Hereford Journal - 17th November 1847

BRUTAL HIGHWAY ROBBERIES. KNIGHTON, SATURDAY EVENING,

Nov. 13.— On Thursday night the 11th inst., between seven and eight o'clock, as Mr. Marston, farmer, and Mr. Strangwood, blacksmith, of Boarsford, were returning home from Knighton fair, three men joined in conversation and accompanied them up Lanshay-lane to the top of Stonewall-hill, where all at once one of them fastened hold of Mr. Marston's horse's bridle, and the other struck him violently on the head with a bludgeon, so that he fell or was dragged from his horse; they took from him some money, a valuable watch and gold guard, a handkerchief and neckcloth, and extracted no small portion of blood from his head. At the same time the other struck Mr. Strangwood a blow on the arm which disabled him, so that he brought him to the ground, held him down, and robbed him of some money, a knife, and neckcloth, declaring that if he spoke he would blow his brains out; the villains then let them go their way, and returned themselves back for Knighton.

       In about half an hour the supposed three ruffians attacked Mr. Davis, farmer, Upper Pitts, Stanage, near Knighton, his son, and a friend who was with them, on their way from the fair, through the Kielarkes-field, nearly a mile from the place of the above tragedy. Mr. Davis, his son, and friend, were all struck down, beaten, and threatened as the others—especially Mr. Davis, who was threatened with death if he did not give up all he had. The principal taken from them was two five-pound notes of Mr. Davies, and some small change, together with his son's hat; the robbers, then made their escape, charging them as the former persons to make their way home and say nothing about it. Mr. Davis, to whom we are indebted for the capture, came back to Knighton for the purpose of giving an alarm, when Constance and another police-officer, together with Mr. Davis, started for Ludlow, calling up Richardson, police-officer of Leintwardine. They apprehended two of the villains on their way for Ludlow about three o'clock in the morning of the 12th instant; the third made his escape in the struggle, and has not yet been taken. The other two were taken before the Rev. J. R. Brown, in Knighton and proved to be Thomas and Edward Wilding, natives of Whitton or Ross, near Knighton, but of late residents in Staffordshire; a loaded pistol, two watches, one five-pound note, young Mr. Davis's hat, and numerous other articles, were found with the prisoners, and sworn to by Mr. Marston, Mr. Strangwood and Mr. Davis, jun., as their property. The prisoners are remanded until Tuesday next, when their final commitments will be inevitable, all things appearing so clear against them. We hope the other will shortly be taken.

 

FROM OUR PRESTEIGN CORRESPONDENT.-

 

The two men are remanded for further examination on Tuesday the 23rd inst. Their names are Thomas and Edward Wilding, brothers, and they are natives of or near Knighton. The third man, their associate, will, it is expected, be soon taken, as a good clue to, his whereabouts has been obtained. A great number of persons followed the vehicle containing the prisoners to the door of Presteign Gaol. They were escorted and secured in company of three police-officers. There is good reason for believing that the two prisoners and the man who escaped are the three persons who committed the daring highway robbery mentioned in the Police Gazette of the 5th instant, on the person of Mr. George Borrason, of Bobbington, Staffordshire, near Ashwood, Kingswinford. They are supposed also to be the same persons who stopped and robbed Mr. John Devey, of Pedmore, and Mr. Edward Penzar, of Wolverley, both in the county of Worcester, on the 31st ult.; and Mr. John Griffiths, of the Oak Farm, Kingswinford, Staffordshire, on the 4th instant. The two prisoners have been working for some time past at the Iron Works in Staffordshire and Worcestershire.

 

Hereford Times - 1st April 1848

THE TRIAL OF THE NOTORIOUS HIGHWAYMEN OF THE COUNTY OF RADNOR. THEIR CAPTURE AND CONVICTION.

