The Sun.
London, England, 1807-01-15 00:00:00

BURGIARY.

Richard Hartford, trillion' Bridges, John Ford-
ham; and John Harvey, were capitally indieted for
burglariously and forcibly enteriqg the dwelling-
house of John Spencer, -at .Ponder's End, in the
night time, on the 18th of December last. - •
The circumstances, as stated in eVidenee,. were as
follow : At nearly eight o'clock, on the night stated
in the indiament, a smart knocking was heard at the.
front door, of Mr. Spencer's house. He is a farmer
resident at Ponder's End', in Enfield parish. • The door
was immediately opened by Sarah Taylor, when two
men rushed in with their faces masked or disguised
with black; she could not swear more positively to any
of the Prisoners than that the person who rushed
upon her first and put a pistol to her head was a tall:
stout man,
another
the appearance- of Fordham.
There was man immediately at his back, of
whom she had no distinct view. Her young mas-
ter, Mr-James Spencer, ran from the kitchen to•her
assistance. The man immediately turned. the pis-
tol from her face to his, amid threatened' to blow out
his brains. She took this opportunity of running •
into the back parlour, escaping out of the window,
over the palings, and running to a neighbouring
ale-home to give the alarm. In the mean time,
the .man with the pistol demanded young Mr.
Spencer's watch and money. Mr. Spencer said
.he wore no watch, but requested he might
not be ill-treated, and he would give all the
money he had, Which was Onlya shilling and sixpence.
—The robber, dissatisfied with this, said he would
blow his brains; out if he did not give more. Mr.
Spencer now discovered that others had got into the
house; some of them had got into the kitchen where
hiS father was, and some into the parlour where his
mother was. They forced him and his mother into
the kitchen; they demanded of the father togive up
his money, with menaces of destr.laion. He begged',
for mercy, and gave' them the key of his bureau
where all his money was. Instead of going to the bu=
reau,, the first man who came in, and who seemed in
person very like Fordham, sent the other three up
stairs to plunder, while he himself remained at the
kitchen-door, sentinel over the family, with a pistol
in his hand, sometimes in the door-way, and some •
times in the kitchen, threatening to shoot the first
person that stirred. Those who were up stairs•sent
down for two keys of some particular drawers, which
old Mr. Spencer requested his wife to give; and while
she was so doing, young _i'pencer took courage, rushed
against the sentinel, struck him in the face, and passed
him onwards, and out at the front door,' the robber
-running after, and snapping his Pistol at him. Mr.
'Spencer was stopped,outside- the door.by one of the
neighbours, who'had been alarmed, and took him for
one of the robbers endeavouring to escape. In the mean
time the old man rushed upon time robber who-came
for the keys, got him down; and
.run towards the
front-door, in the hope of escaping;• but found it
jammed up by three of the gang, who would not let.
him pass, but threatened to.shoot him. The two who
were above took the alarm, and ran dOwn stairs with
what booty they .had get, which consisted of a great
coat, a watch, and a purse with some little money
belonging to the maid servant, and the whole made
their escape, leaving behind them an iron hand-crow,
such as house-breakers use, and an old hat with an
oil-skin covering. The younger Mr. Spencer was rob
bed of his hat, which was knocked off in the setae:
William Ives, a barge-owner, who was at the next
ale-house, on receivingthe alarm, came to give aid,
and he seized the _robber who was pursuing young
Specifier with the pistol ; but finding that pistol
turned against his own head, and no person IIeXC to
assist-him, he waS.obliged to let the man go ; he
could 'not. swear to him, but said his person was very
like that of. Foram.. In fait, none of the wit-
IIeSSO3 hitherto examined could swear positively to
any of the Prisoners, except Bridges, whom young
Spencer and his mother both 'identified ; he was a
remarkable man, bad been a sailor, wore a blue
jacket and tr-owsers, had red whiskers (now shaven),
and only one hand.
information of the robbery was given next morning
at Hatton Garden Office, and two of the Police Offi-
cers, Trott and Chapman, in consequence of some in-.
‘
timation received by the former, proceeded to the
Blue Boar, in Whitechdpel, where they found Hart-'
ford, one of the gang, in company with Bridges; from
thence to a.coOk's-ihop,'in Hackney-road, where they
foundllarvey, who at first deuied his name: he had a
black e.ye, and his tied up. On searching his room
there they found a bag,- in which was a white, card-,
paper mask, a dark greatcoat, damp, and much spat-
tered with country mud. From thence they pro-
ceeded to Fordham's lodgings, near Bethnal Green,
where Trott found him on the bed with his coat and
shoes off.. They told hiin their business, and on
searching his coat pocket found a pocket pistol ; and
in a bag in the room they found a dark great coat,
very damp, and much daubed with country mud;
also a pair of bullet-moulds, a key for unscrewing

•
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