The bungling burglar of Basingstoke

This is the story of the stupidity of George Pink, the bungling burglar of Basingstoke, and the dog that did not bark in the night. Pink was well-known around town for wearing a waistcoat with a distinctive pattern. He worked for a butcher who had a slaughterhouse in the backyard. Among the items in the slaughterhouse was a hammer, which was unique, because the slaughterman had fixed his own handle to the head of the hammer using, “rivets, which were peculiar”, and the special cord that was used to tie the animals’ legs together.

When Pink robbed the wealthy woman who lived next door but one to his mother, he wore his distinctive waistcoat. If that was not enough to identify him, he tied the maidservant up with the slaughterhouse cord, and left the unique hammer in the old lady’s bedroom. His flimsy defence was demolished by the less than curious incident of the dog that did not bark in the night-time. It is open to debate whether that inspired Arthur Conan Doyle when he was writing the Sherlock Holmes story, Silver Blaze.

Back copies of newspapers are a valuable research source for the local historian, and occasionally the researcher can stumble across a local item, which, because of its strangeness or unintentional humour, is worth sharing with others. This is one such example. Read all about it in the attached text.

Sources:

Reading Mercury, 25 July 1846

Berkshire Chronicle, 1 August 1846

Reading Mercury, 1 August 1846

Hampshire Advertiser, 6 March 1847

Hampshire Telegraph, 6 March 1847

Morning Chronicle, 6 March 1847

Morning Post, 6 March 1847

Reading Mercury, 6 March 1847

The Times, 6 March 1847