Richard Luck

338

Penny-Lyn Beale on 6th March 2022

1834 - Conditional Pardon. No; 616 1838 - Free pardon. No; 387

341

Maureen Withey on 20th February 2021

Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 8.0, 20 February 2021), June 1821, trial of RICHARD LUCK JOHN QUINTENDEN (t18210606-87). RICHARD LUCK, JOHN QUINTENDEN, Theft > animal theft, 6th June 1821. 786. RICHARD LUCK and JOHN QUINTENDEN were indicted for stealing, on the 19th of May , at St. Leonard, Shoreditch , one gelding, price 20 l., and one mare, price 30 l. the property of James Taylor . MR. ADOLPHUS conducted the prosecution. ROBERT CROUCHER . I am in the service of Mr. James Taylor , who lives, Item, in Kent , about a quarter past four in the afternoon of Friday, the 18th of May, I turned three geldings and a mare into the field, and locked the gate, the fences were entire; I went to the field at half-past four next morning, unfastened the gate, and found it had been taken off its hinges, and hung again on one hinge, I observed a trampling of horses near the gate, I could see they had gone through the gate, the ground was wet, if the trampling had been there the evening before I must have seen it; the grey mare and a brown gelding were gone, the other two were left; I sent to inform my master, and then I went after them; I had attended the gelding two years, and the grey mare one, and should know them again from any others; I came up to London in search of them. Q. Had you in your mind any persons who were likely to have stolen them - A. Yes, the day before I saw two men pass my house as I sat at dinner, about three o'clock, and as I returned from fastening the horses up at half-past four; I saw the same two men going to the field, about fifty rods from the field, they were both strangers to me, but I hear Luck worked in the neighbourhood; they noticed my dog; they did not stop, but walked on; I came up as far as Eltham; I got tidings of the horses, and went to Bromley; I found the horses at Worship-street, on the Monday following, at Nottage's stables; they were the same; I then went to Clerkenwell Prison, and saw the same two men I had seen about the field; they were among ten or twelve others, I pointed them out as the men, and am certain they are the same two men who were loitering about the field - it was the prisoners. Cross-examined by MR. BRODERICK. Q. You never saw the persons before - A. No, Quintenden had a smock frock on, and Luck a drab coat; Quintenden had his frock on in prison, but I knew him without that, I had no conversation with them in the road; Groombridge fair was held the day before, it is above four or miles off; I am not quite certain what day the fair is held; it is common for horses to stand about the gate, but I could see where they went out at the end. JAMES TAYLOR . I am a farmer ; I saw the horses at Nottage's stables, and am sure they are mine - the prisoners are strangers. THOMAS GREAVES . I work at Mr. Nottage's livery stables, Worship-street; the horses which Mr. Taylor claimed, were brought to the stable by an officer; I had seen them before, between four and five o'clock on Saturday morning, the 19th of May, at Norton-Falgate; Luck was riding the brown horse, and leading the grey mare,and Quintenden was walking alongside on the foot pavement; I took notice of them; I went to Wellington-street; I was gone half an hour, and returned at a quarter past five; I saw the same persons again in Shoreditch, with the horses, just in the situation I had seen them before; I did not see them speak to each other; Luck rode through the gate, and paid the turnpike; Quintenden stopped a little, then came on, and walked by the side of the horses, as before; the horses were afterwards brought to our stables by the officer; I immediately knew them again. Cross-examined. Q. Luck managed them entirely - A. Yes, Quintenden walked on the pavement, as any one might; I never saw them before, I was looking at the horses; I took notice of both the prisoners, and am certain of them; I took less notice of the one on the pavement; I cannot be mistaken about either. WILLIAM ATTFIELD . I am an officer, and assisted in taking the prisoners in to custody. On Saturday, the 19th of May, a little before eleven o'clock; we went to the Basing-house, Kingsland-road, and stopped a few minutes looking about; I looked through the door into the parlour, and saw the prisoners sitting together, nobody else was in the room; we came away; I spoke to the hostler; the two horses in question were in the stable there; I did not then take them, not knowing them to be the men; Gleed and I were outside the door; Garton went into the parlour and Quintenden came out; Garton secured Luck; Quintenden was walking towards Shoreditch church; Garton called to us to take him; we walked sharp after him; he turned round and saw us, and then ran; we followed, calling Stop