STAND & DELIVER
“The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor, And the highwayman came riding – Riding – riding – The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.”
Many a schoolchild has thrilled to Alfred Noyes’ popular ballad ‘The Highwayman’ (1906) and its tale of a devil-may-care robber, his betrayal and ghostly reunion with his lover on moonlit winter nights. It also seems that every other pub in the country claims romantic connections with outlaws and highwaymen. But what is the truth behind these ‘gentlemen of the road’? Ambushing mail-and stagecoaches with cries of “Stand and deliver!” and robbing them of their valuables, even murdering those who failed to heed the demand “Your money or your life!” – highwaymen could be
