Mural of highwayman Bendigo Mitchell on gates of Black Horse pub, Saltisford

Image: © A J Paxton Taken: 29 May 2021

Mural of the Warwickshire highwayman Bendigo Mitchell, on his steed Skater, robbing a coach at gunpoint. According to the text, "Bendigo Mitchell was an 18th century highwayman. He plied his trade on the Warwick turnpike and waylaid those who had enjoyed a profitable trade at Warwick market. He rode ‘Skater’ – named after an icy escape from imminent arrest. Eventually captured, he was tried at Warwick Assizes in 1776 and publicly hanged across the road at the top of what is now the Sainsbury’s car park." A search of court records has failed to corroborate this claim, however, and Mitchell is said to have preyed on travellers on the Fosse Way, well to the east of Warwick. The name Bendigo is a popular form of the biblical Abednego. A roundabout where Harbury Lane crosses the Fosse Way is named after him, as is a forklift hire company in Kenilworth. https://www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk/content/article/bendigo-mitchell-warwickshire-highwayman The city in Australia is, however, named after a different Bendigo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bendigo

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