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William Fletcher (Highwayman) c.1691-1729.

aka. Black Hearted Bill.

William Fletcher was born into the Gregor (also known as McGregor) [1] clan in the year c.1691. Raised in the Highlands of Scotland, where violent disputes between rival clans were commonplace [1] he learnt the art of hand-to-hand combat from a very young age and by the age of nineteen (c.1710) had the reputation of being a fearsome and fearless warrior. [2]

At the age of twenty-four (1715), despite sustaining several injuries, he distinguished himself in the Battle of Sheriffmuir (at the height of the Jacobite Rising of 1715 [3]. He continued being a thorn in the side of the British until the Battle of Glen Shiel [3] [4] (1719).

After the defeat at Glen Shiel [4] [5] William Fletcher fled Scotland and travelled South through Northern England. Needing money, he started to rob travellers along the roads that he travelled and any resistance from his victims, to part with their money and jewellery, was met with unprecedented violence. He settled somewhere near to York [6] for several years, and developed a reputation for robbery, with extreme violence, and the nickname 'Black Hearted Bill' [7] started to be used when referring to him.

He eventually moved further South, probably to avoid confrontation with the authorities, and emerged a couple of years later around the Nottingham area [7] His nefarious activities along the highways and byways continued, and his vicious, bloodthirsty ways made him the number one target for capture by the Lord Lieutenant of Nottingham (Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne), who was responsible for Law and Order for the County. In the autumn of 1729 William Fletcher robbed and murdered two travellers near to Nottingham. Pursued by local militia, he met his end in the caves under Ye Olde Salutation Inn, Nottingham, where his ghost is said to still haunt. He was buried in unconsecrated ground with no marker or gravestone.

References

1. John Baynes, (1970) The Jacobite Rising of 1715. London: Cassell.

2.Szechi, Daniel, (1994) The Jacobites: Britain and Europe, 1688–1788 (first ed.). Manchester University Press.

3. George Hilton Jones, (1954) The Main Stream of Jacobitism. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press).

4. Daniel Szechi, (2006) 1715: The Great Jacobite Rebellion. Yale University Press.

5. Squire, Romilly of Rubislaw (1994). ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopaedia. Glasgow: HarperCollins (for the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs'').

6. Johnson, Captain Charles. (2020) A General History of the Lives, Murders and Adventures of the Most Notorious Highwaymen. British Library Publishing.

7. Spraggs, Gillian, (2001) Outlaws and Highwaymen.  Pimlico.