On This Day in Wembury – 10 September 1848
At the Devon Assizes in Exeter, Joseph Baker, a 16-year-old from Wembury, was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment for stealing a cart whip belonging to Thomas Elliott. His case appeared alongside dozens of others from across Devon, ranging from petty theft to serious crimes that resulted in transportation for up to 14 years.
The court records noted how many offenders were barely literate, half of those tried could neither read nor write, and highlighted how often young men in their teens or twenties filled the prison calendars. Baker’s conviction, though minor compared to many, still illustrates how Wembury villagers appeared in the same judicial system that dealt with everything from sheep stealing to violent crime.
Source: Western Times, 21 Oct 1848.