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This was information was kindly provided by Marjorie Havard (nee Kingsley)
Trial Report of Wm Fowler, Wm Kingsley, Wm Crouch & James
Pitts,
=======Held at Bedford Assizes 13th March 1827.========
SHEEP STEALING.- Wm.Fowler, Wm.Kingsley, Wm.Crouch, and James Pitts,
were charged with killing two sheep, the property of Mr.Charles Hill, of
Shidlington (Shillington).-- Mr.Payne, on the part of the prosecution, stated the case to the
jury.-- Mr.Hunt, was counsel for Kingsley; the other prisoners had no counsel.--Mr.Charles
Hill, the prosecuter, proved on the 14th he found two sheeps heads in his yard;
they had particular marks upon them, which were the same as thoseof the heads of
two sheep which were lost from his flock; saw a person on the 15th, of the name
of Wilmer, who buys sheep skins, and he had two skins in his cart, saw at the
same time Fowler and Kingsley, who ran away; prosecuter overtaken them and
brought them back to Wilmer’s cart, and afterwards delivered them to a
constable; witness then sent for the Hitchin constable and accompanied him to
Pertenhall (Pirton Hall?): and on the way there, from what the prisoner Fowler told him,
witness found a sack with a carcass of mutton in it, and also found another
sack--they were covered up very closely under two baulm shocks; the sacks were
prosecuters property, and who saw them upon his own premises two days before;
went to search Fowler’s house, and found a bill that had mutton upon it, as if
it had been used to cut a carcase of mutton down; there was also a smock-frock
found, which was tied up and had wool upon it; Fowler said it was his frock. In
searching Crouch’s house, found a shoulder of mutton, and then the constable and
witness compared it with the skin; there was a large piece of fat torn off the
shoulder and left on the skin, when the mutton and skin compared they exactly
corresponded; the skins found in the cart tallied with the heads found in the
yard.--Cross examined by Mr.Hunt--saw the sheep that were lost on the Thursday
morning for the last time; Kingsley said he had just come from London.-- By the
Judge-- Kingsley was then out of the road from London; all the prisoners live at
Pertenhall (a small village)-- John Clark is shepherd to the prosecuter, put the sheep in the yard
on the Saturday night, and there were 3 score and 14, the next morning but 3
score and 12 remained; noticed a sheep with a black spot on the head that was
gone; found two heads in the yard, one was marked the same as the sheep that was
lost.-- W.Ward saw Kingsley and Fowler on the 15th January, but before them saw
two sheep skins, the prisoners were 40 poles from the skins, they were sitting
on a stile, the skins lay wrapped up in a hedge.-- Thomas Wilmer, the person who
Mr.Hill described as having the skins in the cart, stated that on the Monday he
saw the prisoners Fowler and Kingsley, they had three skins which witness bought
of them, Fowler had one skin and Kingsley two; in a few minutes afterwards saw
Mr.Hill, who inquired of witness if he had bought any skins, and looked at them;
the prisoners were then in sight.-- Cross-examined by Mr.Hunt--the road the
prisoners was on is a very public one; witness asked the prisoners if they had
them to sell--the spot where he bought them was not far from Mr.Hill’s farm.--
Mr.Robert Rose is constable of Hitchen, corroborated the evidence of Mr.Hill, as
to finding the mutton, bill, &c. in Fowler’s house and Crouch’s house, also
comparing the mutton with the skin; searched Kingsley, and found upon his
smock-frock blood upon it behind and before, and in Pitt’s pocket found some
pieces of mutton, and also found some in Crouch’s pocket--the carcase found in
the sack in the field was only divided in the middle, and it corresponded with
one of the skins.-- Maria Burgess recollects 14th January, saw Pitts come to
their house, he pulled a piece of mutton from under his coat; her father is in
the habit of baking for the poor--Pitts’s mother bakes her bread there.--Samuel
Jarvis, saw Kingsley on the 13th January, at Meppershall, which is 3 miles from
Pertenhall (Pirton Hall?), and about 2 miles from Hill’s farm.--The skins were produced.--
Fowler in his defence said he found the skins.-- Kingsley put in a written
paper, stating they found the skins, and Wilmer asked them to sell them, but
when they saw Mr.Hill and heard of him losing some sheep, they were afraid of
getting into trouble , and ran away.-- Pitts said he had a piece of mutton, but
he bought and paid for it.--Crouch said on the Sunday morning when he got up he
found the shoulder of mutton in his yard.-- Verdict, guilty--against Fowler,
Kingsley, and Crouch, and not guilty against Pitts-- sentence of death
recorded.--The Judge gave strong reason to suppose that two, if not the whole
three, would be sent out of the country for the remainder of their lives.
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