 

During the past year Radnorshire has been the scene of several daring and outrageous robberies. For some time the perpetrators of these offences contrived to elude the utmost vigilance of the police. At length, however, a clue was obtained which led the authorities to suspect a gang, of whom, the prisoners now about to be tried, are supposed to be part, and the officers had for some time been upon their track before they succeeded in apprehending them. Not only in this county have they been carrying on their plunder, but in the county of Stafford where there are several similar offences laid to their charge. On the night of the11th of November, being Knighton fair, those ruffians committed no less than three highway robberies, and on that very night the police were in search of them and close upon their heels for offences previously committed. At these repeated outrages, the inhabitants of the county became so alarmed that they durst not venture from their homes after dark in the evening; and, even at home, they were hardly considered safe, for several offences of house-breaking had been committed about the same time, (it is supposed) by some of the gang. Through the indefatigable exertions of the police, however, these men were at length apprehended and committed for trial on four different charges.

       The prisoners, whose names are Thomas Wilding and Edward Wilding, are natives of Knighton, in this county, and their parents are said to bear a highly respectable character. The prisoner Cooke is a native of Ledbury, and is also respectably connected.

        During the time they have been awaiting their trials they had continued to act in the most ungovernable manner; to them, the "black-hole" was a mere matter of joke and had no influence upon them, except to excite their merriment and ridicule. The time for their trials approached, and they well knew the fate that awaited them. On Friday they contrived means of escape; they were in the felons' day-room as usual, in which there was a fire-place and a stool and which opens into the yard. One of them is a blacksmith and another a carpenter, a knowledge of which businesses would probably have enabled them to have got out without much difficulty, had they not been discovered. The first plan of escape appears to have been to make a hole through the wall of the felons' day-room and get through to the passage which leads to the governor's dwelling and then have made an attack upon him or anybody they encountered. In order to effect this, they tried at four different places, but it appears that they gave them up as hopeless. Their next place for making the attempt seems to have been the privy, which is situated, by the boundary wall. They were observed to go into this place very frequently during the day, which excited a suspicion in the mind of the governor, and he went and examined the place and found that the wall was fresh plastered: he pulled the plaster down and discovered that several of the stones had been removed and all put back again so as to avoid suspicion—a few more hours' labour and their escape would have been certain. On a closer examination of the premises, the governor found that the top bar of the grate had been broken off, which, doubtless, had served as a tool, and would have been a very formidable weapon to contend with. He also observed that the leg of the stool had been forced out, but that, and everything else, was replaced before they retired for the night. The leg of the stool was also a very heavy and formidable weapon. As soon as this was discovered the prisoners were put in irons and have remained so ever since, and are watched night and day.

        These things having become readily circulated, it is not wonderful that a rush was made to obtain admittance into the court this morning to hear their trials. Hundreds could not find room; throughout the day the passage leading to the court, the steps, and the street around the Shirehall were thronged with people, and the proceedings of the court were frequently stopped by a rush at the door, in which, perhaps, a few gained admittance but were speedily expelled.

        About 12 o'clock, Thomas Wilding, aged 29, labourer, Edward Wilding, aged 24, blacksmith, and Edward Cooke, aged 20, carpenter, were placed at the bar to answer an indictment charging them with having, on the 11th day of November last, at the parish of Knighton, in the county of Radnor, feloniously assaulted Richard Marston and stolen from his person, a silver watch, a gold chain, two handkerchiefs, and other articles, his property.

      Another indictment charged them with having, at the parish of Knighton, feloniously assaulted John Davies, of Brampton Bryan, and stolen from his person two £5 notes of the Knighton bank, and a pocket-knife the property of the said John Davies.

The same prisoners stood further charged with having, on the 11th of November, feloniously, assaulted Robert Strangwood, and stolen from his person a quantity of money, a handkerchief, and other articles, the property of the said Robert Strangwood.

        A fourth indictment charged them with having on the 11th of November last, at the parish of Knighton, feloniously assaulted John Davies, the younger, of the parish of Brampton Bryan, and taken from his person, a hat, a pocket-knife, and other articles, the property of the said John Davies.

       Upon these several indictments the prisoners were arraigned, and to each, in a tone of defiance, they pleaded "Not Guilty."

 

Mr. Serjeant Jones and Mr. W. H. Allen appeared on the part of the Crown;

 

Mr. Benson appeared for the two Wildings, and Cooke was undefended.

 

The Jury were then sworn to try the prisoners upon the first indictment.

