QSR1869/3/5/3-4

Depositions of James Brown, William Hughes, Arthur Hughes, Daniel Young, Thomas Hawks Underwood, James Mobley, Daniel Rudd, James Dudley and Thomas Francis Jolley. Joseph Wright, Ann Goodwin, Thomas Cooper, Henrietta Cooper, Mary Smith, William Mayles, William Addington, George James and Benjamin George. In the case of Joseph Murphy & Alfred Parrott accused of stealing a packing case containing 8 dozen straw hats. Frederick Parrott originally also accused.

12 May 1869

From: 1869 To: 1869

James Brown: he lived at Dunstable and was a straw hat manufacturer. On 3 May he had occasion to send some hats to the railway station at Church Street. Altogether he sent 4 boxes. There was longer box, 2 the same and a smaller one. He could identify the boxes produced as the ones he had sent by reason of his initials and the handwriting of his clerk on the address card. The box produced contained 8 dozen straw hats when he sent it. There were 4 different types of hat. There were 24 8-straw peal hats, 4 dozen white twist hats in different shapes and 2 dozen white rock hats in 2 different shapes. They were all lined in white satin and had white tips with a black crown stamp and cushion. There were small pink tickets attached. Some bore numbers. The railway van took them from the warehouse. He had them packed himself on 3 March. William Hughes was the company’s servant who took them. William Hughes: he was employed by Mr Seymour, agent for the Great Northern Railway Company. On 3 May he had occasion to go to Mr Brown’s establishment to take up goods to carry to the railway station. He first took 2 boxes from Mr Brown’s and remembered conveying the other 2 boxes to Mr Milligan’s where he had to take up some other boxes. They were in the hind of the dray, packed in the middle with other boxes on either side. He had to take up more boxes at Mr Collings and saw Mr Brown’s boxes safe there. He then drove to the station. He missed the first box when he got down to the station and told the station master. After leaving Mr Milligan’s he had to call at Mr Cooper’s warehouse and there saw 2 men and one of them was the dark prisoner, Murphy, but he could not swear to the other. He afterwards saw the same 2 men on the corner and he thought Alfred Parrot was the second man. He noticed that Murphy had a nosebag when he saw him at Mr Cooper’s. He stopped the dray going round the corner for a box of Mr Johnson’s and turned back to look at Mrs Bowles clock in the Middle Row. It had just turned a quarter to eight. His boy remained by the dray and when he came back he saw the 2 men who he had noticed move away. They were standing at the corner. [cross examination] he saw Murphy just inside Cooper’s yard. Mr Brown afterwards brought over 2 more boxes. He swore that the same 2 men were standing at the corner as were at Mr Cooper’s. he only saw a man on the way to the station from the corner. Arthur Hughes: he was the son of William Hughes and on 3 May he assisted his father in taking some goods to the railway. He was with him when he went to Mr Collings. He was at the top of Church Street when his father turned to look at Bowles clock. He was near the dray. Nothing happened then and he went away before his fathers started but after he had come back. Daniel Young: he lived at Church Street. On 3 May he saw a trolley on the way to the station about 20 minutes past 8. He saw 2 men running after it. He could not identify the men. One was tall and the other shorter. The tall man had a bag. The shorter one was first. He saw the short one cross the road to the trolley and thought he went to speak to the carrier. He shut the door them and saw nothing more. He had been standing on the path. Thomas Hawks: he was the foreman at Mr Cooper’s warehouse. On 3 May he saw the prisoner Alfred Parrott. He saw Parrott just inside Mt Cooper’s warehouse and did not see another man. It was about 10 minutes to 8. He saw Parrott leave and he inquired if he had any odd trimmings to sell. He told Parrott he could not attend to him. James Mobley: he lived in Church Street and was a labourer. On 3 May he recollected seeing a trolley pass. It appeared to be laden with goods for the railway. It was about 25 past 8. The trolley was going and he came out of his garden. He met 2 men and one of then had a bag. He cold not see their faces. They wore