Star.
London, England, 1822-08-17 00:00:00


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soners in the ward wads cal ankles the prisoners
have some small articles they supply themselves with,
earthen ware—they take them with them' when con-
fined. I cannot say whether Mary Cure did, but I
believe she had a int basin ; she took it with her ;
the cells are all the lame—it was the bed cell she
found her in.
Edward Coles, Esq. examined by Mr. SELWYN.--
Is Clerk of the Peace for this county ; he has the
Occurrence Book of Ilchester Jail, 19th of Novem-
ber, 1813, Thursday. It is in the handwriting of
Mr. Bridle, the defendant. " Thursday, the 19th of
November, 1818. Put Elizabeth Smith and Mary
Core into solitary confinement, for fighting and quar-
relling in their Ward."—" Sunday, November 22,1,
1818.—(It is in similar handwriting.)—Released Eli-
zabeth Smith and Mary Cure from their solitary con-
finement, on promise of future good behaviour."
This closed the case on the part of Mary Cure.
Thomas.Gardiner'examined by Serjeant
Is nearly 20 years of age; he was a prisoner in Ilches-
ter Jail, committed two years ago last March ; is not
now under imprisonment. He was released on the
27th of last September ; lives in Bristol now. Was a
working blacksmith ; I have worked as a blacksmith ;
I work as a hammerman; I am now living with my
uncle and aunt at Bristol. Remembers, in Novem-
ber. 1820, there was a charge made against him for
doing that which was wrong; it was for picking one
of the prisoners' pockets; he was not put into con.
finement. I was done rightly to then; it was reported
to the Gove,.nor after he came from Chapel on Sun-
day. Mr. Bridle charged-me with picking the pri-
soner's pockets, and I said I knew nothing at all
about it. He stopped my wages ; it was cn the Sun-
day ; on the Monday I was taken ill out at my work;.
I had a bail pain in my side, and a bleeding at the
nose ; saw Mr. Bridle pass the works ; did not speak
to each other. In the night I was taken worse: it
was a continuance of the same complaint. No person
came to me. I saw Mr. Bridle the next day (Tues-
day) about two o'clock. lie asked me what was the
matter with me? and I said that I had a very bad
pain in my inside. He said the lever was quite strong
upon me, and he would confine me in an hospital
by myself. I was then put in a solitary cell; it was
a dark cell, such as we sleep in ;'it had a stone floor.
I remained there three days, when a Doctor came.
Mr. Bridle did not come. The Doctor's name was
Valentine. I continued in the cell about nine days
longer. I saw the defendant at 'the end of nine
days, but had not seen him during any part of that
period. He asked me how I was ? I said I was better,'
and asked him to forgive me. He said he did not
think me quite well enough, and I was returned to
the solitary cell again. I was at this time brought
down to the door of Mr. Bridle's house, when I saw
him. In the evening a person of the name of Carter
came. I was taken out of the cell. Carter came up
and let me out, and I came into the passage. Carter
was a prisoner; he was charged with horse-stealing..
I was set down in the passage, and had my hair cut;
there was a lather put on, and shaved ; then there
was a torturing blister put on ; they pat a cap on,
and tied it on. Mr. Carter put it on. Knows a per-
son of the name of Pike. He was there during the
whole of what I have related, and saw it all. Pike
is one of the turnkeys. I was put to bed, and had a
strait jacket put on ; Mr. Pike put it on—l had a
strait jacket before my head was shaved—l had the
blister, night-cap, and strait waistcoat on when taken
to bed. I remained so until the next morning. Car-
ter Came up alone, first—l saw Mr. Petre, he came
up just after—l suffered great pain in the night, just
as if pins and pen-kniveshad pricked me. Mr. Car-
ter took it off (the night.-cap)--Petre was with him
—they took off the blister, and said it had not rose
—Carter took it off; they put-it on again in the same
manner—they then left me ; the strait waistcoat was
taken off for me to put on my clothes; I stopped
half an hbur, and then they put it on again—they
then left me—l was not able to use my hands—
about twelve o'clock I was worse--I was crying—
the pain was worse—before Mr. Pike came up I rub-
bed off the blister—my hands were not at liberty ;
—I rubbed it off against the wall ; there was no cap
nor blister on my head then. Pike asked 'me what
was the matter with me? and I said I was very bad:
I asked if he would let me go down to speak to Mr.
