QSR1870/1/5/14

Depositions and examination - William Tomkins and John Tomkins, both of Bidwell, charged with stealing 2 sacks containing between 3 and 4 bushels of barley and 40 currant trees from John Clegg. William Tomkins discharged.

31 December 1869

From: 1869 To: 1870

Joseph Gobby of Toddington, gardener in the employ of the Revd John Clegg, rector of Toddington – on Thursday 23 December about 4.45pm he was in his master’s yard and went into the road. He saw William Tompkins’s cart standing in the road. No one was with it. He heard Tompkins had been to his house with potatoes and wanted to see him. He went into the house and William Tompkins gave him the potatoes. He went to the Rectory and William Tompkins followed him into the yard. He fed the sow and locked up the door where he kept the sow’s victuals. William Tompkins asked if he was done. He said he had to take the wood to the house and go to the post and fetch the milk. Tompkins went with him into the pig house where barley is kept. He locked the door. Tompkins followed him into the road. He lost sight of Tompkins for about half an hour. Tompkins came to his house again later, asked if he was done and asked him to go and have some beer, which he did. All this time Tompkins’ cart was at the bottom of his yard. He saw the tailboard of the cart was loose – Tompkins said it was for the dog to get in and out. He saw nothing in the cart. While they were drinking beer Tompkins went to fetch the cart and was gone about 5 minutes. After he had drunk the beer he left Tompkins in the public house. He sat down in his house opposite Mr Clegg’s premises which are about 30 yards from the public house. When he left the public house the tailboard was done up. William Tompkins called into his house for his potato basket about an hour after he left the public house, at about 7pm. He saw no more of him. When he went to fetch the milk at about 5.45 he heard something rustle in the barrels. On the following Monday morning Mr Clegg’s coachman pointed out to him where some barley had been spilt in the barrels. The barrels are about 15 yards from where the barley is kept. On Friday morning he went to the pigs to unlock the door. The staple dropped out. He opened the door and saw barley littering about the place. He opened the bin and saw the barley was gone. He missed about 3 to 4 bushels of barley and 2 sacks. The same day he missed 40 currant trees from the garden. They were red and black currant trees which had been planted 2 years and had been pulled out of the ground. On 23rd when he left at night he locked up the pig house where the barley was. He shut the little gate in the stable yard but did not lock it. The trees produced are the trees he missed. The soil to the trees is similar to the soil in the garden and the trees are the same size as those he missed. The samples of barley are undressed as his master’s barley was. When he missed the barley at 7pm on the 24th he went into the house and told the cook and coachman, then later went to the police constable. He traced strange footsteps in the asparagus beds in the garden. They did not match his own shoes. On the preceding Wednesday night as he was going to the Church with a bundle of ivy he had met William Tomkins up the road at Toddington. Tomkins was in a cart. Tomkins came into the yard and garden and he gave him some ivy – his cart was at the public house. He saw him again in the Pheasant Inn about 6.30pm. He offered to swap early potatoes with Tomkins. Tomkins said he had brought 2 pear trees in his cart for someone who would not have them, but said nothing about plum trees. Tomkins did not say he got the trees from Lake of Berkhampstead. The 3 trees produced come from his master’s garden. He knows them by the shape of the pears and the cutting. He put red currant trees over the fence on the Wednesday evening. He did not ask Tomkins if he wanted to buy any and he did not ask the price. He did not say he would give Tomkins any currant trees for potatoes. He did not take 15 currant trees away and say he would bring the potatoes the next night. His cottage is 34-35 yards from where the barley was kept. Tomkins did bring the potatoes. He never gave Tomkins the swap on Thursday evening. He did not say he could not give him the potatoes because his master was at home. He did not tell Tomkins that his master was going to a party and if he would wait 2 or 3 hours he could get them for him. Tomkins did not say he could not wait. He never said anything about driving Tomkins to Cranfield. Tomkins said he could drive him over if he could get him a bit of corn for his horse. He did not ask Tomkins to drive him to Cranfield. Tomkins did not say he could not do anything of the kind without asking father first. He did not say he could get Tomkins plenty of corn if he would drive him. Tomkins did not say then he would have nothing to do with him. He has been with Mr Clegg for seven years. The staple has been in all that time. There is a road between his house and the street – the back of his house is towards the shed. He missed the currant trees when the policeman was with him. Thomas Burrows of Toddington, coachman in the employ of Revd John Clegg – on 24 December he went with Police Sergeant Olden to the house of John Tomkins at Bidwell. They went into the garden and found 14 currant trees there. He heard William Tomkins say “I had those trees from Mr Lake of Berkhampstead”. Wm Tomkins agreed they could take the trees to Toddington. He and Olden found some barley in a box, in an empty house adjoining John Tomkins’ premises. Wm Tomkins said he had the barley from Mr Brown’s at Luton and agreed they could take a sample. On Tuesday 28 December about 2pm he saw about ½ peck of loose barley in the barrels on his master’s premises. He was told there were 2 sacks missed. One of the sacks had a hole in it and leaked. On Thursday 23 he was up his master’s yard about 4.30pm and returned about 7.15pm. He found the little door leading into the road open. He left at about 8.30pm leaving Gobby to lock up. George Rowe of Toddington, labourer – on Thursday night 23 December between 6 and 7pm he was at Toddington. He saw a cart at Mr Bailey’s Public House with some currant trees in it. He saw no one in the cart. A small blackish dog was on the seat. He does not know what colour the horse was. John Olden, police sergeant stationed at Toddington – on Friday 24 December he went to Bidwell with Mr Clegg’s coachman. He saw Wm Tomkins