Arthur Bedward and Jane Weston were married on 3rd March 1794 in Llanfair-Waterdine, Shropshire. He was a Tailor and plied his trade in Lloyney.

 

Business was brisk and so in 1796 he took on an apprentice by the name of William Jones.

 

Arthur and Jane had an average size family for the time, having 10 Children: (I have been able to identify the births of 7 of the 10)

 

William, born 1794 - Llanfair-Waterdine

Ann, born 1802 - Beguildy

Arthur, born 1805 - Llanfair-Waterdine

Mary, born 1807 - Llanfair-Waterdine

Edward, born 1810 - Beguildy

Thomas, born 1812 - Beguildy

James, born 1815 - Beguildy

 

All was going well until one fateful night in October 1821

 

The Cambrian - 13th October 1821

MURDER - on Saturday last, an inquest was held at Knucklas in the parish of Hayope in the county of Radnor, before Edward Meredith Esq. one of the Coroners for the county, for the purpose of ascertaining how Arthur Bedward, late of the parish of Beguildy, tailor (who was found murdered and thrown in a ditch near the road leading from Knighton to Lloyney), on Friday morning preceding, came by his death; and after a patient and attentive examination of the case, the jury returned a verdict of wilful Murder against Samuel Harley, of the parish of Knighton, labourer, and he was committed to the Common gaol at Presteigne to take his trial for the same. The deceased was an  elderly man, of the age of 60 or upwards, and was murdered as he was going home from Knighton Market on Thursday night, between the hours of ten and eleven; he has left a widow and ten children to lament his untimely end. On Sunday Samuel Harley cut his throat with a razor in the prison, and no hopes are entertained of his recovery.

 

Trial April 1822

The Great Sessions for Radnorshire, held at Presteigne, tried before Mr Chief Justice Wingfield.

 

The prisoner, Samuel Harley, stated as a good-looking man, about twenty-two years of age, who had been a gentleman's servant, but was dismissed for a misdemeanour, was living with his mother in Knighton, in a state of idleness, till his commitment, was indicted for the wilful murder of Arthur Bedward, a tailor, an inoffensive old man, living at the Lloyney, in the parish of Beguildy, in the county of Radnor, on the night of Thursday, the 4th of October last.

 

The Attorney-General stated the case for the prosecution, in a forcible, well arranged, and luminous speech, which was fully borne out by the testimonies for the prosecution.

 

The first witness called was Mr. E. Meredith, surgeon and coroner, who held an inquest on Bedward, on the 6th of October. He described several wounds on the head of the deceased, who was a man of light weight, and appeared about 60 years of age. Mr Meredith said that the wounds were certainly the cause of Bedward’s death.

 

Mr. Baxter, surgeon -There was a wound on the head of the deceased, made apparently with a heavy and blunt instrument. It must have caused instant death. It was impossible he could have received it by accident.

 

Richard Thomas, victualler - Lives at the Fleece-inn, Knighton said he remembered that the prisoner (Samuel Harley), and one William Roberts, were with the deceased at Fleece on the night of Thursday, Oct. 4th; they supped there. Deceased paid witness some money for some mutton he had purchased of him before; he said, "As I have some silver, it is as well I should pay you." He then took out a little purse, with seemingly two notes in it, and he pulled out half-a-crown from other silver, and paid him. Deceased then put the purse and the two bills back into his pocket, and buttoned it up. Deceased, prisoner, and Roberts, left the Fleece-inn together, a little before ten o'clock. Bedward was rather tipsy, but nothing to hinder his going home. Harley, the prisoner, had a good hat on, a white kerchief round his neck, a stable jacket of fresh fustian, rather light coloured of its sort, a dark and light striped waistcoat, light coloured ribbed small-clothes, dark worsted blue stockings, and common shoes. Bedward, the deceased, wore a dark coat, almost black, and longish.