dark coats and the shorter man had a bag which appeared to have something in it. The think in the bag appeared to be long and a good deal like the box produced. [cross examination] he lived between the Royal Oak and the station and had been coming up Church Street. Daniel Rudd: he lived in King Street. On 4 May, a little after 7am he found the box on Mr Tindell’s premises in a ditch above the toll gate in the road to Markyate Street. It lay with its lid off. The lid was there. There were some papers inside and it was wet from the rain. He took the box to the railway station at Church Street and gave it to the clerk. James Dudley: he lived in John Street, Luton at the Grapes and kept the public house there. The prisoner, Frederick Parrott, came into his house at half past 5 on the 3 May. There were several there. Parrott left the house about half past 10 and he had been there all that time. Thomas Francis Jolley: he was an accountant and lived at Luton. He remembered Frederck Parrott on 3 May at Mr Dudley’s house in John Street. He was there after 5 o’clock until past 9. --- The prisoners were remanded for a week until 19 May when Mr Scargill of Luton, solicitor, appear on their behalf and the depositions having been read over the case was proceeded with and the further following witnesses examined before the same magistrates. Bail was accepted for the appearance of Frederick Parrott during the remand. --- Joseph Wright: he was a straw hat manufacturer living at Luton. He saw the prisoner, Murphy, on 4 May in his house at 41 New Town Street, Luton. He had 3 or 4 straw hats and there was a rock edged hat which Murphy asked him to buy. He declined. Murphy said he would sell them at 5 shillings a dozen and that was the sample. He said he had 8 dozen and that they were from a warehouse. [cross examination] there were 2 shapes of hat. He recalled one of the hats was the shape of the hat produced. Ann Goodwin: he was the wife of William Goodwin, a general dealer of Albert Road. On 4 May she saw Frederick Parrott when he came to her house in the afternoon. He brought 3 hats with him and asked asking for her husband he said he had a job lot of hats and asked if her husband would buy them. He said they were his own hats and the hat now produced as no.2 is the same sort of hat and material as one of the hats he had. [cross examination] her husband dealt in Birmingham goods and she had known the prisoner for many years. She had previous dealings with him. The conversation took place in the kitchen and the prisoner laid the hats in a handkerchief on the table. She saw the outside of the hat and saw it lined in white. It was a “shape with no side to it”. She called it a three peal material but did not know if that was its correct name. Thomas Cooper: a straw hat manufacturer living in John Street, Luton. He saw the 3 prisoners on 4 May. They all came to his house together. Alfred Parrott said he had hats to sell and pulled some out of a bag. They were different kinds and were very wet. Alfred Parrott said he had bought them from a hawker at Markyate Street. He had known the prisoners for 20 years. He gave 5 shillings a dozen for them and bought 8 dozen. Alfred Parrott had 5 shillings at the time and the rest the next day. His wife paid the money. They all had wires in them which were taken out as they were damaged and rusty. All had red tickets on them and were lined in white with a crown stamp. The tickets were taken off and thrown away. He identified the tickets produced as coming from the hat and they were found in his yard by Inspector James and Superintendent George. The rain had washed the colour off. He saw Alfred Parrott again on the Thursday when he came to his house. Parrott asked him if he had heard of any hats being lost and said he did not know if the hats he had sold were those hats or not. Parrott said he had not known the name of the man he bought the hats from but knew him well by sight. The hats were of 3 or 4 different shapes and kinds. He sold the hats for £9. He had them steamed and freshly wired and gave them to Mary Smith to sell. Henrietta Cooper: wife of the last witness. He saw all 3 witnesses on 4 May and Alfred Parrott offered hats for sale. They were of different shapes and materials. The hats were wet and bent. She paid 5 shillings for the hats at the time and £1 18s 0d the next