-
7/28/2019 Claude Duval - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
1/4
Claude Duval
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses, see Claude Duval (disambiguation).
William Powell Frith's 1860 painting, Claude Duvall.
Claude Du Vall (1643 21 January 1670) was a French-born
gentleman highwaymanin post-Restoration Britain.Contents [hide]
1 Early life
2 Highwayman
3 Execution
4 Popular culture
5 References
6 External links
Early life[edit]
Du Val was born in Domfront, Orne, Normandy in 1643 to a noble
family strippedof title and land. His origin and parentage are in
dispute. He did however havea brother Daniel Du Val. At the age of
14 he was sent to Paris where he workedas a domestic servant. He
later became a stable boy for a group of Englishroyalists and moved
to England in the time of the English Restoration as afootman of
the Duke of Richmond (possibly a relation) and rented a house
inWokingham.
Highwayman[edit]
Before long Du Val became a successful highwayman who robbed the
passingstagecoaches in the roads to London, especially Holloway
between Highgate andIslington. However, unlike most other brigands,
he distinguished himself withrather gentlemanly behaviour and
fashionable clothes. He reputedly never usedviolence. One of his
victims was Squire Roper, Master of the Royal Buckhounds,whom he
relieved of 50 guineas and tied to a tree.
There are many tales about Du Val. One particularly famous one
placed in morethan one location and later published by William Pope
claims that he took onlya part of his potential loot from a
gentleman when his wife agreed to dance the"courante" with him in
the wayside, a scene immortalised by William Powell Frith
in his 1860 painting Claude Du Val.
If his intention was to deter pursuit by his non-threatening
behaviour, he didnot totally succeed. After the authorities
promised a large reward, he fled toFrance for some time but
returned a few months later. Shortly afterwards he wasarrested in
the Hole-in-the-Wall tavern in London's Chandos Street,
CoventGarden.
Execution[edit]
-
7/28/2019 Claude Duval - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
2/4
On 17 January 1670, judge Sir William Morton found him guilty of
six robberies (othersremained unproven) and sentenced him to death.
Despite many attempts tointercede, the king did not pardon him and
he was executed on 21 January atTyburn. When his body was cut down
and exhibited in Tangier Tavern, it drew alarge crowd and was later
removed to St Paul's church, Covent Garden, where itwas buried
under the centre aisle. His memorial inscription reads:
Here lies DuVall: Reder, if male thou art,
Look to thy purse; if female, to thy heart.
Much havoc has he made of both; for all
Men he made to stand, and women he made to fall
The second Conqueror of the Norman race,
Knights to his arm did yield, and ladies to his face.
Old Tyburns glory; Englands illustrious Thief,
Du Vall, the ladies joy; Du Vall, the ladies grief.[1]
The apparently gallant highwayman inspired a number of
biographers andplaywrights to add to his legend, including claims
of alchemy, gambling, andmuch womanising.
He is reported to haunt the Holt Hotel along the A4260 (Oxford
Road) inOxfordshire, a hotel where he spent many nights when it was
a small coaching inn.[1]
Popular culture[edit]
Claude Du Vall appears as a suspect in Ace Murder Mystery's 17th
Century Englishmurder mystery dinner party game 'Power Plots and
Pistols' (link below).
A 2005 Travel Channel Haunted Hotels documentary on hauntings
claims that ClaudeDuval's ghost presently haunts the tavern wherein
he was arrested before beingcondemned to death. This same
documentary also claims several people weremurdered by Duval,
despite scant evidence.
A comic opera called Claude Duval was written in 1881 by Edward
Solomon andHenry Pottinger Stephens and enjoyed success both in
Britain and in America.
In the Mary Hooper book "The Remarkable Life and Times of Eliza
Rose" Duval isstated as being a friend of Nell Gwyn and credited
with saving King Charles IIof England's life.
"As he reached this spot, a man started from the obscurity, and
requested withthe politeness of a Claude Duval to know the time."
From Mountains and Molehills;or, Recollections of a Burnt Journal,
1855, by Francis Samuel Marryat, (18261855).
A public house in the town of Camberley in Surrey is named in
his honour.
Claude Duval is the subject of Michael Scott Smith's song "The
Highwayman Waltz"
-
7/28/2019 Claude Duval - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
3/4
;recorded by folk group The Band of Brothers in their 2006 album
"Railroads,Hobos & Cowboys".
Claude Duval owned the land on which now stands, The Rainbow
Theatre (TheAstoria) in Seven Sisters Road. Finsbury Park.
References[edit]
1.^ Haunted Hotel Guide
External links[edit]Wikisource has the text of the 1911
Encyclopdia Britannica article Duval,Claude.
Duval in Stand and Deliver
Highwaymen at Historic UK
Claude Duval as a murder mystery game suspect
Short radio episode Every Man A Rogue mentions "the politeness
of a Claude Duval."California Legacy Project.
Authority control VIAF: 37987074
Categories: 1643 births1670 deathsPeople from OrneEnglish people
of FrenchdescentCrime in LondonEnglish people executed by
hangingHighwaymenFrench peopleexecuted abroadPeople executed for
robberyPeople executed by Stuart EnglandFrenchpeople executed by
hangingPeople executed by the Kingdom of England by
hanging17th-centuryexecutions by EnglandBurials in LondonPeople
executed at Tyburn
Navigation menu
Create account
Log in
Article TalkRead Edit View history
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
-
7/28/2019 Claude Duval - Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
4/4
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact Wikipedia
Toolbox
Print/export
Languages
Deutsch
Franais
Malagasy
Edit links
This page was last modified on 23 June 2013 at 20:09.
Text is available under the Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike License;
additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the
Terms of Useand Privacy Policy.Wikipedia is a registered trademark
of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profitorganization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Mobile view
