And not forgetting highwaymen!
Today it feels as though our lives are plagued by scams, but it appears that scams are nothing new! On July 15th, 1786, the following report appeared in The Times:
"The following new species of swindling was executed with success a few days ago at Loughborough. Mr Fisher, of that place, who keeps the Sign of The Boot, and deals in horses, being from home, his wife, on Thursday, the 29th, received information by a person, who said he came on purpose, that her husband had the misfortune to have a fall from his hoses, and then lay in a dangerous situation at Bromsgrove, wither he must go immediately; and further informed her, he had brought a mare with him for her more easy conveyance. He left the mare accordingly, and took back a pony belonging to Mr Fisher, for himself to ride. It since appears, that the whole story was fabricated to defraud Mr Fisher of his pony; and that the mare left at his house was stolen from near Birmingham, and has been owned. Neither was Mr Fisher at Bromsgrove at the time, nor is there since."
House burglary and break-ins are also not just a modern occurrence, as this report from September 1787 shows:
"It is said that Frost, one of the fellows under confinement for the robbery at Mr Webb's at Cote, was tried at Derby at Lammas assizes 1780, for a highway robbery, of which he was convicted, but afterwards reprieved and sent to the Thames: In October 1784, he was accomplice of the noted Abraham Shah, in committing a burglary in the house of Wm. Vann, Esq. of Belgrave (of which Shah was convicted and suffered death). The same night that Mr Vann's house was broken open and robbed, Mrs Glen of Loughborough, had also her house broke open and robbed; and Shah and Frost, having been seen to pass Loughborough that morning, were pursued; Shah was taken, and there was found upon him a part of Mr Vann's property, together with a considerable quantity of plate, the property of Charles Loraine Smith, Esq., of Enderby, of which he had been robbed in October 1782. Frost was then with Shah, but escaped, finding means to unload his pockets of more stolen property that belonged to Mr Smith, which was found thrown into a ditch in the above fields. There is not the least doubt that Frost belongs to a most dangerous gang of house-breakers and robbers; he comes from Sheffield, is a low-set man, and by trade a knife-blade grinder."
Not all crimes are pre-conceived, as is shown by the following report from the Nottingham Evening Post of October 1916, which pertains to lights being left ablaze in contravention of the Lighting Order of 1916, which was brought in on 10th January 1916:
"Loughborough Lighting. Technical Institute Principal Fined. At the Loughborough Petty Sessions today Herbert Schofield, principal of the Technical Institute, Loughborough, was summoned for offences against the Lighting Order regulations in respect of the institute and of the Higher Elementary School.
Supt. Agar said there were three lights which were bad at the institute, and one case at the school. Two witnesses were called in support.
Mr Schofield said he was responsible for the whole of the evening schools in the county, and could not be there every night. The appliances were provided, and the staff were now to be responsible if through carelessness the law was broken. Fined 20s. in each case, with 2s. expenses."
The report goes on to mention further breaches of the regulations:
"Frank Tollington, manager to the Wood Gate Co-operative Stores, Loughborough; Edward Reede, secretary of the Mountsorrel Methodist Free Church and Alfred Parker, Burder Street Loughborough, were each fined 15s. or 10 days for the neglect of the Lighting Order provisions."
You can read more about the Co-operative Stores on Wood Gate in a previous blogpost, and more about the Zeppelin raid on 31st January 1916 on this blogpost, when the Herbert Morris factory was hit, because its lights were shining out.
Pubs have often been the hosting venue for sales, usually auctions of property, goods or wood from the forests, but sometimes customers can be found unofficially selling things. On February 17th, 1926, the Leicester Daily Mercury reported on a sale of hosiery that took place in a Loughborough pub, under the heading: 'Tap-room sale of hosiery: alleged factory robbery at Thurmaston.
"A sale of hosiery in the tap-room of a Loughborough public house, was referred to at Leicester today, when Frederick Jesson (37), of no fixed abode, was committed for trial at the Quarter Sessions on the charge of breaking and entering the factory of Messrs. Moore Eady and Murcott Goode, Thurmaston, and stealing 15 cashmere jumpers and 23 pairs of artificial and other hose, value about £12 7s. 6d.
Mrs Unwin, wife of the licensee of the Cooper's Arms, Loughborough, said Jesson opened a parcel of hosiery, and declared it had been given him at Nottingham, where he had been engaged on a big fire job.
Jesson sold several articles, and then asked her to give him 6s. on the parcel, and she did so, telling him he could have the parcel when he called for it.
The factory was stated to have been entered after a board in a window had been forced off, during the night of January 31st.
Jesson was subsequently arrested at Hinckley on another charge, and in a signed confession mentioned the factory at Thurmaston and another at Wigston."
Posted by lynneaboutloughborough 4 July 2021
You are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follow:
Lynne
