QSR1852/3/5/5/a

Depositions of Benjamin Jefferies, farmer of Great Barford, Thomas Gell, labourer of Great Barford, John Thorn, labourer of Great Barford, William Hills, police constable of Blunham and William Beach, police sergeant of Great Barford. In the case of William Foster accused of stealing 6 bushels of wheat

21 April 1852

From: 1852 To: 1852

Benjamin Jefferies: about 4 o'clock in the morning on 19 April he was given some information by Thomas Gell, his horse keeper. He went to his wheat barn in the yard and observed the heap of wheat, that had been partly dressed, appeared disturbed. A sample of wheat was taken by his son Robert Ayers Jefferies and delivered to Sergeant Beach. Later on that morning, he went with his son and Constable Hills to the back of the premises to search for footprints. They found prints leading from the back of the premises through a gap in the fence to a field owned by Thomas Thody. They went through the gap and came to a heap of straw. He saw Constable Hills move the straw and they discovered a sack with something in it. Hills immediately recovered it. On 21 April about 6 o'clock, he went with his son and Hills to Thody's barn. There they found a sack containing a large quantity of wheat. When they had discovered the first sack he had noticed the letters "i e s" on it near the bottom. The same letters were on the sack in Thody's barn. The sample of wheat was compared with that in the sack in Thody's barn and they appeared the same. The prisoner lives in the adjoining premise to Thody. Thomas Gell: Horse keeper to Mr Jefferies and lived at Great Barford. On 19 April he observed the door of the barn on Mr Jefferies premises was open. The lock was lying on the ground. There was a key in the lock. The key would unlock the lock but was not the key belonging to that lock. The proper key was kept in the house. He looked in the barn and saw a hole in the wheat. John Thorn: a labourer in the service of Mr Jefferies. He went to work about 6 o'clock on 19 April and was going to dress wheat, he had been dressing some for Mr Jefferies on Saturday 17 April in the wheat barn. On arriving he found his master at the barn with Benjamin Brown who had also been dressing wheat in there on the Saturday afternoon. Thorn had locked the barn on leaving on the Saturday and taken the key to the house. Wheat was missing from the heap they had been dressing on Saturday. He took a sample of wheat and put it in a bag. On 21 April he went with Constable Hill to Thody's barn and examined some wheat there. He could see no difference between the sample and the wheat in Thody's barn. Both contained some oats. Mr Jefferies son had held the bag whilst he took the sample. William Hills: a police constable stationed in Blunham. He was sent for by Mr Jefferies on 19 April. He witnessed John torn take a sample of wheat from then pile. He went with Mr. Jefferies to look for footprints. They found footprints leading to a hole in the fence. They saw straw in the field and upon searching it found a sack tied up with something in it. He covered it again and watched it all day until about 4 o'clock, when the accused came to the straw with a fork. They had been some hens scratching around the straw in the day and Hills did not realise the sack had been exposed. The prisoner levelled the straw on the heap with his fork and went off. Hill continued to watch all night, accompanied by Sergeant Beach. They left the premises at 4 o'clock Tuesday 20 April. The sack was in the straw. On returning about 9 o’clock in the evening, the sack was gone. On 21 April he went with Sergeant Beach to the house of the accused. He was in Thody's barn, as he worked for him. The accused went with them to his house and afterwards went with them to Thody's barn where they found the sack of wheat. William Beach: a rural police sergeant residing in Great Barford. On 19 April be went with Constable Hills to examine a lump of straw on Mr Thody's land. There he found 2 nearly full sacks containing wheat. He watched the sacks from 8 o'clock that evening until 4 o'clock the following morning. The sacks were still there when he left but had gone when he returned that night. On 21 April he went to then accused in Mr Thody's barn and told him they would search his house. Foster gave them permission to search his house but they found nothing. They returned to the barn and Hills united a sack in the barn and found it full of wheat. Foster said it was his master’s wheat. Thody arrived as agreed it was his wheat. Mr Jefferies arrived with the sample of missing wheat and matched it with the wheat in the sack. Another sack was found in a bran bag in the same barn. Foster said this second bag had been there 3 months. John Thorn: on second examination he believed the sample not to match the wheat in the found sack.

item

Foster, William,
Jefferies, Benjamin,
Jefferies, Robert Ayres,
Gell, Thomas,
Thorne, John,
Hills, William,
Beach, William,
Thody, Thomas

Great Barford, BLUNHAM, stealing, wheat