From the Kentish Gazette, 1 June 1810.

DEATH.

May 27, at an advanced age, Mr. Hinckley, late of the "White Hart," public house, Chatham.

Kentish Gazette 5 May 1819.

Death.

May 2, at Chatham, Mrs. Eden, wife of Mr. Eden of the "White Hart."

Kentish Gazette, 7 December 1847.

ROBBERY AT CHATHAM BARRACKS.

At the County Magistrates’ Office, Rochester, on Wednesday, the 24th ult. John Prophet and Peter Robinson, both privates belonging to the 63d Regiment, stationed at Chatham Barracks, were charged with stealing a £5 Bank of England note, from a box belonging to Lance-Sergeant John Prophey, of the same corps, which note had been entrusted to him by Lieut. L. V. Reynolds, the officer who commands his company, to pay the soldiers of the company with. The Sergeant said that at seven o'clock on Saturday evening the Bank-note was safe in his box which stood at the head of his cot in the Barrack-room; that at eight o’clock he went to the box to get his pay list out, and he then missed the little bag which contained the note. The two prisoners occupied quarters in the same room with him; and at half-past seven o’clock the prisoner Prophet asked him if he should make his bed down, which he allowed the prisoner to do. The box at that time stood with the lid up, and when he missed the money both prisoners were gone, and as they were absent at tattoo suspicion fell upon them that they had stolen it. He went in search of them; they were however taken by the picquets during the evening and lodged in the guard-house; and on searching the prisoner Prophet the bag that contained the £5 note was found in his trowsers pocket. Evidence was also given that the prisoners were together that night at the "White Hart" public-house, in the Brook, at Chatham, and there offered a £5 note in payment for some beer, but the landlady, Mrs. Chambers, could not give change, and she gave the note back again to one of the prisoners, who sent the waiter out to get change elsewhere, and the waiter procured five sovereigns from Mrs. Butcher, at the "Golden Lion Inn," as the waiter said for his master. The waiter did not return with the change, and he has not been seen since. Mrs. Butcher produced the £5 note, but the sergeant could not identify it as the one he had lost. The prisoner Prophet confessed to the robbery, and Robinson said he was led into the scrape. Both the prisoners were committed for trial at the Quarter Sessions at Maidstone.

From the Kentish Gazette, 5 September 1848.

August 31. Desperate Case or Self-Destruction.

Yesterday afternoon a coroner's inquest was held by J. Hinde, Esq., one of the county coroner’s for Kent, at the "White Hart" public-house, High-street, Chatham, touching the death of Mrs. Elizabeth Noakes, the wife of a carpenter residing at No. 5, Rhode-street, who cut her throat with a razor. It appeared that the deceased and her husband occupied furnished apartments at the house of Mrs. Eastwood. Some words passed between the landlady and the deceased, which induced Mrs. Eastwood to make a complaint before the county magistrates, and the bench, upon her statement, granted a summons for the deceased to appear to answer the assault. The deceased, hearing that the constable had the summons to serve upon her, became much excited, and she declared she could not go before the justices. As the day approached for attendance, at 12 o'clock, which was Friday, her spirits were much affected; and the deceased's daughter, who is married and lives close by her mother, seeing on Friday morning, a little after 11 o'clock, that the window curtains of her mother’s bed-room were not undrawn, proceeded to the room, and found her mother standing up by the bedside, behind the door, undressed, and seeing a hand-basin on the dressing table with blood she asked her mother what she had done, and finding that she could not speak, she took a wrapper from her neck, and found that her throat was cut. She immediately alarmed the neighbourhood, and Mr. Steddy, surgeon, was soon in attendance, and sewed up the wound and bandaged it. In the blood in the basin was found an open razor. The deceased had told Mrs. Robinson, a neighbour, the , day after she had cut her throat, that on the Thursday she had taken three pennyworth of poison, which had made her sick. Mr. Edward Steddy, surgeon, who attended the deceased, said the cause of death was owing to the great loss of blood, causing considerable exhaustion, together with a sudden attack of the bowel complaint, which verdict the jury returned.

From the Kentish Gazette, 5 December 1848.

CHATHAM. Military Affray at Chatham.

On Saturday evening some serious effects were anticipated in consequence of some men belonging to the Royal Marines manifesting a disposition of violence at the "White Hart" public-house, in the High-street. Being, however, foiled in their object at that house, they left and entered the tap-room at the "Woolpack," where some men belonging to the 17th Regiment and some soldiers of the Provisional Battalion and civilians were sitting. A soldier of the Marine Artillery, and a private of the Marines, entered first and asked who had any thing to say about a "Pig Marine," and not meeting with a reply, and the landlady refusing to draw them any beer, a signal was given, and immediately from 30 to 40 marines entered the tap-room and commenced fighting with every one present. Resistance was offered, and a serious disturbance ensued; every sort of weapon was seized in defence, and blood flowed pretty freely from those who received wounds. One marine had his nose split from the blow of a pewter pot, and the tap-room tables and flooring were marked with blood in several places. The police-constables were sent for, who, seeing the violence of the soldiers, sent an express to the barracks for assistance, and but for the timely arrival of about a dozen pickets together with the inlaying picket, commanded by an officer, some lives would have been lost, as there was nearly a thousand civilians collected, some taking one part and some the other; but owing to the orderly conduct of the men of the several pickets the ringleaders were secured and marched off to the guard room. No blame whatever attaches to either the men of the 17th or the Provisional Battalion in provoking the outrage. They were sitting quietly and were sober when their assailants came in. This affair is to be investigated by the commandant. The landlady of the "Woolpack" has identified the marine artillerymen and also the marine as the ringleaders.

