QSR1883/4/5/1

Depositions of Evangeline Flemons, wife of William of Dunstable, Agnes Poulton, spinster of Dunstable, Lizzie Poulton, spinster of Dunstable, Marian Hobbs and Mary Ann Hobbs, Henry Tofield, police constable of Dunstable and Philip Wynter Wagstaff, surgeon, on behalf of the defence. In the case of John Weston accused of stealing a gold ring.

28 June 1883

From: 1883 To: 1883

Evangeline Flemons: wife of William and living in Princes Street, Dunstable. On 19 June about 7am she saw a ring belonging to her husband in a glove box on the parlour piano. On 25 June she noticed the ring gone. She had been away from home between the 21 and 23 June. The prisoner had been in her husbands employ for about a fortnight and had access to the parlour. While she was away from home, the house was locked up and she opened it again on her return. On 19 June the prisoner had his food with them and was occasionally left in the room on his own. On 20 June the prisoner came in the morning and her husband left the home about 2pm. The prisoner was alone and had access to the downstairs rooms as Mrs Flemons was upstairs with neuralgia. About 4pm the prisoners called her downstairs and asked for 8 pence to go to the Primitive Tea. He went off and returned for his supper. They had treated him like a member of the family. Agnes Poulton: a machinist living in Beale Street, Dunstable. On 20 June she was at an entertainment at the Primitive Methodist School Room in Dunstable. The prisoners sat next to her and laid a ring in her hand and laughed, but said nothing. It appeared a large gold ring with a cameo and a ladies head on it. She put it on her thumb and then gave it back to him. Marian Hobbs: wife of Arthur Hobbs, a gardener of Dunstable. She was at the entertainment held at the Primitive Methodist School Room and sat next to Agnes Poulton. She saw the prisoner show a ring to Agnes and it appeared a gold ring with a white stone. She saw it on Agnes’s thumb and then Agnes returned it to the prisoner. Mary Ann Hobbs: wife of Joseph and was also at the entertainment. She sat next to Marian Hobbs who was her daughter in law. She saw the ring on Agnes Poulton’s thumb. It looked like a gentleman’s gold ring. Lizzie Poulton: a machinist living in Dunstable. She was at the entertainment and saw the prisoner pull a ring out of his pocket and saw it on Agnes Poulton’s thumb. It was a gold gentleman’s ring. Henry Tofield: a police constable and on 27 June he apprehended the prisoner at his lodgings. He was living at Mrs Abraham’s at the corner of Union Street. He asked if Tofield had come to see him about the ring and Tofield said he had. On the way to the station the prisoner said that they did not see him take the ring and they did not find it on him. Statement of the accused: “I wish the case settled here”. Philip Wynter Wagstaff: Witness on behalf of the defence - a surgeon practicing in Leighton Buzzard, he had known the prisoner for 4 or 5 years and he was placed under the care of Mr Abraham Honeyman. The prisoner suffers from St Vitas dance and was placed to have outside employment. The prisoner was practically idiotic and without a sense of right or wrong. He does know that theft leads to punishment. The prisoner could not be left to his own guidance and was sure to go wrong. He would have known he was doing wrong to a certain extent.

item

Flemons, Evangeline,
Flemons, William,
Poulton, Agnes,
Poulton, Lizzie,
Tofield, Henry,
Hobbs, Mary Ann,
Hobbs, Marian,
Wagstaff, Philip Winter

DUNSTABLE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, stealing, rings, Primitive Methodist, surgeon, machinist