Excerpts from The London Chronicle August 7, 1810

POLICE

BOW-STREET.

On Thursday night Mr. Bennett, an eminent watchmaker and jeweler, of Market-place, Salisbury, and his family went to bed between ten and eleven o’clock, when his shop and house were perfectly secured. On Friday morning, about five o’clock, he was alarmed by some neighbours, and told that his shop had been broken open. He got up, and on examination, found that the robbers had been endeavouring to break open the shutters, but could not succeed, but had entered by the shop-door. The property, in watches, chains, rings and jewelry, which had been stolen amounted to 1500l. No trace or information of the robbers could be gained in Salisbury. Mr. B., then set off for London, to give information at Bow-street, when Lavender and R. Limberick went in pursuit of the robbers, and discovered a suspected person, named Nat Smith, alias Britton. He underwent an examination before Mr. Read, but was discharged, there being no proof against him.

Two men, named Thomas Jones and Richard Francis, were then put to the bar, when George Sadler said, that he took the charge of the Taunton coach at Basingstoke and drove it to London, and the prisoners Thomas Jones and Richard Francis, were outside passengers, and he having been informed of a robbery having been committed at Salisbury, and from several suspicious circumstances, he suspected the prisoners to be the robbers, and in consequence, when he got to Egham, he caused them to be taken into custody, with the bundle they had with them on the outside of the coach, which he secured. He also produced a silver watch, which dropped from the prisoner Francis, when he was searching him. A loaded pistol was found upon each of the prisoners at the time they were searched. He further said that the articles found in the yellow bag, and silk handkerchief, were the prisoners’ baggage.

William Doddington Manning, jun. of Little Houghton, near Northampton, said that he was a passenger in the coach at the time, and got in at Wincanton, and as it was going towards London, near Sutton, between eleven and twelve o’clock on Friday night, the two prisoners got up together on the outside of the coach, previous to which he observed they came out together from under a hedge with their bundles, which caused him to suspect they had been doing something improper, and induced him to watch them. He was present when the prisoners were taken into custody and searched at Egham; and saw a phosphorous box taken from the prisoner Francis, and a pistol from each of them. The prisoner Jones engaged the coach and paid the fare for both of them. When the coach got between Kensington and Knightsbridge, the prisoners, who were then in charge of a constable, jumped off the coach, and endeavoured to make their escape by jumping over a pailing and turning across a meadow, but they were pursued by himself and several others and secured again.

George Dodd, a constable of Egham, said, the two prisoners were given to him in charge at Egham, where he searched them, and found upon Francis a phosphorus-box, a pistol and a box of bullets; a pistol was taken from Jones.

Mr. Bennet proved the various articles produced to be his property.

The prisoners appeared very indifferent to their situation; Jones very jocosely observed, when the watches were unpacking, they looked very like unpacking new laid eggs.

The prisoners were fully committed for trial, and the parties were bound over to prosecute.