Richard Hardman

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Darryl Buley on 15th June 2022

The following is from the Lancashire County Council: “According to the calender of crown prisoners for the Lancashire Quarter Sessions (QJC 1), Richard Hardman (aged 22), along with two other men, was committed for trial on 15 November 1815 by Rev. Thomas Drake and Rev. William Horton and charged with having assulted and robbed James Scholfield of a pocket book and seven Bank of England notes, "for one pound each", on the King's Highway at Birtle-cum-Bamford. Hardman was convicted on 23rd March 1816 and having been found guilty on another indictment (unspecified), was transported for 14 years. More details could be found in the Quarter Sessions order book (QSO 2/185) and the indictment roll (QJ1 1/190). The Lancaster Gazette Saturday November 18th 1815 Committed to our Castle, since our last………William Duncan, James Shaw, and Richard Hardman, charged with having assaulted and robbed James Scholfield, on the King’s highway, in the township of Birtle cum Bamford, near Rochdale. Richard Hardman Along with William Duncan and James Shaw, Richard Hardman was convicted of assaulting and robbing James Scholfield at Birtle-cum-Bamford, near Rochdale Date Tried: 15th November 1815, Manchester Quarter Sessions Sentence: Death by hanging, later commuted to 7 years transportation From the convict records in New South Wales: Richard Hardman convicted on 23rd March 1816 at the Lancashire Assizes. Sentenced to 14 years. Native Place was Lancashire. He was a labourer. His age was 22 years. His height was 5 foot 4 inches. His complexion was sallow. His hair was brown. His eyes were Hazel. He travelled on the ship "Sir William Benson" which left Spithead, England carrying 200 Convicts and sailed via Cape. They arrived in Sydney on 10th March 1817. One of the Convicts died on the voyage. Some of them were then sent on to Van Dieman's Land, landing 30 of the Convicts in Hobart. The remainder including Richard Hardman were taken to the North of the Island to Port Dalrymple which is near present day Launceston. Interesting snippet about his death: From the “Launceston Advertiser”, Thursday, 11th October 1830, page 3: “On Wednesday, Mr Richard Hardman, of this town, breathed his last; he had been unwell from the Saturday before, he got worse this day, and expired suddenly about noon. He has left a widow and a family of small children to lament his loss, if it is a loss to lose a man who gave up all his faculties to drink, who robs himself of his health, his domestic comforts, and most of the pleasures of life in order to sacrifice his time to the pernicious practice of beastly intoxication. Fellow citizens look around and ponder how few of the inhabitants of this town, die a death in which habit of intoxication have not had a prominent part, a how great a proportion of these deaths are owing, strictly owing to the poisonous and beastly practice of intoxication.”