Outlaw
Old Leather Breeches
He rode only at night, round and round the moat.
Private, don't visit
- What's there
- Private medieval moat, tithe barn and dovecote below hilltop church
- Legend from
- Highwayman era
- Best time
- Dark nights
- Tone
- Eerie
Edlesborough: below the church on the hill, they say you can still hear a hidden highwayman galloping round the farm moat at night.
Below Edlesborough's hilltop church lies Church Farm, with a medieval water-filled moat that once surrounded the old rectory. Local tradition tells of a highwayman known as Jack the Leather, or Old Leather Breeches, who hid in the farm's stables. His only exercise was at night, when he rode the farm horses round and round the moat. One morning soldiers hunting him noticed the horses lathered with sweat, searched the stables and dragged him out to be hanged on a gibbet at Ivinghoe Beacon. Villagers say sharp-eared listeners can still hear his horse galloping round the moat on dark nights.
One sourceOnly one written account of this legend has been found so far.