The Hampshire Family Historian | Vol.49 No.1 | June 2022

Member’s article

These are to command you the said Constable in her Majesty’s name forthwith to convey and deliver into the custody of the said Keeper of the said County Bridewell the body of Charles Bramble he being convicted before us upon the Oath of Henry Weston of the said Parish of Crawley in the said County Laborer with having on the twenty-third day of November 1844 at the Parish of Crawley aforesaid committed a Trespass by entering and being in the day time upon Land in the occupation of Jacob Hinxman Courtney in search or pursuit of Game contrary to the Form of the establishment. Case made and proved. And you, the said Keeper, are hereby required to receive the said Charles Bramble into your custody in the said County Bridewell and him there safely to keep for the space of 2 calendar months unless he shall sooner pay the sum of £2. 7s. 6d. the penalty and costs incurred by his said offence or until he shall thence be delivered by due course of Law. Herein fail not. Given under our Hands and Seals this thirtieth day of November in the year of our Lord 1844 Robert Wright £2 S R Jarvis £2 W C Yonge £2” But written in pencil on the document referring to the trespass, it says “this is not an offence” and by the penalty of £2. 7s. 6d “this is illegal, by the Act they cannot exceed £2”. I wonder who it was that looked into his case for him. The Overseers of Crawley were probably nervous at having him back in the parish and were just keen to see him gone off their patch. Then I found another document entitled “Free Pardon”.

“V R whereas Charles Bramble was on the 27 day of December last committed to the House of Correction for the County of Hants for 4 months for non-payment of two penalties imposed upon him for an offence against the Game Laws we in consideration are graciously pleased to extend our Grace and Mercy unto him and to Grant him our Free Pardon for his said offences dated 18 Mar 1845 By H M Command J R G Graham” So this time he had been incarcerated for three and a half months. Not very much is known about Charles after 1845. He was admitted and discharged several times to the Workhouse in the following few years. There is no entry for him on the 1851 census, he’s certainly not in the Winchester Workhouse. I believe he was living rough by this time, probably existing on labouring jobs and moving from place to place. Searching the British Newspaper Library papers I have not found any evidence of him committing further felonies. He died in June 1857 in the Winchester Union Workhouse. Cause of death is “general disease”. I think he did well to survive until his late 50’s. Poor Charles, I can’t help feeling just a bit sorry for him. A get-rich-quick scheme that went wrong, leaving the prison hulk after several years of imprisonment to find that his wife had died and not being welcomed back

into his native village of Crawley. Gracie Bungey (Member #1738) Tel No: 01962 883249 email: bungey97@btinternet.com

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