Great North Road (A1)
(Dick Turpin and the Old North Road)
ORIGIN AND HISTORY

The 'Old North Road' was originally called Ermine Street and built by the Romans, not to be confused with the 'Great North Road', which in
later years it was an old coaching route that went from Edinburgh to London, and travelled through  Newcastle, York, Doncaster, Newark,
Grantham, Stamford, Huntingdon and Biggleswade and many other places. This journey of about 400 miles would take about 40 hours, and
therefore averaged less than 10 m.p.h. This Great North Road  travels through the western fringes of the Fens, and the coaching period
was dominant in the 17th and 19th centuries, and utilised the services of many 'Inns' while on route, where horses were changed, and the
travellers 'refreshed'.  Many of these 'Inns' still exist today, and include the Angel and Bell at Stilton which boast being visited by many
famous travellers, which includes Dick Turpin who visited the Bell. Other coaching Inns included the Victoria at Alwalton (which no longer
exists) The Haycock at Wansford (originally known as the Swan), and Sibson House Hotel (Originally known as the Wheatsheaf), these three
named 'Inns' are near the River Nene just to the west of Peterborough. Another coaching house was the George at Stamford.

Since the invention of the internal combustion engine it has now become a busy dual carriageway carrying much traffic from North to South
and Visa Versa. It has a very colourful history, including the fact that it was aledgedly used by Dick Turpin when he rode his faithful horse
Black Bess from London to York. Originally there was no Bridge over the River Welland.

Also of note is the Via Devana which travelled North West from Essex, and ran through the centre of Cambridge and Huntingdon to join up
with the Great North Road. This route roughly travels along the route of the current A14. In addition there  was Akeman Street, leaving the  
Via Devana at Cambridge and travelling roughly along the route of the  current A10 to Ely and then on  to Littleport. Originally, they were not
like the tarmac roads that now exist, but were no more than rutted tracks which stopped at the waterlogged Fens

The Great North Road (or as it is called nowadays the A1 or A1M) once travelled through the town of Stamford. Nowadays the A1 bypasses
Stamford Town, and parts with the original Great North Road at Casterton and rejoins it again at the Carpenter's Lodge roundabout to the
south of Stamford. (The name originates from the close proximity to a house on the Burghley Estate). The previous comments explain why
Undercover Books Shop at Scotgate was originally a gatehouse and at the rear were coach houses and stables (now town houses and car
garages)

Travelling north along the A1 (Great North Road) from Stamford after a few miles you come to what is known as the Colsterworth
roundabout on the A1. Just to the north of Colsterworth village is where Sir Isaac Newton lived at Woolsthorpe Manor which is open to the
public, and where he received a knighthood in 1705 for his work on Gravity  When the weather is nice, you can even sit under a apple tree
which is a offshoot of the original apple tree, where Newton was reputed to have discovered gravity.
THE STAMFORD LINKS TO GREAT NORTH ROAD

The town of Stamford is in the south west corner of Lincolnshire. The name is probably a combination of the words Stone and
Ford, which suggests stone was laid across the River Welland to create a ford. It has existed since Roman Times. For
hundreds of years it has been a stopping off place for travellers from the north heading for London and the south.  In olden
times it was coach and horses. Today it is no different, as car drivers travelling either up or down the Great North Road (AI)
stop in Stamford  to admire it's ancient charm, and even visit it's bookshops. It was originally a wool or cloth  town with many
rich merchants.

It is so close to the corner of Lincolnshire, that Rutland (or Roteland as it was originally known) borders the town to the West,
and the well known Stamford area of Burghley Park is in Cambrdgeshire. The Great North Road once travelled through the
centre of Stamford which is barely wide enough to get two cars by each other at the town end of Scotgate, however the town is
now by-passed by the A1. Scotgate in Stamford  was originally the Great North Road
THE LEGEND OF DICK TURPIN

Fact has become mixed with mythology with regard to the exploits of Richard Turpin and his horse Black Bess.

The story goes that he was born in Thackstead in Essex in 1705. (We know this to be a fact as his baptism is recorded in the
Parish register). Then fact becomes a little hazy, as his father was reputed to be the landlord of the Crown Inn in Essex.  
Richard developed links with Whitechapel in London, and then in Waltham Abbey. He apparently married a woman named
Hester Palmer. He then commenced his  criminal activities with cattle rustling, and went on to robbing smugglers by
pretending that he was a Revenue Officer. He went into hiding in Epping Forest in Essex where he joined up with other
criminals. In Epping Forest  he learnt how to use a gun and developed a talent for the Robbery of travellers, and learnt how to
extort money. During this time he became a member of the notorious 'Gregory Gang'. He finally progressed to Highway
Robbery, which he undertook in the North and South of London.

Turpin then linked up with another highwayman named Tom King, and they sort refuge in Epping Forest Eventually their
hideout was located in 1737. Turpin escaped by killing an official in the process, and decided to go on the run, he continued
with his Highway Robbery and moved to Long Sutton in Lincolnshire and was nearly caught, and  took the name John Palmer,
and moved to Yorkshire, where he was eventually caught and in 1739 was sentenced to death.

After his death, the legend of Dick Turpin continued to grow, and until that time his steed was anonymous, but legend had him
call the horse 'Black Bess'. The legend started with Turpin riding Black Bess from London to Gloucester to obtain an alibi, this
legend later moved his  massive ride from London to York, and that Black Bess was eventually ridden to death. But still the
legend continued, and it was common place for him to have performed superhuman feats. Finally Legend has it that the ride to
York would have been along the Great North Road, which in those days would be the current Scotgate, and therefore he would
have ridden along the track at the front of the current Undercover Books.  And, so the legend continues and grows.  
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