James Fogotter

342

Maureen Withey on 25th March 2026

Tried at the Old Bailey, 6 Dec 1827. SIXTH DAY. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12. Fifth Middlesex Jury - Before Mr. Common Sergeant. 248. JAMES FOGGOTER was indicted for feloniously breaking and entering the dwelling-house of Robert Matthew Imeson , on the 5th of November , at St. Leonard, Shoreditch, and stealing 124 lbs. of tobacco, value 30l.; 1 pair of sugar-tongs, value 10s.; 1 medal, value 5s., and 300 penny-pieces , his property. ROBERT MATTHEW IMESON . I am a tobacconist , and live in Shoreditch, in the parish of St. Leonard, Shoreditch , and rent the house. On the morning of the 6th of November I was called up by my young man, who informed me the place was broken open and robbed; I dressed myself, came down, and found a large hole through the brick wall, which divides my back manufactory from the dwelling-house; I had shut my private door myself the night before, and my young man shut the shop door; the persons had first come across my manufactory, which is now empty, then cut through eighteen inches of the brick-work, and got into the parlour, which is part of the dwelling-house, and then through the private door into the shop; no implements were found in the house; several casks of tobacco in the shop were partly emptied, and a quantity of copper was taken; also a silver Livery-medal, of the Cutlers' Company, and a pair of silver sugar-tongs from the table in the little parlour, adjoining the shop. CHARLES HENRY ANDERSON . I was in the service of Mr. Imeson. On the morning of the 6th of November I went to open the shop, and found the tobacco trod about the shop; I immediately went to the shop door, and found it unfastened and open; I locked it with the key, inside the door, ran up stairs, and informed Mr. Imeson of it - there was a hole in the wall, which divided the parlour from the warehouse, where they made their entry - the hole was cut through the bricks, large enough for a full sized man to get through. CURSTON HULSEBERG . I am a tobacco manufacturer. On the 5th of November I sent 120 lbs. of Maryland and Virginia tobacco, mixed together, to Mr. Imeson's - the colour of it was rather peculiar. Cross-examined by MR. PHILLIPS. Q. How much of this tobacco is in London? A. I do not know - it is common, but it depends entirely on the colour. THOMAS GARTON . I am a constable. On the 6th of November, about nine o'clock in the morning, I went to Mr. Imeson's premises. I saw the hole in the wall - I could have got through it easily. On the 8th of November I went, with Waters and Brown, to a house in a small court, in Austin-street - there are but two houses in the court; I placed Waters in the yard, and I knocked at the door; no one came, and I sent Brown in at the window; he opened the door - he and I went up stairs, and found the prisoner in bed with a woman; I called Waters in, and, in a box, close by the bed, I found this tobacco, tied in an apron and this other parcel in a woman's cap; I then found a small portion of snuff in a paper, which I gave to Brown; I then saw Brown find these two crow-bars, near the fire-place; I found two dark lanterns. I then told the prisoner that I took him on suspicion of a robbery at Mr. Imeson's, in High-street, Shoreditch, of some tobacco and half-pence. I took him and the woman to the office. I then went, with Brown and Waters, to Mr. Imeson's, and examined the desk and cupboard, which were broken open, in the shop; I found the marks on the desk exactly fitted this bar, and some lime was on the desk - there is also some on the bar. Cross-examined by MR. PHILLIPS. Q. You never saw the prisoner near the prosecutor's premises? A. No; this was two days after - nobody else lives in the prosecutor's house - the bill was not found against the woman. JAMES BROWN . I am an officer. I went to the house with Garton and Waters - Garton's statement is correct; I found this small parcel of snuff, wrapped in a bill of parcels of Mr. Imeson's - I found these skeleton keys and this dark-lantern there - I swear this bill of parcels was found at the prisoner's house - I have had it ever since. Cross-examined. Q. Was this bill produced at the office at the first examination? A. It was; it was not read nor examined - the snuff was produced and looked at - the Magistrate might look at it at a distance - he did not take it off the table; it had been in my possession about two hours. THOMAS WATERS . I am an officer. I went with Brown and Garton, on the 8th of November, to the prisoner's house, and while they were up stairs, I found in a cupboard in the lower room, a dark-lantern, and a bunch of skeleton keys; and on the mantle-shelf a phosphorus-box, some matches, and, in the corner of the room, I found this string, which I produced before the Magistrate, and Mr. Imeson stated it to be part of the string with which he had tied up a parcel the night before; I found these three little jars of tobacco in the lower room. Cross-examined. Q. Do you call these two keys skeleton? A. No; but a great part of the bunch are skeleton. PHILEMON HARVY . I am a pawnbroker. On the 6th of November the prisoner came to my shop, in company with a woman, whom I know, but cannot say whether they were acquainted before - they redeemed a quantity of articles, which came to above 1l., and paid for them in copper, tied in brown paper - I think they were pence and halfpence: I saw the woman at the office - she was called Esther Smith. SARAH GADBURY . My husband is a bricklayer: we live in Old Castle-street; the house the prisoner was taken at is ours; the prisoner lodged there - they had two rooms - they were taken by the woman called Smith, in the name of Foggoter - nobody else lived there - there is but two rooms in the house - it is in a court in Leicester-street: the rent was generally paid by the woman; the prisoner paid it once. THOMAS GARTON re-examined. Esther Smith is the woman against whom the bill was thrown out, and who was before the Magistrate when Harvy was there. MR. IMESON. The paper this snuff is in, is an invoice of my writing, dated the 5th of November - I had not sent it out - it was in a parcel of tobacco and snuff, for a person named Potter, whose name is on it; the parcel was gone from the shop when I got up in the morning - this string was round the parcel, and from the peculiar manner in which we tie it, and having had occasion to use two strings of different descriptions, I would not swear, but have no doubt, these are the same strings. Cross-examined. Q. Was this bill produced on the first examination? A. It was not looked at, to my recollection. COURT. Q. What is the value of the tobacco and snuff missing? A. Between 30l. and 40l.; but I could not swear to it. JURY. Q. Are you sure Potter's parcel had not been sent out? A. It had not - I saw it in the night of the 5th, at nine o'clock, when I went to supper. Prisoner's Defence. At my first examination that paper was opened, and both the Magistrate and Mr. Imeson took a pinch of it - it is very strange Mr. Imeson should not have looked at the paper - it was never observed, and Mr. Imeson said there was nothing by which it could be identified. MR. IMESON. I did take a pinch of it, but never looked at the paper. JURY. Q. Are you certain it is the same paper which was produced? A. Yes; the invoice was in the parcel, folded up as an invoice. JAMES BROWN . I found the snuff in this invoice - the examination was but short, and it was hardly looked at. GUILTY - DEATH . Aged 24. ------------------------------------------ Absconded. 1. Faggotter James, or Fogotter, No. 28-1960, Albion. 25, Watch Spring Maker, London, 5 feet 4½, hazle eyes, light brown hair, ruddy comp. From Hyde Park Barrack. Sydney Gazette, 17 Mar 1829.