Gangsters, mobsters, hooligans, call them what you like but organized crime has been part of
our reality for a while now. The stereotypical image and myth of the American gangster are
closely associated with organized crime during the Prohibition era of the 1920s and 1930s. However
some credit the lawless wild west for allowing infamous outlaws to group up malefactors into
the wild bunch. But the history of organized crime is way older than America itself,
even older than the Borgia family members who are considered as the precursors
to the mafia families and La Cosa Nostra itself. Back in medieval times,
the woods of Nottinghamshire were plagued with many outlaw families who ruled the region
outside the law and made a mockery of the King’s order as they pleased.
Welcome to Nutty History and this is the untold story of Gangsters who ruled medieval England.
In the 1320s, Master Robert Bernard was working in the parish of Bakewell in Derbyshire as a priest.
But then he was caught embezzling church funds as he failed to pay the stipulated sums to the
poor on Founder Days and was rightfully fired and expelled. When he arrived to say Mass on
Christmas Day in 1327, his parishioners, instead of wishing him a Merry Christmas and showering
him with Yuletide gifts, stripped him of his eucharistic vestments and sent him packing. For
such a high posted pastor this was a humiliating experience. He was beaten, insulted, and thrown
out in front of his replacement; the new priest Walter Can. Firing Robert Bernard was one thing
but to make a show out of it was a big mistake. Bernard was linked with one of the most infamous
hooligans of the land and he only had to ask. The next day, new priest Walter Can was found beaten,
his bones and jaw broken, his robes torn apart and 10 shillings were missing from the church
funds. This was perhaps the first-ever recorded crime of the Coterel Gang. The Coterels were a
notorious family-run outfit that terrorized the Peak District in the early 14th century.
And they were not alone! This period is filled with records of references to large-scale criminal
gangs which engaged in robbery, pillaging, abduction, and murder among other crimes in
contemporary England. The 14th century was a bonanza time for outlaw gangs in England.
Plague, famine, and depopulation led to widespread social unrest. The peasant revolt
and the rise of the proto-protestants Lollards was a sign of failing administration and clergy.
Obviously, such desperate times produced desperate men and the Folville family was amongst the most
ruthless and daring of the fourteenth-century gangs. With a lack of proper police to discipline
or implement the law, gangs would thrive and control the length and breadth of these counties.
Just like the mafias, the triads, and the cartels, these gangs of medieval times were organized in
tightly knit families which appeared no different than regular families. Husbands, wives, brothers,
sisters, all working together in the gang handling various duties. What’s interesting
here is that contrary to the popular assumption and the scenarios that led to the rise of gangs,
14th-century gangs weren’t always the oppressed class like Adam the Leper or exiled nobles.
In fact, they were the exact opposite, mostly small landowning families with ties to the church.
As we saw in the case of Priest Bernard, clergy and churches were featured frequently in these
gangs’ exploits. This was the Middle Ages after all and clergy had their finger in every pie,
including those that were baked illegally. In 1340, when a mob invaded the church at Teigh,
Rutland, and executed the priest this wasn’t robbery or extermination but crown-issued justice!
As the priest was found guilty of being a member of the Folville gang and the mob that dragged
him to his end was a posse made of enforcement officers led by the local Justice of the Peace.
The Folville Gang was active in Leicestershire roughly in the same period when Coterels were
terrorizing Nottinghamshire and they were one of the most prominent landowners of the county. A
family of seven brothers, the Folvilles saw six of their kin get arrested and punished to some degree
for their crimes except the eldest, John, who was never charged for any crimes his family committed.
The relationship between clergy and the Folvilles doesn’t stop at the priest of Teigh, Rutland as
the third eldest Folville brother, Richard was a cleric himself. Moreover, the Folville
Family was eager to work for anyone’s money despite having their own wealth. In 1331 their
services were engaged by a canon of Sempringham Priory and the cellarer of Haverholm Abbey.
These two clergymen, who had previously sheltered the Folvilles from the law,
paid them £20 to destroy a water mill belonging to a rival.
Sure enough, the mill was soon a smoking ruin. The Folvilles’ services were not limited to sabotage;
in 1326 they set upon and disposed of Sir Roger Bellere with the aid of two local landowners. The
crime shocked contemporaries because of Bellere’s standing. He was a Baron of the Exchequer and
owned nine manors. The Folvilles didn’t turn up to their trial, instead vanishing into the
wilds or perhaps fled to Wales or France, and they were promptly declared outlaws. Evidently, their
new status didn’t deter them since within a few years, petitions were being sent to the Sheriff of
Nottingham complaining that the Folville brothers were spotted again numerous times. The brothers
were the head of a gang that was waylaying and stealing from many travelers. In some cases they
were putting to rest travelers. In the period of three years between 1327-1330, Eustace, the second
eldest of the Folville Brothers and assumed leader of the gang, was either directly accused of,
or mentioned in connection with, three robberies, four eliminations, and for harming a woman.
