Mary Simpson

135

C H on 22nd February 2024

Old Bailey Online SARAH ROBERTS. SARAH WILSON. MARY SIMPSON. Theft; shoplifting. 9th January 1788. Text type Trial account Defendants SARAH ROBERTS, SARAH WILSON, MARY SIMPSON Offences Theft > Shoplifting Session Date 9th January 1788 Reference Number t17880109-32 Verdicts Guilty > Lesser offence Punishments Transportation 129. SARAH ROBERTS , SARAH WILSON , and MARY SIMPSON were indicted for feloniously stealing, on the 7th day of January , two pieces of muslin, containing twenty yards, value 5 l. the property of Thomas Ashby , privily in his shop . The witnesses examined separate. The case opened by Mr. Sylvester. GEORGE PRICE sworn. I am shopman to Mr. Ashby on Holborn-hill , he keeps a linen-draper's shop ; on Monday the 7th of January, about three o'clock, the three prisoners came into the shop; there was a customer in the front shop, a lady; the shop is divided into three different shops; they came into the front shop, and in consequence of there being a customer there, they were asked into the second shop; they asked to look at some printed callicoes which I shewed them; they did not approve of them, and I shewed them some others; they particularized a pattern, which after some hesitation, I told them I had not got, which was a green ground, with a small sprig upon it; then they asked to look at some muslins; and I asked if they were for aprons; and they said yes; I shewed them some yard and half wide, I reached from behind me one piece, a cut quantity of yard and half wide. Do you mean a piece that was cut? - Yes, India muslin; they told me that the checque was too small; I reached a whole piece of India muslin out of the same paper; they objected to that, it was too small a pattern; I asked one of the shopmen named Whitworth, to give me some others, which he brought me; he brought a quantity, but among these were four pieces of six-quarters British muslin; I did not shew them all at once, but according to the patterns which I thought would please them, they did not fix for some time; at last they fixed; and I cut the prisoner Roberts a quarter, and gave her change; after she had taken her change she went out of the shop, and the woman with bruised eyes, Sarah Wilson , to the best of my recollection, went out about two minutes before; they were gone out, I imagine, about five or ten minutes; I mentioned to the young fellow in the shop, I suspected they had taken something; he said he had a suspicion of them likewise, by their appearance; on looking about, we found there was one piece of the six-quarter British muslin, which I shewed them last, was gone; I said, one of them has left her muff behind her, which was a black feathered muff; she returned for it. Which woman brought it in with her? - Roberts. Two women came back, the two which I served, that is, the prisoner Roberts and Wilson; I threw a piece of print over the muff, and detained them for a minute or two; she said finding her hand cold was the reason of missing her muff; I asked Mr. Ashby whether I should detain the women; he said, you may depend upon it they have not got the property about them; I asked one of the shopmen to follow them, which he did, and I afterwards went into a public-house near the corner of Bartlett's-buildings, where the three prisoners and the other shopman Whitworth was; there were the three prisoners, and three other women; the three prisoners were shuffling together; Mr. Ashby ordered a constable to be fetched; I ran out to the public-house door to watch that they did not come out; Whitworth and the constable went in first, he came back, and I went along with him the second time; it is a very dark small room, and the three prisoners were altogether in a bustle whispering; the other three persons stood by the window in the light. How far from these three? - I suppose as far as I am from the table. Did they mix with these three? - Not at that time; I pushed the two small women away; says I, let us have none of this work here, get into the light; after that they were examined, and the constable said to me, which shall I take out? I said take out that woman first, that was Wilson, she being the woman I most suspected; then I told him to take Roberts, and after that he took the other; we examined them three, we found nothing; two others were examined; the constable came in, and said, let us look round the room, before the other is examined; and upon looking round the room with a candle, we found a bundle under the table, which David Whitworth picked up; on opening the bundle, which was tied up in a dark handkerchief, on the top of the bundle there lay a remnant of print, and two pieces of muslin tied up in the same handkerchief; one of these pieces was one that I missed of the six-quarters British; the other piece was one of the two which I reached from behind me