Mercuriosities

Nelson’s Column was constructed over a number of years from 1840 onwards, in the wake of many criticisms and controversies. The four bronze lions at its base, by Landseer, were finally added in 1867. Here’s an early article on one of the first meetings of the Committee established to facilitate the construction of Nelson’s Column. The article also has to tell readers the location of Trafalgar Square, near Charing Cross, of course.

“The Committee appointed to take measures for erecting a monument to Nelson, assembled at the Thatched-house Tavern on the 11th inst., Sir George Cockburn in the chair. There were also present the Duke of Wellington, the Marquis of Anglesey, Lord Byron, Mr. Croker, Mr. Spring Rice, Lord Minto, Sir Thomas Hardy, and Sir John Barrow. The chairman announced that the Duke of Buccleugh had consented to act as chairman of the Committee. A letter from Mr. Spring Rice was read, approving of Trafalgar-square, near Charing-cross, as the site of the monument, provided the plans and designs are submitted to Government. The Duke of Wellington suggested that an advertisement for plans should be issued immediately, with an intimation to artists that the sum to be expended would be about 25,000l.: the Duke of York’s column cost 23,000l. After some discussion, a resolution in accordance with these suggestions passed.”

The Stamford Mercury, 20th April, 1838.

St. Lucia, as part of the British Empire, was subject to British justice. An early article on the treatment of the population of the Caribbean island of St. Lucia by their English governor shows how this power was dispensed. The one consolation for the St. Lucians was that it didn’t last long; Bunbury was recalled and by 1839 he was causing havoc in New South Wales.

‘But the most extraordinary proceedings are those at St. Lucia. The inhabitants of this small island are French, in habits, feeling, and language. Col. Thomas Bunbury has for some time been their provisional Governor ; his fitness for the post may be estimated by one of his recent acts. The St. Lucia Gazette of Feb. 23d contains a proclamation, ordering the language used in the courts of justice in the island to be changed from French to English. This monstrous enactment, under which justice is to be administered to a people in an unknown tongue, is couched in the most insulting and contemptuous terms. Colonel Bunbury says, the British Government, in the hope that the advocates would conform themselves to the wishes of the Government, and learn the language of the mother country, had “conceded the use of the French language in their written and verbal pleadings;” but now, having ascertained that those advocates refuse to appear in court, with a view to dictate to the Government the appointment of a Judge of their own choice, he has resolved, in order to “reduce a spirit in these said advocates, so utterly repugnant to that exercised by him,” to order and appoint that, from the 1st of March, “the English language shall be the sole language to be used in the future written pleadings of the said court, and by the advocates of the said court ; and that the French language is alone to be used by the Chief Justice in his addresses and charges to French assessors, empannelled in said court, and by the sworn interpreter of said court : and as a fit and just punishment for the offences so set forth, and by the said advocates so committed,” he prohibits them from practising “in said court as aforesaid.” It is difficult to imagine anything more arbitrary than this. According to Governor Bunbury’s own showing, the only sin of the advocates was refusal to enter the Governor’s Court, which certainly they might do or not as they pleased ; and for this offence, the entire people are punished by a decree amounting substantially to a denial of justice.

This is not all : it appears that Governor Bunbury, towards the end of last year, thought fit to suspend Chief Justice Reddie, and one of the Puisne Judges, Lafitte, for declining to act with another Puisne Judge provisionally appointed by the Governor to try only certain causes ; which arrangement, the old Judges maintained, amounted to a denial of justice to the parties whose causes were put out of court. The result was, the appointment of three new Judges, Englishmen ; and we conjecture that it is before this court that the advocates refuse to plead. Be that as it may, it is certain that among suitors as well as advocates, great anger and excitement prevails ; and there is, at any rate, prima facie evidence of gross misconduct on the part of the Governor.’

Stamford Mercury, 20th April, 1838.

Subterranean forests have been found throughout the country and around the world but when this subterranean forest in the Fens was first written about only the local inhabitants were aware of the wealth of raw material just below the surface of the land they ploughed.

“SUBTERRANEAN FOREST.–An immense subterranean forest, of which even tradition preserves no account, lies buried under a part of the fens between Lincoln and Boston ; although its existence is almost unknown, except to the thinly scattered population of the district. The soil consists mainly of rotted wood, mixed with a sort of earthy deposit, evidently left by the subsidence of a large body of water. On passing a lately ploughed piece, a stranger is surprised by observing heaps of wood, many loads to the acre, piled up over its surface, as if a crop of huge black logs had succeeded to the previous one of corn. These have been torn up by the plough ; and it is singular that after forty years of tillage, the yield of these logs in many places continues as great as ever. The occupiers ascribe the phenomenon to the gradual rising of the forest, which lies prostrated a foot or two under ground, though it is probably caused by the sinking of the top soil into a boggy substratum, which is called the sock. The trees force themselves up entire, announcing their approach to the surface by the decay of all verdure above them. When a farmer observes this indication, he digs down and removes the tree from its bed of centuries, and is frequently well rewarded for his trouble. The trees are all oak, and frequently of dimensions which would almost stagger belief. Some years ago the writer of this article saw one taken up which contained no less that 1440 cubic feet of timber ; and, so recently as the winter of 1836, he removed another, the bole alone of which contained nearly 1000 feet. The wood of these gigantic monarchs of the forest, when first bared, is sodden with moisture and apparently rotten ; but, after a short exposure to the air, becomes so hard that none but the best-tempered tools will touch it. It is nevertheless worked into rails and fencing, because the grain is so straight that it rends like a reed. Many gentlemen in the neighbourhood, have a few plain articles of furniture manufactured out of it, as matters of curiosity, as in time it becomes not only as hard, but as black as ebony, and is capable of the highest polish. Every tree is either plucked up from its roots, or snapped short about three feet from them ; and all appear to have fallen pretty much in the same way. It is probable that at some distant date an irruption of the sea may have done the havoc, aided, perhaps, by one of those tornadoes which even now, in a milder degree, are occasionally experienced thereabouts.”

