Author: Volunteers

This is a report of a local custom near Raleigh (home of the bicycle manufacturer) in Nottinghamshire of listening to subterranean church bells on Christmas Day morning. We wonder if this charming tradition still happens? Or perhaps they were bicycle bells!

“Subterranean Christmas Bells._Near Raleigh, Notts, there is a valley, said to have been caused by an earthquake several centuries ago., which swallowed up a whole village, together with the church. Formerly, it was a custom for people to assemble in this valley on Christmas day morning, to listen to the ringing of the bells of the church beneath them. This it was positively asserted might be heard by putting the ear to the ground, and hearkening attentively. Even now it is usual on Christmas morning for old men and women to tell their children and young friends to go to the valley, stoop down, and hear the bells ring merrily.”

Stamford Mercury, 22nd December 1843

There was a Christmas day gathering to celebrate a wedding in Lincoln in 1843 where celebrations could be heard for an aged couple. The paper reports that they were saluted, by crowds including young urchins, with shouting and old tin cans.

“On Christmas morning there was a great stir in the High-street, on the occasion of the marriage of an old coal-porter named James Thacker, to Mrs. Bennett, a widow well stricken in years. The street was lined with spectators, and crowds of young urchins saluted the happy pair with shouting and the music of old tin cans.”

Stamford Mercury, 29th December 1843

Winter weather conditions must have made life harder for the paupers of Stamford town. In 1850 it almost had its own white Christmas due to a snowfall. This gave opportunity for skating on the river Welland.

Festive cheer was provided to the paupers in the Union-house when they were given the ‘opportunity of making merry on Christmas Day.’

“Among the various classes who had an opportunity of making merry on Christmas-day, were the pauper inmates of the Union-house Stamford. The Guardians entered into a subscription among themselves to provide festal fare, and each man, woman, and child in the establishment was regaled with roast-beef, plum-pudding, and ale, to the complete satisfaction of all. The number of those who participated in the feast was 201, viz. 32 able-bodied and 36 aged men, 42 able-bodied and 7 aged women, 42 boys, 41 girls, and 11 infants. The usual board-meeting of the Guardians was not held this week.”

“The heavy fall of snow which Stamford was visited on Thursday morning on the 19th inst., when the ground was covered to the depth of six inches in about three hours, was very partial, none having fallen ten miles north of the town, and very little at a distance of six miles in a southern direction. It was suceeded by a thaw and heavy rain, which caused the river Welland to overflow, and a severe frost having followed, there was plenty of skating on Saturday and Monday last.”

Stamford Mercury, 27th December 1850

Christmas gift buying and Christmas Trees with ornament decorations were as prevalent in Britain in 1850 as now. So was buying good food, like Christmas Pies, as these adverts illustrate.

“Robert Ostler, Confectioner and Wedding Cake Maker, 9, Silver street, HULL, respectfully invites his friends and the public generally to an early inspection of his Ornaments from France and Germany, suitable for the Christmas Trees now so generally in use; also that he will have on hand his far-famed Christmas Pies, Twelfth Cakes, Mottoes, Crackers, Bon-bons, &c., for the Christmas season.”

“CHRISTMAS PRESENTS and NEW-YEAR’S GIFTS. At MYERS’ Berlin Wool and Fancy Repository, Mercer-row, LOUTH, every Novelty of the season of the most unique character, useful as well as ornametal, consisting of a rare and extensive assortment of superior Papier Mache Pole Screens, Work Tables, Hand Screens, Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Dressing Cases, Writing Desks, Bohemian Toilet Bottles, Lustrea, Vases, Bronze Card Racks, Spell Pots, the greatest variety of different designs in Bronze and China, Gold and Silver Pencil cases, Lockets, Brooches, Bracelets, Rings, Chains, &c., the very best choice of Berlin Wools, Crochet Patterns, Beaded Purses, Pocket Books, Tortoiseshell Combs, Hair, Hat, and Nail Brushes, Dominoes, Cards, Games and Dissections, and Foreign Toys of every description. Louth, Dec. 18th, 1850”

“Nearly 50 beasts have been slaughtered in Lincoln for Christmas cheer, and the show of meat is exceedingly fine. In the butchery slaughter-house (which has been put in a very neat and clean state by the present keeper) there were 24 beasts. The finest was a heifer fed by Mr. Cartwright, of Timberland, killed by Mr.Kent, and weighing 90 st. An ox slaughtered by Messrs. Mansford and Maples wighed 100 st.; and another Scotch ox, fed by Mr. Slater, of Carlton, & killed by Mr. Wilmot, weighed 76st.”

Stamford Mercury, 20th December 1850

Female chemists were few and far between in eighteenth century England, but Stamford was home to one in Red Lion Square, albeit with the support of her brother. Historically, it was normal for widows of apothecaries, pharmacists or chemists to inherit their late husband’s profession without being formally qualified. Once formal qualifications were instituted, this was no longer possible.

