QSR1856/1/5/1

Depositions of Samuel Barnes, farmer and butcher of St. Neots, John Phillips, butcher of Cranfield, and Charles Hunt, police constable of Cranfield. In the case of James Frost, labourer of Cranfield, accused of stealing 2 sheep.

19 October 1855

From: 1855 To: 1856

Samuel Barnes: he was a farmer and butcher of St Neots in Huntingdonshire. On 12 October he purchased 20 sheep from Mr Gosling at Bedford. He paid £2 8s for each sheep. Each sheep was marked with a line of red ochre across the loins and one dot on the shoulder. They were mixed breed between Leicester and Gloucester. He hired a drover to driver the sheep for him to St Neots and 18 of them arrived. The drover said he had lost 2 of the sheep in Bedford. On the following Monday he heard that the sheep were in the possession of the police. John Phillips: a butcher living in Cranfield. On 12 October abut 7pm the prisoner came to his shop with a drove of sheep and asked him to buy 2. Frost said they were his masters and he was authorised to sell them. They negotiated and Phillips paid £4 for them. Next morning PC Flint came to the shop and asked if he had purchased some sheep. He suspected from what Flint said that the sheep were stolen and gave them to the PC. He went with Flint in pursuit of the prisoner to Newport Pagnell and from there to Wolverton. He saw the prisoner’s master, McNolls, and described the sheep to him. He said he had none like that and the prisoner was not in a position to buy any sheep. He informed them where the prisoner had gone to. Next morning he started off with PC Flint in pursuit of the prisoner and found him in Brentwood, Essex. The prisoner was taken into custody. At first the prisoner denied he knew Philips as he was not in his working dress. He asked Frost if he recalled selling him the sheep and Frost appeared confused saying he had not sold him 2. The sheep were marked across the loins with red ochre. PC Charles Flint: on 13 October he heard a drover had sold 2 sheep to Phillips the butcher. He went to Phillips house and asked if he had purchased any sheep. Phillips said he had. He advised Phillips he suspected they were stolen. Phillip gave the sheep up to him. He accompanied Phillips to Wolverton where they saw the prisoners Master, Nicholls, who said from the description given, that the sheep did not belong to him. Nicholls said the prisoner had no money to buy sheep and had gone to Brentwood. He followed the prisoner to Essex the next day along with Phillips. He took the prisoner into custody and charged him. The prisoner told Phillips”you was a damned fool you did not kill the sheep”. The prisoner did not seem to know the last witness at first but later said he had sold him the sheep. On Monday night, when the prisoner was brought to the Superintendents house at Ampthill, the prisoner was told the charge and said he had stolen the sheep. [cross examination] Fountain had talked in the village that Frost had offered him the sheep for sale. Fountain did not say that he was offered them for £3 and they were stolen from Bedford. Statement of the accused: nothing to say.

item

Frost, James,
Barnes, Samuel,
Philips, John,
Hunt, Charles

CRANFIELD, St Neots, Brentwood, Wolverton, stealing animals, sheep, farmers, butchers