Law and order - crime and punishment

In mediaeval times, the town of Bourne was of sufficient status to be one of the centres in the Kesteven division of Lincolnshire to have its own petty sessions for the dispensation of justice. The 14th century particularly was a period of considerable lawlessness in rural England and in Kesteven between 1371 and 1375 there was an impressive catalogue of crimes including 22 murders, 62 cases of grand larceny, ten of burglary, 31 of assault, 55 breaches of the bread and ale regulations and 18 of fraud involving wages and allowances.

Some interesting cases:

1371: John de Rowe de Brunne was charged at the petty sessions in Bourne with secretly taking an ox costing twenty shillings from the lord Henry de Bewmont.

1375: Thomas Seerle of Thurlby on the Monday after the feast of St Martin in the 45th year of the reign of King Edward III . . . at Bourne, furtively took by night, a certain horse of a dark brown colour, price 6s. 8d., of John Pichell of Bourne, and led it away, whereupon he fled the district.

1644: A widow, Judith Weaving, appeared before the manorial court accused of throwing dung or manure at the door of Thomas Boardman. She was given notice to remove it within a few days.

Like all towns, Bourne had its stocks where wrongdoers would be locked in by the legs and pelted with stones, rotten fruit and bad eggs. They stood at the edge of the market place at the top of what is now Abbey Road together with a whipping post and an entry in the register of the Bourne Quarter Sessions for 22nd April 1688 records one such punishment by this means. Daniel Summerby, a slater, had been brought before the justices for rowdy and disorderly conduct in Bourne on a number of occasions, and the magistrates ordered that he ". . . being a person of an ill life and conversation and also being very malicious, desperate and unruly, so that complaint hath been made by the inhabitants his neighbours made unto us this day. It is therefore ordered that the constable of the said town of Bourne do upon his next excursion or disturbance seize and carry him to the common whipping post, there to be whipped till blood come, and so at all times hereafter, serve him as shows himself dangerous or desperate to the hazard or trouble of his neighbourhood."

It is not known when the whipping post disappeared but the stocks were dismantled around 1850. A tradesman in the town, well known for his practical jokes, was passing the churchyard one night and saw some bricks and mortar close to a small cottage which then stood nearby and he used them to block up the windows with the result that the occupants were late rising next morning, thinking that it was still dark. The Stamford Mercury subsequently reported "this dastardly outrage" and suggested that the culprit should be apprehended and put in the stocks but a few nights later, the same tradesman and a companion dismantled them and threw them in the moat section of the Bourne Eau. Thus ended the stocks in Bourne and with no one regretting their disappearance, they were not replaced.

Justices of the Peace, or magistrates, were responsible for many aspects of keeping law and order in the community, almost always in the lower ranges of society and often on the fringes of criminal activity. The dissolution of the monasteries meant that an important source of relief and assistance had disappeared and so high on the list of cases before the bench in the 16th century were those that would normally be handled today by the social services department of the county council such as pauperism, vagrancy and illegitimacy, and those who were in such a predicament often wandered from town to town in search of relief.

Entries in the parish registers during the 16th and 17th centuries indicate that many people who died in Bourne, or whose babies were baptised here, were not of local origin and were most probably drifting around the countryside. For instance, among the entries for baptism, we find the following:

Among the burials, are these entries:

Governments of the period tackled the problem of vagrancy by permitting magistrates to send beggars to the local house of correction, such as that at Folkingham, or to enforce bylaws which provided for the resettlement of wandering pauper families in the parish from which they originated and in this way, they would not be a burden on the rates of the town or village into which they had drifted. Records reveal that this power was being exercised by the magistrates in the Bourne area in the late 17th century. For instance, at the Kesteven Quarter Sessions held at Bourne in the summer of 1689, it was ordered that:

William Pheasant, Jane his wife, with two children, now being in Bourne and comeing thither since the act made in his late Majesties reigne for settlemente, they not haveing given notice as by the said late act of Parlyamente they ought to have done. It is therefore ordred that they be sent from Morton to North Lufnum in the county of Rutland, it being the place of their last legall settlemente . . .

A similar order was made for George Kyme, May his wife, and John Kyme his son to be sent back from Bourne to Ingoldmills, also for William Otter, son of Thomas Otter of Sutton St. Nicholas, alias Lutton, in Holland, to be sent to his father at Lutton.

Illegitimate children and their mothers were also likely to be a burden on the rates and bastardy was one of the commonest problems facing local authorities. If the father of the child could be traced, he would be ordered to contribute to its maintenance while the mother might well be sent to a house of correction or handed over to some other locality, as happened to Susan Barker at the Bourne Quarter Sessions in 1675:

Ordered by the court this day that Susan Barker, spinster, late a servant to Mathew Keysby of Glinton in the county of Northampton (whereas complaint is made shee hath beene gott with child) shall be speedily conveyed to her said master and there provided for, and that the Overseers of the poore and inhabitants of James Deeping shall be freed and discharged from her.

The minutes of proceedings at the quarter sessions from this period are an indication of the social conditions that existed in Bourne at that time because the records provide numerous insights into the life of the ordinary people as the justices were not solely concerned with the punishment of crime. The state, under Tudor and Stuart rule, supervised the lives of its subjects in a most definite way with regulations on a wide variety of everyday matters and the justices were the local instrument by which the government sought to compel obedience.

