The White Hart Inn in Rotherham is only of the oldest licensed houses in the town, as it stands in between the church steps leading into College Street and Church Street itself. It has long been a favoured and well patronised watering hole by both locals and visitors to the town. On Saturday 13 November 1886 the town of Rotherham was mostly quiet and the only people around were those visiting the local pubs in the town centre. Needless to say, the White Hart Inn was doing a good trade as landlord Mr Harry Smith and his wife Harriet, along with the barmen were kept busy filling pots of ale and dispensing spirits to thirsty customers.
As well as the patrons in the bar there was also a party going on upstairs, so as well as serving in the bar room downstairs, staff and customers were also kept busy going upstairs to the clubroom. It was around 9.30 pm when Harriet had occasion to go to her bedroom. As she climbed the stairs she could not help but notice that her bedroom door was around six inches ajar. Pushing the door fully open and entering the darkened room, she saw a man standing there. Harriet immediately asked him what he was doing and told him he had no business in that room. The man muttered something about ‘going into the wrong room by mistake’ but as he was talking he suddenly pushed against the landlady.
Harriet was having none of it and held onto him tightly clasping her arms around his waist. She screamed and shouted for help at the same time as the man struggled to free himself. Thankfully Harry heard his wife’s cries and soon rescued her. The burglar was captured and held by one of the barmen. Only when he was detained, did the landlady go inside the room to see what was missing. Thankfully she knew that was the only room in which Smith could have entered, as all the other bedrooms were secure. Inside, she found two of her locked drawers had been forced open with some kind of implement, and a gold watch and chain taken from the stand on top of the chest of drawers.
By this time news of the plucky actions of the landlady had been circulated and, as a result quite a crowd had collected along Church Street. They were just in time to see the prisoner being marched to the Rotherham police station by two officers, Police Constables Stainsby and Hepburn. The crowd followed and shouted and jeered at the prisoner all the way to the station. Once there, he gave his name as William Smith. A description of the prisoner was issued to all the local police stations in the area. He was described as being around thirty five years of age and about 5 feet 5 inches in height. It was reported that there was a cut mark in the centre of his chin and appeared to be well built and of respectable appearance.
Once at the station, the prisoner was searched and the inside pocket of his jacket a jemmy was found and in the other pocket was the landlady’s gold watch and chain. A spare pair of socks were also found, which many burglars of the period would fit over their shoes to muffle their footsteps if required. In his absence a leather satchel which contained £3 or £4 was later found hidden on the landing where the prisoner had been captured. That same evening Detective Inspector William Smith arrived from Sheffield and identified the prisoner as being his namesake. He told his colleagues that the man had only been released from Wakefield prison the previous July where he had been incarcerated for twelve months for a similar offence.
Consequently, burglar William Smith appeared before the magistrates at the Rotherham Borough Police Court on Monday 15 November, simply giving his address as ‘living in Sheffield.’ He was charged with burglary and it was reported that in total he had stolen goods up to the amount of £23.
When asked if he had anything to say in his own defence, the prisoner pointed out to the court that he had not used any violence towards the landlady when he had been captured. Witnesses confirmed how Mrs Smith had held onto the burglar until help arrived. As a result, Smith was remanded until Thursday 18 November 1886. When he next appeared, the prosecution, Mr F Marsh brought forward the same witnesses who gave same evidence.
However just as Mrs Harriet Smith was about to be called upon, the prisoner asked for an adjournment in order that he could change his plea to guilty and to appoint a counsel to defend him. However his request was denied, as if the prisoner might be found guilty and sent to take his trial, a defence counsel would be appointed for him anyway. Smith also claimed in mitigation that he had only used the jemmy on two of the drawers. However the bench were having none of it and he was committed to take his trial at the next Sheffield Sessions. The chair to the magistrates, Mr Neill also complimented Mrs Harriet Smith on her brave capture and the courage which she had displayed.
The Sheffield Weekly Telegraph picked up the theme of the same surnames in its edition published on Saturday 27 November 1886. Some clever reporter stated that instead of the well known saying ‘Set a Thief to catch a Thief’ it should now be quoted as ‘Set a Smith to Catch a Smith.’ He pointed out that:
‘Landlady, Mrs Harriet Smith found burglar William Smith in the bedroom of the White hart at Rotherham. Landlord Mr Henry Smith caught fast hold of William Smith and prevented him from escaping as his wife called in the local police. Detective Inspector Smith (also called William) of the Sheffield Police force immediately recognised William Smith, a well known local burglar.’
However the matter came to an end on Saturday 4 March 1886 at the Sheffield Sessions when burglar William Smith was sentenced to twelve months imprisonment with hard labour at the Wakefield House of Correction.