Richard Richardson

342

Maureen Withey on 2nd April 2024

Digitised Indent for Active. Richard Richardson, Gaol delivery for City of London, at Old Bailey. 8 Dec 1790, seven years. Trial at the Old Bailey, 8 Dec 1790. 21. RICHARD RICHARDSON was indicted for stealing on the nineteenth of November last, three feather beds, value 9 l. a piece of carpeting, containing eighty yards, value 3 l. and one Persia carpet, value 5 l. the property of John Russell . GEORGE JACKSON sworn. I live with Mr. Russell; he lives in Broker's Row; the warehouse is in Moorfields , at the corner of London Wall; on the evening of the eighteenth of November; I left the warehouse safe, a little before eight, I am very sure that all the windows were fast. THOMAS FROMBS sworn. I am another servant to the prosecutor; on the nineteenth of November, in the morning, about seven; I went to the warehouse; I found the door wide open; I told my master. JOHN RUSSELL sworn. I went to the warehouse; I found the doors open; I discovered the next day, that two squares were broke in a window, and a sash thrown up; we missed some pieces of carpeting, three feather beds, and a Persian pattern carpet; in consequence of information, I went to Mrs. Kirvin's house, in Honey-suckle Court, Grub-street; Clarke, one of the Marshalmen, went with me, one of the feather beds was found there, in a turn-up bedstead; my mark was on it at that time; on the same evening about half past six, we took the prisoner, at the Swan and Hoop, at Moorgate; Mr. Clarke asked the prisoner, if he had a father; he said he had; he would not tell what he was; he said he lived at the other end of the town; we enquired after the prisoner; by the name of the one-ey'd gunner; he was known by that name; his father lived in a court, in Grub-street, within three hundred yards of the place where he was taken; we had his father in custody, at that time; the prisoner did not know it; when he was accused of the fact, he said he sold it to Kirvin; he swore he would not turn evidence; he said he found it at Bethlem Wall, about seven in the morning, without any wrapper on it; it was a very wet morning; it is impossible it could have been found there, for it was neither wet nor soiled. Prisoner. I wish him to look, and see if the bed is not dirty. (The bed produced, quite clean.) THOMAS GREGORY sworn. I am a porter at the brokers; about half past five in the evening, of the nineteenth; I was going through Honey-suckle Court; a person said there was a nice bed going into No. 9; I had seen a hand bill, and I gave information to Mr. Russell; I went with him, and took the bed from Kirvin's; it could not have been under Bethlem Wall; it was quite clean. HANNAH KIRVIN sworn. I got the bed that was found at my house, of the prisoner, on this day three weeks; he brought it there between four and five in the afternoon, of the nineteenth; I was to buy it, but had net the money; and the bed was left there till I could pay him for it; Mr. Russell came in the evening to my house, and took the property away. RICHARD TOMPKINS sworn. I am clerk to the prosecutor. (Deposes to the property) the mark is H. I. O. this is one of the beds that was stolen. WILLIAM FINCH sworn. I am a hackney coachman, I know the prisoner, I saw him on this day three weeks, about half past eight in the morning, in Old-street, I was at the stand with my coach, at the Greyhound ale-house; he came and ordered me to follow him, I followed him with the coach as he ordered me, up the City Road, towards Islington; there was one Tunstall with the prisoner, and another whom I do not know; I drove to Peerless Pool, the prisoner, and the other men, whom I do not know, walked with me; we went to a stable-yard there, they opened the gates of the stable, I backed my coach in, and then they fastened the gates; they opened a stable in the yard, and they brought out a bed, and four or five rolls of carpetting, about as large as my body, and three or four large floor carpets, they put them all into my coach, and two of them got into the coach, the prisoner and one I do not know, and I drove them to the end of Brick-lane, Old-street; Tunstall stopt in the stable-yard, the other young man carried a bed up the lane on his back, and came back and got in, and ordered me to the end of the Haymarket; I went there, the other man got out of the coach, and the prisoner ordered me to follow him; I followed him to Rupert-street; there the prisoner got out, and followed him up a court in Rupert-street; I waited about half an hour alone, with the goods in my coach: then the prisoner came to me and said, I have a favour to beg of you; says I, what is it? says he, the people that I have sold the goods too, are rather dubious of a coachman, and if you'll let me go with the coach, I am going only into Soho-square, I will be back again in a quarter of an hour; he told me the goods were all stolen; he had the coach, and I staid at the public-house all the while; he was gone near two hours, the goods were all gone when he came back; then these two persons and another stranger came to the watering-house Leicester-fields, there they all got in the coach; I set one down in St. Giles's, one in Grub-street, and the prisoner at the Sun and Hoop at Moorgate, the prisoner paid me seven shilligns and six-pence; Mr. Russell applied to me on the Tuesday following, and I told him; I described the prisoner as being called the Gunner. JOHN JACKSON sworn. I live in Bishopsgate-street, I keep the Queen's Head, that is about a quarter of a mile from the prosecutor's warehouse; on the morning of the 19th, about one, the prisoner was at my house in company with two strangers; they staid about twenty minutes or half an hour, there were several coachmen in the house at the time; the prisoner and the others drank mulled raspberry, there was a coach waiting, it was there before the prisoner came; a man of the name of Skinner was there, he is a coachman, I believe it was his coach that was waiting; my house is usually shut up about two o'clock; I have seen the prisoner at different times these two years at my house, oftener in the night than the day; he was known by the name of the Gunner. JOHN SIMMONS sworn. I am the pot-boy at Mr. Jackson's, I know the prisoner, I have seen him often at my master's house, he was there in company with two strangers, Skinner's coach was there; I did not see them go, we shut up about two. Did they or not come back again? - I do not know. PRISONER's DEFENCE. I picked the bed up as I was going to work at half past six in the morning. GUILTY . Transported for seven years . Tried by the London Jury before Mr. RECORDER.