William Holmes

Old Bailey Online WILLIAM HOLMES. Theft; burglary. 14th September 1796. Text type Trial account Defendants WILLIAM HOLMES Offences Theft > Burglary Session Date 14th September 1796 Reference Number t17960914-13 Verdicts Guilty Punishments Death 470. WILLIAM HOLMES was indicted for breaking and entering the dwelling-house of Robert Cole , about the hour of three in the night of the 13th of September , with intent the goods of the said Robert, burglariously to steal, and stealing seven yards of Irish cloth, value 10s. the property of the said Robert. ROBERT COLE sworn. I am a linen-draper and hosier; I keep a readymade linen warehouse, the corner of Arundel-street , in the Strand. On Tuesday the 13th of September, between three and four, I was alarmed by Ann Littler coming into my room, and telling me my shop was broke open; I came down stairs immediately, and opened the street-door; the watchman said, don't be alarmed, the thief, or the man, is taken, I don't know which; he is in the watch-house; upon that I turned my eye to the shop, and down the bar went; there were three or four shutters hung by the bar that had been wrenched open; a pane of glass was broke. I then went up, and put my cloaths on, and came down stairs again, and went to the watch-house, and saw the prisoner. Q. The bar was wrenched? - A. Yes. Q. and the window broke? - A. Yes; there were two remnants of linen gone, which other people can speak to better than I can. Q. Are you sure it was before four o'clock? - A. Yes. Cross-examined by Mr. Ally. Q. You did not see the door fastened yourself? - A. No. Q. You did not see these remnants of linen neither? - A. I did not, over-night; I was out that evening. Q. And therefore, so far as your own knowledge goes, you cannot say whether they were in the window or not? - A. No. ANN LITTLER sworn. I live with Mr. Cole; I was alarmed at the bell ringing, I looked out at the window to know what was the matter, and I was told not to be alarmed, but the house was broke open, and the thief taken. I was present when the shop was shut up about nine o'clock; I went round the shop and saw all was safe. Q. Was the window broke at night before you went to bed? - A. No. Q. Did you see the shutters in the morning? - A. Yes; the bar was wrenched, and the shutters hung against them; there was a pane of glass broke, and two remnants of Irish linen gone. Q. Of what value? - A. Thirty shillings. Q. Had you seen the linen over night? - A. Yes; I put it in the window myself; I had cut a part of it off myself in the course of the day. Q. How near was it to the glass that was broke? - A. It laid next to the pane of glass that was broke. Q. Whose property was it? - A. Mr. Cole's. Q. Has he any partner? - A. No. Cross-examined by Mr. Ally. Q. It was in the course of the day you put these in the window? - A. Yes. Q. Does any person serve in the shop besides you? - A. Yes. Q. I take if you don't generally superintend shut ring the shop? - A. I always do, and the opening of it to. Q. Do you remain in the shop all the day? - A. Yes. Q. You observed in the morning how the shutters were broke? - A. Yes. Q. It was light enough for you to see it? - A. Only by the light of the watchman's lanthorn. Q. Could not you have discovered the watchman's face, as soon as you came out, without his lanthorn? - A. I could not. Q. In what capacity are you with Mr. Cole? - A. A servant in the shop. Q. How does he pay you; I don't mean to be impertinent; but it is necessary I should know? - A. By presents of things. Q. You have no share in the profits of the business? - A. No. ROBERT DORCHESTER sworn. I am a surpernumerary watchman of St. Clement's; I was sitting in my box, in about ten minutes after I had cried the half hour past three, I heard glass breaking. Q. Where does your box stand? - A. Almost the middle of Arundel-street; I went out of my box immediately, and made towards the found; and as I was going, I met the prisoner coming with something white under his arm; I laid hold of him, and said, holloa, what have you got there? he made answer, what is that to you. I insisted upon knowing, upon that he began to scuffle to get out of my hands, and he threw the cloth into the middle of the street, which I perceived to be cloth; as soon as he threw it away, we had a very great scuffle; I threatened to knock him down if he did not stop; my stick dropped out of my hand, upon which I made a blow at him with my fist, which he returned; upon that I endeavoured to pull the rattle out of my pocket, and he seized hold of it, and held it fast, so that I could not make an alarm; upon that, I threw him down, and got the rattle out of his hand, and he seized it again the second time in the scuffle; I got him towards the top of the street, and began to call out"watch," as loud as I could holloa, and when he found he could no ways get from me, he drew his knife; I said to him, don't cut me, don't cut me; being terrified at the knife, I let go my hold, and threw my leg round him, and threw him down, and by the time of his getting up again, a man came to my assistance, and I left him in care of that man and another that came