For example, wage fixing was one feature of state activity. The magistrates, taking advice on local conditions, were to standardise wages in their area for craftsmen and other labourers and attempts to evade their regulations were brought to court. During the Bourne Quarter Sessions of Easter 1677, a widow, Mrs Lightfoot, was charged with detaining and witholding from Rachel Ingram and James Ingram the sum of 15s. 0d. in wages. At the next court, William Bull, a miller of Bourne, was accused of "witholding and deteyning from George Drew his late servant the summe of 31s. 0d. in wages due at May Day last".

Conditions of apprenticeship were also supervised by the justices as the following extract from the minutes of the Quarter Sessions of 1684 indicate:

Ordered that James Clarke, sonn of Mr. John Clarke and now apprentice to John Longfoote of Bourne, baker, be this day discharged from his said apprenticeship by reason of his said master's misusing and abusing his said apprentice, and that ye said Jo. Longfoote doe. . . deliver up his said apprentice to his said father with all his weareing clothes and his indenture of apprentishipp, and do also pay to his said father the sume of two pounds and tenn shillings towards the putting of ye said apprentice to a new master for the better learneing of his said trade of a baker.

Weights and measures also came under the jurisdiction of the bench and in 1675, William Colby of Bourne was in court because "he kept a false measure of coal which is not according to the Common Standard in the Exchequer".

Highways were a further responsibility of the magistrates and action had to be taken against those who interfered in any way with the progress or safety of travellers thereon. In 1676, John Burton of Bourne, another baker, was charged with obstructing and blocking the common King's highway in a certain place called Marbeck, with a ditch which had been excavated, causing serious danger. A few years later, John Willy of Bourne was in trouble for diverting the old course of a stream, by which the King's highway was flooded with water. In fact, it was the duty of the justices to appoint a "supervisor of the King's highway" but this office was not always efficiently fulfilled, according to the records which show that Robert Thompton (sic) of Dyke, who was appointed supervisor for the year 1686, was charged two years later with not having performed his duties. Keeping roads and paths clear and ensuring that they were adequately drained also appear to have been a constant problem.

The manor court of Bourne Abbotts was often pronouncing on these matters and in 1682 it "ordered that Richard Howler do repair his Causey [causeway] between this and Lammas next, upon pain of . . . 6s. 8d.", also "that the Dreyne between the Street and Daniel Booth be ditched and scoured for Six Roods between this and Midsummer next upon pain of . . . 6s. 8d.".

In the following year, the same court ordered that "John Pell do remove a Heap of Wood which doth annoy the Common way by his Yard within fourteen days. . .", and in 1693 "we order that no person dig any mortar or any other rubbish in any part of the Highways upon pain of every load fourpence".

Other responsibilities of the justices included supervision of the local constables and similar parish officers who were appointed to keep the peace. For example, it was ordered at the Bourne Quarter Sessions at Easter 1684 that:

Mr. William Hardwicke of Cawthorp doe serve as cheife constable for (ye) wapentake of Aveland as well for his owne parte as alsoe in ye stead of Richard Seagrave whoe is dead.

An office which was probably much less popular with its recipients was that of petty constable who served for a year and had a variety of duties in the parish, having been chosen for the job from the inhabitants of the town or village concerned. He had to keep the peace, execute warrants and make arrests, not always a pleasant or easy task for an ordinary citizen. Besides this, he had to carry out certain duties laid down by statute, to act as servant of the magistrates and also to collect rates and taxes like the hearth tax. He was expected to carry out his duties unpaid, though he was sometimes granted an allowance. Occasionally, however, it appears that he had to insist on his rights and at the Quarter Sessions of Michaelmas 1689, Thomas Wilcox, late constable of Bourne, complained that he was "out of pockitt the summe of £9. 4s. 0d. expended on the townes accompt". Accordingly, it was ordered that the present constables of Bourne should show cause to one or both of two local justices why the sum mentioned was not paid to Thomas Wilcox and if they failed, the present constables were ordered to reimburse Thomas within 30 days. It was probably the same Thomas, who, five years earlier, was in trouble for the allegation "that on 24th of August last past, at Bourne, he neglected to do his night watch", a further duty which local residents were obliged to perform. Wilcox's lapse cost him a fine of 10s. 0d.

As was to be expected, in an age when rough and boisterous behaviour was not uncommon, the inhabitants of Bourne did not always live peaceably with one another. Most of the misdemeanours recorded in the minutes of the Quarter Session were relatively minor affairs and typical of the period but one entry in the parish registers shows that murder was not unknown in the district. In August, 1631, there was buried at Bourne "Richard Pratt, a servant of one, Saile of Folkingham; slaine by a carter".

Lesser crimes can be traced from some of the cases coming before the bench:

1646: Another widow, Joanna Hodgskin, was ordered by the manor court to repair the hedge, which was "in ruins", between her land and that of Willam Moyer. She did not comply and so at a later court she had to forfeit the sum of 20 shillings.

1674: John Burbidge of Bourne was charged with taking and killing partridges with nets and other devices, on various occasions near Bourne and in several other places.

1679: Thomas Hilton, Anna his wife, Thomas Bourton and Ellen Pearson, all of Bourne, were charged with illicitly taking and carrying off a fighting cock from the goods and chattels of a certain Matthew Quiningborough. Cases of assault, rowdyism and other violence were fairly numerous:

1687: Nicholas Fowler, a butcher, lately of Bourne, was accused of attacking Ann Hilton, wife of Thomas Hilton.

