QSR1840/4/5/5/a

Depositions - William Smith charged with stealing files from his master John Howard

18 July 1840

From: 1840 To: 1840

Elizabeth Hilton of St Paul Bedford, spinster - she is servant to Mrs Clarke, keeper of the Bell Public House. Smith had been lodging at the Bell for the last 6 weeks. The previous afternoon as she made his bed she found the two parcels of files now produced under the bottom mattress. She called her mistress who took the parcels downstairs and sent for Mr Howard. (The larger parcel contained one dozen 14 inch half-round files and the smaller parcel one dozen 7 inch flat files). She also found a piece of brown paper under the mattress after she found the parcels. She never saw Smith bring home any such parcels or say anything about them. A traveller slept in another bed in the same room the night before she found the things. She does not know whether he went to bed before Smith or not. She had not made Smith's bed before - his wife used to make it. Smith could go up the back stairs to his bedroom without being seen. Susanna Clark wife of William Clark of St Paul Bedford, victualler - Smith left her house the previous morning about 7am. About 5.30pm she was called upstairs to the bed room by Elizabeth Hilton who showed her the two parcels of files. She put them in the bar and locked the door until Mr Howard came. When he came he said the parcels were his property. That morning Mr Coombs the chief constable came and asked to see the parcels. At his request she marked them. She later delivered them to James Clarke the constable. She delivered the piece of brown paper to Mr Howard that morning. The previous morning Mrs Smith came downstairs about 9am and said "Mrs Clarke my husband and I were walking last night in the new Buildings and we picked up these screws", and delivered a packet in brown paper containing screws. Mrs Smith added "as you are building these screws may be of use to you but they are of no use to me". She said to Mrs Smith that they were curious things to find, and looked so bright she did not think they had been laying about long. She took the screws and put them in the bar where she later put the files. William Smith was not present. They left her lodgings without notice - when Smith and his wife did not come home to dinner as usual she sent to Mr Howard to inquire about him. In consequence of the answer she took the screws to Mr Howard. That was about an hour before the files were found. Response to prisoner: She never bought a [scons?] in her life. Her husband bought seven pounds of nails from a man named Clark in her house and she paid him for them. William Day of St Paul Bedford, apprentice to John Howard, ironmonger - Smith was in Mr Howard's service as a tinman for several weeks until 11am the previous day when he was discharged. He did not miss any of Mr Howard's property. He believes the parcel of large files to be Mr Howard's property though the paper on which Mr Howard's private shop mark is usually made is gone, and is sure the parcel of smaller files is Mr Howard's as the packet has his private mark. The files were kept on a shelf in the front shop under the counter near the side door leading into the yard and workshops. Smith was in the habit of coming into the shop by the side door once or twice a day for instructions. The shelf where the files were was immediately opposite where the goods his work was connected with were kept. The stock is so large he could not miss anything from it. He believes the screws to be Mr Howard's property. The piece of brown paper is the outside cover of a parcel of such screws, but he cannot swear it did not belong to a packet of screws which had been sold. He is sure the packet of small files had not been sold - they are generally sold separately, when the mark would have been taken off. John Howard of St Paul Bedford, ironmonger - the previous morning he told Smith he did not require his services any longer, but he could continue to the end of the week if he wished. Smith said he had a letter from a friend in Birmingham stating that there was plenty of work there and he had better go immediately. He said he intended to go on to Birmingham that day. From information he received later he sent James Clarke one of the Bedford constables in pursuit of Smith, and after that sent his apprentice William Day. He has not missed any parcels but has many hundreds in his stock. He can swear to the pack of small files as his property, and is sure the larger files are also his. James Clark, constable of Bedford - the previous afternoon he went in pursuit of Smith and found him at the Three Horse Shoes in Hitchin. Hitchin is in a contrary direction to Birmingham from Bedford. He apprehended Smith.

item

Smith, William,
Hilton, Elizabeth,
Clark, Susanna,
Clark, William,
Day, William,
Howard, John,
Clark, James

Bedford St.Paul, Birmingham, Hitchin, stealing, ironmonger, victualler, police constable, Bedford Bell, Hitchin Three Horse Shoes