The Smugglers of the Jolly Sailor

The Turpin Gang

The Turpin brothers came from Lincolnshire. Frances Turpin was the landlord of the Jolly Sailor, which was an inn, grocers and blacksmith. John Turpin was a sea captain who commanded a sailing sloop that ran their trade from South Wales to the coast of France, Portugal and Spain. Most of the inhabitants of the small hamlet of Newton were members of the Turpin gang.

They dug a tunnel from the Jolly Sailor under Newton Church to a pub on the beach by Newton Point called the Red House. I used to play in the ruins of the pub as a child.

Off Newton Point is a large flat rock (Tusker Rock) where John Turpins sloop would tie up. They would land their cargo onto the rock, then long boat it to the shore, into the Red House and up to the Jolly Sailor. The cargo would then be transported to Cardiff and sold.

The Turpin gang themselves built the Red House from the stones of Newton beach.

When a cargo was landed, John Turpin would come up from the Red House, climb the wall of Newton Church, where the yew tree is and look up into the window of the Jolly Sailor. If there was a red light in the window it indicated that there were boarders at the inn, and it was dangerous to approach the Jolly Sailor. The window that they used to show the red lamp was in the house where Mrs. Williams used to live. The same house that the present landlord John davies found the entrance to the tunnel.

The noise of men and barrels being rolled along the tunnel alerted the Vicar of Newton church, who when he first heard these noises coming from under his church, thought his church was haunted.

The Vicar brought the sound of the noise to the attention of the Bishop, who in turn went to the authorities and the gang was smashed.

John Turpin was hanged at Cardiff. In those days if you were hanged, you landed up in a lime pit. Somehow the Turpin family managed to get hold of his body and he is buried under the yew tree. His name was added to his family tomb long after his death.

I have noticed on my recent visits to Newton that there is a new tomb stone on the grave, and I can assure you that the layout of the writing on the stone is exactly the same as on the old one. It reads
"Here lies the body of John Turpin, Mariner born in Lincolnshire (let no man move his body)".

It is said that he went to the gallows without betraying the rest of the gang.

Note: The yew tree at Newton is not more than 200 years old, so the planting of the tree is about the same time as the legend.

This story was told to me as a child, that it was the Turpins themselves who planted the yew tree. The yew is a mystical tree, it is the wood that made the long bow (the Welsh invented the long bow). The spirit of the green man is supposed to live in the tree.

The Turpins coming from Lincolnshire thought themselves to be the 'Robin Hoods' of their day, as they helped the poor of Newton. Robin Hood dressed in Lincoln green and the Turpin gang really were men in Lincoln green.

A small crown garrison was established on Newton green, where Crown House now stands. The old building has long gone, but the name Crown House has lived on.

Written by R.D. Arnold
December 1992

This story was told to me by my step father who was born at 2 Church Road. This is the cottage that stood empty for many years, and was owned by the Jolly Sailor. My step fathers name was Bill Powell. The rest of the people in this street, old Grandpa Kingdom who lived at Rock Cottage was about 80 years old when he died. He lived all his life in Newton, so the life span of the people who told me this story goes back over 100 years.

Neither Kenfig or Nottage can do better than this for a true story.