QSR1854/1/5/13-15

Depositions of William Ralph Young, superintendent of police of Woburn, Benjamin Buckingham. labourer of Toddington, Francis Taylor, labourer of Toddington and Ann Baker, widow and victualler of Toddington. In the case of Joseph Kendall, William Clark & George Randall accused of stealing 4 bushels of turnips.

9 December 1853

From: 1853 To: 1854

Francis Taylor: he worked for Mr Thomas Janes, a butcher at Toddington, managing his land for him. On 3 December there was a heap of turnips called the Golden Bell Turnip in a field of his masters in Toddington. There were about 120 bushels and they weren’t covered over. On 7 December he noticed that some had gone. He believed it to be about 6 bushels. In consequence of some information he went directly to Mrs Baker’s at the Bell Inn at Toddington. She showed him some turnips, and he examined them to determine they were the same type as those lost. His master’s turnips had been pulled three weeks before. The turnips at Mrs Baker had the appearance of having been pulled some time before. He did not know if any other Golden Bell turnips had been grown locally. In consequence of what Mrs Baker told him he went to some land occupied by the father of the prisoner Randall and saw some turnips growing there. They were a different kind to those which had been lost and none seemed to have been pulled. Turnips are sold at sixpence a bushel. Ann Baker: a widow and keeper of the Bell Inn at Toddington. On 6 December the prisoners Randall and Clark came to her house and asked if she would buy some turnips. Randall said he had some to sell at 6d a bushel. The prisoners said they would go away and pull them. They brought the turnips back later that evening and said there were 4 and a half bushels. She paid 2s 3d to Randall including 4 pints of beer. She saw Kendall drinking the beer with them in the tap room. She noticed that the turnips had been pulled some time and she was afraid something was wrong but said nothing at the time. They prisoner went off together but Randall returned later and asked he to buy another 2 bushels. She refused but said she might tomorrow, and she then called her son and told him about her concerns about the turnips. Benjamin Buckingham: a labourer in Toddington and he knew the field where Thomas Janes kept a turnip heap. He had been in the field on Tuesday afternoon, about 100 yards from the heap, cleaning turnips for Mr Garrett. He saw the 3 prisoners come into the field, near Randall’s fathers ground and Randall had a wheelbarrow. He saw them there for about an hour. He was sure they were not pulling turnips on Randall’s fathers ground, which was in the field. When he left they were loitering about. He did not see Randall clean any turnips on his fathers land. PC John Thorogood: he produced samples of turnips taken from Mrs Baker, Mr Jane’s land and from Randall’s father’s field. The sample taken from Randall’s father field was quite different to the other 2 sample which appeared to match. He took the prisoners into custody. He asked Randall where he got the turnips he sold to Mrs Baker and he replied form his father’s field. Randall said Kendall and Clark could prove that they were taken from his father’s field as they were with him and had helped him. Clark said he had gone with Randall and Kendall to fetch the turnips from Randall’s fathers land; they had been pulled and cleaned there. Clark said he had none of the money which Mrs Baker had paid but he had taken a pint of beer. Kendall denied being with the others at all or being in their company. When told by Thorogood that he could prove he had been at the field and the Bell with the other, Kendall said he had helped pull and clean the turnips and drank part of the beer. Statement of the accused: nothing to say.

item

Kendall, Joseph,
Clark, William,
Randall, George,
Young, William Ralph,
Buckingham, Benjamin,
Taylor, Francis,
Baker, Ann,
Janes, Thomas

TODDINGTON, WOBURN, stealing, turnips, victualler, Toddington Bell