10. John Smith: The Unsuccessful Highwayman who only lasted one week.
Twenty-three-year-old wigmaker John Smith had tastes that far outstripped his income. So, on October 29, 1704, Smith and an accomplice decided to earn some extra cash through part-time highway robbery. Firstly they needed a horse. So they staked out the road close to the Tyburn gallows while they waited for a likely mount. The location spooked Smith who suddenly had a premonition that Tyburn was the place he would end his days. However, his companion talked him round and the pair soon successfully ‘acquired’ a grey mare from a Mr. William Birch.
So began a successful week of robberies for Smith. Then, on November 6, a passing gentleman and his servant interrupted Smith mid-robbery. They drove Smith into the woods- and set up the hue and cry. Soon, seven or eight local people had flush out the beleaguered Smith and captured him at gunpoint. The mob searched Smith and found the stolen goods upon his person. On December 20, 1704, Smith‘s premonition came true when he hung at Tyburn. However, before his death, he blamed his downfall not on his inexperience- but his horse. The mare, was a ‘jade,’ Smith complained, too worn out and broken to be of much use to a would be highwayman.