin hid in its attic and escaped when the law came looking for him. You can almost hear the boots on the stairs.
There is one rather large problem: the evidence places him in York as a prisoner, not a fugitive popping out of pub windows. The escape is best enjoyed as legend, and the Red Lion tells it with gusto.
Its old timbered building and the history board make this a fun final stop. Read the claim outside, look up at the building and decide how the story might have grown.
2. York Castle Prison: where “John Palmer” was locked up
York Castle Museum, Eye of York, York YO1 9RY
Turpin arrived in York under the name John Palmer. He had been held in Beverley after shooting a man’s cockerel, but questions about stolen horses led to his transfer to York Castle.
As York Museums Trust recounts, a letter from prison helped give him away. It was returned after his family refused to pay the postage, and a former schoolmaster recognised the handwriting. So much for the perfect disguise.
You can visit the surviving prison buildings at York Castle Museum. Clifford’s Tower stands nearby and has its own haunting story, but the museum’s prison is the place connected with Turpin’s confinement.
3. York Tyburn: the end of the road
Knavesmire, by York Racecourse, York YO23 1EX
Turpin was convicted of horse theft and taken to York Tyburn on 7 April 1739. The gallows stood on the Knavesmire, where crowds came to watch public executions.
He made sure he was noticed. Accounts say he dressed for the occasion, paid mourners to follow him and bowed to the spectators. Then came the short, ugly business of the hanging.
The “Three-Legged Mare” gallows are gone, but the open Knavesmire remains. It is a long walk from the city centre, so you may want to skip it unless you are especially keen.
4. The Blue Boar: a highwayman on the premises
5 Castlegate, York YO1 9RN
After the hanging, Turpin’s body came back into York. A near-contemporary account says it was lodged at the Blue Boar in Castlegate until the following morning.
The later pub story takes a more theatrical turn: people are said to have paid to view him, and some say his ghost has remained. Whether or not every part of that tale happened, the overnight stop is one of the strangest chapters in his York story.
There is still a Blue Boar at 5 Castlegate. Its building has changed over the centuries, so think of this as the historic address rather than a room preserved exactly as Turpin saw it.
5. St George’s Churchyard: the grave that would not stay quiet
Off George Street, York
Turpin was buried at St George’s Churchyard. Even that was not the end: body-snatchers took his corpse, a crowd recovered it, and he was buried again.
A stone marks the grave of “John Palmer otherwise Richard Turpin”. It is a good place to pause, although the marker was put up long after his death. Historian James Sharpe has questioned whether Turpin’s remains lie beneath the marked plot at all.
The small churchyard is tucked among houses and feels more like a quiet corner of a housing estate than a grand historic site. Look off George Street near Lead Mill Lane.
York can show you his grave marker. Whether it can show you the exact spot where he rests is another matter.
