A WARWICK highwayman is keen to take people’s cash – for charity.
Bendigo Mitchell was a notorious highwayman who preyed on travellers along the Warwick to Banbury turnpike and the Fosse. And theatre group, The Slaughterhouse Players are set to tell the tale of his antics and his horse “Skater” in January, with all the cash raised from the performances going to Safeline.
Skater got his nickname when he skittered across the frozen pond at Chesterton Mill, with Bendigo on his back, to escape capture.
The Highwayman and his accomplices regularly robbed the traders leaving Warwick Market and had several bolt-holes and hideaways particularly behind Harwoods House and beyond Chesterton Mill.
Chris Willsmore, co-founder and author, said: “Slaughterhouse Players have re-enacted a few trials over recent years. We last performed our tale of Bendigo in 2015 and we’re delighted to be performing again in aid of Safeline.”
The story, called “Stand and Deliver”, will be told at Alderson House in High Street, Warwick on January 27 and 28, with special guests Wychwood Folk Rock.
Members of the audience will be the jury to deliver the verdict on the trial. It is said that Bendigo was hanged before a crowd of more than 10,000 people in, what is now, Warwick Sainsbury’s car park.
Tickets cost £10 and are available from the Tourist Information Office in Jury Street, Warwick, Eventbrite or by emailing [email protected]
