QSR1862/1/5/7-8

Depositions in the case of William Ross, farmer of Westoning. Joseph Chance, labourer of Westoning. Joseph Worker, rat catcher of Harlington. Edward Scott, police constable stationed at Westoning. James Busby, police constable stationed at Harlington. William Hillyard, police constable stationed at Ampthill. James Bates, superintendent of police for the Ampthill Division. In the case of James Fowler and Amos Fowler accused of stealing a sheep.

21 November 1861

From: 1861 To: 1862

William Ross: the prisoners were brothers and lived at Harlington. James had been in his employment the previous week and Amos had been employed a month ago. Ross had sheep in one of his fields at Westoning. He lost a Down [?] sheep. He was advised of the loss on 18 November. He had since seen the skin of a sheep marked with a T and a circle. It was the skin of the sheep he had lost. He was shown a handkerchief by PC Scott. It was a handkerchief he had previously seen in the possession of Amos Fowler. He would swear to its pattern. The basket produced he had also been seen in the possession of Amos Fowler. He had ordered some sheep to be sent to Marston and a man by the name of Chance had told him of the missing sheep. He had counted his sheep and seen the sheep safe on 15 November. Joseph Chance: he was employed by William Ross and he lived at Westoning. He received instructions from his master to take care of his sheep and he was to send 17 of them to Marston the following day. On 18 November he went to get the sheep from the field and missed one of them. He sent word to his master. About 9am the same morning he saw the prisoners in the next field to where the sheep had been. He knew them both well and spoke to them. He told them of the loss of the sheep. Both said they knew nothing about it. James was then in his masters employment but was not at his place of work. He had been in the habit of working with Amos Fowler and had seen the handkerchief produced in his possession. He also believed the basket to belong to Fowler. On 16 November PC’s Scott and Busby asked if his master had lost a sheep. He told them he had lost one but thought it had strayed and he had not told anyone. Joseph Worker: between 3 and 4pm on the afternoon of 16 November he was returning home to Harlington from Westoning. He saw Amos Fowler and someone was with him. Both men ran away. By the side of the hedge was a spinney adjoining the field. Where the man had run from he picked up a boiler lid. It had some fat in it. His dog found it first and ate the fat from it. He gave the lid to PC Scott and PC Busby. PC Edward Scott: on 18 November he was advised that the prosecutor had lost a sheep. He went with PC Busby to Westoning and saw Joseph Chance and James Fowler. They were pulling at some straw. He asked them if a sheep was missing and told there was from a field called Slipes. He and Busby went in search of the sheep but could not trace it. They came to a field called Stocking in the occupation of the prosecutor. There was a straw stack and in the straw they found a handkerchief containing part of a carcase of mutton. They covered it and left it. They saw Worker who gave him the lid he had found. They went to the spot it had been found and found a leg of mutton and took possession of it. Next morning he took the prisoners into custody at their home in Harlington. He took them to Westoning and then to Ampthill. On 18 November he made another search in the company of Busby. He found a basket with a leg of mutton in a ditch near where they had found the other leg. He was present when one of the legs of mutton was compared with the skin and it appeared to match exactly. PC James Busby: on 16 November he accompanied PC Scott in search of a sheep. In a straw stack in a field occupied by the prosecutor called ‘Stockings’ he found part of a carcase of a sheep tied in a handkerchief. About 5pm he was in Lea Spinney in Westoning and saw James Fowler come to the Spinney. It was about 130 yards from where he had found the carcase. Fowler went to where there had been a fire and there were crumbs of bread and uncooked piece of mutton around. On 17 November Chance pointed to the place where he had seen the prisoners and it was the same spot he had seen Fowler the previous evening. The same day he and Scott found a skin in the Spinney. It was covered in grass and leaves. He fetched a basket containing a leg of mutton from Mr Twiney, a farmer at Harlington and saw the leg patterned exactly with the skin. PC William Hillyard: whilst in the guardroom, James Fowler said to him that it would be better for him to tell the truth about it and his brother had not been with him when he killed the sheep. He had killed it about 5.30 on Friday and hidden it in the stubble stack. James Fowler said he told his brother what he had done the next morning and they skinned it. His brother hid the skin in the Spinney and they took the carcase to the stubble stack where they hid part of it and cooked part of it by roasting it. At this point James Fowler knew the mutton had been found. He, Scott and Busby compared a mutton leg with the skin and found it tallied precisely. On the Monday he showed a handkerchief and basket to Amos Fowler. Amos said that the basket was the one he used for his dinner and he had put the mutton in it with the intention of taking it home. Superintendent James Bates: on 18 November the prisoners were in his custody in the lock up. He was told James Fowler wanted to speak to him and Fowler was brought to his office. James Fowler said he had killed the sheep and lay it in the stubble. He and his brother had skinned it in the Spinney and he took the carcase to the stubble stack to hide it and laid the skin in the Spinney. Fowler said they had made a fire and roasted some of it on a stick. Statement of the accused: James Fowler – “I am very sorry I certainly done it”. Amos Fowler – “ I am sorry to think I had anything to do with it”.

item

Fowler, James,
Fowler, Amos,
Ross, William,
Chance, Joseph,
Worker, Joseph,
Scott, Edward,
Busby, James,
Hillyard, William,
Bates, James

WESTONING, AMPTHILL, HARLINGTON, farmer, Rat Destroyer, stealing animals, sheep