On This Day in Wembury
10 December 1848 — James Avent Sentenced for Turnip Theft
On this day James Avent was caught stealing turnips from the field of C. R. Calmady, Esq., at Wembury. Brought to court at the following sessions, he was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment. Reports note he had been out on bail before sentencing. (Western Times, 6 January 1849).
The Avent name is well known in Wembury. Records show Elizabeth Avent — the young woman at the centre of the 1825 Gabber Bridge assault case — was the daughter of Thomas Avent (1755–1808) and Jane Haybeard (1764–1840). Elizabeth, born in 1807, had siblings including James, Charles, and Thomas. By 1863, all were deceased and she herself remained unmarried.
It is very likely, therefore, that this James Avent convicted in 1849 was Elizabeth’s brother, still living in the parish at mid-century and coming into conflict with the law over a petty theft.
This small incident links directly with the wider Avent family story, showing how members of the same household appear across different Wembury records — Elizabeth in a traumatic assault case, James in a minor theft, each giving us glimpses of rural working-class life in 19th-century Wembury.
Source: Western Times, 6 January 1849 (reporting offence of 10 December 1848).
