QSR1855/1/5/30-31

Depositions of Henry Woods, labourer of Biggleswade, Fanny Holmes, spinster. John Malden, yeoman of Biggleswade, Richard Todd, police constable of Biggleswade and wife, Evelyn Todd. In the case of Elizabeth Arnold and Mary Ann Huckle, single women of Biggleswade, accused of stealing 19 oz of onion seed.

25 October 1854

From: 1854 To: 1855

Henry Woods: he worked for Mr Malden. On 24 October he was supervising they drying of some onion seed in Chappell Field, Biggleswade. The prisoner Elizabeth Arnold and Mary Ann Huckle was at work under his direction. About 10am he saw Elizabeth Arnold give a handful of seed to Mary Ann Huckle who turned herself round and seemed to be putting it in her pocket. He told his master about it. Between luncheon and dinner time he saw the girls filling their hands with seed and putting them in their pocket. He sent word to his master. About 1pm they left work to go home. John Malden: on receiving information from Woods he went to PC Todd and asked for the girls to be searched as they went home. As they were going home he called the girls to him and gave them into Malden’s charge and directed him to search them. About 2pm Fanny Holmes brought in seed tied up in her apron. It was not dressed and weighed about 7 pounds. Richard Todd: he received the 2 girls and took them into the police station in Biggleswade and sent his wife to search them. Before she arrived, the prisoner Arnold took out of her pocket a bag. It contained onion seed which weighed about 19 ounces. She put it into his hand and said “For God’s sake do not let Mr Malden see it for I meant to have taken it back again”. When his wife arrived he directed her to search the other girl and he remained outside the lockup. As soon as she came out she gave him the other bag of onion seed. It weighed 8 and half ounces. Evelyn Todd: she searched Mary Ann Huckle and found in her pocket a bag of onion seed which she immediately gave to her husband who was standing outside. Fanny Holmes: she lived in a room in William Moren’s house and took in Mary Ann Huckle to lodge with her. There was a little back room that belonged to her that you could only get at through a larger room in which she and Mary Ann slept. On 24 October she found in the little back room some onion seed tied up in an apron and carried it directly to Mr Malden. She knew Mary Ann had been working for him and she knew she had been taken by the police. It was Mary Ann’s apron. Statement of the accused: Elizabeth Arnold - she knew nothing at all about it. She had put her hand in her pocket to take out a pocket handkerchief to wipe her nose. Mary Ann Huckle –she did not know anything about it and put her hand in her pocket to get out a pocket handkerchief to wipe her nose.

item

Arnold, Elizabeth,
Woods, Henry,
Holmes, Fanny,
Malden, John,
Todd, Richard,
Todd, Evelyn,
Huckle, Mary Ann

BIGGLESWADE, stealing, onion seed, yeoman