City & Liberty of
Westmr . in the County
of Middlesex }

Informations taken this First day of February
1770 at the Parish of St. Margaret within the
Liberty of Westmr. in the County of Middlesex upon
an Inquisition touching the Death of a Man unknown
lying dead in the said Parish Liberty and County.

Altham Corbet< no role > one of the Beadles of the Parish of
St. Margaret Westmr. in the Hamlet of Knightsbridge
on his Oath saith That he was going to London yesterday
about Noon, and being at Hyde Park Corner was informed
by the Park keeper's Servant that a Man lay Drowned
in a Pond in Hyde Park , says that he returned and in
a Pond between the two Bridges in Hyde Park , in the
Parish of St. Margaret Westmr . he saw the Deced lying
with his face downwards, and his back above the Cooter,
says that the Deced appeared to have been Drowned
a considerable time, That the Deced was taken out, in Dept. presence
and was afterwards carried to the watchhouse in
Knightsbridge , That the Body was in a State of Putrefaction
but Dept. observed no Marks of violence thereon,
Says that he found a six pence, a half penny, a Knife, a
Black Silk Neckcloth, a Handkerchief, & a Key, in the
Deced's Pockets, Says that the Deced's Cloaths were the
Regimentals worn by the Third Regiment of Guards-That
he this Dept. left ward at the Tilt yard yesterday, and
that a Serjeant of the Third Regiment came to Knightsbridge
yesterday in the Afternoon, and after viewing the Deced said
that his Name was Hugh Smith< no role > , and that he was a Soldier
in the third Regiment and had behaved himself very well
That he had been missing for five or six weeks, That
he had sometime before that Bruised his Thumb, which
made the Deced Melancholy and uneasy.

Sworn the Day Year & Place
abovementioned before me
Tho. Prickard< no role > Coroner .}

Altham Corbett< no role >