George Jones

342

Maureen Withey on 15th April 2026

Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 9.0) January 1830. Trial of GEORGE JONES (t18300114-4). Available at: https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/record/t18300114-4?text=Jones (Accessed: 15th April 2026). Tried at the Old Bailey, 14 Jan 1830. Second London Jury - Before Mr. Recorder. 237. GEORGE JONES was indicted for feloniously breaking and entering the dwelling-house of James Heath , on the 20th of December , at St. Sepulchre, and stealing therein, 20 spoons, value 7l. 6s.; 2 pairs of sugar-tongs, value 16s., and 1 milk-pot, value 1s. , his property. JAMES HEATH . I live at No. 66, Snow-hill, in the parish of St. Sepulchre , and rent the house. On Sunday evening, the 20th of December, at half-past six o'clock all my family, consisting of eight persons, went out to church, leaving me alone in the house; it was not quite dark - I believe the house was safe; I had not seen the fastenings in the course of the day, for I had been very unwell the whole day - in about ten minutes after my family were gone out, the front door bell rang twice, very faintly: I did not get up to answer it - about ten minutes after that(there was no noise whatever, every thing was perfectly silent;) I was sitting in the dining-room, up stairs - my face was directed towards the dining-room door, and the door of the room was pushed very slowly open, and part of the head of a person appeared; I immediately rose from my seat, went towards the door, and the head was instantly withdrawn, and the person ran very precipitately down stairs, and made a great noise in going down - I thought it unwise to follow, so I proceeded to the dining-room window, threw it up, gave an alarm, and in rather more than an hour I saw the prisoner in custody - I examined the house, but was not aware that any thing was gone; the street-door was closed in the usual way when I went down - I had not heard it shut when he ran down, if it had I think I must have heard it; I saw two small crow-bars in the back part of the house - I could not discover how the party had got in; I found the street-door bolted on the inside - they could have entered that way, and bolted it afterwards- my family returned about half-past eight o'clock; a hat was found at the bottom of the stairs - I did not see it there myself; the spoons, sugar-tongs, and milk-pot were in the kitchen. …. [Wednesday Jan. 20.] GUILTY - DEATH . Aged 25. Recommended to Mercy by the Prosecutor and Jury, having offered no personal violence. National Archives. Criminal Petitions. HO 17/73/53. Date: 1830 2 individual petitions (prisoner and James Heath, prosecutor) and 1 collective petition (5 people) on behalf of George Jones, bedstead pillar carver, convicted at the Old Bailey in January 1830 for housebreaking and stealing property, value over £5 belonging to James Heath. Grounds for clemency: only committed offence out of desperation when could not find work, used no violence even when confronted by prosecutor, no loss of property since caught in house before able to escape, previous good character, first offence. Initial sentence: death. Annotated: considered at Report in Council 2 February 1830. NO 4 . Hulk Records. Portsmouth Hulks, Leviathan. HO 9-8_6 page 10/54. Received from Newgate, 11 Feb 1830. George Jones, age 25, Felony, tried at The Old Bailey, 14 Jan 1830, Life, To NSW, 26 June 1830, R. Admiral.