Something old, something new, something...borrowed?

GOING TO GET MARRIED - SO STOLE CUPS AND SAUCERS

Saturday May 14th 1938

Often with these tales, I'm left wishing I knew just a little more about what went on behind the scenes. I'm also very struck by just how unswerving both the Police and the Magistrates seemed to be when bringing cases to Justice.

Eva Doughty, 19, from Denton was an employee of the Blue Horse public House, Grantham. Her employer, Mrs. Large, contacted Detective Officer Bramhall to complain that she thought that someone was planning to steal some of the crockery from her inn. On going to the coalshed, she had seen that someone had stashed a number of cups and saucers into a hamper and hidden them there.

Detective Bramhall sat up on observations from 1930 in the evening, having been told that the new girl, Doughty, was due to finish work. He observed her placing something heavy in a bag and watched her try and ride her bike away. He stopped her, and asked what was in the basket.

"Pots. I have brought them. I am getting married on Saturday".

Needless to say that the Detective was not satisfied with this account, and took her to the Police Station, where the pots where identified as belonging to the Blue Horse. Some are even said to have "been new". Upon being charged with the offence, Miss Doughty replied with, "yes".

At court, she said that she had not intended to steal the crockery, but just to borrow them, as she had expected to get married at a registry office that Saturday. As a consequence of the court case, she reported that the marriage was now "postponed", and her mother, who was also in court, asked the court to show leniency. The court heard that she had worked for a number of different inns in Grantham, and had already completed three years on Probation for shoplifting in Nottingham prior to this offence.

Again, the report doesn't say what the sentence was, but given the previous history, my guess would be that she received a custodial sentence. I do wonder why it was that the accused had to get married so quickly, and indeed why she was going to struggle to get crockery for the big day.

I wonder if she ever did get married?

IN OTHER NEWS: SLOWLY BLEEDING TO DEATH - DISTRICT CHAIRMAN ON METHODISM'S DECLINE

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