QSR1878/2/5/6

Deposition and examination - Esther Merewether, charged with stealing 3d from Samuel Tyler at Henlow on 30 March 1878

3 April 1878

From: 1878 To: 1878

Samuel Tyler of Henlow, beerhouse keeper – on March 30th from what his wife said he went to Mrs Mereweather and she went back with him to his house. He asked her what coppers she had in her pocket – she said she had no more than what she had from his house. He asked if he could look at them. She pulled out 7 pennies. He found three marked. He took possession of them and later gave them to PC Bayes. [Cross-examined] He did not see a farthing or halfpenny. She emptied her pocket and gave him the 7 pennies to examine. He is not quite sure whether he laid the money on the table. He gave her the 4 pennies and kept the 3 marked pennies. She said his wife must have given her the money in change. He examined the money in the basin at 9am and it was all safe. The money was kept in the basin to use for change but they put the marked money there on 29th and 30th because they suspected they had been robbed and wanted to find out. Mary Ann Tyler, wife of Samuel Tyler – on Friday 29 March Esther Mereweather came to their house for a pint of beer. She went down into the cellar to draw the beer and when she was there she heard footsteps in her private room. When she got upstairs she saw three footmarks in the room. She spoke to Mr Beaumont. He looked at the footmarks and marked a shillings worth of coppers for her. The three pennies now produced by PC Bayes are three of them. She placed them in a basin on the table in their private room. On Saturday 30 she saw the coppers all safe at 9.30am. Mrs Mereweather then came for a pint of beer and gave her 1s. She gave her 5d and 4 pennies out of her pocket. She was not at home when Mrs Mereweather asked for the beer – she had gone to fetch some bread from Mrs Bywaters (4 doors away). When she returned Mrs Mereweather gave her the 1s. There were no customers in the house when she left and Mrs Mereweather was the only customer there when she came back. Her father Mr Bywaters gave Mrs Mereweather the beer. When Mrs Mereweather left she found there were only 9d of coppers in the basin. She sent for her husband. [Cross-examined] Mrs Mereweather was in the passage. The private room is on the left hand side and the tap room on the right hand side. Bywaters was coming up from the cellar. She went into the private room, set down the bread on the table and stood in the doorway she gave her change. She swears it was from her pocket not the basin. She asked the gamekeeper to mark the pennies. William Beaumont of Henlow, gamekeeper – on Friday 29th March he was in the tap room of Samuel Tyler’s beer house. From what Mrs Tyler said he went into her private room and saw some foot prints – it was snowy that day. He marked a shilling’s worth of pennies and put them back into a basin on the table in the private room. The three pennies now produced by PC Bayes are 3 of those he marked. [Cross-examined] He did not notice the year of the coin. He marked some pennies and some half pennies – there were more than three pennies. Mrs Tyler saw him mark them. He marked them in the tap room and she took them into the private room. Eli Bayes of Henlow, police constable – he produced the 3 pennies give to him by Samuel Tyler. He also produced 5 pennies and 8 halfpennies Mrs Tyler gave him from the basin. [Bedfordshire Constabulary Occurrence Report] William Bywaters of Henlow, labourer – on Saturday 30 March 1878 Esther Merryweathers came into the beerhouse and called for a pint of beer about 9.30am. He went down to the cellar and drew the beer, leaving her in the passage close to the private door. When he came up from the cellar his daughter Mrs Tyler came in at the front door. He gave Mrs Meryweather the beer in a bottle and she paid his daughter. He lives with his daughter Mrs Tyler. It took him 2 or 3 minutes to draw the beer. Esther Mereweather - she has nothing to say except she knows she had the money and she is the woman who gave it to her in her change. Sarah Ann Clark, wife of Edward Clark of Henlow - she is Esther Merryweather's daughter and lives with her. She saw her between 10 and 11 after she had been to Mr Tyler's. Her mother emptied her pocket. She then had 3 halfpennies, a farthing, 2 penny pieces and 6d in silver. She was at home on Monday when Mrs Tyler came. Her husband and father were there. Mrs Tyler tried to get her mother to say she took the money, saying if she did not it would be worse for her. He mother said "if I had it you gave it me in my change". That was all her mother said.

item

Mereweather, Esther,
Tyler, Samuel,
Tyler, Mary Ann,
Beaumont, William,
Bayes, Eli,
Bywaters, William,
Clark, Sarah Ann,
Clark, Edward

HENLOW, stealing, money, beerhouse keeper, gamekeeper, police constable