'MARGARET WOODROFFE,

Widow and Successor to the late Mr. Solomon Woodroffe, of Stamford, (DRUGGIST, CHYMIST, and COLOURMAN,)

THINKS it incumbent upon her to thankfully acknowledge the many Favours conferred upon her by her Friends; and begs Leave to inform them and the Public, that she continues the Partnership in the above Branches with her Brother CHRISTOPHER COCKS, (who was formerly Apprentice to Mr. Woodroffe) and that from the Encouragement they have already met with, has laid in a FRESH STOCK of GOODS against the Fair, and hope to merit a Continuance of the Favours of their Friends, which will be ever gratefully acknowledged, by

Their obliged humble servants,

MARGARET WOODROFFE.
CHRISTOPHER COCKS.

N. B. M. Woodroffe has two small and very convenient Houses to let, situate next Door to her own in Red-Lion-Square, or any Part of the Houses for Shops during the Fair.’

Stamford Mercury, 28th February, 1771.

• Chemists /Apothecaries sold a variety of goods, including household goods and paints.

Rats have been a problem for human life for centuries. Suffolk farmers offered a bounty of 2d per head, which in 1828 would provide a good living. At that rate, it would be worthwhile to breed them, on the quiet, of course.

‘RATS.–The Bury Post says, ” The quantity of rats with which this neighbourhood is infested has become a very serious evil. The fields and hedge-rows swarm with these noxious vermin, and their ravages in the new-sown wheat and the turnips have been very considerable. Upon one farm near this town not less than two thousand have been killed, and upon another eight hundred since Michaelmas. It is the common practice of Suffolk farmers to offer a bounty of two-pence each for rats, to all who may choose to bring them, and at this rate a number of persons have found ample employment. In consequence of the dryness of the Autumn, the vermin have not yet taken shelter in the barns ; but when they do, the mischief they will occasion, unless materially reduced in number, must be immense. One cause of this plague, for such it may be termed, has been the wet summer, always favourable to the multiplication of the species ; but a still greater cause is the destruction of stoats, weasels, polecats, and other animals naturally preying on the rat, for the purpose of preserving game, which thus becomes doubly injurious to the produce of agriculture. As a proof of the extraordinary fecundity of these animals, we are assured that on the premises of Mr. Norman, of Culford, one rat was killed in its nest of 12 young ones, and on opening it 13 more were found in the inside.’

Stamford Mercury, 28th November, 1828.

A robbery where the burglars met with more than they had bargained for; the woman whose home they chose to rob was a sexton, not a normal occupation for a woman, which meant she was able to put up a bit of a fight.

‘A daring robbery, attended with peculiar circumstances, occurred on Wednesday night the 19th inst. at the village of Sibsey, near Boston. A woman named Marshall, 68 years of age, has long resided in a cottage there, rather lonely situated, herself being the only inhabitant of the hut. For many years she as officiated as sexton of the parish, and in this strange capacity for a female, she was said to have hoarded a considerable sum of money, which it was generally understood she kept secreted in her house. Tempted, doubtless, by this rumour, some villains, on the night above-mentioned, broke into her cottage. About eleven o’clock, Mrs. Marshall was aroused by hearing one of the windows broken, and rose from her bed to ascertain the cause, when she was astonished by the sight of a man’s head protruded through the broken window. He swore at her, and insisted upon her going to bed, saying he did not wish to hurt her ; but she was not daunted by his appearance, and prepared to resist the intrusion, and to defend her hoard even at the imminent peril of her life. She accordingly armed herself with a large hay-fork, the best weapon at hand, and struck with the tines at the head of the robber ; but, enfeebled by age or paralysed by terror, she missed her aim ; she contunued striking, however, at the man, until he wrested the fork from her grasp. During this conflict, an attempt was made to break open the door of the house, but the spirited old inmate rendered this unavailing, as she placed a large fork in a slanting position, so that the ruffians could not succeed in this attenpt. Thinking the robbers would not venture a second time, after being thus defeated in their nefarious attempt, she went to bed, but was again aroused by hearing a noise in the house. On proceeding to discover the cause of this second intrusion, she was suddenly seized by a desperado, who threw the old woman down on the bed, and pulled out a knife, with which he threatened to destroy her if she did not lie quietly. The robbers had effected an entrance this time, by pulling out a window in the back part of the house, while a third kept watch outside. They told her they knew she had sold a fat pig lately, and they were come for the money, and money they would have. One of them then proceeded to rifle the house. During this transaction, the other man watched over the unfortunate owner of the property, and when she endeavoured to extricate herself from his gripe, he drew a knife from his pocket, and swore that if she did not remain quiet he would cut her throat, to which she replied that he might, and then she should be done with. He did not proceed to this extremity, however, but pocketed the knife without further alluding to murder. The ruffian then asked her if she knew him, but she gave an evasive answer. They remained in the house nearly an hour, during which time they plundered it of guineas, half-guineas, sovereigns, and seven-shilling pieces, to the amount of 50l. They also took a quantity of plate, &c. valued at 10l., making the total loss 60l.–During the same night, another daring burglary was effected in the neighbourhood. The house of Mrs. Towl, at Langret Ferry, was broken open, and plate, &c. to the value of 10l. was stolen by the depradators, who never disturbed the inmates, and got clear off with their booty. Several circumstances tend to the suspicion that both the robberies above-mentioned were committed by the same parties. It appears that, after plundering the poor old woman at Sibsey, they made off across the country in the direction of Lincoln ; and it is probable they adopted a circuitous route, so that they might take Langret Ferry in their course. After leaving Langret Ferry, it is supposed, they proceeded to Dog-dyke, whence they went by the steam-packet to Lincoln, where they were all apprehended by Mr. Cuthbert, constable of Coningsby. It appears that the old woman had a distinct knowledge of the parties, who reside at Sibsey, and have long borne notoriously bad characters. Two of them are brothers, named Lammiman. They were examined before the Magistrates acting at Spilsby on Monday, and will in all probability be ultimately committed for trial at the next Lincoln assizes.–Boston Gazette.’

