The year was 1772, and the roads around London still whispered with the threat of pistols and masked men. One October night, one such figure — Henry Duffill — stepped into infamy when he stopped a stagecoach on the open road, declared himself master of the purse, and demanded the travellers’ valuables “in the King’s name.”
The robbery
According to the indictment, Duffill and an accomplice halted a carriage carrying two gentlemen and a lady returning from an evening engagement. The driver later told the court:
Coachman: “One of them called out, ‘Stand and deliver!’ and the other seized my reins. I saw the shine of a pistol under the moon.”
Passenger: “He was no common footpad, but dressed like a tradesman — bold in manner, polite in speech. He said, ‘I rob no poor man, sir. Only those who can afford to be lighter of pocket.’”
The thieves took a silver watch, a handful of guineas, and a lady’s ring before galloping off into the night.
But fortune was against Duffill. The watch bore the owner’s initials, and by dawn he was traced to a lodging house in St Giles’s. Constables burst in as he tried to burn the ribbon attached to the stolen watch.
The trial at the Old Bailey
The court met on 21 October 1772, the very day noted in the indictment. Duffill stood accused of feloniously assaulting John Drew, putting him in fear, and taking from his person one silver watch and other goods.
Clerk of Arraigns: “Henry Duffill, you stand indicted for making an assault upon the King’s highway, and stealing goods of the value of twenty shillings. How say you — guilty or not guilty?”
Duffill: “Not guilty, my lord. I was at a public house that night, as three men there can swear.”
His supposed alibi quickly collapsed. One of the publicans identified him as having left the tavern shortly before the robbery and returning later with mud upon his boots.
Publican: “He said he had been to fetch his horse. Yet he had none stabled with us.”
The stolen watch was produced in court, still bearing the engraved initials.
Judge: “This alone would hang you, Mr Duffill, if the jury credit the evidence.”
The jury did not take long.
Foreman: “Guilty.”
Sentence and aftermath
Highway robbery was a capital offence, and Duffill’s plea for mercy was futile. The judge pronounced:
Judge: “You have chosen the life of a robber, and must meet the death appointed by law. You shall be hanged by the neck until you are dead. God receive your soul.”
Duffill was executed at Tyburn within weeks, his name added to the long roll of the gentlemen of the road whose gallantry could not disguise their crimes.
Why this mattered
The case of Henry Duffill stands at the midpoint between legend and reality. By 1772, the romantic notion of the highwayman was fading; yet in the candlelit courtroom of the Old Bailey, juries still half-believed in the swaggering outlaw who robbed “politely.”
His death marked another step toward the end of the open road’s tyranny. Within a generation, tollgates, mounted patrols, and the growing police presence would make such adventures impossible.
Source
R v. Henry Duffill (t17721021-51), tried at the Old Bailey on 21 October 1772 for violent theft, highway robbery. Verdict: Guilty. Sentence: Death (execution at Tyburn).
Old Bailey Proceedings Online
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