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Trespass in search of Conies in St Michaels, St Albans From the Herts Advertiser, 17th November 1866 |
Present – W H Solly, Esq. (in the chair), H H Oddie, Esq., G R Marten, Esq., W H Smith, Esq., F A McGeachy, Esq., Rev W S Wade, H J Toulmin, Esq., T Kinder, Esq. Charge of Trespass in Search of Conies George Bailey, John Hunt, gamekeepers [to Mr Rumball], and Charles Cramphorn, labourer, were charged with having trespassed in search of conies, on the land belonging to H H Toulmin, Esq., and in the occupation of Mr Robert Smith. Mt Blagg appeared for the complainant, and Mr Annesley for the defendants. Daniel Day: I am an in-door servant in the service of Mr Toulmin. A week last Thursday (1st November) I was going to St Albans and I saw Cramphorn, Bailey and Hunt ferreting. They were between Mr Robert Smith's field and Mr Wilshin's, in the parish of St Michael, and belonging to Mr Toulmin. One man was just outside the field; the hedge and ditch belong to Mr Smith's field. Cramphorn had a stick trying to get a ferret out. I saw a white ferret in Bailey's hand. There were three nets over rabbit holes on Mr Smith's side. I saw one of them take a rabbit and throw it over ti the third man in Mr Wilshin's field. Two of the men are gamekeepers to Mr Rumball, of Batswood [Batchwood?], who has the shooting. One of the gamekeepers was in the field with Cramphorn, in Mr Smith's field. There three men were there. This was at half-past three, in the day time, in the parish of St Michael.
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Poaching was a regular occupation by some of the poor of the town and cases regularly came before the Magistrates. It should be noted that the farmer, Robert Smith, would be the Robert Smith of Childwick (to the west of the St Albans to Harpenden Road) and not to Robert Smith of Cheapside Farm and Heath Farm (both to the east of the road) who in any case had died in 1865.
For further information on the Cramphorn family see:
CRAMPHORN, St Albans, late 19th century
Poaching Rabbits at Sandridge in 1860