day to Alfred Parrott. The prisoners said they bought the hats from a hawker. She saw Alfred Parrott on the Thursday but did not speak to him. She had not seen shapes like them before. She took the tickets off the hats. She and another person took the wires out of the hats. Mary Smith: she was employed by the Cooper’s and assisted Mrs Cooper in taking the wire out. She also assisted in taking off the tickets and doing “up the hats afresh”. She sold the hats when they were done up. There were 8 dozen. She had not seen hats like them before. She sold 2 dozen to Mr Mayles for Mr Scrivener. He gave her 1s 11d each hat for one of the dozen and 2s each for the other dozen. She sold the others to Mr Hocker for £7 1s 6d. James Brown [re examined]: the tickets produced were those on the hat he sent away on 3 May. James Dudley [recalled]: he saw the 3 prisoners in his house on 4 May. He heard Alfred Parrott say he bought some goods at Dunstable and was going to John Cooper’s to sell them. Alfred Parrott said that to Frederick Cooper that he would pay him the money he owed him when he had done so. The following day they were again at the house and he believed Alfred paid Frederick Parrott 8 shillings. He saw Murphy and Alfred Parrott on the Monday when he was shutting up and Alfred asked if Fred was there but he had left. The prisoners had been quarrelling in his house about the money Alfred owed Frederick 3 weeks before. He did not know the amount. He heard Frederick say many times that Alfred owed him money. Frederick said the money had been paid and that made them square. William Mayles: he saw the foreman at Scrivener’s warehouse and bought some hats on 5 May from a young person named Smith. He bought 2 dozen. There were a dozen like those produced now at no.1 and another dozen in the same material as those produced as no.2. He believed the hats bought were sold again the same day according to the day book. He believed they were sold to Spencer, Turner and Bowler of London. He sold the 2 shilling hats for 2s 3d and the 1s 11d hats at 2s 1d. PC William Addington: he saw the 3 prisoners at the Welcome Stranger public house at High Town, Luton on Wednesday 5 May. Murphy said he was not at Dunstable on the Monday and said he none of them were there. They gave him their names. He only asked Murphy is he had been at Dunstable. Inspector George James: on Sunday 9 May he went to Cooper’s house and after some conversation went into the back yard and founds one ticket. He received the wire on the same day. The following day he made another search with Superintendent George and found other tickets. They were red and curved. On 10 May 2 of the prisoners, Alfred Parrot and Joseph Murphy were in custody on the charge in question. Alfred Parrott said he bought the hats on Tuesday evening at the top of Markyate Street from a man, a hawker who he knew well by sight. The same evening Frederick Parrott was apprehended and as they were going to the police station, Frederick said he was as innocent as a child and had not been in Dunstable when the hats were stolen as he had been at Dudley’s house. Frederick Parrott said he had gone with the other prisoners to sell the hats but that was to get hold of the money his brother, Alfred, owed him. He believed the other prisoners had bought the hats on Markyate Street. He had known Frederick Parrott for 10 or 12 years and he was of good character. Superintendent Benjamin George: he examined Cooper’s premises with inspector James and found the tickets in the back yard. The same evening he apprehended Frederick Parrott and removed all 3 prisoners to Dunstable police station. On Wednesday 12 May he visited Alfred Parrott and Joseph Murphy. Alfred Parrot told him he had bought the hats from a man on Markyate Street Hill between 3 and 4pm on Tuesday afternoon.

item

Murphy, Joseph,
Parrott, Alfred,
Parrott, Frederick,
Brown, James (d),
Hughes, William,
Hughes, Arthur,
Young, David,
Underwood, Thomas Hawks,
Mobley, James,
Rudd, Daniel,
Dudley, James,
Jolley, Thomas Francis,
Wright, Joseph,
Cooper, Thomas,
Cooper, Henrietta,
Smith, Mary,
Mayles, William,
Addington, William,
James, George,
George, Benjamin,
Seymour

DUNSTABLE, LUTON, stealing, straw hat, Great Northern Railway Company, receiving stolen goods, straw hat manufacturer, Luton Grapes, Markyate Street, Luton Welcome Stranger