1687: At the Bourne Quarter Sessions, charges were brought against Ann Uffington, a widow, John Thornton, a labourer, William Colby, a waterman, John Dawkins and Philip Spearman, farmers, all lately of Bourne, for disturbing the King's peace at Bourne by illegally and riotously attacking a certain John Boole, whom they beat, wounded, and ill-treated. Soon after this, the partners in crime appear to have fallen out amongst themselves because at the Michaelmas Sessions held at Folkingham later that year, it was claimed that Ann Uffington of Bourne, William Colby and Thomas Colby, had unjustly and forcefully broken into the cottage of John Thornton, and had driven him out of possession.

1692: Richard Brightman of Bourne was indicted for an assault upon William Ramm, Robert Heffield, and William Hilton. (At the same court, Brightman was also in trouble for openly and publicly swearing profane oaths at Morton).

From the records of the manorial court we get glimpses of the petty disputes and quarrels between residents of Bourne which were too trivial to go to a higher court but which had to be resolved nevertheless.

Public executions and transportation to the colonies still figured in court judgments well into the 19th century although many of the crimes committed would be considered minor today and reports of court cases reflect a legal system in Victorian times that often appears harsh and vindictive.

During the early part of the 20th century, the weekly courts were occupied mainly with small infringements of the law such as speeding, begging, drunkenness and petty theft, and the cases reflected the ubiquitous presence of the police who were either on the beat or patrolling on their cycles. Soaring administrative costs in the decades following the Second World War eventually made such prosecutions unviable and now only the most serious cases find their way into the courts while the laws that once controlled those small crimes that are now labelled as anti-social behaviour are completely ignored.

More interesting cases:

1832: A servant girl, Priscilla Woodward was indicted for setting fire to a haystack belonging to her master, Mr Isaac Teesdale of Haconby, near Bourne on December 7th. The court was told that she was only 16 years old and had been much unsettled in her work and disliked such jobs as milking the cows and other farm and domestic duties. Shortly before the fire, she had told Mrs Teesdale that she would give her husband "a d*****d good blowing up when he came home" and the haystack was seen burning soon afterwards. Woodward was found guilty but reprieved after the judge heard a recommendation for mercy on the grounds of her age and that "besides her almost childish years, the miserable girl appeared to be in a state of stupid ignorance, being unable to read or write." She was subsequently deported to Australia.

1850: Handley, one of the Bourne constables, accomplished a good feat on Saturday last (April 6th): he had observed a youth lurking about, and for some time watched him, suspecting him to be a pickpocket. Shortly afterwards, Mr Bannister, clerk to Mr Wilders, attorney, discovered that he had had his pocket picked of a handkerchief. Handley immediately pursued the suspect to a house of a certain character, when after searching the thief, he felt almost foiled, but fortunately opened a warming-pan hanging up in the room, in which the missing handkerchief had been deposited. The man was committed for trial at the sessions on Monday, was then convicted, and is now picking his way on the treadwheel at Folkingham [the House of Correction].

1850: The cottage of Mr Cawthorn, of the Star-lane, Bourne, was on Monday night last (April 8th) beset by a little band of nightly revellers, who will, we opine [reported the Stamford Mercury], will soon find the tables turned upon them. It would seem that they had charged an ink bottle with powder, and placed it between the shutters and the window. Touch-paper, it is probable, was attached, in order to give time to escape. A loud explosion ensued together with the breakage of 17 squares of glass.

1851: Mary Atkinson and Eleanor Kelly, both aged 17 and living in Bourne, appeared before the Quarter Sessions on charges of theft. The court was told that Mary Atkinson was the daughter-in-law of Christopher Peck and the two girls had preyed upon him by obtaining the keys to his house and stealing a shilling, two sovereigns and two handkerchiefs. Atkinson was sentenced to 16 days in the House of Correction at Folkingham and Kelly for 14 days.

1854: William Henry Marshall was indicted at the Kesteven Sessions held at Bourne Town Hall on 4th April 1854 for breaking into the dwelling house of William Elfleet, a farmer, of Eastgate, on February 12th and stealing bacon, ham, liquor and two sovereigns. After a long trial, the prisoner was convicted and sentenced to four months' imprisonment.

1869: An unprovoked attack on a street trader resulted in a jail sentence for William Downs, of Eastgate, Bourne, after the court heard that he had caused serious injuries to the old man. Downs was going home from work drunk between 8 pm and 9 pm on Thursday 19th August when he encountered Peter Anderson and his young son in Star Lane [now Abbey Road]. Anderson was described as a quiet and inoffensive man who went about the country selling ornaments and images and when they met Downs, some of his wares were lighted up to attract the notice of prospective purchasers. Without any provocation, Downs knocked some of them over and on being asked to pay for the damage, he became extremely violent and assaulted Anderson in a shocking manner, dealing him several heavy blows on the head with a thick stick. He was taken to the Woolpack Inn [in Eastgate, now demolished] and for some time his recovery was doubtful. The following day, Downs was taken before the magistrates charged with unlawfully wounding Anderson and was remanded in custody until August 24th, bail being refused because of the  precarious state of the injured man, but at the subsequent appearance, the bench was told that Anderson was progressing favourably and he was allowed bail until September 2nd in his own surety of £40 and two others of £20 each.  Downs duly appeared before the petty sessions at the Town Hall on September 2nd and was sentenced to two months' imprisonment and a further month in the event of the costs amounting to £3 0s. 6d. were not paid. The case had caused great excitement and indignation in the town and the Stamford Mercury reported: "Much sympathy is felt for the poor man Anderson and abhorrence at the conduct of the perpetrator of so unprovoked and brutal an assault."