 

William Roberts: said he went into the Fleece-inn on the evening of the 4th of October. Harley, the prisoner, was the only person drinking there; they did not drink together; saw Arthur Bedward come in while he and prisoner were in the room, and stayed till after nine. William then said that he and Bedward went out to go home. Harley paid his reckoning overtook them. He asked William to share a jug of ale at the Star. William said he would not let Bedward go home on his own. Harley said he would walk as far as Lloyney with Bedward. William Roberts stayed behind and waited on Harley's return. Harley came back and said, "Now, Roberts, we'll go to the Star, and have that jug of ale together." Harley also said, “You will have to go in first, for Jack, of the Star (the landlord) is a quarrelsome fellow, and may kick up a row." Harley then said, he would go in by the back door. Witness went to the front door, and looked into the house, but Harley did not go in. William Roberts said he saw Bedward pay the landlord half-a-crown at the Fleece; he saw no bills but in some discourse, he said, he had from 30s to £2 about him. Harley was near enough to hear him.

 

Thomas Meredith, servant to Mr. Price, of Knighton: said he knew the deceased Arthur Bedward, of the Lloyney; he paid him a pound on the 4th Oct. on a Thursday, at Mr. Price's house, about four in the evening; it was a Kington and Radnor note, and was a fresh-looking one. Witness received it off Mrs. Evans, of the Talbot-Inn, Aberystwyth.

 

John Edwards, a wagoner, servant to Mr. Thomas Judges, of Lower-Hall: said he was on the road between Knighton and Knucklas, at ten o'clock, on the 4th Oct. before his team, about the fir-trees. He met old Mr. Arthur Bedward, tailor; he spoke to him, he was going to the Knucklas on his way home a quarter of a mile from Knighton. Soon after he saw somebody, who asked him if he met anybody on the road; he said he did, and told the enquirer it was Arthur Bedward. The man said nothing, but went off at a run towards Knucklas, where Bedward had gone. He was dressed in a hat, a light jacket, light breeches, a light cravat, and a light waistcoat; his jacket was open. Can't tell whether striped or not; the man was not quite his height; could not see the person's face.

 

Thomas Owens, bailiff to Mr. Griffith, of Cwm-gwilly: said he was on the road on the 4th Oct. between Knighton and the Knucklas, between ten and eleven o'clock. He explained that he was near the white rails, near the one end of the Lord's Meadow; by the side there is a stile just by the rail into the Lord's, Meadow. There is a footpath that comes all the way down the meadow onto the road, before you come to Knighton; the fir-trees are between Knighton and the stile, it might be a mile and a half. He passed the white rails, and saw a man with a light jacket, and small clothes, nearly of the same colour; he did not notice whether he had a hat on he was leaning against the rails as he passed him. He didn't notice his height, and it was too dark to see his face. Witness went on and said nothing he rode on towards Knighton, which was about 400 yards beyond the white rails and between the two stiles where the footpath goes in and out of the field, he passed another man, he wished him good night, but he did not notice whether he answered him or not. He couldn't say if he was a young or an old man.

 

James Knill of Knighton, joiner: said he knew Arthur Bedward. James was on the road between Knighton and Knucklas, on the 5th October, about nine in the morning, he saw blood on the road and saw Mr. Bedward about nine feet away, laying on his back near the ditch. Witness went up to him, and put his hand on his face, which was cold, the blood induced him to look there; he couldn't tell whether Bedward could have fallen there; it was two or three hundred yards from the white rails. He told it to Mr Spencer's servant the first house he came to.

 

Samuel Webb: said I remembers the 5th of October last. I saw Arthur Bedward dead, down in the ditch on the lower side of the road he was laying on his back, it was on the same side of the road with the white rails. There was no hat on the body when he saw it; but he saw a hat in the hedge, a yard above the body. The hat must have been thrown there. It had the appearance of being knocked in by violence; the rim was torn a great deal. It appeared to have been broken by a stick. There was some brown stringy substance on the hat, like the bark of a stake. From the position of the body, the deceased could not have fallen into the ditch. The blood was in one place, about three yards from the body. He said that Thomas Williams, Thomas Clare and he carried the body on a rack to a public-house at Knucklas, The breeches pockets were unbuttoned, and half turned out. There was nothing in the breeches pockets. There was 8d in copper in the waistcoat, and several other things in the coat pockets. There was no appearance of the other pockets having been turned out.

