QSR1859/4/5/1b,2b

Depositions of Ann, wife of Richard Attwood, farmer of Toddington. Phoebe Wingrove, single woman. Benjamin George, police constable. John Faulkner, son of Thomas Faulkner, a brewer of Toddington. William Wingrove, shoemaker of Toddington. Ann Baker, a widow and innkeeper. In the case of William Watts and John Wilson accused of stealing a leather purse and one shilling sixpence.

29 July 1859

From: 1859 To: 1859

Ann Attwood: wife of Richard keeper of the farm in the parish of Toddington. On 20 July there was a holiday at Toddington. Between 7pm and 8pm she went to see what was going on accompanied by some friends. She took 8s 6d in silver within a leather purse. Among the silver were new looking shillings. 2 were dated 1856 and 1858. She had the one dated 1856 soon after they were coined and the other dated 1858 was given to her by her sister. That was why she had kept those shillings. She always carried them in her purse and was in the habit of seeing them often. About 10pm she missed her purse and its contents. She informed several people of what had happened. The same evening she was at the Bell and the PC showed her some silver money. She thought it was her money. She had not noticed either of the prisoners in the field at Toddington or in the booth where she had been. There was a large party in the field and in the booth and during the evening she had been close to many people. Phoebe Wingrove: a single woman living with her parents in Toddington. On 21 June she saw returning home between 12am and 1am. There had been a holiday in Toddington. She passed the cage and heard someone talking inside. One man said to another “what a fool you must be not to notice when I looked at you. You might have known what I meant. I know d[?]d well. We shall be found out. The little girl was looking at us all the time. If you’d went the other side of the booth we should have been all right”. One of the men appeared to be abusing the other and swearing at him. He made use of an oath almost every word he spoke. She knew there were 2 men in the cage for picking pockets. She listened at the keyhole and wished the inmates goodnight. They replied good night. PC Benjamin George: on 20 July, about 10pm, he received information that Mrs Attwood had her pocket picked. She suspected that 2 prisoners who were strangers to Toddington and found them together at the Bell Inn. He searched the prisoner Watts and found 8s 3d ¾. He searched the other prisoner, who gave the name James Wilson, but afterward said it was John. He found 7s 4d in silver and a halfpenny in copper on Wilson. Wilson said the money was his own. 2 of the shillings were dated 1856 and 1858. Both were taken into custody and placed in the cage at Toddington. The prisoners appeared to know each other and conversed. He showed the shillings to Ann Attwood who identified them. On 21 July the prisoners were taken before the magistrate and Wilson said he knew nothing of Watts and had only met him in Toddington the previous day. When the prisoners were in the cage in Toddington there were no other prisoners in the cage. John Faulkner: son of Thomas, a brewer at Toddington. He recalled the Toddington holiday on 20 July and had been in Luton on the preceding day. He saw the prisoners there together walking by the Union House there. He later saw them lying down together on the Causeway at Luton. On the day of the holiday he saw them together in the field at Toddington and spoke to Watts, saying he had seen him the previous day in Luton with the chap in white trousers. Watts replied yes. William Wingrove: on the day of the Toddington holiday he was the gate keeper. He saw 2 prisoners between 4pm and 5pm in the field together. He saw them together several times both in the field and out of it. Wilson told him they belonged to the Harp Players but was not one of the musicians. He conversed with Watts and Watts asked him how to get out of the bottom of the field. He told Watts he could not as there was wire all around. Watts was them by himself. Ann Baker: a widow and keeper of the Bell Inn at Toddington. On the holiday at Toddington, between 10 and 11pm, both prisoners were in her house. They were together and had some bread, cheese and ale. Watts asked if he could have a bed and she told him she was full. Statement of the accused: William Watts – he did not see what there was to send him to the sessions for the three shillings. It was hard to send him to aplace punishment for that. There were plenty of shillings coined on the same day and they would be like those shillings. John Wilson – he had nothing to do with the shillings.

item

Watts, William,
Wilson, John,
Attwood, Ann,
Attwood, Richard,
Wingrove, Phoebe,
George, Benjamin,
Faulkner, John,
Faulkner, Thomas,
Wingrove, William,
Baker, Ann

TODDINGTON, stealing, money, shoemakers, innkeepers, brewers, pickpocket, Toddington Sow and Pigs, Toddington Bell, fairs & markets