STRANGE BUT TRUE

Turning a quick penny from horse hair

Horse hair was once used for making wigs, a practice that had died out in the early 19th century but was still eagerly sought for a variety of purposes although it was a commodity that was in short supply because it could only be clipped from the manes and tails of the animals themselves.

The hair was usually fine and flexible and could therefore be used for brushes, the bows of musical instruments, a hard-wearing fabric called haircloth, and for horsehair plaster, a wall covering material formerly used in the construction industry and now found only in older buildings. But the most common use was in the manufacture of upholstery, the spoon back chairs and chaise longues that graced Victorian homes.

Supplies were provided from the countryside, from farms, stables and blacksmiths where horses were kept and maintained and particularly by fellmongers whose business was to dispose of fallen stock and to use as much of the carcass as possible to increase their profits. Such was the situation 170 years ago when Fraser Ward, aged 24, was working as groom for Francis Bellingham, a surgeon, or doctor as he would be called today, with premises in the Market Place at Bourne, the area we now know as the town centre.

Mr Bellingham had come to an arrangement with a friend, George Bettinson, a fellmonger, to store a number of fleeces of wool at his granary premises in West Street [now the Pyramid Club] which were used for a variety of purposes including the storage of horse hair which had been taken from the hides of skins and had accumulated over the past six years and now comprised a considerable amount. Fraser Ward had access to the building to ensure that his master’s wool remained in good condition but on seeing the accumulated horse hair stored there, realised that a quick penny could be turned and began taking small quantities with the intention of selling them for a profit.

The theft was eventually discovered by Mr Bettinson when he saw that his stock of horse hair had diminished in bulk and then over Easter in 1844, after being absent for a week, he realised that a large quantity was missing. Subsequent inquiries around the town revealed that two tradesmen had been buying small quantities which had been delivered by boys and bought for small sums and eventually the culprit was revealed as Fraser Ward.

He was indicted for stealing one hundredweight (112 lbs.) of horse hair when he appeared before Kesteven Quarter Sessions held at the Town Hall in June that year. Five boys called as witnesses all stated that they had been approached by Ward in the street at various times and asked to run errands, either to Robert Howe, rope and sacking maker, of West Street, or Abraham Davis, blacksmith, of North Street, both of whom were known to collect horse hair to supply some of the county’s big furniture companies. Each time, the lads were instructed by Ward to go to his master’s back gate where he met them and handed over bags of horse hair with instructions to take them to the various shops where the owners would buy them for 2s. 6d. which they handed over to Ward each time and he usually gave the boys 2d. to 6d as a reward for their services.

The jury found Ward guilty of theft. Unfortunately, the court was told that he had a previous conviction for felony at Boston in 1839 when he was sentenced to be transported for seven years but was liberated before he sailed owing to good conduct. The judge therefore showed little mercy and ordered that he be transported for a period of ten years, that is sent to the colonies to face a period of hard labour when he got there, a severe punishment for what would be regarded today as petty theft.

Return to

Strange but true INDEX