Graham Irwin - Close To The Wind (Stuart Marson)

Graham Irwin sings Close to the Wind accompanied on 6-string electro-acoustic guitar.

This is a song about the demise of the Culworth Gang, a notorious 18th century Northamptonshire gang of highwaymen and burglars. It was written by Stuart Marson, a former head teacher of Guilsborough Academy in Northants.

The song was popularised by Fairport Convention when titled it Too Close to the Wind

The gang terrorised much of south Northamptonshire and parts of neighbouring counties for almost 20 years. It had a fluctuating membership, at one time numbering 15 men. Their crimes were usually committed by two or three members, although one robbery is known to have been committed by seven of their number.

On 3 Aug 1787 four members of the gang, the leader John Smith the Elder, Richard Law, William Pettifer (also known as Peckover), and William Bowers were executed by hanging at Northampton Heath - what is now known as the Racecourse. Some of the members confessed to a total of 47 robberies. The executions were witnessed by a crowd of about 5,000 people - the population of Northampton at the time was around 7,000.

One member, William Abbott, turned king's evidence and had his sentence commuted to transportation to Australia for life. Five other gang members who were tried along with the others, were released, and at least three fled before they could be captured and tried.

The song is written as a letter from one of the condemned to his wife. John Smith Snr did, in fact, write to his wife, Elizabeth, from gaol, dated 21 July 1787. In the letter he says that he wants his son William to make his coffin, and warns his children not to follow in his footsteps, but entreats them to "turn to the paths of virtue".

Members of the gang wore a farm labourer's smock, black hood and mask which hid their identity, but also eventually led to their downfall. The downfall came about because two gang members, staying at an inn one night, boasted that they had been cock fighting and had gamecocks in their bags. The landlord for some reason inspected the bags and discovered not birds but smocks and masks, which he reported to the constable. This led to the arrest, conviction, and death of the four members.

Image: A Night Robbery by Friedrich Müller, 1769; etching on wove paper