on her first asking for muslin, both whole pieces; they had the shop mark upon them; one was only marked that morning; the constable asked me if I knew them pieces; I said yes, I was positive they were the same; they were taken into custody and committed the next day. Had you seen the other three women before? - Never to my knowledge. Had they been in the shop that afternoon? - They had not. Are you sure of that? - Not at the time these women were there, there was not a soul to buy a piece of goods at that counter from the time they came in to the time the goods were missed, nobody except our own people were in the shop. Who was in the shop? - Mr. Ashby and Mr. Hardinge, and a porter; we have to pass from one shop to the other. Mr. Garrow, Counsel for the prisoners Roberts and Wilson. Mr. Price, what may be the value of these two pieces together? - The value of the two, I should rather speak under than over, are, at least, five pounds. Have you got the muff here? - No, the woman had the muff back with her. What might be the value of the muff? - No great matter, five shillings, perhaps. Then this woman had been gone some minutes before she came back for the muff? - She had. They had been gone ten minutes without being followed, or any means taken to take them? - Between five and ten minutes. The prisoners Roberts and Wilson were not present in the room when the pieces were found; I believe they had been taken into another room to be examined? - They were taken out one by one into another room to be examined. Were they brought back again into the room where this bundle was found, before it was found? - No. Then they were not present when it was found? - No. The other three women had been still left in the room, while these three women were examined? - They had. It was Roberts that purchased the articles? - Yes, Roberts and Wilson came in together; there appeared no connexion at all between them two and the other woman while they were in the shop, as I perceived. You have told us that there was a lady in the fore-place? - There was. Which of the shops was it in? - It was in the middle shop. Was that lady in a situation to have a view of these people while they were dealing with you? - Not all of them. How far distant from the counter? - Not as far as from you to me. Within two or three feet? - Somewhere thereabouts. Was she in a situation to see what was going on there, if she had paid attention? - Probably she might, if she had paid attention. What other persons were there in the shop besides? - No other customers. How many persons belonging to the shop were there? - There was Mr. Ashby; he is here; Mr. Hardinge; he is not here; Mr. Whitworth; he is here; myself and the porter; he is not here; he was in the front shop; I do not believe he was in either of the other shops. Is there a glass partition? - The shops are a distance of a yard or two, and divided by glass doors. Then there were this lady, the porter, and Mr. Hardinge; there were in these different shops these three persons that are not here now? - Yes. How long were you searching these three women in the other room? - I cannot say. Was it half an hour? - I cannot tell to half an hour, I was in the room chattering with the other women, I imagine it was half an hour; there was one woman not searched, because we found the property, before we searched her. Mr. Knapp, Counsel for Simpson. You have stated to the Court and the Jury, that the person who calls herself Simpson, went out some time before, about two minutes; had any, and what conversation passed between you and her? - None in the shop, any further than I told her, finding her sitting there, that I would wait upon her in a few minutes; she told me she was not in a hurry. Was that in consequence of any thing she had said to you? - No, there was nothing further. She said she was not in a hurry; then after you had served Roberts, did you ask her if she wanted any thing? - I asked her at the time Roberts and the woman was in the shop looking at the muslin. Then did not you ask her what she would please to have? - No; Whitworth served Simpson. In which shop was she served? - In the same shop, and at the same counter. Did you observe the woman come into the shop? - I observed the two women come into the shop; Roberts and Wilson came in together. Did they come in first? - Yes. How soon after they came in, did Simpson come in? - Between one and two minutes as near as I can tell. DAVID WHITWORTH sworn. I am a shopman to Mr. Ashby; the prisoner Roberts, and Wilson came in first, the other about two minutes after; at the time they came in, I was engaged with a customer in the front shop, just by the house door; I was very soon at liberty, and went to serve the prisoner Simpson in the middle room with some cambrick; I shewed her three or four pieces; she bought some cambrick to the amount of two