QSR1840/3/5/14

Depositions and examination - John Freeman

8 May 1840

From: 1840 To: 1840

Samuel Sinfield, shepherd to Harry Richard Checkley, a farmer at Lidlington - last Tuesday evening he checked the flock in a field in Ridgemont parish. About 5am next morning he missed one long woolled Tegg sheep. He found two forequarters of a sheep with the kidneys left in, skinned. He head that day that the skin was found at Woburn. The skin now produced fits exactly to the carcass, and has the remains of a pitch mark in the form of a star which is his master's mark. Stephen Henry Whichells of Thame (Oxon), feltmonger - he attended Woburn market that morning and the skin was offered to him for sale by Freeman for 6s. He offered 5s. He suspected something might be wrong by Freeman's manner of dealing. He offered him half a pint of beer at Rogers's as well as 5s, the object being to find out who Freeman was. After Freemen went Rogers told him someone had lost a Tegg sheep. As it was the skin of a Tegg and had a suspicious appearance being badly skinned, he gave information and Freeman was taken into custody. John Freeman - last Wednesday morning between 1 and 2am he was going to Mr Cook's of Brogborough to see some rooks. As he was going underneath the hedge on the grass he heard some people walking along the road towards him in a direction from Lidlington to Crawley, in Brogborough Lane. They were talking. He thinks they saw or heard him suddenly when about 20 yards away - they dropped something and ran away. It was the skin of a sheep and the two hind quarters. He took the skin and meat home and did not go after the rooks. He lives at Woburn Sands. His livelihood lately has been buying and selling old iron, bones and a few sheep skins. He has eaten part of the meat and the rest is at his house. He did not tell anybody what he had found.

item

Freeman, John,
Sinfield, Samuel,
Whichells, Stephen Henry,
Rogers

LIDLINGTON, RIDGMONT, Thame, BROGBOROUGH, WOBURN SANDS, stealing animals, sheep, feltmonger, rooks