200 Years Ago

March-April 1825

What's the penalty for stealing a chain?

The Bath newspaper in March 1825 reports that Thomas Pearce is being held in Devizes Prison, accused of stealing 'a large chain', the property of Hannah Bond of Sutton Benger. This Hannah Bond was almost certainly the matriarch of the Bond family of carpenters, who had a house and shop at the corner of High Street and French Gardens Lane (where 12/14 High Street is today). It is assumed that Thomas was from Sutton Benger, although he may not have been. If he was, then it is possible that he was the son of John Pearce, whose house was destroyed in the Great Fire of Sutton Benger, 1802. The family may have had to resort to petty crime to make ends meet?

A month later the Devizes Gazette tells us that Thomas Pearce has been found guilty. How big was the chain? What was it worth? Was it worth 6 months' hard labour?

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