1869: Henry Handley, of Bourne, for feloniously stealing from the Abbey Church, a quantity of lead valued 4s. 6d., the property of Frederick Vinter, was sentenced to one month's hard labour.

1870: John Grummitt, a baker from Aslackby, was convicted before Henry Smith Esq. and the Rev George Carter at Bourne magistrates court of breaking four panes of glass in the window of John Cropley at Laughton on January 31st and fined 10s; damages 3s., and costs 21s. 6d. He was also convicted of breaking three panes of glass in the window of John Wortley of Laughton and fined 10s., damages 1s. 6d. and costs 14s. 

1870: On Thursday night, the 3rd November, a man who represented himself as a baker took lodgings at the Light Dragoon Inn, Star Lane [now Abbey Road]. He said he was out of employment and was going to Grimsby, thence to Liverpool. He left on the following morning about 8.30 am and on the girl going upstairs afterwards, it was discovered that a watch and scarf-pin belonging to the landlord, Mr Stokes, had been stolen but information was not given to the police until Saturday morning. The number of the watch is known. The accused is described as about 28 years of age, stands 5 ft. 4 in. or 5 in., rather stout, good looking and no whiskers, respectably dressed in black coat and waistcoat and check trousers and had on a check woollen shirt. He wore a ring on his left little finger and had with him a large brown paper parcel.

1875: The nuisance of boys throwing stones with catapults has become very prevalent in the Bourne locality, much damage to glass and other property being thereby done. The delinquents must be brought to justice in order to stop this growing evil. - news report from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 16th April 1875.

1879: Frederick Rouse was apprehended by Superintendent Willerton Brown on a charge of stealing various articles from the North Street shop and premises of Mr F J Green, grocer and wine and spirit merchant, in whose employ he was up to Saturday night last when he left. In consequence of some irregularities in Rouse's conduct, Mr Green's suspicions were aroused and the prisoner's house was searched on Sunday when a quantity of lard and soap, several bottles of gin and wine and some empty bottles, were found, all of which were identified by Mr Green as his property. A flitch of bacon was also found in an outhouse in Mr Green's yard and had apparently been placed there for the purpose of being removed on a favourable opportunity. The prisoner was subsequently taken into custody and on Monday, taken before Major William Parker who remanded him to the petty sessions to be held at Bourne on the 21st inst. when he was sentenced to three months' imprisonment. - news report from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 22nd August 1879.

1880: The quantity of fowls stolen in the neighbourhood of Bourne during the past winter has been larger than ever before known. Sheep stealing too has been much on the increase. During the last winter, a visit was paid to the hen roost of Mr J Dawson of West Street and a general clearance was effected.

1882: On Tuesday, Elizabeth Johnson and Elizabeth Faulkner, both of Bourne, were apprehended on a charge  of obtaining money by false pretences. It seems that last month, these women got a shoemaker in Eastgate, named Frederick William Flatters, to draw up a petition for them, the said petition declaring that Faulkner's husband had lost a pig worth about £3 [about £160 at today's values] and requested individuals to contribute towards making up his loss. The whole thing, however, was a fabrication, neither Faulkner nor Johnson having possessed a pig during the last twelve months. Several persons were induced to give them something and the names of some influential residents were entered on the list without their having contributed anything. This came to the knowledge of Superintendent Willerton Brown and after making inquiries, he obtained warrants for the apprehension of the women and they were arrested on Tuesday the 24th. The case was before magistrates yesterday, Lieutenant Colonel William Parker presiding. Flatters admitted to writing out the petition and the Rev H H F Canham said that he had given the women a shilling towards the assumed loss. Mr Thomas Harrison and Mr R M Mills said the prisoners called on them and they believing it was an imposture, refused to give anything. The bench sentenced the prisoners to six weeks in prison, both with hard labour. - news report from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 27th January 1882.

1883: Thomas Bellamy, aged 35, labourer, pleaded guilty at the Kesteven Quarter Sessions held at the Town Hall on January 2nd to stealing a cow valued £25, the property of James Watson Burdwood, of Bourne, in the month of December last. He took the animal from a field, drove it to Spalding, and sold it to Mr N Bates, farmer, of that place. As soon as the cow was missed the police were acquainted with the loss and they ascertained that it had been sold by the accused. They thereupon apprehended him and charged him with the offence, when he declared that he only drove the cow to Spalding for a man he met on the road who gave him 3s. for his trouble; and he knew nothing more of the animal. Afterwards, however, he admitted stealing it. Mr Draper (of Bourne) addressed the court in mitigation of sentence and asked to be allowed to call witnesses to character; but he was told that he need not do that as the court would take it for granted that the prisoner's character had been all right up to the time of the commission of the crime of which he had pleaded guilty, nothing contrary being known. Prisoner was then sentenced to nine months' hard labour. - news report from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 5th January 1883.