Lack of local policing and security also meant that whenever force was required to apprehend
criminals like the Folvilles and the Coterels, the army would be asked to intervene. However,
that wasn’t very convenient as there was always one war or another going on.
Moreover, the army had no monitor over such matters or records and only intervened on
the king’s orders. This provided these medieval gangster’s perfect loopholes. To hide from the
army, they became soldiers in the army. Not only did this loophole allow these criminals
to hide in plain sight but also offered the opportunity of earning King’s pardon.
Given they managed to pull off a major win for the king during their term of service.
In late 1328, the Earl of Lancaster revolted and the Folville brothers enlisted themselves in Roger
Mortimer’s army to earn the King’s grace. But sadly, old habits are not easy to get rid of and
while Leicester was under Mortimer’s protection, the Folville brothers looted £200 worth of goods
from the citizens. Despite that, everything turned out all right for the Folville Brothers.
Even after their audacious crime of abducting Sir Richard de Willoughby who later became the
future Chief Justice of the King’s Bench. Sir Willoughby’s abduction was perhaps the biggest
heist of the 14th century. The Folville Brothers allied with the Coterels, the Bradburn Gang,
and the Savage Company who despite their barbaric name were the noble house ruling Bobbing Parish
in Kent County. The gangs helped each other by smuggling Willoughby from one wood to another
and shared the ransom of 1300 marks among them. This tactic kept them one step ahead
of the law and interestingly pulling such an astounding crime worked out in their favor.
Instead of being punished, Eustace Folville served under Edward III’s army in Scotland and Flanders
and gained a full pardon in return. The leader of the Folville brothers spent the rest of his
days as a councilor at Crowlands Abbey without ever being indicted for his crimes as a gangster
ever again. In fact, most of the Folville brothers walked scot-free in the end except Richard the
cleric who failed to get a pardon and was executed for his crimes against the crown, religion,
and people of England. Ironically, his execution was later deemed illegal by the church so he too
got pardoned, posthumously. The Coterels, Adam the Leper, and possibly Roger Godbred as well
managed to evade justice. James Coterel, the head of the Coterel family, ironically was employed in
law enforcement in 1336 as the arresting officer of Leicestershire. Nicholas Coterel became Queen
Philippa’s bailiff for the High Peak and would lead an army of archers into Scotland. But how
come these public enemies became upholders of the very laws they violated over and over again?
Part of the answer is that Justices of the Peace and other law enforcement officers were highly
dependent on local information and assistance in their operations. Given that these gangs were
not just some outclassed and exploited peasants but noble houses with a lot of political backing
it’s not surprising that many people wouldn’t dare to inform on them for
fear of retribution. The second reason was the Robin Hood effect. You may have noticed
that many of these gangs share few similarities with the stories of Robin Hood and his Merry Men.
You… must have read that story in your childhood or at least watched the Disney movie,
right? But let’s not digress. The similarities are there because these actual robbers and pillagers
were the inspiration behind the legend that evolved into what we now know as The Adventures of
Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Long before Howard Pyle wrote the stories of Robin Hood in a more
kid-friendly fashion, Robin Hood’s stories were inspired by the crimes of Adam the Leper,
The Coterel Family, and The Folville Brothers. It is true that these people exploited the
clergy and abducted powerful and wealthy people like Sir Willoughby and Sir Bellere for ransom.
But it is also true that Willoughby and Bellere were infamously corrupt and conniving authorities
who were equally unpopular among masses and elites alike. Even the officials like Roger de Wennesley,
Lord of Mappleton, and Sir Robert de Vere, the constable of Rockingham Castle who was sent to
capture the Coterel family and the Folville brothers respectively willingly failed their
duty. For the sake of morality, the Coterel family and the Folville brothers were doing bad stuff to
bad people and it was as close to justice back then as it could be. The public also lauded
the Coterels and the Folvilles for teaching these snobs a lesson and that gained these gangs status
of outlaw-heroes. Their stories were passed down generation to generation with bad stuff left out;
preserving the good stuff, meta morphing their deeds into one cohesive legend that
is now called Robin Hood or ‘Robbing… in Hood’. Tell us what do you think of these medieval gangs
and do they deserve more punishment than they got? Which other period of gangsters
would you like us to cover on our channel? And as always thanks for watching Nutty History.