Plumstead.
Mysterious Occurrence.
During the present week almost the sole topic of conversation in Plumstead has been about some mysterious stone-throwing in the rear of Bloomfield road. It began at eight o’clock on Saturday night, the stones coming against the windows of the windows of the houses and shops near the Freemasons’ Tavern thick and fast up to eleven o’clock, and though about a hundred persons were intently watching with a view of ascertaining from whence they came, no one could discover the starting point.
The people most favoured were Mr Young, zinc-maker, and Mrs Cather, an inoffensive and respectable lady, living at 3, Victoria-cottages. It is believed the stones were directed at the latter house, and that Mr Young’s windows were shattered through bad aim or as a blind. Mr Young’s two children were in bed, and narrowly escaped being killed or seriously injured, scarcely a whole pane being left in their bedroom window, bushels of stones being picked up in the yard below, the stones being occasionally diversified by a brick or two.
The stone-throwing commenced again on Sunday night, followed by short and sharp vollies. On Tuesday at noon, it was again repeated, and followed up at night. The aid of the police was resorted to, and several ingenious measures of detection adopted. Amongst the latter the officers examined the back-yards of the houses, keeping watch as to whether the stones in any of them decreased. The detectives soon found a heap of stones in a certain garden getting less and less, and to make doubly sure, they threw a lot of marked stones amongst them, which stones were afterwards found to have been thrown at the windows. Detectives then secreted themselves under the palings ready to spring up at any moment the stone-throwing might recommence, and apprehend the cowardly and dastardly offenders, but from some cause or other the stone-throwing ceased afterwards.
Kentish Mercury, 8th June 1872.