The court records for Radnorshire tell of a farm labourer named Cossa Perry from Cefnllys who was brought before the court on 5th January 1844 charged with theft.

A pound does not sound a lot of money but there were many working people who did not earn a pound a week at the time and Cossa Perry was probably a poor man put under temptation. Even so he was guilty and the court sentenced him to one year in the County prison with hard labour. This was probably breaking rocks with a sledghammer.
When he came out of prison he would have found it very difficult to get employers to trust him and give him work. If he was unemployed he would have had only the workhouse between him and starvation.

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