QSR1854/4/5/19

Depositions of Charlotte Booth, wife of John Booth a victualler of Luton. James Booth of Luton. John Booth, victualler of Luton and William Turvey, police constable of Luton. In the case of George Foster accused of stealing a quantity of brandy.

25 September 1854

From: 1854 To: 1854

Charlotte Booth: wife of John Booth, keeper of the Wheatsheaf in Luton. Her husband employed the prisoner as an occasional waiter. The prisoner was at their house on Saturday 23 September. He went down into the cellar and to draw some beer and when she got to the bottom she saw the prisoner going up the other steps into the yard. He came up and she asked her son James Booth to go to the barn to see if there was anything wrong. He came back and told her that he had seen Foster with a bottle. She went to Foster and told him she thought he had robbed her and she told him he could not deceive her and he gave her a bottle of brandy. He said he had got no more. There was a store of bottles of brandy in the cellar which had been put there for safety in the fair time. James Booth: son of John Booth. On the afternoon of 23 September his mother asked him to go to the barn to see if anything was wrong. He went there and saw the prisoner with a bottle in his hand sitting in the barn. He did not say anything to him. There were 2 lads I the barn but he did not know their names. The prisoner told the 2 lads he was not well. He went and told his mother that Foster had a bottle in his hand. John Booth: there was a stone bottle of brandy in the cellar. It was a four gallon bottle but was not full. On 23 September his wife gave him a bottle of brandy; it was a ginger beer bottle containing brandy. She said she had it from Foster in the barn. He went to the barn and Foster was up the loft in the barn. On hearing footsteps Foster shuffled down and fell on his back. Foster had a bottle in his hand which he threw under the manger behind some green boughs. He asked Foster why he had another bottle and Foster said it was his back. He told Foster he must give him into custody as he didn’t know what he had stolen. Foster said he had not stolen more than 2 bottles. PC William Turvey: he took the prisoner into custody and the prisoner said he knew he had taken it. He took Foster to the house to get his coat on and they went into a little room called The Cookhouse. As he went towards the fireplace and whilst in the act of taking his coat he saw him Foster draw something from his pocket and place it at the back of the fireplace. He asked Foster what he had in his pocket and Foster said nothing. He searched the fireplace and found a bottle of brandy. Statement of the accused: nothing to say.

item

Foster, George,
Booth, Charlotte,
Booth, John,
Booth, James,
Turvey, William

LUTON, stealing, victualler, brandy, stealing, Luton Wheatsheaf