Folio(s) 382-385. Letter from Robert Cary Barnard, [Rector] and magistrate of Withersfield...

Folio(s) 382-385. Letter from Robert Cary Barnard, [Rector] and magistrate of Withersfield near Haverhill, Suffolk, referring to letters already sent by Mr Jones and [Thomas Ruggles], Chairman of the Petty Sessions for the Hundred of Risbridge, regarding measures taken on the discovery of an incendiary letter in the streets of Clare. Barnard reports that a haystack belonging to Mr Flack, a Quaker and Overseer of the Poor, representing the hay cut from 18 acres, had been completely destroyed by fire. An attempt to burn down a village baker’s outbuilding had been providentially halted by damp thatch before the fire could spread to the adjacent farmhouse, barns and cottages. The magistrates had instituted night patrols in the town and neighbourhood of Haverhill. The inhabitants of Haverhill had offered a reward of 50 guineas for the discovery of those who set fire to the haystack, and those of Withersfield offered 10 guineas on conviction of those who placed the fire under the outbuilding. Barnard asks for a pardon to be granted to any perpetrator who identifies his accomplices and for a small body of horse to be stationed in the area.