Stamford Mercury, 28th November, 1828.

In 1828 was £4,000 (now estimated at about £300,000) too great a sum to give to priests to say prayers to free the soul of an old woman so she could move through purgatory quickly? The court and the residual beneficiary of her will thought it was. Was this a money-making venture ?

‘Liberation from purgatory.– A case was argued last week, in the Exchequer Court, Dublin, in which the residuary legatee contested a bequest of four thousand pounds, left by an old lady to Priests to say masses for her, in order to rescue “her poor miserable soul” from the torments of purgatory. Mr. Cooper (counsel for the legatee) contended that this was an enormous sum to have appropriated to such a purpose. The poor old woman must have been priest-ridden when she made such a bequest. In such a case it was competent to the Court to apportion some reasonable sum ; but four thousand pounds was beyond all reason. The Chief Baron–How much do you think would bring her out of purgatory, Mr. Cooper ? Mr. Cooper–I think 10l. would be quite enough to relieve so old a woman, my Lord. Mr. O’Loughlin–I am sure the balance would not be enough to take Mr. Cooper out of purgatory, if he were there. (Laughter.) The Court–We will refer it to the Master to determine how much he may think necessary for her relief in purgatory ; and on the report we will be better able to ascertain what ought to be done. Mr. O’Loughlin–Yes, my Lord ; but recollect that this poor woman’s soul is in the meantime suffering all torments. (Great Laughter.) I am sure your Lordship will not willingly inflict pain by delay, nor diminish the sum of four thousand pounds. This lady must have been the best judge of her own sins, and she thought four thousand pounds necessary to rescue her from purgatory.–The Court decided that the matter should go before the Master first.’

Stamford Mercury, 30th May, 1828.

Previous censuses had taken place, but the United Kingdom Census of 1841 is considered as the first modern census. Here the Stamford Merucry included instructions on how to complete the census for the Enumerator including an interesting way of recording ages which may be of use when researching family trees.

“CENSUS of the POPULATION.-The necessary papers and instructions to the “Enumerators” of the several districts have been issued this week. The Householder’s Schedule has the following information:- “The Commissioners appointed under the Act hereby give notice, that on Monday the seventh day of June the Enumerator of each district will proceed to visit every house in his district, and will call for this paper, which the inhabitant Householder, or any Occupier to whom a whole story or apartment of the house is let, and for who a paper is left, is hereby required to fill up correctly and sign. Inconvenice will be spared to the Householder or Occupier if this be done before the Enumerator calls at the House. It may be done before Monday June 7th, but in that case care must be taken afterwards to strike out the names of all persons who were absent on the night of June 6th, or to insert any who abode in the house on that night but whose names had been previously omitted. The only object for which this information is sought being to obtain an exact account of the Population of the Kingdom, as in the years 1801, 1811, 1821, and 1831, the Commissioners earnestly hope that every Householder, Occupier, and Head of a Family, will willingly assist in this great National work by giving coorrect returns. If the Owner of the house is absent, the person whose charge it is left will be considered the Occupier, and be required to fill up and sign this paper.

“By an Act passed in the present Session, persons making false returns in this Schedule, or refusing to make any returns, ‘shall forfeit a sum not more than 5l. nor less than 40s.,at the discretion of any Magistrate before whom complaint thereof shall be made.’ The Act imposes the same penalty for refusing to answer, or giving false answers, to the questions of the Enumerator.