1884: A recent stack fire at Mr William Grummitt's farm at Bourne has led to a charge of arson against Mark Clay, aged 13, which was heard before the petty sessions on September 23rd. Police Sergeant Edgley said that when interviewed, the boy denied all knowledge of the fire but his eyelashes and face were burned and so he took him to the police station for further questioning. Here the boy said: "I did set the stacks on fire. I made a little fire to warm my hands." The farmer's son, Arthur Grummitt, told the court that while the stacks were burning he saw the prisoner coming from behind a shed with a bucket of water and there was no one else on the premises. "I got out one of the horses and rode off to fetch the fire brigade from Bourne", he said. "But when I got back, all of the stacks had been burned to the ground." The blaze destroyed 19 acres of wheat straw, 24 acres of hay, 14 acres of oat straw, 14 acres of barley straw, a stable, a waggon shed and some implements. The stacks and buildings were not insured. The chairman of the bench, Lieut-Colonel William Parker, said it was a serious matter with a large destruction of property caused by the prisoner playing with matches. "It is difficult to know what to do with a boy of this age", he said. "If he had been a little older he would have been sent to the assizes. But we have decided to discharge him and we hope this will be a warning to him and that his father will correct him very severely so as to make an impression upon him." - news report from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 31st October 1884.

1888: DRINK AND CRIME: The Rev George Carter [Rector of Folkingham], chairman of the town's magistrates, told a sitting of the bench on Thursday 27th September that 11 out of the 16 police cases that had been heard were directly due to drink and that if it were not for that, the justices of Bourne would have very little or nothing to do. We may add that during the past three years, drunkenness has decreased by about 50 per cent, as the following figures show: convictions for drunkenness in 1885 - 223, 1886 - 159, 1887 - 127. We have reason to believe, notwithstanding last week's heavy list, that a still more marked improvement will be observable in this year's returns. - news report from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 5th October 1888.

1889: At Bourne Town hall yesterday, before Lieut-Col Parker, the Rev G Carter, W E Welby and Gilbert Peacock Esq., Mr John Gibson was charged with using threats towards the Vicar [the Rev Hugh McNeil Mansfield] on July 8th. An application was made for peace sureties. Mr Atter appeared for the complainant. Defendant whipped at the Vicar's pony but did not hit it, and also challenged the rev gentleman to fight. Complainant acknowledged using threats and alleged provocation through the Vicar persuading the late Mr Brown to alter a will which left Mr Gibson £730 [almost £50,000 at today's values]. The Vicar denied the truth of the statement. The codicil referred to had been destroyed but not by his advice. Mr Gibson had declined to make an apology, hence the proceedings. The court ordered Gibson to be bound over in a bond of £50 and a surety for £50 to keep the peace for six months. The recognisances were entered into. - news report from the Stamford Mercury, Friday 19th July 1889.

1900: Joseph Bland, a showman living in a van in the Bull paddock at Bourne, was arrested on Sunday morning for attempting to drown his 12-months-old baby daughter. Bland and his wife, who had been married for two years, had come to Bourne for the annual November fair.

1900: At the police court on Tuesday 4th September, before Alderman W R Wherry and Mr R A Gardner, Sarah Jane Halford, aged 12, was summoned for stealing a pair of boots, value 4s., during the month of August, and James Birch was charged with receiving the same knowing them to have been stolen. Evidence was given by Susan Rodgers who missed the boots from her house and identified those produced as her property. The witness also stated that Halford had been in the habit of coming to her house to play with the children. Eliza Halford, who was called as a witness, denied any knowledge of the boots except what had subsequently been told her by her sister. Police Constable Henfrey deposed by receiving information of the loss and seeing both defendants. Birch at first denied all knowledge but subsequently admitted having taken the boots away and buried them. He took witness to a dyke in Meadow Drove and there showed him where the boots were and gave them to witness. Both defendants elected to be dealt with summarily and pleaded guilty. The girl was bound over under the First Offenders Act to come up for judgment within three months if called for and Birch was committed to jail for 14 days' hard labour. Eliza Halford was cautioned respecting the serious consequences of perjury.

1901: Joseph Hadden, a wayfarer, was charged with stealing 10½d (less than 5p) belonging to Arthur Leaton. The complainant was a straw presser who worked at Market Deeping where, on this occasion, the defendant was also working. The prisoner borrowed a shilling from the complainant to buy a drink and promised to give him the change of 10½d back. He did not return it. Police Constable Greasley followed the prisoner on his cycle and apprehended him whereupon he pleaded not guilty, saying he was going to return the money that night. He was convicted and sentenced to 14 days' imprisonment with hard labour.

1901: Ada Clark, aged 20, appeared in court accused of setting fire to two stacks of clover, the property of farmer Richard Bettinson of Thurlby. She pleaded guilty and Police Sergeant Henfry stated that the defendant had admitted a similar offence before the magistrates on a previous occasion. This time, a doctor was unable to certify whether she was insane and they committed her for trial. The judge said that the best thing was to send her to prison and sentenced her to 12 months' hard labour. 

1902: James Wyles of Lound appeared before magistrates at Bourne on Tuesday 14th January charged with being drunk in charge of two horses drawing a wagon through the town the previous day. The chairman, Mr R A Gardner, said it was a dangerous offence and defendant had also been fined for similar offences recently. He would therefore, be fined 10s. and 2s. costs or 14 days' hard labour in default.

1904: Thomas Wilson, a tramp, appeared before magistrates at the Town Hall, Bourne, on Wednesday 13th January charged with begging at Toft the previous day and also with doing wilful damage to the police station in North Street. The court was told that the prisoner created a disturbance in the cell during the night, tore up his clothes, smashed the windows and altogether doing damage to the extent of £4 to £5. On the charge of begging, Wilson was committed to jail for one month with hard labour and for causing wilful damage, he was jailed to two months with hard labour, the two sentences to run consecutively.