thief! he was stopped about two hundred yards off, without my losing sight of him; he had a coat on which I produce, it had some white horse hairs on the flaps, which he would have from riding a grey horse; I found a steel on him, and there appears to have been some tinder in the end of his handkerchief; I took him back to the public-house, and told him we took him on suspicion of stealing two horses; Luck was there; I heard no answer made; I went to the stable, and took the horses to Nottage's. Cross-examined. Q. He had a dark coat on - A. Yes, he was coming out of the tap-room, I think he saw me; I think he had a smock frock on over his coat; I did not take the coat off till I got to the office. THOMAS GARTON . I am an officer. I went to the Basing-house, and stood at the gate, while Attfield and Gleed went down the yard, I went into the house, and just as I got inside the door, I met Quintenden with a smock frock on - I turned his frock aside, and saw what sort of coat he had on; I said, "You have brought two horses here this morning," he said, "No; I did not, the man in the parlour brought them." I jumped into the parlour, saw Luck, and said, "You have brought two horseshere this morning;" he said, "Yes, I have" - Gleed came in, I told him to pursue the other, he was brought back in about four minutes. When we got to the yard of the lock-up house, I was going to put them in separate places, Luck said, "Let us both be together, and we will tell you where we brought the horses from, and who we brought them for;" they both said they brought them from a place between Maidstone and Chatham, but they did not know the name of the place, or the person they belonged to; this was a conversation between them, both spoke - I locked them up together, Quintenden's coat then had a great many grey hairs on it. Cross-examined. Q. What time was it - A. A little before eleven o'clock in the morning. I told Quintenden my business the moment I saw him; both said they neither knew the parish or place they brought them from; Luck said Quintenden had been with him for a fortnight, they were very anxious to tell their story, and Quintenden said I am sorry for it. I took a pocket-book from his coat pocket, but Luck was wearing it at the time, and had it on when he was apprehended, but Quintenden now has it on at the bar. BARNARD GLEED . I went to the Basing-house with the witnesses; I went into the house by the back door, I opened the parlour door, Luck had the coat on which Quintenden now wears; Quintenden sat next to him with a smock frock on; I came out and spoke to Garton and Atfield under the gateway, Garton went in, I followed in a moment, he sent me after Quintenden; I went, he walked very slow and I after him, he turned his head, saw me, and ran very fast, on our calling Stop thief! and struck three people who tried to stop him with a large nob stick which he had - he was stopped at the corner of Old-street-road, without my losing sight of him, we brought him into a public-house were Luck was, and took a pocketbook from Luck's coat, which Quintenden now wears; Quintenden said the pocket-book was his, and it contained an account of the payment of his tolls, as driver of the Brighton van; when we got to the lock-up place, Garton was going to lock them up separate, Luck said, "We came together, and let us be together" - I do not know who spoke first, but one of them said, they took the horse on Friday night, about eleven o'clock, out of a field between Chatham and Maidstone, Luck said, that in the pocketbook, I should find the name of the person they were to take the horses to in London, there was "Allen, Basing-house, Kingsland-road," in pencil, in the book. Cross-examined. Q. They were to take them there from Groombridge fair - A. They said nothing about any fair. JAMES TAYLOR . My field is not between Chatham and Maidstone. QUINTENDEN'S Defence. I know nothing of it. LUCK, GUILTY . - DEATH . Aged 32. QUINTENDEN, GUILTY . - DEATH . Aged 21. First Middlesex Jury, before Mr. Common Sergeant. --------------------------------------------------- National Archives. Criminal Petitions. HO 17/2/341821 June 21 Prisoner name: Richard Luck. Prisoner occupation: Journeyman blacksmith. Court and date of trial: Old Bailey 'last sessions' [1821]. Crime: Stealing a horse and mare, property of James Taylor of Mote Farm, [Ightham], Kent. Initial sentence: [Not stated]. Annotated: Considered at Report in Council 30 June 1821. Petitioner(s): The prisoner. Grounds for clemency: Admits his guilt; family dependent on him; respectable people signed petition. Other papers: Three character references: James Bath of Bromley, Kent; William Storer, pastrycook of Bromley; William Richardson of Farnborough [Hampshire]. Additional Information: Convicted with John Quickenden. Convict held in Newgate under sentence of death. --------------------------------------------------