QSR1861/2/5/6

Depositions of Ann King, wife of David, beer retailer at Stanbridge. Thomas Swales, police constable at Stanbridge. George Woodward, police constable at Leighton Buzzard. Thomas Oldfield, tailor at Luton. In the case of James Cruse accused of stealing 2 shillings.

March 1861

From: 1861 To: 1861

Ann King: the prisoners James Cruse and Thomas Oldfield [who elected to be tried under the Criminal Justices Act by the justices and was discharged] both lived at Luton. On 30 March they came to the house and asked for a pint of beer which she supplied. Cruse paid with a shilling and she gave him change. She put the shilling in a purse in the cupboard in the Tap Room where the prisoners were. She left the room for coals and was gone about a minute and a half. There were 2 shillings in the purse including the shilling she took from the prisoner. When she returned to the room Cruse called from some tobacco and Oldfield paid for it with a penny. The prisoners left after lighting their pipes. As soon as they had gone she perceived the cupboard door open. The purse was open. 2 shillings had gone from the purse. Nobody else could have gone into the room without her seeing. The prisoners left in the direction of Leighton. She advised the police. [cross examination] she generally put money she received in the purse. There had been 6 or 7 people in before the prisoners but they had all left together before she had received the money from the prisoners. The other men were gone before she put the prisoner’s money in the cupboard. There were no marks on the money and no children in the house except a baby of 16 months old. There had been no wagon standing outside. It was the first time she had made a charge of anyone stealing from her cupboard. PC Thomas Swales: on 30 March he received information regarding the theft from Mrs King. He followed the prisoners and overtook them at Leighton. He asked them if they had been to Stanbridge and they replied they had and that they had stopped at a public house. He asked Cruse what he had about him and they searched him. He found a purse. He also searched Oldfield and found a halfpenny. Cruse said he did not know exactly how much his purse contained. Swales counted 7 shilling, 2 sixpences, a florin and 5 pence in copper. He took the prisoners into custody and they denied knowledge of the theft. The prisoners were taken before the magistrates and remanded on 1 April and both were allowed bail. When the prisoners left the bench he heard Oldfield make a statement. PC Woodward was also present. Oldfield said he wished he had not left Luton with Cruse and then he would not have been there. Cruse was behind him at the time. Oldfield said that when they were in the public house in Stanbridge, Cruse had gone to the cupboard and taken the purse out. Oldfield said he had told Cruse not to interfere with it and Cruse put the purse back into the cupboard and they had left the house. Oldfield said he did not know Cruse had taken any money until they were between Stanbridge and Leighton when Cruse told him he had taken 2 shillings. Oldfield said he would have stated that to the magistrates if he had been asked. [cross examination] he had taken the purse from Cruse with the money. At the station Cruse had said “its something new to me to be placed in this position”. Oldfield had a speech impediment but he could understand him. He made a memorandum of the conversation and gave it to the Superintendent. Oldfield was not a prisoner at the time as he had been bailed. PC George Woodward: he was in the company of the last witness when the prisoners were discharged. Oldfield had been returning the station for something. On the road, Oldfield said that on 30 March he had been at a beer shop in Stanbridge and had seen Cruse take the purse from the cupboard. Oldfield had told Cruse not to meddle with it and Cruse had returned the purse to the cupboard. Oldfield had not known Cruse had taken anything until they were part way to Leighton. Asked why he had not told the magistrates, Oldfield said he would have if they had asked. Cruse could not hear the conversation as he was 20 or 30 yards behind. Thomas Oldfield: on 30 March he had been in the company of Cruse at Stanbridge. They went to the prosecutor’s house and called for a pint of beer. Cruse paid with a shilling and received change. Mrs King supplied the beer. He believed she out the money in her pocket. When Mrs King had left the room soon after and he did not see her go to the cupboard. He could not say if the cupboard was open or shut. He could not say if Cruse went to the cupboard or not but he saw him with a purse in his hand. He thought Cruse was seeing what money he had. He did not tell Cruse not to touch the purse in the room or to the PC’s. He had heard the police constables statements and they were false. He and Cruse were taken before the magistrates on 1 April and given bail. On discharge they returned with Swales and Woodward to the police station to get their things. He did not say the things in the police constables statements. He did say, when they were questioning him about the money, that he had asked Cruse how much money he had on coming out of the house. Cruse had told him he had 2 or 3 shillings left. He had not seen Cruse take the money out of the cupboard and had not told anyone he had. When the shilling had been paid at the public house there had been 7 travellers, a farm man and a boy there. He never left his seat whilst he was there. He saw Mrs King at the station house but did not say to her “when you got up to go out go out of the room I got up to look after you”. Statement of the accused: he was not guilty.

item

Cruse, James,
King, Ann,
King, David,
Swales, Thomas,
Woodward, George,
Oldfield, Thomas

STANBRIDGE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, LUTON, stealing, coins, beer shop keeper, tailor