The following is the story of Snook the highwayman as given to our sister paper, The Gazette by local Boxmoor historians Roger and Joan hands
The last highwayman to be hanged at the scene of his crime in England was born and christened James Snook, in Hungerford, Berkshire, on August 16, 1761, (International Genealogical Index).
Photo from 200th anniversary of Snook celebbration on Box Moor |
His parents were John and Mary Snook and they had four children.
From that date until 1799 we have no true record of his life, but it is believed he went to school in that area, since his family owned land near Hungerford.
In 1799 he was convicted for horse-stealing at the Old Bailey, having previously been a wanted man in connection with highway robberies between Salisbury and Bath.
He was acquitted, in the name of James Blackman Snook, (he often used aliases, such as James Blackman) for lack of evidence.
He lived in Marylebone and was well known in the area of Portland Place.
There is a record of a marriage on December 15, 1789 of a James Snook to Ann Bridgen at St. Mary's Church, Marylebone, (IGI), but we do not know if there is any connection.
We have not found any mention of children.
The Tring Mail was robbed on the night of May 10, 1801, on Box Moor, near Bourne End.
In the first poster issued after the event, two men were mentioned by John Stevens, the 'post-boy', who may have been confused. It was a very dark night, apparently.
The boy handed over six bags, containing bank notes, promissory notes and letters.
The bags were left scattered over the Moor. A broken saddle was reputedly found at the scene of the crime and someone remembered that an ostler at the Kings Arms in Berkhamsted (James Snook) had such a saddle.
A report was issued in the London Gazette and a huge reward of £200 offered by the Postmaster General, above the £100 given by Parliament for apprehending highwaymen - a regular menace of the times.
Snook was arrested in London, after giving a serving girl in Southwark a large bank note by mistake. He was tracked down in Marlborough Forest, having been recognised by one of his former colleagues, a local post-boy.
He was described as being between 30 and 40 years of age, about 5ft 10" tall, with short, light brown hair and a face pitted with smallpox.
The capture was dramatic -Snook resisted and the post-boys driving the chaise and four through the forest jumped on him.
They found £200 in his pocket and a brace of very handsome pistols.
Photo from 200th anniversary of Snook celebbration on Box Moor beside his headstone |
The circumstantial evidence against him was sufficient to secure a sentence of death by hanging at the scene of his crime, not transportation, since he was to be made an example of, due to the severity of his crime.
The Friend at Hand pub featured in your story, probably did not exist as such in Snook's time.
It was on land owned by the Box Moor Trust, which still owns the site, now empty, next to Cane and Co's premises.
It was more likely that the highwayman's traditional last drink was at The Swan public house, also now empty.
Snook was sent first to Marlborough Jail, and then brought to Newgate.
From there he went to Hertford Gaol on March 4, 1802 for trial.
Thus Snook, probably no more than a petty criminal during his lifetime, came to have a lasting hold on the memories and imagination of the local populace who flocked to the Moor to see him hanged.
His grave was probably on part of the Moor that was dug up when the railway came in 1837-8, but no-one knows for sure where it was sited.
The local residents did not want to see the body hanging and bought a coffin for him, according to Henry Nash's Reminiscences.
The present headstone was erected in 1904 by the Box Moor Trustees and the footstone in 1994, to mark the Trust's 400 years' anniversary.
The name 'Robert Snooks' may have been one of his aliases, or a corruption of the term 'Robber Snook'.
The bar in the Pavilion was named Snooks' Bar in his infamous memory.
Joan and Roger Hands,
Box Moor Trust.
Your comments on this feature:
From: Patricia Green Address: Port of Spain, Trinidad
When I was growing up in Boxmoor in the fifties, we used to believe that if you ran round Snooks's grave seven times, holding your breath, he would reach out and pull you in. We all tried and of course, could never run and hold our breath!
