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CRIME DURING THE REIGN OF JAMES 1
James 1 who was the only son of Mary Queen of Scots became King of Scotland in July 1567 and then unified Britain by becoming King of England, Scotland and Ireland in March 1603 throne following the death of Elizabeth 1. The times were comparatively turbulent although for most people there was little crime. The below table looks at people from villages in the East Essex area who appeared before the Assize Courts at Chelmsford and Brentwood for the last years of the reign on James 1 from 1606 to 1624 . The crimes took place in the home village of the defendant unless otherwise stated. Family historians are able to use the records to trace ancestors who were either defendants and aggrieved. Sentencing was very harsh especially for poor illiterate people. The standard of investigation was of dubious quality and often trials especially murder too the form of murder trial and inquest and could often find the accused innocent and name a third party who was not initially accused as guilty. Many of the criminals appeared from crime such as theft, burglary and highway robbery which are still recognisable today. A few of the reasons for appearing are more unusual to modern minds hence a brief explanation about religious offences, ecclesiastical courts and witchcraft all of which feature in the case list. Catholic Religion Although a Protestant James 1 was comparatively tolerant to Catholics but this changed on 5 November 1605 when Guy Fawkes made a botched attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament in what became known at the catholic Plot. Within a few months an enraged Parliament has passed an Act which required citizens to take an oath of allegiance that included denial of the Popes authority over the King. In some areas this included the appearance before Assises of people holding illegal catholic Services. This included several incidents in Essex especially in the western part of our area which seemed a hotbed of Catholicism. The legal term used for this offence was recusant. Allowed Clergy Until 1575 the Clergy were not able to be dealt with by Civil Courts and faced Ecclesiastical courts if accused of any crime. Due to lenient sentences and different standards of proof few Clergy were punished. There was no formal proof of membership of the Clergy and so anyone accused before a civil court could claim the right to be allowed clergy. The proof of clergy was to be able to read a passage from the bible. At this time few people could read and clergymen were drawn from the population who received a good education. This quickly became a loophole for secular people who could read and even some criminals who could not read memorised whole psalms to give the impression that they were reading. So popular was psalm 51 that it became known as the neck verse. On being allowed clergy the criminal appeared before an ecclasiatical court where the sentence even for serious offences would be one of penance. In 1575 Elizabeth 1 was concerned at the number of criminals who were escaping justice and abolished the right to be referred to an ecclesiastical court. being allowed clergy was still a valuable tool as the maximum sentence allowable was one year or a whipping that was much preferable to hanging which was given for comparatively minor offences. Thomas Banckes appeared before the assises for theft three times in this period . Once in 1610 where he was whipped, again in 1610 when he claimed Clergy but on his third appearance in 1616 his luck ran out as Clergy could only be claimed once and he was hung. Witchcraft Before ascending the English Throne James 1 attended a trial at North Berwick of several women accused of trying to create a storm that would drown James 1 and his wife on a recent trip to Denmark. He became so convinced about the threat that in 1597 he wrote a book called wrote the Daemonologie which condemned witchcraft.. There were already laws in place to outlaw witchcraft but in 1604 James 1 passed a new stronger statute which contained his statement that witches were loathe to confess without torture. This site has a