Bridle; I asked him to forgive me; he asked if I
wished to see him? I said yes; he came up about
three o'clock ; I rubbed it off at twelve. Mr. Pike
asked me what I had done with the blister? I said I
had rubbed it off, and that I had put it in the cham-
ber-pot; he said, there's d—d impudence !he said
nothing more ; he said he should tell Mr. Bridle of
it, and have another blister put on; this was three
o'clock in the afternoon ; no other.periou came before
the evening.
JUDGE.—Did your head remain bare all this time,
with the strait waistcoat on ?—Yes. Carter came in
the evening, and put on the dressing; it was rubbed
off before Pike came, but he made no observation
then; I believe it was Tuesday when the blister was
rubbed off; he remained in the cell until the Sunday
following ;•13riclIe had me down before the door of
his own house; I asked him if he would be pleased
to forgive me? he said he did not think me quite
well enough, and would have another blister put on,
and I was sent. to the cell. again. Three or four days
after,Sunday,he ask;cl me how I was, I said I was able
to go to work, if he would forgive me; I did not
know more of the stealing of the purse than a baby ;
the strait waistcoat was taken off to go before him ;
the blister remained until the evening, until I went to
bed ; the waistcoat was put on in the Morning over
my clothes; it was so until I was finally released.
One evening, Mr.. Pike gave hie liberty to have it off;
he took it off; I had bread and water ; the water
was in a bason; I placed it on the bedstead before I
had the strait waistcoat on; I had this-allowance in
the morning.
Cross-examined by
.Mr.. C: F. WILLI ms.—Don't
remember Quantam ; remembers. W. Stnchy ; was
taken before them two or three days -after ; is not
sure if two or three Magistrnainmyteoelyttesia;mpznuseodknslsihasaih: ana.mg ihyt
ea9tlcLndraut te came,
abduringafoovuritse three; t
ht e
nd cannot
ysswholeMagistratea aftery l iomwl;
'wasdmoi
dfa
commit-
ted wasti titoanwk taken
D
such offences, not a great mans' ; cannot say
six or seven times ; did not run a, pen-knife into a
man's knee; it was a bit of a scratch; the man's
name was B. Beauchamp ; the. knife went in a bed of
a scratch, or a bed of a scud; did not d—n all the
Magistrates in country, and wish them all in hell ;

neief so: to any Ottat 111111 r dsi"d'ilut Justices, war I'4" DV*, Kesperof l'lln*Plo, 4i,e'w the adendane:
. . '.seventeen pears, sad always considered him a russet die greatest
nor wished them in hell. - . -- • humanity and worth.
Jtmoe.—We ought to know what be. was in jail This was the case oo.the part of the defendant.
for she was accused of housebreaking; he had been I Mr. Serjeant PILL, in reply,' observed, that the
triectand found guilty, and sentenced lobe executed.
Jury were called upon to perform a most important
duty. If Government had not taken the steps it bad
Mr. Serjeant Pitta..—l stated that I had his Ma-
, jesty's pardon.—Joooin—Certainly you did. done, it would have evinced a great neglect of one
Witness.—Did not make use of the words to Pike of its greatest duties; and the inaividual, Mr. Hunt.
through whose instrumentality these facts first be-
and Wright about d—ing the Magistrates, and
can known, was entitled to the thanks of his coca-
Marshall, and Poole. Don't know Ann David ; never try; end, no doubt, at the close of his (Mr. Hunt's)
knew her; never said he was up to a thing or two, earthly career, the recollection of having been the
means of alleviating the misery of one of his fellow-
or that he never said that the blister had hurt him-
self, or that he was put up to it. beings, or of preventing the infliction of pain co
James Bryer is a surgeon; was surgeon for Itches- others, would be to him a source of great comfort,
ter Jail in 1820; keeps a journal of his proceedings; and most undoubtedly would be remembered in his
favour at the great seat of Justice and Mercy. kie •
remembers Thomas Gardiner being there ; Bridle ap.
had now done his duty. The Jury were to do
Mr. Bridle
plied to me to know how the people were in the jail;
I had been up to the surgery; I saw and he had no doubt they would do it conscientiously..