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Mr. Serjeant Jones opened the case to the jury with great care, and in a lengthy speech detailing the whole of the circumstances of the case, which will be seen from the following evidence. He then called Richard Marston, the prosecutor, who deposed; I am a farmer of Boarsford, in the parish of Brampton Bryan, in the county of Hereford; Boarsford is situate four miles from Knighton; I remember the day of Knighton fair, the 11th of November; I left Knighton that night about eight o'clock; Robert Strangwood, a neighbour of mine, was in my company; we proceeded on the high road from Knighton to Ludlow for some distance; at a place called Llanshay hill we turned off the turnpike road and went up a lane towards my farm; three men came up to us in this lane; Strangwood was a few yards behind when they came up; the men conversed with us for some time; we had proceeded about half a mile down this lane when one of the men came up to me from behind, and drew my riding stick from my hand, and then laid hold of my horse: there was another man close by on my left hand side; I immediately alighted from my horse, and asked them what they meant; at that moment I received a blow upon the back part of my head; the man that had hold of my horse struck the blow; the other man then came up to me and said, "you have money," and rifled my pocket; I called out to Strangwood; the man said "keep quiet, we have pistols, and will blow your brains out if you are not still;" I asked them not to hurt me, they said "then keep quiet; "the man then rifled my pockets and took all I had; after ransacking my pockets he said, "you have money in your neck-handkerchief;" he then took two handkerchiefs from my neck, one of which was marked with my initials; while this man was searching my pockets the other man held a large bludgeon over my head; but to the best of my knowledge he did not speak; the man who rifled my pockets was not the man who struck me the blow on my head; Strangwood did not answer when I called to him; the men took a watch, a gold guard, a silk purse containing a half-sovereign, and two silk handkerchiefs from me; this attack was committed about half-past eight o'clock, about an hour after I had left Knighton; I was perfectly sober and remember the transaction well; the night was dark; I had an opportunity of observing the persons who committed the robbery; the man that struck the blow was dressed in a light-coloured jacket and a white Jim Crow hat; I also observed that the other men were dressed in dark frock coats; after they had robbed me they put my hat on and told me to go home and say nothing about it; I went to a surgeon at Knighton the next day, and had the wound dressed; I continued under his hands for three weeks; the three men all went away together in the direction of Knighton; Strangwood afterwards came up to me; I did not observe anything particular in his appearance; it was dark.

       Cross-examined by Mr. Benson: Strangwood is a black-smith; he was walking and I was riding; we came together for company; he had not been drinking; he was perfectly sober;  I kept hold of the horse the whole time, and after the robbery I mounted and rode towards my home; the man who first took my stick, then got hold of my reins, and as I was getting from my horse struck me on the head with a bludgeon, and I fell almost senseless; I lost half a sovereign and three shillings in silver.

By the Judge: I had no sale that night; I advertised some property for sale at Kington on the night of the robbery; bills announcing the sale had been circulated about the county; the sale was to have taken place at seven o'clock; it was a sale of freehold property.

       Robert Strangwood, a blacksmith, of Boarsford, deposed: I live near the prosecutor, and remember being at Knighton on the night of the fair; I remember going up Llanshay-lane on our road home; three men overtook me after I got a little way up the lane; I said "Good night" to them, and asked them how far they were going up the road; one of them made answer, and said "to Lingen, or very near to;" I asked them who they were, as I knew most of the folks in the neighbourhood; one said his name was Croft, and asked me if I knew Mr. Abell, a gunsmith; I said I did, very well - I had married a daughter of his; Mr. Marston was riding before during this conversation - he was six or seven yards before me; when we arrived at the hill one of the men put his arm on my shoulder, in which position we walked for about two hundred yards; the other two men were walking on the opposite side of the road, close to the prosecutor; I asked him who they were; he replied that one of them was an apprentice to a cabinet maker, and the other was a journeyman; as we were thus proceeding, the man suddenly put his foot before me and threw me into the ditch, and threatened that if I made an alarm he would blow my brains out with a pistol; I received a blow on the left arm in a scuffle which I had with him before I fell into the ditch; it was not a blow that made me fall, but it disabled my arm; he tripped me up into the ditch; I heard, while I was down, Mr. Marston call out "Strangwood" I made no reply, in consequence of the threat which had been made to me; the man who stood over me said, two or three times, that he would knock my brains out; once he said he would do so if I did not give him my money; when they left me, they all proceeded together towards Knighton; I got up and went to Mr. Marston, the prosecutor, as soon as they had gone; he was coming to meet me; he told me what had happened; I accompanied him home, and I found that he had received a severe wound on the back part of the head; I observed that the man who attacked me was dressed in a dark velveteen jacket; it was Edward Wilding, one of the prisoners at the bar;  I know him well enough.