page on witchcraft. To visit this page please click the below link. ALTHORNE Defendant John Pigeon Date Offence 1615 Stole 2 pair of stockings, a silver whistle and 5 shillings from Robert Tiffin Sentence Claimed Clergy but unable to read and Hung Defendant Hugh Baker Date Offence 1617 Stole a brewing lead and a kettle at Gt Baddow Sentence Warrant Issued - Still at large ASHELDHAM Defendant John Warren Date Offence 1618 Burgled home of William Wale and stole a firkin and butter, a petticoat and a kettle 1618 Burgled home of Thomas Collis and stole 5 flitches of bacon and 4 loins of pork 1618 Stole brown gelding from Edmund Kinge at Southminster 1619 Stole bay gelding and bay mare from William Walle 1619 Burgled parish Church and stole a silver communion cup, a surplice, a carpet and a communion tablecloth Sentence Hung BRADWELL ON SEA Defendant John Ellis Date Offence 1607 Stole 6 sheep and 6 lambs at North Fambridge the property of Peter Osborne Sentence Allowed Clergy Defendant John Trappes Date Offence 1608 Burgled home of John Powlter and stole a pair of sheets Sentence Allowed Clergy Defendant Thomas Tailor Date Offence 1614 Stole a sheep from Abraham Bridge 1614 Stole a sheep from Andrew White 1614 Stole a sheep from Abraham Bridge Sentence Allowed Clergy Defendant Walter Rayner and Henry Abbott Date Offence 1615 Stole £4 . 11 shillings from William Thurgood Sentence Allowed Clergy BURNHAM ON CROUCH Defendant Thomas Bright Date Offence 1610 Stole 20 pounds of butter from Richard Wistocke Sentence Whipped Defendant Thomas Banckes Date Offence 1616 Grand Larceny - Stole one sheep and one bushel of rye from William Eley Sentence Hung Defendant John Hockett and Helen Bone Date Offence 1617 Stole £3. 5 shillings from Ralph Rushden Sentence Not Guilty Defendant Margaret Asher Date Offence 1620 Infanticide - In the house of John Duckett , her master, she gave birth to a male child which she killed by knocking it's head against a post Sentence Hung COLD NORTON Defendant Richard Denham Date Offence 1617 Cozening - gave Joan Ely for payment of goods a King Edward shilling which he fraudulently represented as a King James half piece of gold worth 11 shillings. Sentence Fined £2 Defendant Margaret Harris , Rachel Clarke and Anne Wilson Date Offence 1618 Recusancy Sentence Proclaimed according to statute Defendant John Smythe and Richard Sigg Date Offence 1623 Stole 10 cheeses and a posnett from William Walker Sentence Allowed Clergy HAZELEIGH Defendant John Mott Date Offence 1610 Stole 4 sheep from John Lovedale 1610 Stole 3 sheep from John Boilard Sentence Not Guilty Defendant John Laie and Henry Cason Date Offence 1610 Stole 5 sheep from Thomas Free Sentence Not guilty Defendant Thomas Free Date Offence 1620 Stole 30 Quarters of wheat from Thomas Free ( Father) Sentence Hung LATCHINGDON Defendant William Wright Date Offence 1614 Stole 4 cows Sentence Broke Gaol Defendant John Parris Date Offence 1607 Burgled house of John Hatchman and stole a cloth jerkin, 2 pieces of canvas, 2 shirtbands, a doublet, a pair of breeches, a hat and a jerkin. Sentence Allowed clergy MAYLAND Defendant Robert King Date Offence 1615 Burgled house of Richard Fuller and stole 4 cheeses , 2 cheesecloth's and 4 aprons. 1615 Highway Robbery - Assaulted Thomas Cowper and stole £3 in money at Colchester Sentence Hung MUNDON Defendant John Trappes Date Offence 1605 Burgled House of Thomas Safford and stole a silver thimble and £30 in money 1609 Burgled House of Thomas Safford and stole a silver thimble , 2 pairs of knives, a boardcloth and 12 silk points Sentence Hung Defendant Samuel Edwards Date Offence 1609 Burgled house of Thomas Vincent Sentence Not Guilty Defendant ? Wright ( Mrs) Date Offence 1615 The wife of Henry Wright of White Notley has seduced Anne Eve wife of Richard Eve of Mundon away from an established religion Sentence Proclaimed according to statute Defendant William King Date Offence 1622 Stole 4 sheepskins from Edward Harslott Sentence Not Guilty PURLEIGH Defendant Edward Offyn , William Secres and Anthony Browne Date Offence 1608 Stole 3 lbs of beef from John Brett Sentence Whipped Defendant Thomas Graves Date Offence 1608 Erected