QSR1833/3/5/20

Depositions of Henry Hinds, watchmaker of Luton. George Ellards, plumber and glazier of Luton. Robert Cockburn, gardener. James Holloway. In the case of Thomas Carter accused of stealing a quantity of lead.

3 June 1833

From: 1833 To: 1833

Henry Hinds: on 20 May he was at the Dolphin at Luton about 8pm. Thomas Carter was there and asked Bland, the landlord, if he wanted o buy any lead. Bland said he did not want any blue pigeon. He asked what Carter had and he said about 15 or 16lb. He agreed to pay him 3 half pence a pound for it. Carter went away and came back and said he had left it at his house. He went wit him and together they took the lead to Mr Phillips the chemist to weigh it. He paid Crater 1s 11d for it. After he had bought it carter said he wished him to put it to one side and he told Carter he would do no such thing. He was to lay it at his front door. He did this Monday and Tuesday all day. When he paid Carter for it, Carter asked if he wanted any more and he could furnish him with 100 weight for a penny a pound. He said he did not want it and did not understand him wishing him to put it out of sight. He then went to William Clark, the constable and told him what had passed. Clarke told him to buy more if it came him way and inform him. The following Saturday night Carter brought some more lead to his shop which he had melted into weights for clock weights. He sent Carter to get it weighed and let Clarke know. When he returned Clarke came in and asked to borrow a pair of pliers and looked at the lead. Clarke saw him pay a shilling on account for the lead as he had desired him to do. He and Clarke went to Mr Austin’s together, who wished him to see Carter again and to tell him if he had any more he must bring it as it was and not melted into weights. Carter went to see him again for the other shilling and he told him he would buy no more weights but would melt it himself. Carter said he had some more and would bring it on Tuesday, which he did. He bought to and paid Carter 2s 1d. The old lead had come from some building. On Wednesday morning, he went with Clarke to Mr Austin again with the lead and in his requesting went with Clarke and Mr George Ellard to compare the lead with some which had been taken off the dome of the stable entrance. They found it to match. George Ellard: he was sent to look at some lead which Mr Hinds had bought of Thomas Carter. He knew it by the shape of it that thought it belonged to the dome. He suspected it belong to Mr Crawley. He went to Stockwood with the constable and compared it with the lead left in the hay loft and found the 2 scions which Mr Hinds had in his possession to correspond in quality, shape and pattern. It was a circular done and divided into 8 sections. Robert Cockburn: gardener to Samuel Crawley. A quantity of lead had been broken off the dome on the entrance to the stables and was laid in the hayloft of the stable. When the constable Clark asked whether any lead had been lost he looked and missed a quantity of it. One of the sections had been brought from the hay loft and the other 2 were shown to and by the constable. The dome was an octagon and consisted of 8 pieces. One of the pieces called flashings had been brought from the hay loft and the other was shown to him by the constable. James Holloway: a few months ago he took the lead off Mr Crawley’s dome on the stable entrance and threw it down in the stable yard. He believed the lead to be part of what he had taken off. Statement of the accused: he found the lead on the causeway ditch close to the Luton church yard and George Burgess brought it down to William Parsons. He sold one lot for William Parsons to Mr Hinds. He was hunting for rats and came up to the part of the ditch where he found the lead. William Parson had brought the lead to him and he was busy at work on the Friday and Saturday. He sold some for Thomas Boston. He should have sold the lead for William Parsons if he had left work at 6pm. The first lead he sold for William Parsons and gave him the money. The lead was taken to Parsons house on Friday night. Parson’s wife would not let him keep it there and he supposed he threw it in the ditch. He did not know it was there until he found it.

item

Carter, Thomas,
Hinds, Henry,
Ellards, George,
Crawley, Samuel,
Cockburn, Robert,
Holloway, James,
Clark, William,
Parsons, William,
Burgess, George,
Phillips,
Bland

LUTON, watchmaker, plumber, gardener, stealing, lead, Luton Stockwood House