       Cross-examined by Mr. Benson; I am certain the man who robbed me was Edward Wilding; I never saw him previously to the robbery to the best of my knowledge; I have never said on my oath before that he was the man who attacked and robbed me. I have never said that he was not the man.

      By prisoner Cooke: I saw a man about the height of the prisoner Cooke dressed in dark clothes, but I will not swear to him. 

       Cooke: Your lordship, I should have had somebody to defend, me but I could not obtain any paper off the governor of the prison to send to my parents for the purpose of enabling me to do so.

      Joseph Constance sworn: I am police-constable of Knighton; I remember the night of Knighton fair; in consequence of information I had received, I went that night with Robert Ebery and John Davies in pursuit of three men on another charge; we proceeded at about twelve o'clock for Leintwardine, and arrived there about two in the morning; we called up Richardson, the police-constable at that place, and he accompanied us; we called the people up at the Swan, and then proceeded to search the lodging-houses; we discovered nobody, and we afterwards proceeded towards Ludlow; I did not take the direct road, but went down a lane which led into the direct road in a short distance; Davies, Ebery, and Richardson went down the direct road; before I got into the main road I heard Richardson say "Lay hold of  them;" as soon as I came up I saw Richardson had hold of Thomas Wilding, and Ebery had hold of Edward, I did not see any other stranger; we took them back to the Swan: I was at Leintwardine when they were searched; Robert Ebery searched Thomas Wilding in my presence, and on his person were found two silk handkerchiefs, a pocket knife, and one £5 note; he had a besom stick in his right hand, which I took from him; there were the initials T. P. marked upon the bosom handle; I did not see anything found upon the person of Edward Wilding; on the following morning, I, Robert Ebery, and Richardson went to Ludlow, and from thence to Clee Hill, and other places, in pursuit of the third man; from the description I had given me of his person, I believed it to be Cooke; I returned back to Ludlow without meeting him, and lodged the other prisoners in gaol; having done that, I went, amongst other places, to Bilston and Wolverhampton; I afterwards returned to Ludlow again without finding him; on the 19th of November I received information, which led me to go to the house of Wm. Williams, of Ludlow, and there I found the prisoner Cooke, who answered exactly the description of person whom I had been in search of; I took him into custody and charged him with the offence; I afterwards took him to the Bridgend; I had used no promises nor threats to induce him to make any statements; he told me I had "not got the biggest rogue yet;" he said no more till the next day; on the day following, he said a man of the name of Watkins was his ruin, he had "never nothing to do with anything of this sort until within the last three weeks;" he was dressed when I took him into custody, in a new velveteen coat, and had a "muffler" round his neck; I found some clothes in the house of Williams which the prisoner claimed; there was a pair of corduroy trousers, besides two waistcoats, and the coat which he now has on; on the 24th, returned to Williams's house and received a gold guard; an officer of the name of Newton accompanied me; I showed the same guard to Mr. Marston.

       Cross-examined by Mr. Benson : I apprehended one other party on this charge; he was a nut-man that came to the fair; I did not show him to last witness; I let him go again because he was not the man; I showed him to Mr. Davies; I did not apprehend a Mr. Croft, a tailor; I had no reason to suspect him; I was before the magistrates when the witness Strangwood was examined; I cannot say whether he had then any difficulty in identifying Edw. Wilding; I believe he did, but I will not swear; I was not in the room the whole time.

       In answer to a question by the prisoner Cooke the witness said: When I apprehended you, you put your hand into your right-hand pocket, and I said I would blow your brains out if you removed it.

       Re-examined by Mr. Jones: I had heard that the prisoners were desperate fellows, and I thought it probable that they might have some fire-arms about them; I had been in pursuit of them for seven days; the nut-man was apprehended on another charge, which had nothing at all to do with the prisoner.

