LEIGH PEERAGE: BEING A FULL AND COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE CLAIM OF GEORGE OF BARON LEIGH, OF STONE LEY, IN THE COUNTY OF WARWICK: COMPRISING A Report of the Evidence TAKEN BEFORE THE LORDS' COMMITTEE FOR PRIVILEGES, WITH NOTES, ANALYTICAL AND EXPLANATORY: AND CERTAIN ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE, FORMING THE ULTIMATUM TO THIS VERY MYSTERIOUS CASE. "Qui statuit aliquid, parte inaudită alterâ, Æquum licèt statuerit, haud æquus est."-SENECA. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. II. LONDON: PUBLISHED BY HENRY KENT CAUSTON, JUN. LEIGH PEERAGE. REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS, &c. CONTINUed. 8th Day continued.-Friday, 11th July, 1828. Where do JOIN ILETT,* examined by Mr. Denman. At Long Itchington. * In a deposition sworn at Stoneley Abbey, 3rd January, 1828, John Ilett says, that he had been in the service of the honorable Mary Leigh, at Stoneley Abbey, and her successors, from 1792 or 1793 till August 1815, in the several capacities of under butler, and house steward and head butler. That during such service he was frequently in the parish church of Stoneley and has seen the different monuments in the chancel to the memory of the Leigh family, and a monument in the body of the church, on the South wall, to the memory of a Mr. Webster, and also a monument or stone to the memory of Humphrey Howe, who was thereon stated to have been porter at Stoneley Abbey many years ago, but saith, he never saw any monument or monumental stone to the memory of the honorable Christopher Leigh, and that he does not believe there ever was any such monument, and that he never heard of such except from the said George Leigh or his agents, when some years back and since deponent left Stoneley Abbey, a reward was offered for information respecting such pretended monument. And that he remembers receiving a letter from Richard Perks, who was formerly employed as a plumber at the Abbey but had been discontinued, signifying that it would be to the advantage of deponent if he would give information concerning such monument or words to that effect, but hath not the said letter now in his possession. That when he resided at Bubenhall, in the county of Warwick, about six or seven years ago a person whom he understood to be an agent of George Leigh, in company with a son of Mr. Walker, who formerly kept the Swan public house at Stoneley, called at deponent's house and made many enquiries as to the said pretended monument, and deponent informed him that he never knew or heard of any such monument.* That Thomas Leigh never in any year resided at Stoneley Abbey in the Spring nor until about the month of July, and then as deponent believes never exceeded three months, and was certainly not at Stoneley Abbey in the Spring * In his examination (p. 12) the witness denies that the monument was ever named. |