The Parochial History of Cornwall, Volume 1 (of 4)
History
The Parochial History of Cornwall, Volume 1 (of 4)
Cornwall (England : County) -- History; Geology -- England -- Cornwall (County)
I have an extract from a letter written by a Cornish gentleman in May
1735, who states that he had seen Rogers in the prison at Salisbury,
when he seemed to rejoice in what he had done. And I have found in an
account-book of my great uncle, Mr. Henry Davies, the following
receipt:
“1st July 1735. Received of Mr. Henry Davies, towards the
taking of Henry Rogers, two pounds two shillings, per
Francis Arthur.”
A print of Rogers was soon after published with the following legend:
“Henry Rogers lived at a village called Skewis. He was so
ignorant of the reason as well as of the power of the law,
that when a decree in Chancery went against him, he resisted
all remonstrances, and fortified his house, making loopholes
for his muskets, through which he shot two men of the posse
comitatus who attended the Under-sheriff. A little after he
shot one Hitchens, as he was passing the high road on his
private business. He also fired through the window and
killed one Toby, and would not suffer his body to be taken
away to be buried for some days. At length the neighbouring
justices of the peace assisted the constables, and procured
an aid of some soldiers, one of whom he killed, and
afterwards made his escape; but at Salisbury, on his way
towards London, he was apprehended and brought down to
Cornwall, when at the assizes in August 1735 five bills of
indictment were found againt him by the grand jury for the
five murders aforesaid; to save the court time he was tried
only on three of them, and found guilty of every one, before
Lord Chief Justice Hardwick. As he lay in gaol after his
conviction, the Under-sheriff coming in, he attempted to
seize his sword, with a resolution to kill him; swearing he
should die easy if he could succeed in that design. He was
attended by several clergymen; but they could make no
impression on his brutal stupidity, and he died at the
gallows without any remorse.”
Extract made at the British Museum July the 8th, 1812, from the Weekly
Miscellany, by Richard Hooker, of the Middle Temple, Esq. for Saturday
Aug. the 9th, 1735, No. CXXXIX.
Launceston, August 1.
This day came on before the Lord Chief Justice Hardwick, the
trials of Henry Rogers and John Street, one of his
assistants, for murders committed in opposing the Sheriff of
Cornwall in the execution of his office.
Rogers was arraigned upon five indictments, and Street upon
two. The trials began about seven in the morning and ended
about two in the afternoon. Rogers was tried upon the three
first indictments, and being found guilty on all three, the
Court thought it unnecessary to proceed upon the other two.
Street was found guilty of the two indictments against him.
And they both received sentence of death before the Court
rose.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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