       Richard Jones, a constable of Leintwardine, on being sworn said,— On the 12th of November last I remember meeting three men; I did not then know what time it was; they were near to Leintwardine bridge, and were coming in the direction from Knighton towards Ludlow; I asked if they could tell me what time it was; one of them replied "stay a minute and I will tell you, because I want to know myself;" it was dark, and he came near to the lantern which I was carrying, pulled out a watch and said it was half-past four o'clock; I then went on and some further conversation passed;  another asked me if I had been fetching my horse out of the ground; I replied I had; I then passed them and went to the door of the Lion Inn, at Leintwardine, and observed the three men whom I can identify as the three prisoners, standing on the bridge; they were on the bridge on the Leintwardine side ; they came over the bridge and I spoke to them; they again passed me, and one of them said "Old boy, can we have half a pint of beer there;" I replied "No: the people are not up, but if you would go to the Swan in the other street you will find the people up there;" two of them said "Let us go on to Ludlow, the people will be up when we get there;" one of them objected; the two however went on, and soon after the other followed; I had a good opportunity of seeing the men from the light of my lantern; I know that the prisoners are the men; Thomas Wilding was the first prisoner who spoke to me and who had the watch; Edward Wilding asked me about getting the horse; and it was Cooke who inquired about having some beer at the Lion; I waited till they had gone some distance, and then made as much haste as I could to the Swan Inn, where the officers Richardson, Constance, and Ebery, were awaiting me; I afterwards set out with them in pursuit of the prisoners; I was present when the two Wildings were captured; that was about a quarter of a mile from the place where I had last seen them; I afterwards went in company with Constance in pursuit of Cooke; I went amongst other places to Bilston, in Staffordshire; I there saw Cooke on the 16th of November, which was on a Tuesday, about dusk; I did not then succeed in capturing him; I saw him in a passage talking to two females; I went to the Bilston station-house to get assistance, and when we returned he was gone; I am sure it was the prisoner Cooke I saw.

Cooke: Did you know me then ?

Witness: I knew you well enough; I had seen you before at Knighton, and knew you well; I recognised your voice.

Cooke: Have you ever talked to me ?

Witness: No; but I have heard you talk in company several times.

Cooke: If you have heard me talk so many times perhaps you can mention any one place.

Witness: I cannot say exactly; I have heard you in the street.

Cooke: I should think, if you are speaking the truth, when you say you have heard me talk in company,  you can mention  one place.

Witness  I know of no place in particular.

Cooke: My Lord, I think that is a very unsatisfactory answer. After you say you had seen me in the passage, did not you come to my lodgings with another officer, and lay hold of another young man there, and say "This is the man!"

Witness: I certainly did lay hold of another young man who was standing with his back towards me, and who much resembled you, but as soon as I saw his face I found I was mistaken, and immediately let him go.

Cooke: If you let him go as soon as you talk about what did the woman of the house take the poker and threaten to knock you down? Did not she say she would do so unless you let the man go?

Witness: The woman did raise the poker, I let the man go directly I found my mistake; I had a policeman with me from the Bilston force.

       Re-examined; After I had seen Cooke in the passage, I went for a constable to assist me to apprehend him, when we arrived at his lodgings, I saw a man dressed in a dark velveteen jacket, like that which the prisoner Cooke had on when I saw him in the passage, and I was at first mistaken; the man had his back towards me, I merely laid my hand upon his shoulder, and on looking into his face I said "This is not the man - I am mistaken"; I never had any doubt with respect to the prisoner.

         John Richardson deposed: I am a police-constable at Leintwardine; on the 11th of November last I went in company with Constance, Ebery and the last witness in pursuit of the prisoners, about four o'clock in the morning; we overtook them near Leintwardine; there were three in number; I captured the middle prisoner (Edward Wilding); I "dogged" them, and the other officers went up the lane, the prisoners were going in the direction of Ludlow, when I first attempted to take Edward Wilding, he made a movement with his right hand towards his pocket; he did this repeatedly; I had a large stick in my hand, and I said if he did not keep it down I would knock it off; I told him I had a charge against him; after I got him in the Swan Inn I searched him, and in the pocket where he was endeavouring to put his hand I found a loaded pistol; I saw Thomas Wilding searched, and on his person were found two silk handkerchiefs, a knife, and a £5 note, and other money was also found upon him, which forms the subject of another indictment; the third man escaped - we only captured the two Wildings; the prisoners said they were brothers, and lived in Knighton; I asked their names but they refused to give them up; I lodged them in my lock-up till Constance, myself, and Ebery went in pursuit of the other prisoner, and they were afterwards moved to the goal.

