QSR1844/1/5/29

Depositions and examination - John Spacey charged with stealing one truss of hay (value 2s) belonging to Francis, Duke of Bedford at Woburn on 12 December 1843

12 December 1843

From: 1843 To: 1844

Joseph Norman of Woburn, labourer – he is employed under the Duke of Bedford as a thatcher in Woburn Park. Until yesterday there was a rick, or part of a rick, of clover hay standing in a piece of inclosed land within the Park called the Common. On 11 December all the hay was cleared away, leaving only a quantity of the old thatch lying about. There is a barn standing in another inclosed piece of land called the Cow Pasture, also within the Park, about 400 or 500 yards from where the hay rick stood. Spacey had been employed in the barn shaving bark. This morning about 7.15am he saw Spacey come out of the barn with a truss of clover hay on his back. He heard someone say “here’s someone coming”. Spacey then turned back and took the truss of hay into the barn again. He went to the barn and found the truss of hay now produced lying in one corner. He brought the hay away. He has no doubt it is part of the hay that had been standing in the Common. William Clare was outside the barn and said “I knew we should get in some trouble and I told you to take it away”. Spacey said he was going to take it to Mr Burness. Spacey said he saw it lying at the stack and thought it was a pity to lie there to spoil. John Sibley of Husborne Crawley, labourer – he is a haybinder to the Duke of Bedford. He was employed yesterday binding up the remainder of a rick of clover hay which was standing in the Common. After he finished binding the hay he assisted in taking it away which was all done by about 2.30pm. He finished binding the hay about 11am and then left the place until about 2pm. The boy he has with him to assist him left with him and there was nobody with the hay. When they had loaded the hay and taken it away he believed there was none left in the field, but there was a quantity of the thatch in the field lying about under which a truss of hay might have been hidden. He believes the truss produced to be one of the trusses he tied up yesterday. He can swear to the binding which is his own doing. Thomas Mitchell of Milton Bryan, labourer – yesterday he was engaged by William Clare to assist in shaving bark at a barn in the Cow Pasture in Woburn Park. This morning a little before 7am he went to the barn to work with Sjohn Spacey. When they were walking along the path in the park leading towards the barn they came to a gate leading into a field where there had been a rick of clover hay. Spacey gave him a handkerchief in which his breakfast was tied up and said “there’s a bit of clover in here” and went into the field to a heap of thatch. Spacer moved a little of the thatch and took up a truss of clover hay which he took with him into the barn. When Spacey took the hay to the barn William Clare was there and he told Spacey to take it away. Spacey took it just outside the barn but directly took it back in and laid it down. Norman then came up, went into the barn and fetched the hay out. The clover now produced looks to be the same. They could not see the hay when they were in the park. When Clare first spoke to Spacey he did not attend but went on into the barn. Clare again told him to take it right away as he would get them all in trouble. John Spacey – he did not mean to take the clover away. He was going to take it to Mr Burness down at the farm. He hopes it will be looked over this time. He is very sorry.

item

Spacey, John,
Russell, Francis (7th Duke of Bedford),
Norman, Joseph,
Sibley, John,
Mitchell, Thomas,
Clare, William,
Burness

WOBURN, HUSBORNE CRAWLEY, MILTON BRYAN, stealing, hay, thatcher, clover