South Eastern Gazette, 24 April, 1860.

Wednesday. (Before the Rev. G. Davies.)

William Marsham Milton and George Walker Bartlett, privates in the 53rd Regt., were charged with robbing a private of the 73rd Regt., named John Orill, corporal, of a purse containing three sovereigns.

Prosecutor said he was in a room in a cottage at the back of the "White Hart" public-house, Chatham, on Monday evening, and after he had been there about five minutes the two prisoners and another soldier ran in. He was quite positive the prisoner Malton was one of the men, but was not sure as to the other prisoner. The instant the three men entered the room they rushed on prosecutor, when Milton placed his hand on his mouth to prevent him calling for assistance. Feeling sure that the object of the men was to rob him he took his purse, which contained three sovereigns, out of his pocket, and held it tightly in his hand. The men, however, overpowered him and got his purse out of his hand. Prosecutor could recollect that the prisoner Milton took the purse from him, and all three then made their way out of the house, followed by prosecutor, who traced them to the "Swan" public-house, where he lost sight of them. During the time Milton was taking the purse from him he gave him a violent blow in the face with his fist.

Charles Wier, a private in 73rd Regt., said he was in the "Swan" public-house on Monday evening, when he saw the prisoner Milton and two other soldiers rush through the tap-room into a rope-walk at the back. Witness followed them and heard them talking, but it was too dark for him to distinguish who they were.

At this stage of the proceedings the prisoners were remanded until Friday.

South Eastern Gazette, 24 April, 1860.

Friday. (Before the Rev. G. Davies and W. A. Nicholson, Esq.)

William Matthew Milton and George Walter Bartlett, the two soldiers of the 63rd Regt. who stood remanded on a charge of robbing, with violence, a soldier of the 73rd Regt., of a purse containing £3 and an Indian coin, were brought up for final examination, and committed for trial.

South Eastern Gazette, 31 July, 1860.

Robbery from the Person at Chatham.

George Matthew Milton, 22, and George Walter Bartlett, 20, soldiers, were charged with having stolen certain money from John Oriel, with violence, at Chatham, on the 16th April. Mr. Lilley was for the prosecution, and Mr. Ribton appeared for the prisoner Milton.

The prosecutor said that in April last he was a corporal in the 23rd Regiment at Chatham. On the evening of the 16th of that month he was in a cottage at the back of the "White Hart" public-house. While there, three soldiers came into the room; one of them he recognised as the prisoner Milton. Two of them immediately rushed upon him, when Milton put his hand over his mouth, and rifled his pockets. He had a struggle with Milton for his purse, which contained three sovereign and a small Indian coin. Milton ultimately got possession of it, and all of the men then ran away; Milton, before leaving, striking prosecutor a blow in his face. He, however, ran after the men, and followed them into the "White Swan," and through the house into the back of the premises, where he lost sight of them.

Three soldiers were called, who were sitting in the taproom of the "White Swan" when the three men ran through, two of whom spoke to Milton as being one of them, and one to the prisoner Bartlett.

Two witnesses, also soldiers, were called on behalf of Milton, who distinctly swore that they were drinking with him at another house at the time the prosecutor stated the robbery to have been committed; and one witness gave similar evidence for the prisoner Bartlett.

The jury acquitted the prisoners.

South Eastern Gazette, 30 October, 1860.

Robbery of 200 Sovereigns.

On Wednesday last Charles Castles, a private in the Chatham division of Royal Marine Light Infantry, was charged before the magistrates at Rochester, with being concerned, with two other men not in custody, with stealing 200 sovereigns and some other money belonging to Mr. Thos. Greenslade, landlord of the "White Hart" public-house, Brook, Chatham. The robbery was effected about a fortnight since, and the prisoner immediately afterwards deserted. The prisoner, together with several other marines and troops of the line, were drinking in prosecutor’s house on the afternoon and evening of the night of the robbery; the cash-box, which contained upwards of £200 in gold, a few pounds’ worth of silver, bank notes, and some documents, being at the time on the drawers in an upstair bed-room. During the evening a row was got up between the men drinking in the tap-room, and it was then that the robbery was effected, prosecutor being engaged some time in quelling the disturbance. At about twelve o’clock that night the cash-box was found to have been broken open, and on being examined it was discovered that upwards of 200 sovereigns had been abstracted, together with some silver; about £55 bad been left behind. Some time before the robbery the prisoner slept in the house, and on the landlord going upstairs he found him in his bed-room, when prisoner apologised by saying he thought he heard one of his comrades calling him. A night or two after the robbery had been effected, a soldier of the 30th Regt., named Lawrence, entered the Marine barracks and asked for the prisoner, at the same time producing about 70 sovereigns, stating that prisoner and a man named Simpson had a similar amount. On the same evening prisoner and Lawrence were at the "King’s Arms" public-house, Holborn-wharf, where they were conversing about the robbery. Lawrence was heard to say prisoner had arranged the robbery four days before it took place, and that when everything had been prepared prisoner and himself got into the room through the window and carried off £207. A marine named Simpson was "in" the robbery, and had his share. Both Lawrence and Simpson had deserted and had not yet been apprehended. The prisoner also deserted after the robbery, but was apprehended by a city police-constable, when he denied all knowledge of Lawrence, and likewise denied ever having been at the "White Hart" public-house. On crossing Rochester-bridge on his way to the station-house the prisoner was observed to take something from his pocket and throw over the bridge into the river. A few days after a boy named Colley, residing in John-street, happened to be searching among the mud in the river, when he picked up a purse containing 44 sovereigns and a half, which was no doubt what the prisoner had been seen to thrown over the parapet. The prisoner was fully committed for trial.