It’s a steal! Home of notorious highwayman Dick Turpin goes up for sale
A SAFFRON Walden based estate agent is offering for sale a historic cottage, thought to be the home of Dick Turpin.
As the name suggests, Dick Turpin’s Cottage – in the heart of Hempstead, one of Essex’s prettiest villages – was reputed to be the home of the notorious highwayman.
Born just across the road, in the popular Bluebell Inn, Dick Turpin lived in the cottage running a legitimate butcher’s business from the outbuilding behind.
Turpin’s exploits were romanticised following his execution in York for horse theft. He 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, burglar, horse thief and murderer. He is also known for a fictional 200-mile overnight ride from London to York on his horse Black Bess, a story that was made famous by the Victorian novelist William Harrison Ainsworth almost 100 years after Turpin’s death.
Turpin was brought to justice and executed on April 7, 1739.
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A spokesman for Kevin Henry, the estate agent conducting the sale of the property, said: “There is no doubt this is a stunning ‘chocolate box’ cottage with all the character you could possibly want, set in beautiful gardens, of which there is some hope value for a potential building plot.
“There are two large reception rooms, kitchen, downstairs bathroom and lean-to conservatory and the property has two fireplaces and a wealth of exposed beams. It has the benefit of oil-fired central heating and on the first floor there are two beautiful large bedrooms, with a third inter-connecting bedroom / study and scope to create a shower room facility, if required.
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“There is lots of off-street parking and further vehicular access from Church Hill. The gardens are a feature of the property, being of an excellent size, offering a high degree of privacy and seclusion, with useful large garages, and there is the possibility of gaining planning consent for a building plot in part of the garden.”
The property is on the market with a guide price of �350,000. To arrange a viewing or for further details, call Kevin Henry on 01799 513632.