To the conscientious discharge id. that duty he woisia.
walking round the jail; I had nearly finished my bu
siness; he asked me how the prisoners were? I said now leave them.
there was nothing extraordinary ;he said if I could The Learned Judge (IliCtiAßDsoN) said, the inquil v
before the Court was one of deep intei eCt both to the
cure his patients; it was more than he could, as he
defendant and to the country ; it would be tbe duty
had got a very troublesome prisoner; he asked me if
the Jury to consider it like any other matter, re-
medicine had a strong black dose? I said I had no such a :of
gardless of opinions without doors, either the one way
medicine ; he said what do you think of a blister . 1
said you may have a blister, and as his head seems
or the other; applying their best faculties to the coo-
affected you may apply it pretty high in the poll ;
, I
sideration of the case, and returning such a verJict as
I ordereJ a blister to be spread ; the blister was left their judgment and their conscience, should direct_
ri
there ; I left it with the man that was in attendance ; If the Jury thought that there was any reasar l,le
doubt, they would give the defendant the benefit of
did not hear from Bridle that time that Gardiner had
a strait waistcoat on, it was the next time. his very excellent character ; but, if they saw clearly
Here ended the case for the Crown. that he had committed the acts, or either of them,
laid to his charge, then, however they might do it
Mr. WiLLIANIs rose to address the Jury for the
defendant, and called— with reluctance, they were bound to find him guilty.
The Jury, after deliberating a few minutes, found
I. Elizabeth Sommers—l was a prisoneiat Ilchester
m November, 1818. I recollect Mary Citre tieingin the defendant Guilty upon the charge that referred
'the jail. I remember Elizabeth Smith, and the guar-
James Gardiner only ;and strongly recommended
rel between her and Mary Cure. I was not present
him to mercy in the Court above, on account of his
'at the quarrel ; but I know that Mary Cure went into former excellent character.
solitary confinement for it. In the course of the same Mr. JustiCe RICHARDSON said the recommendation
evening that Cure was confined, Iwent to the cell should certainly be carried to the proper quarter.
where she was. I carried her a saucepan. There W:AS The trial lasted from nine o'clock in the morning
a fireplace in her cell, and fuel. Fire was offered to until nearly eight in the evening.
Mary Cure by Mrs. Hobbs,who went with me to her
cell ; but she answered that her time was not long,
and that she did not mind it ; she would be d—d if
she would have any fire at all. I saw Mary Cure in
her cell ; she had an earthen basin to drink out off.
Cross-examined—l live now in Bath, where I was
born and bred. I went to Ilchester Jail in August,
1918, on suspicion of robbery. I was.tried and found
guilty, and sentenced to transportation for life.
have now been twelve months out of prison.
Mary Thomas, the wife of an innkeeper at Ilches-
ter, knew Mr. Bridle eleven, years ; always heard Mr.
Bridle spoken of as a humane and kind man.
John Treganzer, the Master of the new House of
Correction at Bedford, had abundant opportunities of
knowing Mr. Bridle, and always considered him as
an extremely humane man. I believe he has done
many things for prisoners which he was not bound to
do,and which he did from a kind feeling towards them.
Jane Long said, I am wife to a sergeant in the So-
mersetshire tlilitia. I was under sentence of trans-
portation in Ilchester Jail in the year ISIB. I always
thought Mr. Bridle a Gentleman and a good Governor.
John Poole, a constable in the convict-ward of Il-
chester Jail in the year 1820. I knew Thomas Gardi-
ner there, and remember his being locked up in the
solitary cell. While he was confined, he damned the
Magistrates and Mr. Bridle too. I advised him to
humble himself to Mr. Bridle. He said he would see
Mr. Bridle in hell first, and the Magistrates too !