 

John Clare, of Lloyney, shoemaker: assisted last witness to remove the body of Arthur Bedward. He was present when Bedward's pockets were searched. He saw his breeches pockets searched. He went to the road from Knighton to Knucklas on Saturday. He saw a stake lying slightly below where the body was found; he took up the stake, and brought it to Knucklas. The stake was delivered to Richard Jones, the constable.

 

H. Jones, a shoemaker: The prisoner was his neighbour in October last, at Knighton. On the night of 4th October, he saw the prisoner come to his door, about three or four minutes before eleven o'clock at night, to bring a watch, which he had promised to lend witness's wife. The door was shut, and he opened it to prisoner; it was light, but he had a candle in his hand. Prisoner's shoes, stockings, jacket, and hat were off. He observed nothing else about his appearance: his hair seemed rather moist, from perspiration. He asked him why he came with his shoes and stockings off through the dirt. He said, never mind that. About 3 minutes previously, Jones had heard a person pass his door. The person was going towards the prisoner's house; the tread was rather, quick. A person coming from Beguildy to prisoner's house would have passed Jones' house.

 

Samuel Passy, constable, of Knighton: said the prisoner was in his custody 5th of October. Prisoner was searched by him. He said but little, made no resistance, and suffered himself to be searched. He found a Kington note in his watch pocket. Whilst he was taking it out of his pocket, prisoner said, "That is only a piece of brown paper." He made an effort to take it. (The note was produced in Court.)

 

Richard Thomas was in company with the prisoner and Passy on the 5th of October, and asked prisoner whether he had any kind of a bill about him; he said he had no bill of any description, and only a few shillings in silver. He was immediately searched by Mr. Passy, and a Kington pound bill found in his watch-fob pocket. When Passy took the bill, the prisoner made a dart at it. Witness took hold of him, and made him sit down. Prisoner has said, before he was searched, he had only a bit of brown paper. They handcuffed him as soon as he attempted to take the bill. Witness was with him all night. The Sunday night, he and the prisoner were at the Fleece-inn, in Knighton, on the bed together; he had him in charge. On that evening prisoner cut his throat. Witness had been up two nights and may have been dozing. He heard the bed shake, and got up, and saw prisoner cut his throat. Witness said, "You damned rogue, what is that," and pushed him towards the bed.

 

Richard Jones was constable on the 5th Oct. He produced a stake given him at the inquest, and a hat. The hat was very misshapen by blows, and the stake had the appearance of having been used.

 

Richard Edward was in gaol for debt in October. He said he remembered the prisoner there; he was in bad health from a wound on the throat. Witness was one of the persons appointed to sit up with him he and the keeper sat with him on 13th October. He had a conversation with him, and told him he did not wish to know anything about the murder. At three in the morning the conversation took place. Prisoner told him that Arthur Bedward started from the house, and after about ten minutes or a quarter of an hour he followed him, he met a wagoner on the road, and asked him if he met anybody on the road. The man told him that he met Arthur Bedward, he went over a stile, ran on, and passed Bedward. On the road, he procured a stake, and after he had passed him, struck him three or four times on the back part of the head. He took £1 6s from his pocket, and threw him down in the ditch or dingle, and left him, he then went home. Edwards told this to the keeper of the prison the week before he was liberated in November. He said he knew the prisoner at the bar prior to his apprehension. The keeper was gone for coals at the time of the conversation, which took place when he and prisoner were alone.

 

The jury brought in a verdict of guilty almost instantly, and the Chief Justice passed sentence of death in a most solemn and impressive speech: but the prisoner did not appear much affected at his awful situation. He was ordered for execution on Monday last.

 

Arthur Bedward was buried at Llanfair Waterdine. His entry in the burial record reads:-