PLACE NAME
Named after the infamous highwayman Dick Turpin (September 21, 1705 – April 7, 1739), who reportedly raided and looted farms and houses in this area during the 18thCentury, crimes for which he was ultimately brought to justice and hanged. Richard (Dick) Turpin was born in Hempstead, Essex, and may have followed his father’s trade as an innkeeper and butcher before, from about 1730, moving to Buckhurst Hill and becoming involved with a gang of deer-rustlers. By 1734 the gang is believed to have been involved in the raiding of homes in Woodford, Chingford and Barking. The London Gazette, in February 1734, offered a reward of £50 for information leading to the “arrest of one Richard Turpin charged upon Oath for committing several Robberies in Essex”. He was executed in York. This street was laid out before 1898 along the border between Ongar Hundred and Beacontree Hundred.
