Bøker av Richard Blacklee

At noon on Friday 3rd August 1787 on the Racecourse, Northampton. 5000 people mill around, looking for the best vantage point to see four men hanged in a public execution. They were members of the Culworth Gang, a band of highwaymen that had carried out 47 recorded robberies and many other offences on the good folk of the East Midlands, with little regard for consequence. The gang numbered up to seven on a raid, but only four had been convicted and for them, there was no escape. The makeshift gallows was their fate. Not long after midday the hangman's noose tightened and sent the four to meet their Maker. The gang had roamed the countryside of South Northamptonshire and neighbouring counties for twenty years looking for people to rob. Eventually caught due to carelessness, this is the first full history of the worst gang of highwaymen in the county's history.

Diamond's are a girl's best friend. If your name was Barnarto, they were your best friends as well. This is one of the great power struggles of the last 150 years. You'll be taken to the diamond mines of South Africa. You'll be wrapped up in an unsolved death and you'll learn how one family rose to prominence in the race for gold and diamonds. Lust. Murder. Deceit. Riches. Diamonds are forever. Happiness isn't.

I first met Richard through a shared interest in the history of local buildings in Northampton, though I was already familiar with his excellent work on the Culworth Gang. Northampton has a significant number of older attractive buildings which should be appreciated. This book provides an excellent introduction to the history of some of the most interesting and intriguing of these properties. Furthermore, they can be found in a relatively compact and easily accesible area of the town. The book offers an insight into crime and punishment across several centuries. It will give you the incentive to seek out parts of the buildings which are hidden from view and provides an insight into the world of those who work in them today. Richard has presented a clear and entertaining guide together with accompanying photographs and plans. It can be enjoyed at home as well as on self-guided walks of the town. I look forward to seeing people carrying this book while looking up at the many beautiful buildings in Northampton. Mary Pilkington Local Historian.