QSR1847/1/5/26

Depositions - Thomas Moultster charged with stealing pork from Elizabeth Crawley

4 January 1847

From: 1847 To: 1847

John Dancer of Luton, butcher - last Saturday night about 10.30pm he was in the Market Place at Luton standing against his van. Mrs Crawley’s van was next to his. Moultster came round the corner of Mrs Crawley’s van and took up a piece of meat. Moultster stared at him and he stared back. Moultster put it down again, then took it up a second time, put it under his frock and ran away. He told his man to stop Moultster as he had got a piece of meat. His man James Gayler ran after him and stopped him. He also went after Moultster and saw the meat in his possession. It was a hand of pork. Moultster said he did not want it and told them to take it back again. They brought him back to Mrs Crawley’s van with the meat in his possession. Mr Frederick Crawley was with the van at that time serving some customers on the opposite side. Moultster took the pork from the middle of the van between the shutter and the door. James Gayler of Luton, butcher - last Saturday night he was at Mr Dancer’s stall next to Mrs Crawley’s stall. His master told him the man had taken a piece of mutton from Mrs Crawley’s. He went after Moultster who was just putting it into his basket under his round frock. He said that Mr Crawley wanted him. Moultster threw the meat down on the ground and said he did not want it. He took it back to Mr Crawley. He saw it was not mutton but a hand of pork. Frederick Crawley of Luton, butcher - he is the son of Mrs Elizabeth Crawley. The business is his mother’s. Last Saturday he was with her van in the Market Place. Joseph Dancer told him some man had run away with a bit of meat from his stall and brought the man to him. Moultster was the man. Dancer showed him the meat. He had one hand of pork on his stall that evening and believes it to be the pork now produced. After Dancer told him he missed the hand of pork, which he had seen on the stall about 1/4 hour earlier. After he was brought back Moultster asked him to weigh the pork and said he would pay for it. John Millard of Luton, police constable - on Saturday night he received the hand of pork now produced from Frederick Crawley. The next morning he took Moultster into custody. Moultster said he took the pork from Mrs Crawley’s stall and was very sorry for it, and would not have done it if he had not had a little too much to drink. Moultster said he had been to his Club at Pepperstock and was not aware what he was about.

item

Moultster, Thomas,
Crawley, Elizabeth,
Dancer, Joseph,
Gayler, James,
Crawley, Frederick,
Millard, John

LUTON, Luton Market Place, Pepperstock, stealing, pork, butcher, markets, police constable, drunkenness