download the last version for iphoneOld Snook

The day after the theft, Postmaster and High Constable John Page (of the Kings Arms in nearby Berkhamsted) initiated investigations into the crime, it was then that several people came forward and stated they remembered seeing a man at the Kings Arms fixing a broken girth-strap on his saddle. It was revealed in the London Chronicle of 11 March 1802, that the highwayman had also discarded his saddle with a broken girth strap on the moor, a mistake that would subsequently lead to the identification of the culprit.

The highwayman took the money, of a value of £80, and discarded the unwanted letters and bags, leaving them strewn across the moor. Upon reaching an isolated part of Boxmoor, near Bourne End, he was threatened by a highwayman who stole from him six leather bags containing bank notes, promissory notes and letters. On the evening of Sunday post boy John Stevens, travelling from Tring to Hemel Hempstead, was entrusted with several mail bags of post. The fact that his name is commonly quoted as Robert Snooks is perhaps due to a corruption of his identity as the 'Robber' Snook. Born in Hungerford in Berkshire, he was christened as James Snook on 16 August 1761. Robert Snooks was the last man to be executed in England for highway robbery, on 11 March 1802.

The headstone (foreground) was erected by the Boxmoor Trust in 1904, whilst the footstone was installed in 1994. This is the approximate resting spot of James Snook, and is marked by two stones. The grave of Robert Snooks, Boxmoor, Hertfordshire.

Download the last version for iphoneOld Snook