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Two Visits, Two Characters, But Only One Castle!

To ensure I kept one foot in the past over the summer holidays I did two weekends at Skipton Castle. At the start of the summer the castle was mine (!) … or, more accurately, it was under the governance of Colonel Sir John Mallory, who did his best to ensure it and the town remained loyal to King Charles.

He was also keen to ensure that those trapped in the castle with him knew that he would not be so foolish as to ‘stout it out’ too long, but that he would negotiate honourable terms of surrender long before they suffered either the the flux or scurvy (as did the poor garrison at Scarborough Castle).

Two young lads, regular visitors to the castle, swore their loyalty to the king and his cause. (The strange shaped belly, by the way, is due to the pistol that Colonel Mallory has taken to wearing at all times, “Just in case”!)

Later in the summer (strangely, about 35 years later), another fellow was to be found in the castle, John ‘Swift Nicks’ Nevison, whose own brace of pistols were the very tools of his trade! He too was happy to talk to the gathered crowds, but rather than delivering inspiring speeches and sharing stories of the war in Yorkshire, he regaled them with tales of derring do – his own adventures and those of other highwaymen.

Of course, folk had to take the tales with a pinch of salt, especially when the claims made were somewhat ridiculous. Still, strange things do happen – for example, here, lingering behind, you can see a boy who seems exactly alike the visitor to the castle who spoke to the governor 35 years earlier! He does not seem to have aged a day. Perhaps he is a hearth-haunting ghost?

Even a land pirate such as Nevison can become thoughtful, especially when considering that the likes of he cannot expect a long life, merely a merry one! And, of course, he can live like a gentlemen. Cards and dice, sport and riding, wine and feasting, are how he spends his time, not living by his finger ends like a rude mechanical. Oh, and as well as the air and carriage of a gentlemen, of course he follows the fashion!

Occasionally tempted by the sight of a fat purse among the visitors, Nevison held himself in check, for he was in the castle to hide until it was dark, and not to get himself in more trouble! Besides, he is a ‘Goodfellow’ like Robin in the Hood, and would never think to rob his friends or the poor!

If you would like Nevison to regale your children with his stories, immersing them in the world of historical highway robbers, perhaps because they are studying the famous poem, or mastering the art of persuasive writing, then do be in touch. Maybe your children are doing some local history about the British Civil Wars in your area (a battle nearby or a castle), in which case Sir John or one of my other Civil War characters might be of great use. Or perhaps you are interested in one of my other characters, such as Sir William Petty (Great Fire of London or the Great Plague of 1665), Guy Fawkes, Captain Burwash the pirate or one of Drake’s sailors? If so, please have a look at the variety I can offer on my page of Characters.

If so, I look forward to hearing from you.

A Highwayman’s Home is His Castle?

Luckily for John ‘Swift Nicks’ Nevison, the steward at Skipton castle owes him a considerable sum in gold from their time at the gaming table. Luckily for the steward, Nevison was willing to forgive him that debt in return for being allowed to hide in the castle for the weekend while the hue and cry was raised in the town and the parish constables and watchmen were after him! (Luckiest of all, the countess was at one of her other castle homes, for I doubt she would have been so willing to have a ‘gentleman of the road’ lodging at her home!)

Not that Nevison lacked for company. Here he addresses a crowd (the picture maker was among the main press of persons) with tales of his exploits …

And here he he recalls one of his more difficult escapades!

For a man supposedly laying low, he never shut up for most of the day, spinning tales to all and sundry …

He’ll back at Skipton Castle at the end of August, while another John, Colonel Sir John Mallory – the governor who is the very image of Nevison – will be there at the end of July.

If you would like Nevison to visit your school, immersing the children in the world of historical highway robbers and giving them all a very motivational ‘reason to write’, then be in touch. Or you might be interested in one of my other characters, such as Sir William Petty (Great Fire of London or the Great Plague of 1665), Guy Fawkes, Captain Burwash the pirate or one of Drake’s sailors? If so, please have a look at what I can offer on my page of Characters.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Nevison Goes North!

Last Friday, the highwayman ‘Swift Nicks’ Nevison fled further north-west than he has ever done before, trouble hot on his heels as usual, all the way to a school near Kendal. There, his old friend, one of the teachers, was happy to hide him until it was dark, and the gregarious Nevison was very pleased to find he would have good company for the day.

The children had never met a highwayman before, and so the loquacious rogue began telling them tales of his adventures. Here he explains the usefulness, indeed the necessity, of a pistol and a pair of formidable words, ‘stand’ and ‘deliver’, to a gentleman of the road such as he.