The witness continued—Gardiner was a great re-
probate ; always swearing and cursing until the blis-
ter was put on his head, and then lie was quieter a
good dial. He gave very bid language to the offi-
cers of the jail, both before their faces and behind
their backs.
Cross-examined.—l was in Ilchester jail myself on
a charge of misdemeanour. It was for dealing in
smuggled cider. The blister put upon Gardiner's
head was the size of the palm of my hand. Carter
and I put it on between us. We shaved his head a
bit first to maka room. We put him on a strait waist-
coat too. In about two days alter the blister was on,
Gardiner got pretty quiet ; before that, he was sulky.
The strait waistcoat was taken off when Gardiner went
to bed at night, and put on again in the morning ;
it was also taken off for him to get his meals. Mr.
Bridle, in fact, was too good to the prisoners—too in-
dulgent altogether !
Charles Marshall said, that Mr. Bridle was always
kind to the people under his charge.
Robert Gibbs, a 'prisoner in Ilchester jail in the
year 1820, under sentence of transportation, spoke to
the same effect.
Cross-examined.—Beacham gave Gardiner no pro-
vocation when he stabbed him ; they had no quarrel.
Mr. John Valentine, Surgeon, at Somerton, fre-
quently attended the jail. Witness knows Mr. Bridle
well, and always considered him to be an extremely
humane kind-hearted man.
Sir John Acland said :—I have been a Magistrate
40 years, and 16 years Chairman of the Sessions.--
Nearly the whole of those 16 years I have been active
in the superintendence of the jails. Mr. Bridle was
appointed jailer, at Ilchester, in July, 1808, and I
have had constant opportunities ever since of noticing
his conduct. Through the whole course of those op-
portunities, I have thought Bridle a kind-hearted,
humane, benevolent man, extremely careful of all
under his charge.
Thomas Poole, Esq. said, I am a 3lNgistrate of the'County of
Somerset. In that capacity frequently visited the jail at licher,
ter, for the last seven or eight years. I have had abundant op-
portunities in that time of learning the character of Mr. Bridle.
From all I have ever sten or heard, I believe Mr. Bridk to be
a most humane person.. If I had now to name a Governor for
a jail, Mr. Bridle should be the man ; and i believe I should do
the country a service by appointing him.
Sir John Cox Ilippisley said, I have been a Magistrate 16 or
Is years. 1 have had frequent opportunities of knowing Mr.
Bridle's character; and have always considered him a most hu-
mane as well as intelligent officer.
Mi. Coles,. Clerk of the Peace for the County, had the highest
opinion of Mr. Bridle's general character.
Mr. Edmund Br cadet ip had been Under Sheriff of the County
-six or seven times since Mr. Bridle's appointment at Ilchester.
Witness always considered and understood hint to be a man of
the most benevolent character.
Vincent Stuckey, Esq. Sheriff of the County, always thought
Mr. Bridle kind and-humane to those under his charge.
Charles Allen, Esq. Newman, Esq. (a Magistrate), Francis
Burt Morgan,. F.sq. (a Magistrate), Mr. William ?denier,
Under Sheriff; Mr. Lang, Coroner tor. the-County ; Richard
I'oplr Caine,, Mr. John Bourne, Mr. E. Chippeter, Mr. Uriah
Messiter, and Mr. W. Smith, also-bore witness, generally, to
the defendant's character for latimaeity and benevolent feeling.
Mr. Hardy, who succeeded Mr. Bridle at llchcstur Jail, and

Mrs. H. PLUNKETT, the heiress at law of the late
SirWza.LOWTHER, has commenced proceedings in the
Court of Chancery, to recover from Lord GEORGE
HENRY CAVENDISH the estates left his Lordship by
the Baronet in the Counties of York and Lancaster.

Beaumont 36s—Burdon 37s 6d—Heaton 38s 6d—Holrteell
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Newmarch 39s 9d—Do. Northumberland 35s 6d zo 36i :11—
Do. Riddell's 39s 9d—Do. Russel 4ls 6d— th. Wylam ..,;
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44 Ships at Market-243 sold-16} unsold.