1905: A tramp named William Bradley appeared before a special sitting of the magistrates at the Town Hall on Thursday 19th October charged with stealing an overcoat, the property of Mrs M J Minta, owner of an outfitters' shop in West Street, Bourne. The prisoner pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three months in jail with hard labour.

1906: John Lawson, a tramp who gave his address as Paddington, London, appeared before the magistrates at Bourne on Thursday 6th December charged with stealing a pair of boots, the property of Messrs John Chambers Ltd of North Street, the previous Monday. Police Constable Bradshaw said that the prisoner came to the police station and showed him a pair of boots which he said he had stolen from a shop in North Street. Lawson pleaded guilty and told the court that he had felt so ill with cold or influenza that he was obliged to do something to get medical attention, having been refused it at several workhouses. Superintendent Herbert Bailey said that he had called in a doctor who found that the prisoner was suffering from the cold but he was now much better. The bench sent him to Lincoln prison for three weeks.

1907: Thomas Wallis, a tramp, was brought up before Bourne magistrates on Thursday 21st February charged with stealing a pork pie from a shop in South Street the previous Wednesday. The shop owner, Mr G W Collinson, told the bench that the prisoner had entered his shop and asked for a bun and paid for it but after he had left, he missed a pork pie that had been placed in the window shortly before. Wallis was arrested at the workhouse that evening and a portion of pie was found on him. He was sent to prison with hard labour for 21 days.

1908: Joseph Ogden, of no fixed abode, appeared before the magistrates at Bourne charged with being on the premises of Charles Edenborough at Little Bytham on July 13th for an unlawful purpose. Mr Edenborough told the bench that he and his wife had left home at about 8 o'clock on the night in question leaving two lodgers in the house. Soon after 10 o'clock they returned home and were surprised to find a light in the house and the door open. Inside, they found the prisoner who was then looking inside the pantry. Being asked what he was doing there, the prisoner replied that he went in to beg a match and also wanted to see the landlord. He left the premises when requested and the information was subsequently given to the police. The magistrates convicted the prisoner as a rogue and a vagabond and sentenced him to a month's hard labour.

1910: James Harris of Peterborough was summoned before Bourne magistrates for not having control over a horse and cart at Baston on June 18th. Defendant did not appear and P C Carter said that he gave a wrong name. Harris was fined 5s. with 3s. 6d costs.

1911: TRICK THAT FAILED. Joseph Bloodworth, of Bourne, appeared before the magistrates on Thursday 20th July charged with stealing one shilling [5p in today's money] from the Masons' Arms public house in South Street. The prisoner had been served with a drink and afterwards went to the till and took out two sixpences which he handed to the landlord's daughter who caught him crawling on his hands and knees from the till. Bloodworth attributed his offence to drink and as there were previous convictions against him, he was sent to prison for a month with hard labour.

1914: RAILWAY WINDOW LEATHER STRAP FOR BOOT MENDING. At Bourne police court on Thursday 2nd April, John William Beck, of no fixed abode, was charged with begging at Bourne on March 27th and also with stealing a leather window strap, the property of the Great Northern Railway Company. It appeared that the defendant travelled from Sleaford to Bourne and that when the train reached Essendine, the brakeman of the train found that the window strap was missing and reported it. Meanwhile, the prisoner had been arrested at Bourne on a charge of begging and on being searched, the strap was found in his possession. He told the police officer that he got it from the railway carriage after he left Sleaford and that he intended to repair his boots with it. Superintendent Herbert Bailey informed the court that the man had only been discharged the same morning from Lincoln prison. He had nothing to say and was committed to jail for 14 days for begging and two months for theft, both sentences to run concurrently.

1914: A BAD CASE. Sarah Halford of Bourne was charged at the police court on Thursday 2nd April with being drunk in charge of a child at Bourne on March 21st. Defendant was not present. Police Constable Wheatman said he found defendant in a drunken condition in Abbey Road. She was staggering about and had a child about four or five years of age with her. The child was crying while defendant was using very bad language. Witness would have taken defendant into custody had she not had the child with her. He had previously warned defendant about leaving the child outside public houses. The bench considered that it was a bad case and committed the woman for a fortnight's imprisonment without the option of a fine.

1914: MILK SELLER PROSECUTED. William Reeve, a dairyman of West Street, was summoned before magistrates on September 10th for selling milk which contained 12% extraneous water. He pleaded not guilty. Police Constable Kettles said that milk purchased on July 17th contained only 88% milk of the poorest quality and two sealed bottles were produced in evidence. Reeve told the court that when the weather was hot, it was his practice to put cold water in the milk churn overnight and that on the morning when the samples were taken, he was not about and one of his workers put the milk in the churn without first emptying the water. The magistrates decided that the charge was a serious one, especially as milk was an essential food for children, but although the defendant was liable to a fine of £20, they would deal leniently with him and he was fined £3 with 2s. costs.

