QSR1854/1/5/27

Depositions of James Pain, farmers son of Felmersham, Ruth Bithrey a servant, Charles Roberts labourer of Felmersham and William Byers Graham, superintendent of police at Sharnbrook. In the case of Richard Summerling accused of breaking & entering a butcher's shop and stealing 18lbs of pork.

24 December 1853

From: 1853 To: 1854

James Pain: resided with his father James, a farmer. On the night previous to the robbery he examined the premises at 9pm and found everything safe. He examined the lock on the butchers shop and found it quite right. Next morning he had his attention drawn to the window of the butcher’s shop. He saw it was broken and an opening had been made sufficient for a person to get in. He went into the shop and missed 2 pieces of pork. The missing pieces were spare ribs and about 18 lbs in weight. He went to the Superintendent of Police and when the Superintendent came over he went with him to look at some footmarks close to the back window. The shop formed part of a row of buildings adjoining the farm premises and detached from the dwelling house. He had since been shown one of the spare ribs and he had no doubt it was his father property. The prisoner had no business at the premises. Ruth Bithrey: in the service of Mr Pain of Felmersham. On Tuesday she cut of a small portion of the spare ribs in the butchers shop. The ribs were quite safe in the shop. She knew they had to been brought to the house before the previous day, when one was brought in by Charles Roberts. That rib was like the ones missing. Charles Roberts: in the employment of Mr Pain of Felmersham. About 9am, from something which said to him, he went to the school wall and found a spare rib of pork. He took it to the Pains. He knew where Summerling lived. He saw the superintendent compare a shoe with some marks in the snow. One of the shoes had half a tip on the heel and that was the kind of mark in the snow. William Byers Graham: superintendent of police. He was informed of the robbery and went over to make enquiries. He examined the premises and found footsteps on the snow at the back of the butcher’s shop window. He measured the footsteps. The same footsteps were traced down the field and across the end of another field towards the bridge. The footsteps were those of a person going both to and from the Pains premises. He traced the footsteps as far as the prisoner’s barn door, which was 20 yards from his house. There were also corresponding footsteps at the front of the prisoner’s house. He apprehended the prisoner who was quite willing to go with him. He and his wife had a falling out and he had not been home for 2 nights. The prisoner had spent the previous night sleeping the barn. He took the prisoner’s shoes and compared them with the footsteps. They corresponded. The shoes were unusually large and very broad. The right shoe was tipped heel and toe. The left was tipped on the toe and half tipped on the heel. He searched the prisoner’s house and found no meat except a small piece of mutton. He was positive the prisoner’s shoes made the impressions and on the prisoner he found a knife. The prisoner said he had not been on the Pains premises for more than a month. Statement of the accused: he had not had the pork.

item

Pain, James,
Summerling, Richard,
Bithrey, Ruth,
Roberts, Charles,
Graham, William Byers

FELMERSHAM, SHARNBROOK, breaking & entering, pork, stealing, servant, farmer