Law and Order

On the eleventh day of October 1817 at the Michaelmas Quarter Session of the Peace at Aylesbury, the trial of the defendants can now take place.

The Names of the Jurors

on the Trials of the several Traverses of John Duley the younger William Duley, William Fellows, James Barrett and John Duley the elder and John Tyler

Joseph Lucas, Robert Howes, Edward Lucas, William Bradwick,

John Kympton, Jeremiah Runter, John Batchelor, Thomas Howes

Benjamin Gray, Thomas Dimmock, Edward Woodman, John Archer Sworn

The Trial:

John Duley the younger late of the parish of Horton in this County Labour William Duley late of the same place Labourer William Fellows late of the same place Labourer James Barrett late of the same place Labourer and John Duley the elder late of the same place Labourer being indicted in this Court at the last General Quarter Session of the peace held in and for this County for a Riot Assault on a Constable and Rescue appeared then in Court and severally pleaded Not Guilty to the said Indictment and traverses the same and also entered into Recognisances with two Sureties each for their appearances at this present Session to try their said several Traverses Now at this Session came the said John Duley the younger William Duley William Fellows James Barrett and John Duley the elder in their own proper persons and put themselves upon their trial and are by the Jury severally found Guilty of the said Offence It is thereupon ordered by the Court that the said John Duley the younger William Duley William Fellows and James Barrett be severally imprisoned in the House of Correction at Aylesbury for the term of Six Calendar months and at the expiration thereof give security each in his own recognisance in the sum of forty pounds to keep the peace and be of good behaviour towards our Sovereign Lord the King and all his liege subjects and especially towards William Mole and his wife for the term of twelve months and further that they be severally imprisoned until such Recognisances be entered into and that they then be discharged. And that the said John Duley the elder be fined ten pounds and imprisoned in the house of correction at Aylesbury for the term of six calendar months and at the expiration thereof do give security in his own Recognisance in the sum of forty pounds to keep the peace and be of good behaviour towards our Sovereign Lord the King and all his liege Subjects and especially towards William Mole and his wife for the term of twelve months and further that he be imprisoned until such fine be paid and Recognisances entered into and that he then be discharged.

Clearly the Court thought John Duley the elder had done something grievous to receive a ten pound fine as well as six months in Aylesbury Goal.

In July 1818 at the Midsummer Quarter Sessions the defendants appear to have the Recognisances entered into before the Buckinghamshire Justices of the Peace.

Recognisances entered into before His Majesty’s Justices of the Peace and by them returned to this session. 

John Duley the elder of Colnbrook, Millwright     £40

John Duley the younger of the same Millwright   £40

William Duley of the same Carpenter £40

William Fellows of the same Hurdle Maker £40

James Barrett of the same Carpenter £40 

Upon condition that they do respectively keep the peace and be of good behaviour towards our Sovereign Lord the King and all his Subjects and especially towards William Mole and Ann his wife for twelve months to be computed from the sixteenth day of April one thousand eight hundred and eighteen   

Of John Duley the elder late of the parish of … in this County Labourer of a Riot Assault and Rescue at the same parish whereof he is indicted and  convicted and his fine is set at Ten pounds and he is committed to the House of Correction at Aylesbury there to remain until he shall pay the said fine £10 0s 0d 

Here are the last documents concerning the trial and sentencing of the prisoners. By the time the letter was written they were half way through the six month term of imprisonment in the House of Correction.

The first part is a letter written to the Duke of Buckingham at Stow, probably by the Clerk of the Peace in Aylesbury.

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Stow Feb 7 1818

My Lord

It is my duty to transmit to Your Lordship the enclosed Memorial  transmitted to me by several very respectable inhabitants of the town of Colnbrook praying The Prince Regent’s mercy to be extended to a certain person imprisoned by the Court of Quarter Session of the County of Bucks for six months, have been found guilty of a violent outrage, assault & breach of the peace at the said town. At the same time I bear testimony To the respectability of the names signed to the petition, and to the orderly conduct of the Prisoners during the period of their imprisonment hitherto elapses, It is my duty to state to your lordship that the crime of which the people were convicted was violent & riotous resistance. A Magistrate in executing their duty, and outrageous & personal in assault upon a Constable obeying the orders of the Magistrates, and that the elder Duley convicted as aforesaid, was Headborough of the said town and consequently bound to have assisted in maintaining the peace of the town, instead of contributing to disturb it. It is painful also for me to be obliged to that that the information conveyed to me leads me to believe that since the conviction of the people the spirit of insubordination in Colnbrook which fore run to these riots, has not subsided, and that local feelings and village quarrels are still fermented & kept alive for this purpose of resisting the orders of the Magistrate in the execution of their duty – I have thought it right to accompany the transmission of their petition with these remarks, to which Your Lordship’s Judgement in the decision to which Your Lordship may please to come on the prayer of this petition.

