John Nevison dye, for he was a terrour to the country". Nevison was hanged at the Knavesmire on 4 May 1684 and buried in an unmarked grave in St Mary's Church, Castlegate. John Nevison John Nevison (1639 – 4 May 1684), also known as William Nevison or Nevinson, was one of Britain's most notorious highwaymen, a gentleman rogue supposedly nicknamed "Swift Nick" by King Charles II after a renowned dash from Kent to York to establish an alibi for a robbery he had committed earlier that day. The story inspired William Harrison Ainsworth to include a modified version in his novel "Rookwood",
Dick Turpin Hadfield. An account in "The Gentleman's Magazine" for 7 April 1739 notes Turpin's brashness: "Turpin behaved in an undaunted manner; as he mounted the ladder, feeling his right leg tremble, he spoke a few words to the topsman, then threw himself off, and expir'd in five minutes." The short drop method of hanging meant that those executed were killed by slow strangulation, and so Turpin was left hanging until late afternoon, before being cut down and taken to a tavern in Castlegate. The next morning, Turpin's body was buried in the graveyard of St George's Church, Fishergate, opposite what is