“Directions for filling up the SCHEDULE.-Insert the name and surname of every person who has slept or abode in the house on the night of Sunday June 6th. Persons sleeping in a separate building (as over a stable or out_house), although belonging to the house, must not be inserted as inmates of the house, but be inserted in the paper which is left at or for such separate building.

“Write in figures the age of every person, opposite to their names, in one of the columns headed ‘Age of Male,’ or ‘Age of Female,’ according to their sex. For persons aged 15 years and upwards it is sufficient to state within what period of five years their age is, writing down the lowest number of that period: thus, for persons aged 15 and under 20, write 15-for 20 and under 25, write 20-for 25 and under 30, write 25-for 30 and under 35, write 30; and so on, upto the greatest ages; but the exact age may be stated if the person prefers it. For persons under 15, write the number of years; for infants under one year, the number of months.

“The profession, &c. of wives, or of sons or daughters living with and assisting their parents, but not apprenticed or receiving wages, need not be inserted. Domestic servants may be inserted as Male Servant or Female Servant, without further statement of their duties. Those who are Journeymen or Apprentices in any trade must be inserted as such, with the name of the trade. In cases of Factory or Manufacturing employment, state the staple on which employed, as silk, cotton, woolllen, linen,&c., with the description of work, as silk-throwster, Wool-cardr, &c. &c. In cases of employment in Mines, state whether of coal, iron, copper, &c. &c. Men or Widows, or Single Women, having no profession or calling, but living on their means, may be inserted as ‘Independant.’ “Whether born in the same County, and whether born in Scotland, Ireland, or Foreign Parts,” write yes or no in the columns as the case may be.”

The Stamford Mercury, 21st May, 1841.

This painting, produced by Peter Paul Rubens in about 1625 as one of the designs for a series of tapestries, can be seen in the Prado Museum in Madrid, and is now known as “The Triumph of Divine Love“.  The appetite for finding and identifying lost paintings is still with us today in such television programmes as Fake or Fortune and Britain’s Lost Masterpieces.

“Singular DISCOVERY of a PICTURE by RUBENS. – A few weeks ago, at the sale of Mr. J.E. Pearson’s effects, at Sheffield, an old picture in which no figure was discernable was knocked down for 1s. 9d. : It was afterwards purchased of the byer for 5s., and the new possessor proceeded to wash it, which caused several of the figures to appear while wet.  This led to a resolution to send it to London to be cleaned, and the old varnish being removed, it turned out to be a very fine old picture.  It was returned to Sheffield, with an offer of 160 guineas for it, and the biddings have since advanced to 350 guineas, at which price, however, it is not to be had.  The picture consists of a fine female figure standing upon a car drawn by a lion ; one child nestles in her bosom, others cling to her robes, others follow her car, while one rides a lion : several other rotund little ones with cherub wings fly about her.  The style of the painting and some other internal evidence have satisfied several eminent connoisseurs that it is a genuine Rubens : and this is confirmed by an old etching of the picture, which is called ‘the triumph of Christianity, by Rubens.’  This prize is in the possession of Mr. Sawyer, wine-merchant, of High-street, Doncaster, where it has been seen by many persons.  The best judges speak of it in very high terms, and the probability is that the biddings for it have by no means reached their maximum. – Doncaster Gaz.”

The Stamford Mercury, 23^rd June 1843

Did Sir Isaac Newton think he was about to discover a weather gauge to foretell rain? The ram had the answer.

“SIR ISAAC NEWTON AND THE WEATHER GAUGE-The illustrious philosopher was once riding over Salisbury plain, when a boy keeping sheep called to him, “Sir, you had better make haste on, or you will get a wet jacket.” Newton, looking round and and observing neither clouds nor a speck on the horizon, jogged on, taking very little of the rustic’s information. He made but a few miles, when a storm suddenly arising, wetted him to the skin. Surprised at the circumstance, and determined, if possible, to ascertain how an ignorant boy had attained a precision and knowledge in the weather of which the wisest philosophers would be proud, he rode back, as wet as he was. “My lad,” said Newton, “I’ll give thee a guinea if thou wilt tell me how thou canst fortel the weather so truly.” “Will ye, Sir? I will then,” said the boy, scratching his head, and holding out his hand for the guinea. “Now Sir,” having received the money, and pointing to his sheep, “when you see that black ram turn his tail towards the wind, ’tis a sure sign of rain within an hour.” “What!” exclaimed the philosopher, “must I, in order to fortel the weather, stay here and watch which way that black ram turns his tail?” “Yes, Sir.” Off rode Newton, quite satisfied with his discovery, but not much inclined to avail himself of it, or to recommend it to others.”

The Stamford Mercury, 17 October 1828