Of course, he added, not only does he follow the fashion and have the air and carriage of a gentleman, he has the manners too – being most courteous when he takes purses, and always saying thank you.

Once he discovered that the children were accomplished scholars, he asked for volunteers to read out some of the stories about him, so that he could tell the class the much more exciting, true versions, in which, of course, he is more of a hero than a villain, just like Robin Hood.

The children went on to write letters of complaint to the London Gazette (concerning the lies printed about him), as well as improving a ballad so that he wouldn’t be turning in his grave at the singing of it! They even corrected the erroneous stories. Later on, the children helpfully came up with some new tricks he could try, to escape goal or a pursuing constable. They even fashioned some portrait likenesses to accompany the tales of his deeds.

If you would like Nevison to regale your children with his stories, immersing them in the world of historical highway robbers, perhaps because they are studying the famous poem, or mastering the art of persuasive writing, then do be in touch. Or perhaps you might be interested in one of my other characters, such as Sir William Petty (Great Fire of London or the Great Plague of 1665), Guy Fawkes, Captain Burwash the pirate or one of Drake’s sailors? If so, please have a look at the variety I can offer on my page of Characters.

I hope to hear from you.

(Thank you to Mr Turley for sending me the pictures.)

London’s Burning, in Doncaster!

Sir William uses a flint, steel and char-cloth to show the children how servants can start a fire!

This Tuesday I visited a school in Doncaster to work with two classes of Year 1 children. I had a lovely day, and so did they. As their teacher wrote to me afterwards:

“I just wanted to email you to say thank you so much for Tuesday. It was such a fantastically memorable day. The children rated it an overall 100/10!”

Sir William spent the whole day with all the children, telling them the story of the Great Fire in the morning. All the children joined in two big activities and Sir William showed them exactly where the events happened on his big map of London. He even showed them a leather bucket just like they have in London.

In the afternoon, the two classes worked on a map for a new, safer London, in which the houses were built in such a way that a third Great Fire (the first one was in 1212!) would be a lot less likely. 26 children each had their own part of London to plan, making a very large map (in exactly the shape of the hole left by the fire) when they joined them all together.

Here you can see the fancy fountains one child has drawn in the new parks, and the statues of the King and Queen another has drawn in theirs.

At the end of the day Sir William had to stand very still so that the children could sketch a likeness of him. I think they did a very good job.

If you might like to receive one of my visitors from the past, perhaps Sir William Petty (Great Fire of London or the Great Plague of 1665), or any of my characters – from Guy Fawkes to a Highwayman, from a pirate to a Civil War musketeer – then please have a look at the variety I can offer on my page of Characters.

I look forward to hearing from you.

New Things for a New Start!

With my number of bookings until now still not quite what they usually are (due to the pandemic) I have had more time to read, research, purchase and make things. I can’t make a news story out of books I have been studying, but here are two new items of clothing I can show you.

A couple of months ago I got a new hat to go with my new wig. It is modelled on the one that King Charles II is wearing in a portrait, and made suitably big to go over my wig.

I have also been very busy making a new coat for Nevison the highwayman, which I finished only last week. It has 51 buttons (49 real buttonholes plus 12 fake buttonholes on the cuffs, all handstitched) and is made of woollen cloth, linen lining, linen thread and pewter buttons.

I know a tailor would work much quicker than me, but I have to go at a really steady pace to avoid disasters. This took me three weeks to make. I made my usual mistake of cutting one panel out the wrong way around – no matter how hard I tried not to do so this time – but I had bought enough woollen cloth to cover this now predictable error. I dreaded the thought of messing up just one button hole. In the end only one was odd, being slightly longer than the others, which no-one will notice. I am not even sure I can find it myself.

I went for darkest blue rather than the somewhat less historically accurate black (a very expensive dye which would fade easily when worn outside often). I (and Nevison) need this new one as the one I made 20 years ago seems to have mysteriously shrunk on me. I guess all the pies, puddings and pasties Nevison’s been enjoying have had their effect! Oh, and I tore it on a pistol, as one does! A ‘gentleman of the road‘ should look wealthy. What’s the point of being a highwayman if one cannot follow the fashion?

Here you can see it front and back. It is quite heavy!

I am quite proud of the button holes, enough to risk showing a close up – and I did pick at random instead of looking for the best one!

Now that ‘things’ are returning to normality, perhaps you would like a visit from Sir William Petty (Great Fire of London and the Great Plague of 1665), or John Nevison the highwayman, or any of my characters? If so, please have a look at the variety I can offer on my page of Characters and be in touch!