      Cross-examined by Mr Benson: I was up before the magistrates when Strangwood gave evidence upon this charge; I do not know whether he then said he could identify any of the prisoners or not; I did not hear him say that he would or would not, I was out of the room occasionally.

       Robert Ebery, sworn, stated: I am a policeman in the Shropshire constabulary; I assisted in taking the Wildings; I searched Thomas Wilding, and found on his person two silk handkerchiefs, a £5 note, some pawn tickets, and other articles, which I produce.

       John Williams, shoemaker, at Ludlow, who had a respectable appearance, deposed: I know the prisoner Cooke; I have an uncle who resides at Wolverhampton; my uncle is a shoemaker, and also keeps a public-house called the "Jolly Crispin"; I recollect seeing the prisoner at my uncle’s house on Wednesday, the 17th day of November; I had not seen him on the previous day; I was in bed when he came; he inquired for me, and the apprentice called me up; when I came down the prisoner said "Good morning", and added that Mr. Lane, of Leintwardine, had been in search for him for pawning some clothes belonging to Thomas Wilding; he said he was going to Ludlow to give himself up, and asked me if I would come and start him a little way on the Ludlow road; having no work in Staffordshire, I went the whole way with him; we got to Neinton that night and had supper; I saw the prisoner pull out a watch; I should know it if I were to see it again; it was a silver watch with a double case, patent lever, the case was figured on both sides, and a small part plain in the middle; the prisoner Cooke borrowed a key off the landlady to wind it up; I saw nothing more till the next day, when we were proceeding towards Ludlow, the prisoner pulled out a guard, which appeared to be gold, which was loose in his pocket; Cooke said it was one which Edwards Wilding had been in the habit of wearing; when I got to Ludlow I took the prisoner to my father's house, and we had dinner there; I was present when he was told he was suspected of highway robbery; he seemed very much put about, and declared he was innocent, and that they had nothing against him but pawning the clothes; once he said they had nothing against him if the Wildings would shut their mouths; I asked him what he meant, to which he replied, "Nothing but pawning the clothes"; I offered to go to Knighton for him to inquire if it was true that there was a charge of highway robbery against him; he stopped at my father's while I was gone; I called upon his friends at Knighton and told them he was in Ludlow; I made no secret of it; when I returned I told the prisoner that he was suspected, and again he declared that he was innocent; Cooke was an entire stranger to my father's house when I took him there;;he was apprehended at our house by Constance, when Constance entered the house I saw Cooke go through the middle door of my father's house, which leads from the kitchen to a room which my mother uses for winding cotton to make candles; he passed the parlour door.

       Cross-examined by Mr. Benson: I first saw the watch at Leintwardine; I had never seen it before; this is the truth.

       William Williams sworn: I am a tallow-chandler at Ludlow, and in the service of Mr. Harding, grocer; I am a householder in that  town and a father to last witness; I remember my son bringing the prisoner Cooke to my house; he had never been there before; on the Tuesday following the apprehension of Cooke, I found a watch in the crown of an old bonnet which my wife uses to keep her strings for the winding machine; the prisoner was apprehended of Friday, my attention was attracted to the bonnet by observing a string on the floor near the fender, which I picked up to place in the bonnet, and I discovered the watch; I looked again and found a gold chain also in the bonnet, a little lower down than the watch; my son had left Ludlow on the day before for Wolverhampton in order to finish some work which he had begun and to fetch his tools; there was work for him at Ludlow, and he has worked at the latter place ever since; during the time Cooke was in the house he went to the parlour where the bonnet was kept, this was after my son had returned from Knighton; the room in which the bonnet is kept is between the front and back-kitchen; I cannot tell whether the door was closed or not; I gave up the watch and chain to Constance and Newton; I will swear I never saw the watch and chain till I found them in the old bonnet; I was committed for receiving those goods and went to gaol, but was afterwards admitted to bail; I am now on bail for the offence; when I was in gaol I saw Cooke, and he asked me if my name was Wm. Williams; I said yes; he then said, "dear me, what brought you here?"; I replied, "if what I found in my parlour had not been placed there by you, I should not have been here"; Cooke said "why was it not made away with or buried, and then you would not be here and I should have been free? - but never mind, Williams, I will free you"; I said that Mr. Jones could prove that he was one of the parties; Cooke answered, "never mind Jones, he knows nothing at all about it; he appeared very vexed and there were tears in his eyes; he seemed much in trouble.

