QSR1835/3/5/23-24

Depositions and examinations - Francis Davis and Richard Street charged with stealing 15 dozen live tame pigeons from William Kempson and Thomas Kempson at Shillington

12 May 1835

From: 1835 To: 1835

John Kempson of Shillington, farmer – he has a dovehouse and a flight of pigeons in his hay yard. On Wednesday afternoon 6 May he fed the pigeons and locked the dovehouse door. He hung the key in the house. Soon after 6am on Thursday morning he discovered that a hole had been made in the night in the dovehouse wall and that the greater part of the pigeons were gone. Having reason to suspect Richard Street of Pirton he procured 4 assistants and watched his house the next night. About 12am Street came out of his house and seeing some of his [Kempson’s] party he went in again. Soon after he began to let some pigeons fly out of the window. He called out to Street not to let any more fly. He went to Mr Hall’s at Stondon for a search warrant, leaving Dawson the constable and the other men to watch the house. He returned about 2am and found Dawson in Street’s house with Street sitting beside him handcuffed. There were four sacks of pigeons and Dawson was putting them out of the sacks into some hampers. While they were engaged with the pigeons Street got away. They took the pigeons to Dawson’s house and left them there. He went home and came back about 11 o’clock. They ticketed about a dozen of the pigeons then let them and all the rest fly. They all flew towards his dovehouse which is about 2 miles away. He knows the skin of the pigeon he now produces particularly well from the colour fo the feathers. He found it in one of the hampers at Dawson’s when they were taking them out to fly them. It is one of the those which were ticketed. The rest of the pigeons were of the same sort as his and he believes they were his. On the Friday morning he saw that pigeon with the rest about the buildings. He caught it and killed it to preserve the skin. The farm was his father’s who died about a month ago. His uncles William and Thomas Kempson are his father’s executors. James Dawson of Pirton (Herts) – he is one of the constables of Pirton. Last Wednesday night he assisted John Kempson to watch Street’s hosue. A few minutes after Kempson left for the warrant Street came out of the house. King, the other constable, put the handcuffs on him and they then went into the house and found 4 sacks of live pigeons. While they were shifting the pigeons into the hampers Street escaped. They took the pigeon sin the hampers to his house and they remained in his custody until Kempson came in the morning. They then ticketed some of the pigeons and let them all fly. George Kingsley of Pirton (Herts) – he was one of the party watching Street’s house. About 12am he saw 3 men come up the fields towards the house. They turned off and went around Lake’s premises which adjoin. Francis Davies was one of them. James Lake of Pirton (Herts) – his house is not more than 2 poles from Street’s and he was watching what was going on there from his own window last Wednesday night. About 2am he saw Francis Davies get out of a hole in the roof of Street’s cottage and slide down and run away. It was a moonlit night and he knew him very well. Thomas Ansell of Shillington, labourer – he is shepherd to John Kempson of Shillington. He has seen the pigeons from day to day and knows them. One in particular had a good deal of white about its feathers. He saw that the dovehouse had been broken open on Thursday morning 8 May. On Friday 8 May about 2pm he was watching for the pigeons to come back again. He saw a great many come home from Pirton way. They came a few at a time. Several of them had tickets on. The one with the white feathers came home with the rest and he marked it down into the dovehouse. The next morning he helped his master catch it and several others with tickets on. Francis Davis of Pirton (Herts) – he was not in Street’s house at all. Lake did not see him get out. Richard Street of Pirton (Herts), labourer – he was going out of his house at Pirton at about 11pm on Thursday night and saw some bags full of something lying in the garden. He took them up and carried them into the house. He opened them and found they had pigeons inside. Some of them flew out and got out of the door, and some out at the window. He then shut the bag up again. He does not know how they came into the garden.

item

Davis, Francis,
Street, Richard,
Kempson, William,
Kempson, Thomas,
Dawson, James,
Kingsley, George,
Lake, James,
Ansell, Thomas

SHILLINGTON, PIRTON, stealing animals, pigeons, farmers, constable, dovecotes, shepherd