Child criminals could be treated harshly in Marlow's past so when I found a case of a ten year old girl being accused of theft I wanted to find out what happened to her if she was found guilty. I'd just read about a ten year old boy in Victorian Marlow being whipped for stealing a pig's trotter so I feared the worse for jewellery thief Mary Ann Burt.
Her case dates from 1891. Mary Ann had been born in Fingest to an unmarried servant girl Emma Burt. When she was very little her mother married Henry Harris. By 1890 they lived in Marlow at Cambridge Road.
Mary Ann was apparently a regular visitor to the household of Edwin and Lydia Clark at Westhorpe Lodge Little Marlow and given free range of their house. Why I cannot say.
One day Lydia noticed that a pair of silver earrings, 2 black jet bracelets, 2 silver brooches and 2 black crosses were missing from her home along with a child's toy of an India rubber ball. Later that day Mary Ann's grandmother [not named] took back the bracelets, earrings and ball having found Mary Ann in possession of them.
Later a pupil teacher at Mary Ann's school, Agnes Scown, confiscated a brooch Mary Ann had been playing with. This was then handed to Mary Ann's mother Emma Harris to take away.
There is no mention what happened to other items like the crosses.
A constable summoned by the Clark's found Mary Ann ready to admit the theft.
After her first court appearance she was allowed bail, amount not specified, before returning a week later.
Despite my fears, the judge then showed leniency to the first time offender. Mary Ann was set free under her mother's watch on the condition that if she misbehaved again in the next six months she'd have to return to court to be punished for both offences.
I am pleased to say the little girl was a commended scholar at school the next year. By then her family- mum, step dad Henry and her half siblings-had moved to Trinity Road.
Mary Ann is at home and a servant on the 1901 census. Later the family moved away to Langley Marish in Bucks.
What of the victims Edwin and Lydia?
Well Edwin was certainly no angel himself having been previously summoned for failing to maintain his three children by an earlier wife and later for using indecent language.
Though Lydia had quite a bit of basic jewellery as evidenced from this case the couple were not rich. Edwin is described at different times as a railway labourer, hawker, woodman, general labourer and gamekeeper, none of which occupations left you rolling in money. The jet pieces stolen were probably mourning items.
Sources:
Census information my transcription from microfilm.
South Bucks Standard 19th September 1890. British Library Archives.
Bucks Herald July 1891 as above.
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