Cooke: Did not you tell me when you were in the gaol, that had it not been for your wife it would never have been found out?

Witness: I am sure I did not say so.

Cooke: On your oath did not you tell me they had nearly done searching the house when your wife said "Give it up, there is something wrong about it"

Witness: I said nothing of the kind; my house was not searched at all.

Cooke: Did you not tell me that the watch was in your jacket pocket?

Witness: I might have told you it was in my jacket pocket at the workshop; I went and fetched it and gave it to the officers.

By the Judge: I did not give the watch up immediately; when the policemen came they asked for the things Cooke had left there; I at first denied having any, but after they mentioned the watch I did not deny it; I afterwards went and got the watch from my jacket pocket; my house was not searched, the officers went upstairs for the purpose of searching; my wife said "you had better give it up and let the worst come"; I then went and fetched it and gave it to the officers; I first fetched the watch first and afterwards the chain.

       Valentine Newton, a police constable of Ludlow, deposed that he received a watch from the last witness, but Constance received the guard; it had been in witnesses possession ever since.

By the Judge: I went in company with Constance to search the house of Williams; he at first denied that he had the watch, or that he knew where it was; after some time his wife said to Williams, "Fetch the watch! give it up!"; Williams said he would fetch it, but refused to tell where it was, and requested that I would not go with him.

       Hannah Merrick sworn: I live at the Clee-hills, about five miles from Ludlow, on the road to Wolverhampton; my father keeps a public-house there and I reside with him; the prisoners came to our house on the afternoon of 9th November, about one o'clock; they were all in company; I am confident the prisoners are the men that were there; I took particular notice of them in consequence of their "yammocking" with each other; they all went away together toward Ludlow.

       Eleanor Pitchford, daughter of Richard Pitchford, deposed: We keep a shop between Bedstone and Aston Mills, the residence of Mr. Lewis, who is in the habit of attending Knighton fairs; I remember the day of Knighton fair in November last; on the morning of that day, about eleven o'clock, the prisoner Cooke came into my shop; there were two other persons outside the door, I did not see the faces of the others, but of Cooke I am positive; he asked me if Mr. Lewis had gone to Knighton that morning; I told him he was gone; Cooke then joined the other men and they all went away together in the direction of Aston Hill; my house is about seven miles from Knighton, a little off the road from Knighton to Ludlow; I know Mr. Powis's farm called Heartsease, on that road.

        Mary Bryan deposed: I am the wife of William Bryan, and keep an Inn in Bedstone; I remember the 11th November; on that day three men came to our house; one was Cook, another was Edward Wilding, but I cannot swear to Thomas Wilding; they came about eleven o'clock in the morning; the three came in together and had a quart of cider, and all went away together; I did not see in which direction they went.

       Cross-examined: Bedstone is seven miles from Knighton and eleven from Ludlow.

       George Cole deposed: I am now and was in November last in the service of Mr. Powis, of Heartsease farm, situate on the road from Knighton to Ludlow; the out-buildings are on the road side; I had observed on the night of Knighton fair about six o'clock a bosom-stick in the hay-loft, it had T.P. burned on it in three places; my master’s name is Thomas Powis; the following morning the stick was gone; I observed in the loft that somebody had been laying down in the hay; the hay was quite flat; I found a bludgeon in the loft  which I afterwards gave to the police-constable.

       Superintendent Constance was then recalled and produced the stick which he had taken from Thomas Wilding and which was recognised by Cole as being the property of his master. Constance also produced a silk handkerchief and a gold chain, the former was taken from the person of Thomas Wilding, and the latter from the house of Mr. Williams. The prosecutor identified the property.

