146 Hills Road, Cambridge

History of 146 Hills Road

1911

Walter Moss, 38, cycle agent, born Hants.

Williamena, 35, born Sawston

Gwendolen, 9, born Cherry Hinton

Kathleen, 8, born Cherry Hinton

Kenneth, 6, born Cherry Hinton

Cecil, 4, born Cambridge

Gladys, 2, born Cambridge

Emily Edwards, servant, 16, born Coton

1919

DISPUTED OWNERSHIP Cattle Dealer’s Claim for Value of Two Heifers. CURIOUS COUNTY COURT CASE. For over four hours his Honour Judge Farrant was engaged at the Cambridge County Court on Wednesday in hearing evidence in a claim which presented some curious features. William Hammond, 27, Staffordshire street, Cambridge, cattle dealer, was the plaintiff, and he claimed against Walter Moss. Hills road, cycle agent,  the sum of £30 10s,  £30 being the value of two heifers which plaintiff alleged belonged lo him, and were taken possession of by the defendant, and 10s. being compensation for loss of time in searching for the animals. His Honour gave for the defendant.

Mr. Jasper Lyon, of Messrs A J Lyopn and son, appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr. H St. John Raikes (instructed by Mr. Sidney J. Miller) for the defendant.

After Mr. Lyon had given an outline of the claim, evidence was give by the plaintiff, a man of advanced years, who spoke to buying three horned heifers at the Cambridge Cattle Market on May 12th last. He had them taken to his yard, where they were marked with three holes through the left ear, made by Henry Hones, with a shoemaker’s punch. Next day he turned two of them on to Coldham Common, showing them to Everitt, the custodian of the Common, who examined them. Witness thought the heifers were not marked clearly enough, so a few days later be took them away and had two large pig rings put in each heifer’s  left ear. A day or two later witness went to defendant’s meadow at Cherry Hinton with Everitt. Witness stayed outside, as the gate was locked and his horse was restive, but Everitt went inside and saw witness’s two heifers there. About a week later witness saw defendant at his residence, and told him Evoritt had been to the meadow and had recognised two heifers which belonged to witness, and which he had lost off the Common. Defendant said: “That is all right. You do not need to put yourself out. You are getting old and irritable.” Witness told defendant he wanted him to return his two heifers which he took from the Common, and defendant replied that he would come and see witness about them the next day. Defendant did not come.

Replying to Mr. Raikes, witness said the heifers originally cost him little over £20. He denied telling defendant he bought heifers from Charlie Clark.

Replying to his Honour, witness said he bought three heifers from Clark, but not those  now claimed for. On October 8th he saw PC Waylett with regard to the matter, but did not tell him he had bought the heifers from Clark. The two heifers had never strayed.

Mr. Raikes: Would you be surprised to hear that the two heifers which you are claiming were actually in the custody of the police on May 14th found straying in the street? – I should be very much surprised.

They could not be your’s if they were in the custody of the police on May 14th? – No.

Further cross-examined witness said he would not describe the larger heifer claimed for as extraordinarily marked.

Mr Lyon: Did you on the same day as you bought these heifers buy three from Mr. Clark? – Yes, from his paddocks near the Cattle Market.

Henry Hones, 19, Norfolk street, slaughter man, spoke to marking with three punch holes in the left ear five heifers for plaintiff about May 13th. They were placed on Coldham Common, and a few days later were taken away, the custodian examining them on the way. Witness went round to plaintiff’s yard and marked the five heifers again, placing in their left ears two pig rings. On a Thursday afternoon in October witness went with Mr Hammond, jun., to defendant’s premises to look for two of the heifers, and told defendant he saw two beasts he had ringed and that did not belong to him (defendant). Mr Hammond  told defendant they belonged to his  uncle (plaintiff).

Replying to Mr Raikes, witness said three of the heifers had horns and two had none.

Charles Everitt, gatekeeper on the Cambridge Commons, said that on May 13th plaintiff brought five heifers to Coldham Common, and pointed out to witness that three holes were pierced in the left ear of each. They were taken away few days later, plaintiff saying he was going to have them re-marked. Witness examined them, and saw holes in the left ear, a bit of a triangle fashion.” They were brought back with rings in their ears the same evening. The beasts were taken away by plaintiff because there were two missing. They were taken away the same day as defendant took away four. Witness later saw two of plaintiff’s heifers in defendant’s meadow at Cherry hinton. They had the pig rings in their ears.

Replying to Mr. Raikes, witness said he saw two heifers in the pound in Walnut Tree  avenue on Mav 14th. They were driven away by Kenneth Moss, defendant’s son. He did not notice whether their ears were pierced or whether they had rings in them. Witness never took notice of the markings of the animals placed on the Common, but did so on May 13th, at plaintiff’s request. Witness had never done s0 before or since.

Ernest Hammond, fishmonger, nephew of the plaintiff, spoke to going to Cherry hinton on Thursday afternoon in October and recognising in a field there two heifers which his uncle had lost from the Common. Witness identified them by the rings in their ears. Witness spoke to defendant about them, and defendant replied that he knew the man who bred them, and then walked away.

Will Sandford, landlord of the Greyhound public house, Coldham lane, spoke to seeing the heifers being taken from the Common.