and asked if he was at Toddington the previous night – he said he was. He asked if Tomkins bought any trees as Mr Clegg had lost some. Tomkins said he had some trees he bought at Berkhampstead. He took possession of the 14 trees now produced. He later saw some barley in an adjoining house which Tomkins said came from Mr Brown’s of Luton. He took a sample. It was in a box containing a bushel and a half. In a loft he found a sack containing about 2 bushels of barley. Wm Tomkins said it also came from Brown’s. At Toddington Gobby said he believed the trees were his master’s and he took Tomkins into custody for stealing the trees and barley. On Friday 24 he was with his superintendent. John Tomkins asked where his son was and said if he had been at home they should not have had the barley. John Tomkins said he bought it from James Chapman at Bidwell. William Shepherd , superintendent of police for the Woburn division – he went to Woburn and found Wm Tomkins in custody there. He heard Tomkins say he bought the trees at Lanes at Berkhampstead. He later saw some foot prints on Mr Clegg’s asparagus bed. He later asked Wm Tomkins to walk up the asparagus bed – his foot prints corresponded exactly. That afternoon he saw John Tomkins at Toddington who asked where his son was - he said Wm Tomkins was at Woburn. John Tomkins said if he had been home he would not have had the barley. He said if Tomkins had obstructed him he would have taken him. John Tomkins said he ought the barley from a neighbour, Chapman. He later went to Bidwell and in an upstairs room in a house adjoining Tomkins he saw some sheaves of barley, a 4 bushel bag full of barley, some in another bag and some on the floor. The sample produced is from the full bag in the loft. On Monday 27 December Wm Tomkins was in custody at Woburn and his mother came to see him. Tomkins said that the trees came out of Mr Clegg’s garden and were put over the board, and that Gobby said he would give him the trees but was to say nothing about it. His mother asked Wm Tomkins if he knew anything about the barley and he said he did not. The trees found at Tomkins house match 3 trees taken from Mr Clegg’s garden. He did say to Mr Clegg that he suspected his gardener was implicated in the robbery from his manner, and Mr Clegg said he suspected he had been robbed for some time. Mr Clegg did not mention Gobby’s name. He never offered Wm Tomkins a free pardon if he would confess, or told Tomkins mother he would to go with him to the magistrate and get him to discharge him to give evidence against Gobby. He saw Tomkins’ mother at the public house last Monday. She asked if her son had said anything about the case and he said he had not. Mrs Tomkins said the barley that was found was bought at Chapman’s. William Tomkins and John Tomkins – said they would leave it to their attorney. WITNESSES CALLED FOR THE DEFENCE James Chapman of Bidwell, farmer – he has known John Tomkins, who is a neighbour of his, for 30 years. John Tomkins has kept his beer house for 12 years. He grew some barley that year and sold it in the ground to John Tomkins. There were about 7 bushels for which Tomkins gave him 30s. He can’t say where Tomkins threshed the barley. Tomkins keeps pigs and fowls. Thomas Goodwin of Houghton Regis – he is a labourer employed by Edward Barnard of Bidwell. He recollects William Tomkins coming to Mr Barnard to borrow a barley chopper about a month ago. The chopper is used to chop off the beard of the barley. Harriet Tomkins – she is the mother of William Tomkins. During the last some barley was bought from James Chapman and was put in an upstairs room. When the police came last Friday they went into the room. The straw there was from the barley bought from Chapman. The barley in the box and upstairs that the police took away was Chapman’s barley. She brought the sample produced from the bulk of Chapman’s barley. She never found any other barley on the premises. There are about 3 or 4 bushels left of the 7 bushels that came from Chapman. The barley was chopped about 5 weeks ago and was threshed, fanned and cleaned up. When her son was in custody at Woburn William Shepherd said the boy had told Mrs Shepherd what he believed to be the truth about the trees. As Mr Clegg was going to the ball that night Gobby had asked the boy to take him to Cranfield and that he would find plenty of horse’s corn, but did not say where it was coming from. Mr Shepherd said he believed the boy knew all about the barley but he believed the boy to be honest and if he knew anything about the barley it was after he left home and went to Toddington. Shepherd said he did not believe her boy to be a thief. Shepherd said Mr Clegg told him he did not believe the boy to be a thief as he could not do it himself and there was more in it besides. He only wanted the boy to speak the truth. If he did so he would get the magistrate to let him off to give evidence against Gobby. Shepherd said Mr Clegg had been robbed to a great extent and wanted to find out the thief. She told her child to tell the truth. All the barley they got from Brown was for feeding the pigs. They have 11 ducks and 30 or 40 fowls. They threshed Chapman’s barley after Michaelmas and began to use it about 5 weeks ago. She feeds her ducks with barley meal. It was leazing barley in the bag upstairs which has never been cleaned. Mr Shepherd did not ask the boy to say anything, he asked her to do it. John Clegg, clerk, Rector of Toddington – Gobby is his gardener. He has never missed things from his garden to cause him to suspect Gobby. He never said anything to the Superintendent about it. He did suspect Gobby at first but he has fully explained everything to his satisfaction. He believes Gobby to be an honest man or he would not keep him in his service. The staple might have been wrenched out without people noticing the noise in the cottage. He believes it was done silently but does not know how it was done. He has had dealings with William Tomkins. The gardener keeps the key of the house where the barley is kept. “John Tomkins charged with the offence was discharged.”

item

Tomkins, William,
Tomkins, John,
Clegg, John,
Gobby, Joseph,
Clegg, John,
Burrows, Thomas,
Rowe, George,
Olden, John,
Shepherd, William,
Chapman, James,
Goodwin, Thomas,
Tomkins, Harriet,
Barnard, Edward

Bidwell, TODDINGTON, HOUGHTON REGIS, stealing, barley, currants, gardener, parochial clergy, coachman, police sergeant, police superintendent, pigs, Toddington Pheasant