a cottage without the 4 acres of land stipulated in statute and for enclosing part of Westmer Lane leading to Gallows Common , Purleigh Sentence Process to indict was judged sufficient punishment Defendant William Frost Date Offence 1606 Keeping an alehouse as an unfit place without the approval of parishioners at Purleigh Sentence Not recorded Defendant Matthew Chapman Date Offence 1610 Highway robbery - Assaulted Thomas Hullman and stole 3 shillings and a hat Sentence Hung Defendant Clarefaunce Date Offence 1610 Alehousekeeper and Constable of Purleigh was drunk in his house on 1 July 1610 and allowed John Allen to be so drunk that he died upon the surfeit of his drunkenness Sentence Not recorded Defendant William Frost Date Offence 1610 Kept a disorderly alehouse Sentence Not recorded Defendant Thomas Stebbinge Date Offence 1611 Stole 2 pecks of oats from Robert Perry Sentence Whipped Defendant Loer Arnold - Wife of Edward Arnold Date Offence 1617 Murder- Loer assaulted Mercy Arnold, her servant, by throwing her to the ground and while she way lying there kicked and punched her on the head until she was dead Sentence Not Guilty Defendant Zachary Jones and John Lay Date Offence 1620 Stole a gelding from Richard Pollard Sentence Not guilty SOUTHMINSTER Defendant Thomas Last Date Offence 1610 Broke into the home of Agnes Evans and stole 8 shillings 6 pence , a silver ring and a pair of stockings Sentence Hung Defendant Thomas Banckes Date Offence 1610 Stole a cauldron , a pair of stockings and a hat from Agnes Dobson Sentence Whipped Defendant Thomas Banckes - second appearance that year Date Offence 1610 Stole an iron coulter and a pair of birlinges from Bartholemew Reynold Sentence Allowed Clergy Defendant Christopher Kynge Date Offence 1605 Murder - Attacked Thomas Cole with a dagger and stabbed him to death Sentence Allowed Clergy STEEPLE Defendant Henry Gage Date Offence 1606 Stole coverlet , a blanket and 2 sheets from Henry Wall Sentence Allowed Clergy STOW MARIES Defendant Edward Meade Date Offence 1610 Felonious Killing - On 3 February 1610 at Stow Maries attached Abraham Seawell and struck him causing death Sentence Not guilty - John Astille killed him Defendant Thomas Scott Date Offence 1612 Broke into the home of Robert Spillman and stole a pair of hose, a coverlet and 3 neckchiefs. Sentence Hung Defendant Grace Tabor Date Offence 1614 Witchcraft - Bewitched 2 cows belong to Edward Meade causing their death Sentence Not Guilty Defendant Edward Hills Date Offence 1617 Broke into the house of Joan Coache and stole a pair of buskins, a kerchief, 2 aprons and 8 pence on money. Sentence Allowed Clergy Defendant John White Date Offence 1619 Broke into the house of William Wikeman and stole a jerkin and a pair of sheets Sentence Not guilty TILLINGHAM Defendant Henry Pennell Date Offence 1611 Murder of John Savage - Pennell attacked savage with a mole spade and knocked him to the ground. As he lay there Pennell cut his throat with a knife. Sentence To hang in chains as near to the scene of the crime as possible WOODHAM MORTIMER Defendant John Chapman Date Offence 1608 Felonious Killing- Attacked Richard Sexton with a shovel bound by iron and struck him a blow to the head that killed him Sentence Not Guilty - John Anokes killed him Defendant John Marryam Date Offence 1608 Stole 2 sheepskins from John Wright and William Archer Sentence Whipped Defendant John Dodd and Johan Milles Date Offence 1609 Coining - Manafactured King James shillings from base metal and uttered them to John Launcy , Oliver Higham and John Moncke Sentence Not Guilty Defendant Richard Turner Date Offence 1613 Theft of brown nag Sentence Not guilty WOODHAM WALTER Defendant William Halt Date Offence 1614 Stole 15 sheep and 2 rams from Richard Garrett Sentence Allowed Clergy Defendant Richard Haddon Date Offence 1617 Assaulted William Albert Sentence Fined 10 shillings Defendant Elizabeth Wager Date Offence 1617 Harbours recusants who have been seen going to her house at night to the intent to infect and poison minds of His Majesties subjects with the dregs of popery. Sentence Not Recorded
Web
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