This is a witness statement from 1796 and the text was as described by John Williams who had been employed to look after some unfinished houses in the parish of St. Paul’s in Bristol.
The text reads:
“The Information of John Williams No. 10 Portland Street in this City and John Randall No. 6 in Stokes Croft taken on Oath this seventh Day of November in the Year of our Lord One thousand seven hundred and ninety six before John Harris Esq. Mayor being one of His Majesty’s Justices of and for the City of Bristol and County of the same City.
The Informant John Williams for himself on his Oath saith that being employed to overhaul, protect certain unfinished Buildings in the parish of Saint Paul within this City and County, situate on Tuesday the third day of this instant November, two of this deponent’s men proceeded fixing their names Henry Williams and Thomas Smith back into an unfinished House in the said parish by getting under the floor thereof of the room and through into the adjoining one by one John Williams, the second Oath Henry Williams and Smith in the said dwelling house in the room at breaking a lock off one of the doors with an Iron Bar.
That then Williams and Smith after they were so taken discovered to this Informant about one hundred weight of Lead which they said they had ripped off the roof, part of the House and had concealed in the cellar of the said House for the purpose of stealing and carrying the same away whenever convenience could be had and saith that the Informant that John Randall and William Morris of his other Boys were…..”
It’s a reminder that pinching lead from buildings is nothing new…. There also used to be a slang term for this crime which was “flying the blue pigeon”, but it was a risky business as there was a risk of this being treated as a capital crime. Youngsters would have likely ‘got away’ with transportation for seven years, but stealing a lot of lead was no minor matter. Some things never change…..