QSR1890/4/5/4/a

Depositions of Joseph George Robins, surveyor and assessor of Wood Green, London and Ruth Goddard, daughter of William Smith of Stagsden. In the case of William Smith accused of obtaining by false pretences from the Phoenix Fire Office a valuable security to writ a Bill of Exchange or order for the payment of £85 with intent to cheat and defraud the Trustees of the Phoenix Fire Office.

4 October 1890

From: 1890 To: 1890

Joseph George Robins: resided at The Poplars, Trinity Road, Wood Green, London and was a surveyor and assessor. On 25 September he attended Stagsden for the purpose of adjusting a claim whilst had been made by William Smith on the Phoenix Fire Office. He went to the Dog & Duck and met with Mr & Mrs Smith. He saw the upper portion of the Dog & Duck was burnt out and the lower portion badly damaged. He noticed on the premises the remains of a few items of furniture and asked the prisoner if he had prepared a written claim. The prisoner said he had not been able to write and he had left the claim until Robins had come. Smith said he was compelled to live in the outbuilding and everything he had had been burnt out and he would appreciate an early settlement. He told Smith he should have produced a written claim but as he appeared to be in a state of considerable discomfort, if he gave details of the loss he would write them down and see if they would arrange a settlement method without troubling him to give in a written claim. With the assistance of his wife, Smith said the contents of the rooms were: 4 iron Bedsteads worth £6 1 Wood Bedstead, £2 5 Paliasses, £3 5s 0d 5 Woollen mattresses, £6 5s 0d 5 feather beds (one of them down), £30 3 Blankets, £1 17s 6d A pair of Sheets, 6s Counterpane, 15s 10 Pillows 5 bolsters 3 washstands 3 toilet sets 3 dressing tables A circular mahogany table 12 Windsor chairs 13 cane seated chairs 3 dressing glasses 3 chests of drawers Carpets in 2 bedrooms Made up carpet in another bedroom A quantity of spare bedding, £20 Curtains, blinds and bed hangings, £3 Personal clothing of he, his wife and family, £30 9 pictures A stuffed Crane Cutlery and spoons Cooking utensils and crockery, 30s Ornaments, £2 10s 0d. After he had been told the list of items he went into the building with William Smith and asked him to explain how more of his property had not been saved. Smith said he was a comparative stranger in the place and that the fire broke out in some of the premises opposite and spread from there to some adjacent cottages which were destroyed. Smith stated the people living in Stagsden were all close relatives to one another and hung together like a swarm of bees. They flocked to assist the people living in the cottages and he, being a stranger, could obtain little help. Smith also said the fire had blown from the fire opposite onto his thatched roof and his house was alight before he became aware of the fire. The smoke was very dark in the upper rooms of the house and it was impossible to move the contents. Asked to show what he had been able to save, Smith took Robins to an outbuilding at the rear of the Dog & Duck and showed him a box, a table and several small items. He said all the rest had been burnt out. He asked Smith if he had a feather bed to each bedstead and he replied yes. Asked to account for why there were no feathers apparent, Smith said they must have been destroyed by the fire. Robins said that in his experience it was unusual for so much bedding to be burnt without leaving feathers. Robins asked Smith many questions about the location of items and the quality of the goods. Smith said he had 6 children. Based on the list of things burnt, as given to him by William Smith, Robins agreed Smith should have £85. Ruth Goddard: adopted daughter of William Smith and she had lived with him for as long as she could remember. She was asleep in the Dog & Duck on the night of the fire. There were 3 rooms upstairs and a small room not in use. She and Smith’s 2 little girls slept in one room. There were 2 beds in that room; one was a wooden bedstead with a feather bed on it and a wool mattress. There were 3 blankets and a pair of sheets. The second bed in the room was an iron bedstead, with a feather bed and a flock bed and mattress. It had 3 blankets and a pair of sheets. The bedroom next to hers was occupied by Mr Smith and his wife. There was an iron bedstead, feather bed, wool bed, mattress, a pair of sheets and 3 blankets in there. The third room was occupied by William Smith’s 2 sons. There were 2 iron bedsteads; a feather bed, mattress, 3 blankets and a pair of sheets on one bed. The second bed in the room was a flock bed and mattress with 2 blankets and a pair of sheets. On the night of the fire there were a dozen and six chairs upstairs and downstairs there were 4 chairs and 2 armchairs. About six weeks before the fire there had been boxes in both her room and the boys room containing linen. There was a box in Mr Smith’s room containing line, blanket and sheets. About 5 weeks before the fire she saw the box from her brother’s room downstairs in the shop and it was put in her father’s cart by herself and her mother and father. Another box was put in at the same time. It was the box from her father’s room. Her mother and father drove away in the cart and returned late in the day. The boxes were not in the cart. About a month before the fire she had been sleeping on a feather bed and it was taken off her bedstead and put on her mothers. The feather bed which had been on her mother’s bed was taken away in her father’s cart. It had been put in the cart by her and parents. Another box was also put in the cart and a roll of carpet. She did not see the horse and cart leave but saw it return. Her father was in the cart but none of the articles were. The night the things were put in the cart she saw her parents go to Bedford. A few nights later more articles were put in the cart. She did not see the cart leave but saw her father return in the cart about 7 or 8am next morning. She did not see linen taken out of the chest of drawers but it had gone by the night of the fire and she believed it had been put in one of the boxes. There were 6 pictures in the house on the night of the fire. Six weeks before there had been 8. She described the pictures, both being of horses. 2 of the pictures were saved from the fire. She gave descriptions of the pictures. On the night of the fire some clothes were hanging on the walls and some were in her box. In the box was her linen and some of the children’s and 3 dresses. 3 of her mother’s dresses and her jacket were hanging on the wall of her mothers room. 2 of her dresses and 3 of the little ones were hanging in her room. Nothing else was saved except what they wore. There were dressing glasses in each of the 3 rooms. There were no blinds on the windows.

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Smith, William,
Robins, Joseph George,
Goddard, Ruth

STAGSDEN, Phoenix Fire Office, FIRE, false pretences, household goods, fraud, surveyor, London, fire insurance, Stagsden Dog & Duck