QSR1844/1/5/3

Depositions and examination - Joseph Page and William Peters charged wtih stealing one shilling and 2 sixpences from Thomas Tims

26 October 1843

From: 1843 To: 1844

Elizabeth Tims, wife of Thomas Tims of Husborne Crawley, victualler – yesterday October 25th Page and Peters and another young man named James Bowler came into their house, the White Horse Public House at Husborne Crawley. They had one pint of beer which she drew. She received 2d from them for that one pint, which she put in a drawer in a cupboard adjoining the room they were in. A shilling and some halfpence were also in the drawer. A man named James Sibley was also in the room and her daughter Ellen Tims, who is 8 years old. She did not see Page, Peters and the others go away. She did not go into the room while they were absent. In about ½ hour her daughter Ellen came to her in the pantry and asked if Bowler had paid her for the pint of beer she had drawn. She said he had and Ellen went back again. She was not out of the room more than 2 minutes. In a few minutes Ellen came again and asked if she had taken the silver out of the drawer. Ellen said she had put 2 sixpences in with the shilling. She had not taken any out. She went to the drawer and the silver was gone. The four men were gone and no one else was there. The pint of beer she drew for them was not the first they had. Her daughter had previously drawn some for them. Nobody could have got to the cupboard from the kitchen while she was in the pantry without her hearing. Nobody came in that way while her daughter was with her in the pantry. Anyone in the tap room must have seen anyone going to the cupboard from anywhere except the kitchen. In about ½ hour Bowler came to her with her son, who she had sent to Bowler and the others to say she had lost the money. Bowler at first said he knew nothing of it. Page stood at the door. After a while Bowler said he would give up the money if she would let it drop and say no more about it. She said she did not wish to hurt them. Bowler said to Page they should give up the money. Page said he would not give up the money (or his money) and swore. Bowler said if her boy would go with him he would give up his part of it and would get Page to give up his part. She thinks Page was gone then. They both denied having the money until they saw the policemen coming, when Bowler offered to give up his share. Page did not deny he had it, but swore he would not give it up. Neither of them said anything about peters or how much they had had. She did not tell the policeman what had happened until the two men had gone. Bowler came back with her son a second time and gave him 1s and said he would get Page to give her the other. He did not name Peters at all. Henry Thomas Tims, son of Thomas Tims – he went at his mother’s direction to Peters, Bowler and Page. He saw Peters first and asked where Page and Bowler were. Peters showed him where Page was but said he did not know where Bowler was. He went in search of Bowler but could not find him. He told Page and Peters what his mother wanted them for. Page and Peters denied knowing anything about the money. They refused to go to his mother. He then saw Bowler and page together and they went to his mother. He did not hear what they said to her. He went with Bowler when he left her mother. Page left first. Bowler called to Page but he did not stop. Bowler ran on to Page. He saw Page take something out of the bank by the side of the ditch, and then take something else out of the bank further on. He ran with Bowler and they caught Page. Bowler said to Page “give me one of them shillings”. Page gave Bowler and shilling and Bowler said “Henry, here is my shilling”. Bowler told Page to give him the other two sixpences. Page refused and went away. Bowler said they would go on and make Page give up the sixpences. He was the policeman following Page so went home. Bowler asked for the shilling back and said he would tell his mother all about it. He saw Bowler give his mother the shilling. Ellen Tims – she is 8 years old and the daughter of Thomas Tims. She was in the tap room when Page, Peters and Bowler were there. She drew 3 pints of beer for them. Page paid her for them all. The first time he gave her a shilling which she put into the drawer. She got a sixpence from her mother and fourpence out of the drawer which she gave to Page. Page gave her a sixpence for the next pint and she gave him a fourpenny piece in change. James Sibley was in the taproom and gave her a sixpence. The last time she looked into the drawer there were one shilling, 2 sixpences and some halfpence. Sibley left first, then Page, Peters and Bowles left together. In 2 or 3 minutes they all came in again and had another pint of beer with Page paid 2d for. The silver was still in the drawer. She asked Bowler if he had paid for the pint of beer her mother had drawn – Bowler told her to go and ask, which she did. When she got back they were all gone. A man came in for some beer and she missed the shilling and two sixpences. She went and told her mother. She is sure no one else had been in the house. Nobody could get at the cupboard expect from the tap room or from the kitchen. The cupboard was in her sight all the time except when she went to her mother in the pantry. Robert Henry Taylor, police constable – he received information of this matter and went in pursuit of Page, who he found at Aspley. He searched Page and found 2 shortpipes and a halfpenny in one pocket. PC Parrott took 2 sixpences from another pocket. He told Page the charge and Page denied it. Joseph Page – it was Bowler who did the crime. He paid for all the beer and Bowler gave him his money back again. He and Peters saw Bowler do it. They never went out of the house until they left together. He saw Bowler go and take the money. Bowler said it was not the first time he had taken some there. Peters was in the room and saw Bowler take the money. Bowler gave him the two sixpences as they went along the road. Bowler did not give Peters any of the money but gave him some tobacco. Bowler took 2 penny worth of tobacco at the same time he took the money. The tobacco is put up in papers in penny worths. Bowler said Peters should have his share of the money. He had the 2 sixpences as his share because he had paid for all the beer.

item

Page, Joseph,
Peters, William,
Tims, Elizabeth,
Tims, Thomas,
Tims, Henry Thomas,
Tims, Ellen,
Taylor, Robert Henry,
Bowler, James,
Sibley, James

HUSBORNE CRAWLEY, stealing, money, victualler, Husborne Crawley White Horse, police constable, tobacco