up, while I went down the street to pick up the bit of cloth which he threw out of his hand; I brought the bit of cloath back, and took the man to the watch-house, and delivered it to a man that acted as beadle of the and returned immediately with a candle and lanthorn, with another man, to see what place was broke open, and I found that Mr. Cole's shop was broke open, the bar was wrenched out from the place where it was first put in, there were no pins at all, and there were two shutters hanging by the bar; I am not sure whether the third did not touch the ground. Q. You had been half past three? - A. Yes. Q. Was the bar safe then? - A. Yes; every thing was safe then. Q. Had you seen the prisoner before, lurking about? - A. No; when I cried the half-hour, I saw no soul about the place. Cross-examined by Mr. Ally. Q. You looked about, I suppose, to see if there were any implements of house-breaking? - A. I did. Q. But never found any? - A. None at all. Q. The prisoner told you where he lived? - A. He said in the watch-house where he lived. Q. While he was in the watch-house, his place was searched? - A. Yes. Q. He lives some where in the neighbourhood, in Water-street, I believe? - A. So I heard. Q. The way he was going, was in the road home? - A. I cannot say. Q. Do you undertake to say, that it was light enough, at that time, to see the linen in his hand? - A. Something white in his hand, and I perceived that it was linen, when he threw it away, by the lamps. Q. Was he in the middle of the street, at the time? - A. He was on the flags. Q. What distance might you have been from him? - A. He kept the cloth under his arm, the space of two minutes before he threw it away. Q. Whether at the time you first saw him, you can undertake to say, from the light of the heavens, that you could observe the linen in his hand? - A. No; I undertake to say, I could see something under his arm, by the light of the lamps. Q. What distance was the lamp from you? - A. I cannot say. Q. Lamps grow pretty dim towards morning? - A. Yes. Q. And though dim at that time in the morning, you could merely, from the light of the Lamps, see it was linen? - A. No; I did not see that it was linen, till he threw it away. Q. You said, when you first saw him, he had something white under his arm, could you not see that by the light of the heavens? - A. No; I could not. Q. Did not the light of the heavens assist you to see it? - A. I saw it by the lamp light most of any thing. Q. Then, together, with the assistance of the light of the lamps, and of the heavens, you were enabled to see it? - A. There was no light that I could discern any thing, without it was by the help of the lamps; it was a remarkable dark morning. Q. Have you heard any thing about a reward? - A. I had not heard any thing about it at that time. Q. You have heard of it since though? - A. Yes; and God forbid I should say any thing false for the sake of a reward. Q. Don't you expect a share of the reward, if he is convicted? - A. Undoubtedly I shall expect it the same as another if he is convicted. JAMES TURTON sworn. I was beadle of the night; while the beadle was out, the watchman brought in the prisoner, and two remnants of linen, that is all I know. - BATHO sworn. I am the beadle; I was out from the watch-house to look after the watchmen, to see that all was safe, intending to go home to bed; in the mean time, the prisoner was brought in by Dorchester, and the piece of linen, (produces it): I took out of his pocket, a tobacco-box, a half-guinea, a pocketbook, and a knife; I found the pocket-book at his lodgings; the fob-pocket of his breeches was full of duplicates. Cross-examined by Mr. Ally. Q. He told you where he lodged? - A. Yes; in Baker's-court, runs out of Tweezer-alley, at the bottom of Milford-lane. Q. Did you find any implements of house-breaking? - A. No. Q. No pistols, or any thing of that sort? - A. No. Mrs. Littler. This is Mr. Cole's property; I cut off this piece, (pointing to a vacancy); it is a finer piece of cloth for wristbands and collars. Mr. Ally. Q. You undertake to charge your conscience, with swearing, that it is the linen you lost, though there is no mark upon it? - A. Yes. Q. Will you swear there are not ten thousand pieces of the same quality and dimensions? - A. There may be, but I cut off three quarters of a yard for two collars of shirts, and in that, there is a fagend I cut off. Court. Q. And you believe that is the same? - A. I do, I missed it directly. Mr. Ally. (To Dorchesier.) Q. Was the prisoner at that time quite sober? - A. As far as I know. Q. Did not he appear to act a little extraordinary, as it intoxicated? - A. No. Jury. Q. Was this the knife he attempted to cut you with? - A. I cannot say, it was so dark. Prisoner's defence. I am entirely innocent of the charge; I was going home; I live at the bottom of Water-street; I was very much in liquor, I had not the property, the man has sworn as false as any thing in the world; it was very natural to try to get away if I could; I did not draw the knife at all. GUILTY . Death . (Aged 27.) Death Respited on the Report 4 Novr. pardoned 26 Novr. 1796 to be transported for life