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The Memorial and Petition of certain inhabitants of the Town of Colnbrook, in the County

of Bucks, in regard of John Duley the Elder, John Duley the younger, William Duley, James Barrett, and William Fellows, now in course of confinement in Aylesbury Goal, pursuant to the sentence of the worshipful Court of Quarter Sessions, held at Aylesbury October the 17th 1817

The undersigned Inhabitants of the Town of Colnbrook in this County, beg leave with all due deference to come forward to pray the clemency of the most Noble the Marquis of Buckingham, in forwarding and  aiding their humble petition for the remission or mitigation of the sentence of the unfortunate family of the Duleys and others who were indicted and found guilty of a Riot in the said Town of Colnbrook, on the 5th of April 1817 at the last Sessions of this County, and there by sentences to be imprisoned for the space  of six month (three of which are unexpired) and John Duley the elder to pay a fine of ten pounds to the King. The undersigned are far from impugning the the justice of such sentence, as founded in the peculiar evidence bought forward at the trial, but as in cases of this nature (where a private difference has inadvertently swelled into a breach of the public peace) the irritation of the parties often gives a strength of recital to the power, and produce an involvement of testimony in the disproved – Th undersigned dwellers in and near the immediate neighbourhood where the adjudged riot took place, beg leave to represent, that in fact, such a riot as aforesaid did not produce or cause any disturbance or alarm to themselves or their respective families, being considered by them as insignificant. The undersigned also beg leave to state, that they would have come forward with testimony to this effect at the trial of the said Duleys and others, had they conceived the result if such trial would have been a sentence, such as they humbly pray the most Noble the Marquis will incline to procure a mitigation of     And the undersigned further beg to bear evidence to the general character of the sufferers, as being of good character and high esteem, and to represent the difficulties which the sentence inflicted has bought and must additionally bring, on the said persons, the said John Duley the elder having a wife and ten children, wholly dependent on his exertions for support that he has always conducted himself in a peaceable quiet and inoffensive manner, so as to gain the general esteem and good will of the town and neighbourhood. That we believe almost every respectable inhabitant of the Town would join with us in the pregoing evidence, as to the unimportant effect of the quarrel above alluded to, as well as in the forgoing testimonial in respect of the good character of the said John Duley the elder, who has been thus severely persecuted.

Colnbrook Jan 25th 1818

• Henry Bullock George Thompson Robert East
• Thos Wood James Weston Robert Hethington
• Isaac Cane James Bailey Charles Bringloe
• Jospeh Clarke Reddington George Redpath Will Hammond Bailey
• Richard Hibbard Stephen Pullen Robt Douglas
• Riched Thompson James West Chas Richardson
• Thos Ashton Samuel Oak Henry Stanborough
• Thomas Linion David Small Thos Ogilvry
• Henry Hickman John Irons John Allwell
• James King Solomon Thorn William Passingham
• Charles Pratt Richard Linegar Edward Savage
• Wm Francis Charles Stevens John Atlieff
• Willm Osborn Jhon Gilbert John Burgess

If I do not add my signature of the Testimonial of general character of all the six persons whose case has so strongly excited the commiseration of all their more immediate neighbours it is mealy for want of personal knowledge Which nevertheless enable me to speak of none Than one of them, except from their respectable Report – That one James Barrett a youth, who with his father had, I think, worked for one for more than two years prior to the time of taking this Trial at the last October Sessions, and of those general Character, if that could here assist knowing any mistaken of punishment, I could accordingly say That I had always found him in my employ to be sober quiet and industrious and of fair promise. Alike to his father to become good members of society in his class of life, and as such without the most remote interest of palliating his offence I am induced respectively to represent it 

Langley M Swabey

Note the townspeople of Colnbrook asked Maurice Swabey to pass on the petition to the Justices in Aylesbury. He was a Justice of the Peace living in Langley Marish and not involved in the case.