In the fifth part of his series about stories from Romford Road, historian Andy Grant explores mail coaches and highway robberies.


The mail coach was a regular feature on the Romford Road before the advent of the railways, stopping regularly at staging posts along the route for a change of horses.

Although railways spelt the death knell for these iconic coaches, it may surprise some to find out that the service was resumed in 1883 after the Royal Mail found the railway service too expensive.

Starting at 9.45pm from the Mount Pleasant parcel office in London, it reached the Romford staging post at 11.40pm.

Amazingly, it took just two minutes to change the team of horses, deliver and collect the parcels and proceed onwards to its next staging post in Brentwood which it reached by 00.29am.

Leaving Brentwood at 00.31am, it travelled through the night making its way onwards to Colchester and its final destination of Ipswich, reaching there at 7.20am the next morning.

The mail coach made its final journey in 1905.

These coaches represented rich pickings for highway robbers audacious enough to stage a hold-up.

Thomas Munn had been a brickmaker by trade, arriving to live and work at Brentwood during the summer of 1748.

Whilst working at a “Gentleman’s house between Brentwood and Romford” he became acquainted with 24 year old labourer, John Hall.

Having known him for around a month, Munn confided to Hall that money was not coming in as fast as he had hoped and that he had thought of a way to make them both rich very quickly.

Accordingly, at around one o’clock on the morning of July 20 1749, Munn and Hall robbed the Yarmouth mail coach “near the 15 mile stone between Brentwood and Romford” – around where Petersfield Avenue now joins the A12.

Fleeing to the ‘Angel & Crown’ at Poplar, Munn took a room for the night and started opening the letters contained within the mailbags.

He fell asleep whilst doing this and was noticed by those passing by his window, who summoned the local justices.

He was apprehended whilst sleeping and still had the incriminating stolen mailbags in his possession.


Hall had fled to the ‘Cock’ public house at East Ham and bought some silver plate, but his behaviour aroused suspicions and he was arrested the following day.

Both felons were imprisoned in Newgate prison and executed in 1750.

Their bodies were subsequently hung in chains from a gibbet at Gallows Corner.

At around 10pm on Wednesday March 16 1757, Thomas Furrell, a farmer, was forcibly knocked off his horse by two villains as he was returning from Romford Market to his home in Rainham.

They rained blows upon his head, such that he was left in danger of losing an eye.

Cutting open his pocket, they stole £115 and made off along the narrow lane, around a mile from Romford.

By April 4, four soldiers from Romford had been apprehended
for the robbery.

They had evidently given some of the proceeds to their wives, which was the means of their discovery.


On Wednesday December 14 1794, between 7pm and 8pm, a post coach en-route to Harwich neared the milestone three miles beyond Romford, when it was stopped by five armed footpads.

Upon opening the door to the coach, they saw the occupants were armed and commenced firing.

A diplomatic messenger, travelling to Florence, was shot through the thigh and groin and Mr Derby, a wealthy merchant, was shot in the wrist.

In the darkness and confusion a second messenger, travelling to Switzerland, managed to escape to a nearby farmhouse.

Eleven shots were fired and the wounded French messenger was dragged from the coach and had 60 Louis gold coins and 10 to 12 sovereigns stolen. He subsequently died.


Leonard Tomkinson, an associate of the infamous ‘laughing highwayman’, Jeremiah Abershaw, and John Clarke were apprehended at Kennington after another robbery.

They were the last highwaymen to be hung in chains from a gibbet after their execution.