1915: CARDBOARD SIXPENCES. At a children's court at Bourne, Fred Vickers of Dowsby. aged 12, was charged by Mrs Huskison of Billingborough, with obtaining one top, two chocolate wafers and 10½d. by false pretences. Mrs Huskison said for a top, defendant gave her what she took for a sixpence and she gave him 5½d. change. Soon after he came again, and gave her another coin and asked for two chocolate wafers. She then gave him 5d. in change. When she next went to the till for some change she noticed that the two coins were only cardboard. Superintendent Bailey said that the carelessness of some tradesmen was shown by the fact that in one case the coin was passed round by three different people. The Bench bound the grandfather over in the sum of £5 for six months, and hoped the case would be a lesson to the boy.

1915: George and Charlotte Parker were summoned at the petty sessions in Bourne on May 13th for neglecting their four children in Bourne South Fen during the previous three months. Dr John Gilpin stated that on May 3rd he visited the defendants' house and found the woman and the children in a filthy condition and their clothing in rags. One child, about five years of age, was suffering from capillary bronchitis and should have been adequately clothed. Inspector Lock of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children told the court that the defendant asked him how he could get good clothing for his family and keep them on 15 shillings a week (75p in today's decimal currency). The male defendant told the bench that his wages were 15 shillings a week and out of that he paid eight shillings for bread, his master stopped one shilling for coal and the balance was not sufficient to provide for his family. The bench adjourned the case for a fortnight and directed defendant to have his house properly cleaned in the meantime.

1916: A stylishly dressed young woman, Gladys Basford, was brought up in custody before the petty sessions at Bourne Town Hall on the Thursday 9th November charged with stealing £10 in gold money and a £1 treasury note on October 20th. The principal witness in the case was the defendant's mother who stated that her daughter was living apart from her husband and had been staying with witness and her husband. After defendant left home stating that she was going to her grandmother's, the money was missed. Superintendent Herbert Bailey gave evidence of receiving defendant into custody from the Metropolitan Police [in London] and, on reading the warrant over to her, she admitted taking the gold but denied any knowledge of the Treasury note. Defendant now pleaded guilty. Her father was called and said he was willing to take her home and look after her. The bench (Mr W R Garner, chairman, sitting with Mr J T Holmes and Dr Edward Cragg), desired to give her another chance and imposed a fine of £2 which was immediately paid by the mother.

1918: A domestic servant, Florence Duggan, appeared before Bourne magistrates on October 17th charged with stealing a cash box and £78 in cash from Messrs Story and Sons, cabinet makers, of North Street. Police told the court that the accused had been living in the workhouse and although she had a mother and sisters, they would not take any notice of her. The prisoner was sentenced to three months in jail for each offence, a total of six months.

1919: John and Charlotte Smith appeared before Bourne magistrates accused of stealing four eggs at Baston on July 21st. Annie Mary Tory said she had missed some eggs from a nest in the hedge and told Police Constable Carter who marked some and put them in the nest and then concealed himself where he had full view of the nest. The prisoners came by and the woman took the eggs to the man standing on the road. Both had records. The woman was sentenced to six weeks' hard labour and the man to one month.

1921: At the Bourne Police Court on March 10th, John Starkey of Bourne Fen was charged with working a horse in an unfit state on March 2nd. Defendant admitted it was "a bit lame" but said he had it examined by Mr Holmes who told him it would be all right on the land. He was fined 10s.

1921: "THE EARLY POACHER CATCHES -----." Frederick Brown and Charles A Brown were summoned for a game trespass in Bourne Fen on June 17th. Mr E Cooke was the complainant and Mr H Kelham appeared for the defendants who denied the offence.  Mr Cooke stated that between 3 a m and 4 a m he got up to attend to a water cart that he had left filling the previous night, when he heard a gun shot in a field at the back of the house. He saw two men in his field and saw that they put up a hare. He got dressed and rode a bicycle to Kent's Drove where he waited for the men coming down the line. When he spoke to them they ran off in opposite directions. He caught Frederick Brown who said that he had not been on witness's land but subsequently made a partial admission. In reply to the acting clerk (Mr Jas. Dalton of Stamford), witness had some hesitation in identifying Charles Brown whose participation in the offence was denied by several witnesses. With regard to the other defendant, Mr Kelham pointed out that it was for the Bench to decide between his evidence and that of Mr Cooke. The Bench dismissed the case against Chas. A Brown and fined Frederick Brown £1.

1921: THEFT FROM AN ALLOTMENT. The local justices, at their sitting at Bourne on 3rd June, imposed on Rose Sneath, for stealing a stick of rhubarb on May 14th, a fine of 5s. and costs - 17s. in all [£25 in today's money]. The case was taken at the instigation of the Bourne Allotment Holders' Association. Police Superintendent Duffin said he did not wish to press the case but he had been asked by the Association to state that there had been so many complaints lately of pilfering, and it was hoped that the prosecution would have a deterrent effect.

1922: EX-SURVEYOR IN THE DOCK - RETURNED FROM CANADA TO GIVE HIMSELF UP. After a hearing lasting over 3½ hours, Andrew R Agnew was at Bourne police court on Wednesday 15th March sent to prison for six months without hard labour on charges of embezzlement. The court was told that he was employed by Bourne Urban District Council as Surveyor and Inspector of Nuisances and the five charges against him alleged that he embezzled and stole quantities of granite, tarmacadam and other road materials valued at £850, between 1st November 1913 and 30th March 1920, the whole of the materials being the property of the council. The cases came to light as the result of information from the council's accountant Mr Harry Ringrose in 1920 who was appointed to make investigations and it was decided to issue a warrant for the defendant's arrest but he fled to Canada and so it was not executed until he returned recently and gave himself up. The court was told that Agnew had sold the material on to various people on behalf of the council at full market prices but had taken the proceeds for his own use.