      Superintendent Ebery was recalled and produced a silk handkerchief also found upon Thomas Wilding, which the prosecutor recognised.

       Police-constable Newton produced the watch which he had received from Williams, to which the prosecutor spoke most positively as being his property.

       Mr. Benson addressed the jury on behalf of the two prisoners Wilding, and called.

     John Harris, who stated he was a blacksmith, and lived at Bilston, deposed: He had known Thomas Wilding about two years, and he had resided with him about two months, at Ladymore, near Bilston; as far as he had known him, he appeared to be of a good honest principle; witness had seen very little of him for the last twelve months.

      Thomas Doman said he was an overlooker at the coal pits, near Bilston, and knew the prisoner, Edward Wilding; he had been employed there for some time, about three months, and during that time witness had no fault to find with him.

William Arnold was then called by Cooke, and he said he had known him about four months, and during which time he had been in his employment; he always believed him to be an honest young man.

His Lordship then summed up, and the jury, after a short consultation, returned a verdict of guilty against all three prisoners. The verdict was received by the overflowing court with murmurs of approbation.

       The Judge then passed sentence upon the prisoners.- You have been found guilty of a most violent and outrageous robbery upon the person of Mr. Marston, and found guilty under circumstances which make the offence as aggravated as such an offence can possibly be. I think I should not be discharging my duty to the public if I did not pass as severe a sentence upon you as the law will permit. The sentence of the court is, that you be severally transported beyond the seas for the term of your natural lives.

 

Hereford Times - 13th July 1850

PRESTEIGN.

THE CONVICTS WILDING AND COOK. It will be recollected that, at the Radnorshire Spring Assizes of 1848, three notorious fellows, named Edward Wilding, Thomas Wilding and Edward Cooke, were tried, convicted, and sentenced to transportation for life upon no less than four separate indictments for highway-robbery and burglary, all committed on the evening of the previous Knighton fair, the police being at the very time close upon their heels for similar offences perpetrated by them in the county of Stafford. Shortly before their trial they made a desperate attempt to escape from the gaol, by forcing a hole through he boundary wall, and, had they not been discovered, a few hours' more labour would have completed their object. They were then placed in irons, but during the whole time they were confined in this gaol they evinced the most ungovernable and reckless dispositions, and had to be continually watched night and day. The following letter from Edward Wilding, which has been received by Mr. Verdon, the governor of Presteigne gaol, we have no doubt, will be read with interest :

 

Portland Prison, Dorsetshire

I, the undersigned, a late wicked inmate of the gaol under your superintendence, agreeably to the wishes of my fellow prisoner Edward Cook, desire at this time to return our many sincere thanks to you for your kindness bestowed on us, who were quite unworthy of it, while under your care. For kindness has overruled my ingratitude to my superiors, and I have no doubt that, wherever it may be cast, its effects upon the mind will sooner or later be displayed. By this time you may, in some measure have forgotten me, who, I must own, am not worthy to be had in remembrance ; but so wonderfully and personally has kindness, blended with authority, worked upon my mind that, did I not acknowledge it to you, I should be adding to my many errors the one of disrespect and disobedience to your request, before being delivered up by you to the care of other keepers.

            It is, sir, with the greatest respect that I address myself to you, though I am yet a prisoner, for it is being imprisoned that has brought to my view my many transgressions, and led me to seek that peace and enter that path which leadeth to everlasting life,— for before I walked in darkness, bordering on the brink of destruction,—but now, by the grace that is given me, I trust I am walking in the way of that word which is a light to my feet and a lamp to my path. It is not my intention here to set before you what has befallen me since I have been imprisoned but I will as briefly as possible tell you what effect it has had upon me, viz., that I am now a very different person to what I was at one time, and I also hope that my brother Thomas is so likewise. I am sorry to say he is not here present, if he were I am sure he would gladly join with me and the above-mentioned Edward Cook in writing to you.

            Having then set before you, sir, my present condition, I will once more return to the object of addressing you, and thereby conclude by again acknowledging my many sincere and heartfelt thanks to you, sir, and also Mrs. Verdon for your respective kindnesses bestowed upon me while under your immediate care, and also for the further administration of it at my departure from the gaol and subsequent journey up to London, for all of which I shall ever feel the greatest respect towards you and yours.