Not Every Tom, Dick, and Harry Were Highwaymen; But These Were

Criminalia

Shondaland Audio and iHeartPodcasts

True Crime, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 29 April 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This is the tale (and legend) of the Dunsdon brothers: Thomas, Richard, and Henry – yes, a real life Tom, Dick and Harry. Known as the Burford Highwaymen, they terrorized the locals between Glouster and Oxford. But the crime the brothers are best known for committing actually had nothing to do with highway robbery -- but it did include amputation.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	I'm ready to fight. Oh, this is fighting worse. Okay, I'll put the hammer back. Hi, I'm
0:05.3	George M. Johnson, a bestselling author with the second most banned book in America. Now more than ever,
0:11.3	we need to use our voices to fight back. Part of the power of black queer creativity is the fact
0:16.7	that we got us, you know? We are the greatest culture makers in world history.
0:24.0	Listen to Fighting Words on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
0:33.3	Welcome to Criminalia, a production of Shondaland Audio in partnership with IHeartRadio.
0:43.8	If you've been following our new season so far, you've heard about lady and gentleman robbers.
0:49.9	But not all highwaymen and women were cavalier or polished.
0:55.0	The tale of the Dunstan brothers, Thomas, Richard, and Henry.
0:59.0	Yes, that is a real life, Tom, Dick, and Harry, are the highwaymen we'll talk about in this episode.
1:05.0	They plundered the carriages and sometimes the homes, of those living near the border of Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire counties in the late 1700s.
1:14.2	Let's tell their story and their legend.
1:17.3	Hint, it's a pretty big legend.
1:20.1	Welcome to Criminalia. I'm Maria Tremarky.
1:23.0	And I'm Holly Fry.
1:24.7	The Dunstan brothers grew up in the small village of Fulbrook, which is only about a mile
1:29.7	from the town of Burford, a popular town in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds, and a town that plays a part
1:36.1	in the brother's criminal career. Dick, born in 1745, was the eldest brother, and from about the
1:43.0	age of 16, give or take, he had already taken to crime, and he was frequently fined for assault and sometimes disorderly conduct.
1:52.4	Tom, the middle brother, was punished on and off for crimes of violence. According to court records, in 1779, when he would have been about the age of 25, he was charged with deer hunting.
2:05.6	That was considered illegal poaching at the time.
2:09.3	The practice was limited to the aristocracy, and under the 1772 Black Act, only authorized hunters were allowed the privilege. Poaching, it was feared, would
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 25 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Shondaland Audio and iHeartPodcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Shondaland Audio and iHeartPodcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.