1923: Deploring his depravity, Bourne magistrates, at a special Children's Court on July 26th, ordered a boy charged with indecent assault on a girl under 7 years of age, to be punished with four strokes of the birch rod and bound the father over in the sum of £5 for his boy to be of good behaviour for six months.

1923: When Frank Newcombe of Rippingale was charged at Bourne on December 6th with not sending his child regularly to school, he said he was earning only 25s. per week (£1.25 in decimal currency) and the bread bill was 12s. per week (60p). he had seven children. Mr Benge, the school attendance officer, said that it was a very hard case. The mother kept the girl away to look after the little ones while she went potato picking. The Bench took a compassionate view of the matter and dismissed the case.

1923: THE GOOD OLD DAYS? Stated to have been sentenced to seven days imprisonment when 11 years old, John Baker, charged with stealing a pair of boots, the property of Messrs S Hilton and Sons, boot dealers of North Street, was sent to hard labour for three months at the Bourne police court on Thursday 10th May. There was a list of 28 previous convictions against the prisoner. 

1923: PRISON FOR YOUTH. A special sitting of the magistrates was held at Bourne Town Hall on Tuesday 18th December when Albert Kettle, a youth who had been residing in the district, was charged with acting in an indecent and insulting manner towards a young married woman and several girls attending Bourne Secondary School. Superintendent Duffin said that since the prisoner had been arrested, six other complaints had been made to the police, chiefly by parents of girls attending the secondary school. The charge was admitted and the chairman told the prisoner that he had acted in a very disgraceful manner. The court considered that they would be lacking in their duty if they did not inflict an adequate punishment and Kettle was committed to prison for 14 days with hard labour, without the option of a fine, on each of three charges, a total of six weeks in all. The chairman also thanked the informant for the public service she had rendered.

1926: ROBBED CHURCH - BENCH SORRY THEY COULD NOT ORDER "CAT". William Edward Matthews, of Yarmouth, was charged on remand at a special sitting of the Bourne Police Court on Thursday 9th September with breaking open an offertory box in Bourne Abbey Church the previous Sunday, and stealing therefrom 11s. (£22 by today's values). Superintendent Duffin informed the Court that a further 13s. 9d. had been recovered as a result of the prisoner indicating where the money had been placed. Prisoner was found at the casual ward of the Workhouse, and a jack knife was found in his possession, the spike of which fitted the marks on the box. Prisoner elected to be dealt with summarily and had nothing to say. Many previous convictions were mentioned by Superintendent Duffin, several of which were for breaking into churches and stealing from alms-boxes. In sentencing prisoner to three months' hard labour, the Chairman (Alderman T W Atkinson) said that the punishment was too good for such a man. It was a dastardly thing to break into churches and rob the sick and needy. Had it been possible, they would have ordered corporal punishment. Canon John Grinter, Vicar of Bourne, warmly commended the police for their up-to-date work.

1927: STOLE DOG FOR A LARK. At the Bourne police court on Monday 4th September, Frank Jones of no fixed abode, was charged with stealing a Pomeranian dog, the property of Mrs Stooke of the Plough Inn at Carlby. It appeared from the evidence that the prisoner had apparently enticed the dog away from the house. He was overtaken and the dog immediately returned to its owner. The prisoner in explanation said that he had only taken the dog "for a lark" and had no intention of stealing the animal. He was committed to prison for seven days' hard labour.

1927: DRUNK ON METHYLATED SPIRITS. Alfred Lawrence Platt of London was charged at the police court in Bourne on Monday 12th September with drunkeness on the highway the previous afternoon. Police Constable Sibbald found defendant in North Street, helplessly drunk from the effects of methylated spirits. He was fined five shillings (£10 by today's values) or seven days' hard labour if he did not pay.

1927: ADVISED TO SHAKE HANDS. At the police court in Bourne on Thursday, 22nd December, Richard Jackson, of Bourne, was summoned by Walter Palmer, of Bourne, for assault on December 9th, and there was a cross summons by Jackson. Mr Kelham appeared for Palmer and stated that the assault was committed after Jackson had been deprived of a whist drive prize in which some evidence of a wrong score had been given by Palmer. The alleged assault took place near to Palmer's home and consisted of a blow on the left eye, and Palmer's teeth being broken in three places. It was alleged that Jackson had threatened the M C at the whist drive. The magistrates ordered the parties to pay their own court costs and advised them to shake hands before they left the court and be friends.

1929: THE SINGING FOOL. Frederick Walker, of no fixed abode, was parading the streets of Bourne on Friday night (September 6th), alternately singing and addressing an imaginary crowd. About 10 pm he came into contact with Police Constable Sawyer, who spoke to Ward concerning his conduct, when the latter became abusive, used obscene language and threatened to strike the constable with a stick. Ward was taken into custody and on Saturday morning was charged before Mr G Brown and Mr T Rickard with being drunk and disorderly. Evidence of his drunken condition was given by Police Constable Sawyer and Inspector Markham, which also included the fact that one shilling was all he had in his possession. Defendant told the magistrates that he had been doing odd jobs in the district. On giving an undertaking that he would leave town, the magistrates discharged him.

See also  Transportation to the colonies   The 1889 case of the fifteen tramps

The Boer War peace celebrations of 1902 - 29 arrested

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