QSR1857/3/5/16-18

Depositions of Edward Lockhart, coal merchant of Dunstable. Thomas Gostelow Lockhart of Dunstable. Daniel Cook, labourer of Luton. Samuel Jealous of Luton. Thomas Lye, dyer of Luton. James Warboys of Luton. John Deacon, labourer of Dunstable. Jeremiah Cuttriss, police constable of Dunstable. George James, police constable of Luton and William Frederick Knight, police constable of Luton. In the case of Daniel Hale, Joseph Knight and David Bowers accused of stealing ten hundred weight of coals.

23 April 1857

From: 1857 To: 1857

Edward Lockhart: a coal merchant with a coal dept at Houghton Regis, at the Dunstable Station, in a goods yard belonging to the London & North Western Railway Company. The prisoners, Hale and Knight, had a coal depot in the same yard. On 18 April, consequence of having lost quantities of coal at different times, he ordered some coals to be marked and stood by whilst it was done. He afterwards marked 2 pieces himself. The coal was hard Babington coals and the marked coals were in a heap near 1 or 2 trucks of coal belonging to the prisoners Hale & Knight. The coals in the trucks were bright coals and quite different to his coals. The prisoners had no coals similar to his. On 20 April he went to the heap in the depot and found 10 to 12 hundred weight of coal missing, including the marked coals. The heap was originally 25 to 26 hundred weight of coals. None of his men had moved it. He went to Luton and found one of Knight and Hale’s carts outside the Crown and Anchor. He asked the driver, William Smith, where his master was. Smith seemed confused and he left him. He went to Superintendent Pope and together, along with a police constable they went to the cart. Smith said he was carrying cobbles but on searching the cart they found hard Babington coals at the bottom. None of the coals were the marked ones. They found more of that type of coal in the bags; about 200 hundred weight in total. Smith was given into custody. They then went to a place, he believe to be called Queens Square, near Albert Road, to the house of Mr Jealous. The searched the cellar and found some of the hard coals he had lost. PC Knight took possession of the coals. They went to the house of Thomas Lye in Guildford Street and there found more of the hard coals including one of the marked coals. The amount of coals recovered did not quite total the amount of coals he missed from his yard. Hale and Knight had been in the coal business for several years and must know the description of coals as well as he. He traced the wheel of a cart up to his coal heap. The cart was a small cart and different from his. The yard opened between 6am and 6pm.There was 130 yards between their depots. Walter Lockhart: son of Edward Lockhart. On 20 April he went to his father’s coal yard and saw William Smith standing on a cart belonging to the prisoners. Smith was loading the cart and Brazier helping him. Brazier was handing the bags up to Smith. Hale was there, standing with one of his feet on his fathers coal. Smith drove the cart away. There were no other coals in the yard at the time. The wheels of their cart were not as wide as theirs. Thomas Gostelow Lockhart: son of Edward Lockhart. He and his father left the office in the yard on Saturday 18 April between 5 and 6pm. In passing the heap of hard coals his father gave him a piece of chalk and told him to mark a piece or 2. His father then took the chalk and marked 2 pieces himself. Daniel Cook: he was employed by Knight and Hale and assisted in unloading coals. On 20 April the prisoner, Bowers, called at the Crown & Anchor for him. Bowers said they must have wheelbarrow and go to Mr Lye’s in Guildford Street to help unload the coals and they were to put them at the bottom of the yard by the bleach house. There were already a few bits of coals there but they were not large. He then went back to the Crown & Anchor and saw his master, Mr Knight, had another cart load of coals. Knight told him to take the cart to Mr Jealous in Queen Square and to wait until he came and he would help to unload it. They arrived and took the coal to the cellar. He was then told to take the cart to the Crown & Anchor. It was his business to meet the carts at the Crown and Anchor and to help unload them. The cellar at Mr Jealous’s was very dark. Samuel Jealous: he lived in Queen Square, Luton. On 18 April he ordered a ton of coals from Knight. He ordered Leicester coals. On 20 April Cook brought them to him and soon after Knight arrived and they unloaded them into the cellar. He had no coals already in the cellar. Thomas Lye: a dyer of Guildford Street, Luton. On 18 April he ordered 2 tons of coals from Hale. They were hard coals at a pound a ton. He had a few coals in his yard before they came. On 20 April he was not present when the coals were brought to the house. James Warboys: was employed by Mr Lye. On 20 April a man named Cook came accompanied by a man he did not know and brought a load of coals to Mr Lye. They put them at the bottom of the yard against the dye house. John Deacon: employed by the prisoners Hale and Knight. On 20 April he assisted in loading 2 of his master’s carts at Dunstable station. He was there about 6.10am. Mr Hale and Brazier helped him with the loading. There were 7 hundred weight of bright coals and he had 11 hundred from the bottom of the yard. They had some Derby coals and some hard babington coals. He left the yard with the carts for Kensworth about 7.15am. There were 9 or 10 carts in the yard when he left. He had been the first there that morning. PC Jeremiah Cuttriss: on 21 April Mr Lockhart gave Brazier into his custody. Brazier was told the charge and said he knew nothing about it. Brazier said he had helped load the boy Smith’s cart [description of coal types]. They had the coals weighed and Smith drove the cart away. Whilst at Cuttriss’s house the prisoner said he did not think Lockhart would have given him into custody. Brazier said Hale weighed the coals previous to putting them in bags and after they weighed what they wanted, then they began to load the cart. They were all weighed outside of the truck and taken from different parts of the yard. PC George James: on 20 April he took the prisoner Bowers into custody and charged him. The prisoner said he knew nothing of it. He said he had loaded the cart the first time out of the truck and there was not enough in the first truck and had to go to another to make it up. The prisoner said that sometimes when he did not have enough coals they had a few from other parties and gave them back at other times. PC William Frederick Knight: he was with Mr Lockhart on 20 April when they searched Smith’s cart. He went with Lockhart to Mr Lye’s and Mr Jealous’s. He produced the coals found in Smith’s cart, Lye’s yard and Jealous’s cellar. Statements of the accused: they all reserved their defence.

item

Hale, Daniel,
Knight, Joseph,
Bowers, David,
Lockhart, Edward,
Lockhart, Thomas Gostelow,
Cook, Daniel,
Jealous, Samuel,
Lye, Thomas,
Warboys, James,
Deacon, John,
Cuttriss, Jeremiah,
James, George,
Knight, William Frederick

LUTON, DUNSTABLE, stealing, coal, coal merchant, dyer, London & North Western Railway Company, Luton Crown & Anchor, Luton Queen Square, Luton Guildford Street