Defendant said he attended the Cattle Market on May 12th, and bought two heifers, for which he paid £22 10s. He produced the sale note, and gave the Court a description of the animals. Witness’s on put them in the meadow opposite his house, and the same evening took them to Coe Fen, leaving them there until May 14th. On the morning of the 14th witness was told they had disappeared from the Fen. He telephoned to the police and described the animals, and learned that the police had found two heifers. Witness’s son Kenneth went to Everitt and paid the poundage and took the animals to Coldham Common from the pound in Walnut Tree avenue. Witness went from time to time to see them. They were not marked when he saw them, but on one of his visits in June he noticed they had been  ‘rung,’ much to his surprise. He continued to see them until October, when he took them with the assistance of Everitt and others. Some days days later plaintiff came to see witness, and asked him if he had taken some heifers off the Common. Witness replied that he had. Plaintiff asked where they were and witness said they were at his orchard. Plaintiff said he knew that, as he had seen them, and that he thought they were his. Next day plaintiff asked witness to put them back on to the Common, and witness said he would not, as they belonged to him. Plaintiff said he had bought them from Charlie Clark off the Common. Everitt told witness he did not know one animal from the other. Witness bought the heifers from a Mr. Camps.

Replying to Mr Lyon, witness said he did not do anything when he noticed that his beasts had been marked, thinking he would wait and see what happened. He watched them more closely, going sometimes twice a week. He had not marked them in any way, merely taking notice of their markings.

Replying to his Honour, witness said the heifers’ ears were not punched when he bought them. They were not marked in any way. In further cross-examination, witness said he told plaintiff he did not want the heifers if they were his (plaintiff’s).

His Honour: Did you have a doubt whether the were your’s ? Witness— No.

His Honour: Does your remark not imply that you bad a doubt ?—No.

Did you never mention the punching to him at all? – No.

Mr Lyon: Have you ever taken the wrong heifers before.

Witness replied that he had two heifers  wrong once, which he kept for three weeks, and when he took them to their proper quarters the owner thanked him for ‘‘doing them as well as he did.”

In reply to Mr. Raikes, witness said he did his best to avoid legal proceedings.

S Camps Abington Grange, said the two heifers sold to defendant were bred by him. They were horned cattle. He saw them later in defendant’s field. They were not marked in any way when sold. Witness described the heifers, description tallying with that given by the defendant.

Kenneth Moss, son of the defendant, described the heifers which he drove from the market to his father’s field after they were bought, and said he removed them to Coe Fen the same day. Witness spoke to getting the heifers out of the pound, and said he identified them as his father’s.

P.C. Herbert Mansfield, Cambridge, said that on May 14th, in Coronation Street he found two heifers which had strayed. They would have to pass through a good part of the town to get to Coronation Street if they strayed from Coldham Common, and were about 600 yards from Coe Fen when found. They were taken to the pound in Walnut Tree avenue, and were claimed by defendant. Witness described the appearance of the heifers, the markings on which were practically the same as stated by the defendant. There were no holes or rings in their ears. On Monday, November 12th, witness was driven out to a meadow near Stapleford and there saw the two heifers he had impounded the previous May. Two days later he saw the heifers again in Mr Grain’s field near Stapleford. The larger one had two rings and the smaller one ring, in the left ear.

PC Cudworth, who met the previous witness taking the heifers to the pound on November 12th, and went with him, corroborated the previous witness’s evidence as to the appearance of the animals, and said he identified them at Stapleford this month.

PC John Waylett said that on October 8th he saw plaintiff in Cherryhinton- Road with Everitt. Plaintiff said he had just called at defendant’s house, but defendant was not at home and asked witness to go to the meadow and inspect the heifers which plaintiff said were his. Both plaintiff and Everitt said they would know the heifers, as they had rings in their ears. Witness got over the fence with Everitt. They saw two heifers, and Everitt at once said they belonged to plaintiff. Plaintiff later came into the meadow, and said they were his heifers. On the return journey witness asked plaintiff where he got the animals from, and he replied that they came from the Cattle Market, and were placed on Coldham Common. Some time afterwards, he said, he drove them off and put rings in their ears and put them back again. Witness and plaintiff and Everitt saw the defendant, and after a lot of arguing about the heifers, plaintiff said he bought the heifers from man named Chas Clark, off the Common. Plaintiff was upset over the whole matter, and was very emphatic that the heifers were his.

Walter Robert Dale, 70, Young-street, motor mechanic, in the employ of defendant, spoke to hearing plaintiff tell defendant the heifers were his, and that he had bought them from Charlie Clark on the Common. Defendant replied that the heifers were his. Plaintiff was very much excited over the matter.

James Macdonald, horsekeeper and stockman with the defendant, said he remembered defendant buying two heifers at the market last May. He saw them on Coe Fen on the following day, and on the 14th missed them. The next time he saw them was last October, when were taken off the Common. He had heard plaintiff tell defendant he had bought them from Charlie Clark.

W. Turner, horsekeeper with Mr. Grain, spoke to going with the police constables to the field at Stapleford, where the constables picked out the two heifers in dispute from about 14.

Mr Raikes and Mr Lyon having addressed the Court, his Honour said the plaintiff, in order to succeed, must satisfy him that the heifers concerned were the identical ones that he purchased in the Cattle Market in May of this year. He had not done so, and he therefore must give judgment for the defendant. 

1939

Williamena E Moss, b 1975

Kathleen M, b 1902, paid domestic duties

Cecil W D, b 1906, motor mechanic

Gladys E, b 1908, road transport clerk

Beryl J, b 1912, accountancy shorthand typist

Phyllis A, b 1913, shop assistant coats and frocks

Jack K, b 1915, cycle shop manager

Dennis H, b 1916, accountant’s clerk

Ray N, b 1918, scientific instrument maker

Ronald N, b 1920, scientific instrument maker and draughtsman

Ethel K Fuller, b 1878, elementary school teacher retired

1962

Moss Ltd motor engineers