shillings and eleven pence; she gave me half a crown, and desired I would keep the cambrick and half a crown, and she would call again and pay the five-pence, and she was in want of a body-lining and some callico, and she went out; this is the cambrick she bought; she did not call for it; when these two ladies came for the muff, I followed them to a public-house which they went into, the corner of Bartlett's Buildings: I watched them in the back way; they went up a passage to the back door from Holborn; I followed only two women; I ran round to the front door; I found that the women were altogether in a room; I saw these women with several others through the door; I stopped in the house a few minutes; I then left the house, and ran down Shoe lane to get a constable; the constable and me went into the room where these women were, and I pointed out the two women to the constable; then we asked Mr. Ashby whether he would have these women searched; and he wished to have them searched; then we took them one by one out of the room. Who was searched first? - I am not positive; there were five searched, there were six in the room. Did you begin with the women that had been in the shop? - I am not positive which of the women were searched first; I believe those that had been in the shop. Was the woman that was not searched, one of the women that went into the shop? - No, the woman that was not searched was not in the shop, he searched five of them; we then thought it necessary to look round the room, and I looked underneath the table and picked up this bundle; we opened it before the constable; I believe Mr. Price was in the room; I found these two pieces of muslin; the constable has the bundle with the whole contents. Mr. Garrow. At the time that this bundle was found, was either of the three present prisoners in the room? - They were not; there were some other persons in the shop; and some were there who are not here now; there was a lady in the shop, the wife of a merchant. How long might you have been searching these five women? - I cannot tell for a few minutes; about half an hour. Were the other three permitted to go at large? - No, they were taken. How many of them were taken? - They were all six taken, and afterwards three of them were discharged. Mr. Silvester. Was Harding and the porter in the shop when the women were purchasing the muslins? - Mr. Harding was for a certainty; I believe, the porter was not. Mr. Knapp. I think you said you served Simpson with some cambrick? - I did. She gave you half a crown, and told you she should come again? - She did. When you went to the house, you fixed on two, you did not fix on any more? - I did not; the women were in a very small dark room, and it did not strike me that this was the woman that bought the cambrick. Court. Are you sure now that she was? - Yes. - HAWKINS sworn. I am a constable; I was sent for to a public-house; when I came there, I was given in charge of six women; the first I examined was Wilson, I found nothing on her; I examined four more, and found nothing; when I came back to the room, the shopman found a bundle in the corner of the room. Price. This is the second piece of muslin that I shewed them; this is the shop mark; it is Mr. Ashby's property; and this is the piece that I missed also. MICHAEL BRAMPTON sworn. I keep the public-house the corner of Bartlett's Buildings; one of these two prisoners that are alike in size, (Simpson and Wilson) came to my house between three and four; she asked for a glass of brandy; she sat about a yard and a half from the bar in a box, I handed it to her; she said, she had some company coming; and soon after, four or five women came in for something to drink, and one of the women came to her, and said, they were come; I served them with some liquor separately, and I shewed Whitworth and the officer into the parlour, and after the fifth person was searched, the bundle was found; I thought the women seemed to be acquainted. Jury. Had any body been in the room before these women came? - It is a back parlour, and there was no fire; I do not know that any body had been there, but my own family had dined there. PRISONER ROBERTS's DEFENCE. I am innocent; I hurt my leg coming out of the gentleman's shop, and I wanted a private place to get a drop of brandy to rub my leg with. The prisoner Roberts called five witnesses to her character. PRISONER SIMPSON's DEFENCE. I went in to buy a bit of muslin, and left half a crown till I came back, and I went into this public-house to wait for one Mr. Wilkinson, a hartshorn-shaver, and I went into this room to see for him. The prisoner Simpson called two witnesses to her character. The prisoner Wilson called one witness to her character. ALL THREE, GUILTY, Of stealing, but not privately . Each Transported for seven years . Tried by the London Jury before the Lord Chief Baron.