Bedfordshire Archives Service Catalogue
  • Reference
    QSR1839/1/5/15-16a
  • Title
    Deposition of William Coombs - Thomas Thurley and George Paris of St Paul Bedford, labourers, charged with stealing 10lbs of hay
  • Date free text
    9 November 1838
  • Production date
    From: 1838 To: 1838
  • Scope and Content
    He was on the Freemens Common and saw Richard Randall pass him with some hay in his hand. Randall told him someone had been stealing hay from Sir William Long's rick. They tracked hay back to opposite Thurley's door at the bottom of Well Street. He made enquiries, discovered Thurley had a donkey kept in Mr Walker's stables about 40 yards from his house. Inside the stable he saw hay similar to the hay he had picked up on his way. Thurley came in and was asked where he got the hay - "He had it from where it was to be had where did I think he had it from". Coombs took the hay to William Pestell, about 8 or 10lbs of it. He went to the rick and observed a quantity of hay from the south side of the rick had been pulled by beasts. On the west side hay had been pulled from just under the thack of barley straw, and there were no marks of cattle on that side. He also distinctly tracked barley straw with the hay from the rick to the stable door. The hay was distinctive as it was a second crop and much finer than hay generally is. Later the prisoners came to him and Thurley said he had bought the hay from George Paris the previous night. Paris agreed he sold it to Thurley and claimed he bought it from a waggoner on the road as he was coming from Cople. Coombs was still convinced the hay came from Sir William Long's rick, so took them into custody and took Paris with him to look for Mr Pestell, Sir William Long's partner. On the way Paris confessed he did not sell the hay to Thurley, but said they both went to the rick the previous night and took a bundle a piece. Thurley had the hay and gave Paris some beer. Thurley then called him that morning and asked him to go with him to Coombs and say he bought the hay on the road, which was not true.
  • Level of description
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