Stamford Mercury, 20th April, 1838.

Two hundred years ago tea companies, the importers, the government and the retailers were all making excess profits, prompting the writer of this article, no doubt a tea drinker, to expose their malpractice.

“CONSUMPTION OF TEA.–The principal article of our commerce with China, tea, is perhaps more singular in its history than any other article of commerce in the known world. A simple and unsophisticated shrub, in little more than half a century, has become an article of such general consumption, that it seems to form one of the prime of articles of existence among the great bulk of mankind. It is the peculiar growth of a country, of which it forms almost the only link of connexion with the rest of the world. It forms the source of the largest commercial revenue to the British Government of any other commodity whatever, and of the largest commercial profits to the individuals concerned in its importation. Withal, it is the simplest, the most harmless thing that ever was offered for the gratification man,– having, it is agreed and argued by many, a moral influence wherever it is diffused. It is the rallying point of our earliest associations ; it has given an additional charm to our fire-sides ; and tends, perhaps, more than any one thing, to confirm the pre-existing domestic habits of the British public. Its exhilirating qualities are eagerly sought after as a restorative and a solace from the effects of fatigue or dissipation ; the healthy and the sick, the young and the old, all equally resort to the use of it, as yielding all the salutary influence of strong liquors, without their baneful and pernicious effects. Yet this shrub, so simple and so useful, is delivered to the community of this country so surcharged with duties and profits beyond its original cost, that, did it contain all the mischievous qualities that are opposed to its real virtues, it could not be more strictly guarded from general use. For the whole of our imports, including factory expenses and commission, the original cost in China amounts to the sum of 2 millions sterling. This is wonderfully increased before the British public can have any access to the article of consumption, thus:–

1. The value of the Company’s importations from China into Great Britain, as established by their own statement, is	£2,000,000
2. On this they charge 100 per cent, for their own especial benefit	£2,000,000
3. And the Government duty, as by law established, is equal to the original cost and the profits charged by the Company	£4,000,000

This gives a total of eight millions, which is nearly doubled by the profits of retailers.”

The Stamford Mercury, 10th October 1828.

The Asiatic Cholera epidemic of 1831 – 32 began in north east England and spread widely throughout Britain. As today, there was much misinformation and scaremongering in the newspapers. It was not until the outbreak of Cholera in Soho in 1854 that John Snow discovered that the disease was water-borne. But why did all the sockists of Beaufoy’s have so many names?!

“BEAUFOY’s CONCENTRATED DISINFECTING SOLUTIONS of the CHLORIDE of SODA and of LIME. Prepared of uniform strength, according to the formula of M. Labarraque of Paris.

BEAUFOY and Co. of South Lambeth, London, feel it their duty to caution the public against the danger of using Chlorides of uncertain and variable strengths and qualities. – The safe and ample directions for using Beaufoy’s Chlorides are not applicable to any other preparation, unless precisely similar to those made in their Laboratory. – The public safety demands a public declaration that these Directions have been copied, and are affixed by the Venders to Chlorides quite different in every essential particular from Beaufoy’s preparations. Beaufoy’s genuine preparations according to Labarraque’s formula, are easily distinguished by their peculiar label upon the wrapper, which should be examined to see that it has not been opeded.

Sold by Mills and Newzam, Handson, Mortlock, and White, Stamford; Nettleship, Keyworth, and Smith, Lincoln; Smith, Harwood, Caparn, Bean, Dawson, Briggs, Noble, Thomas and Clarke, Boston; Caparn, Morley, Holdsworwth, an Harrison, Horncastle; Creasey, Heckington; Groves, and Simpson, Sleaford; Casswell, Falkingham; Westmorland, Billingborough; Stableforth, Pinchbeck; Digby, Watson, Boor, Pigott, and Gilbert, Spalding; Artindate, Coningsby; Tupholme, and Rainey, Spilsby; Robinson, Alford; Abraham, Wainfleet; Cowham, and Peach, Grantham; Strawson, Hurst, Sutton, and Johnson, Louth; Burnham, and Skelton, Grimsby; Gamble, and Lester and Borkett, Gainsborough; Hope, Uppingham; Silver, Oakham; Tuxford, Melton; Marfleet, Crowland; H. Wright, Whitwell; W. Wright, J. Parnell, and Sturton, Peterborough; Casterton, Market Rasen; Snell, Caistor; Hettersley, Barton; Brown, Ball, and Nicholson, Brigg; Goddard, Holbeach; Wright, Gedney; Fields, Long Sutton; and by all respectable chemists and druggists; of whom may be had, gratis, an account of some of the properties and used to which these Chlorides have been successfully applied.

Price of the Chloride of Soda, 3s. 6d.; of Lime, 2s. 6d., quart bottles included, with directions for dilution and use enclosed with the sealed wrapper.”

The Stamford Mercury, 25th November, 1831.

“Such is the mania for ‘anti-choleras,’ that we have not only anti-cholera scent bottles, and anti-cholera lozenges, anti-cholera girdles to be worn next the skin, but (best of all) there is now found out an anti-cholera gin!

The bodies of persons apparently dead of cholera have been in some instances observed to more. M. Londe, President of the later Warsaw commission, has expressed his belief that many have been buried alive in the complaint.”

The Stamford Mercury, 9th December, 1831.

A captive bear ran amok in London – poor Bruin! His owner was a hairdresser and it seems the bear was kept to provide fur for balding customers. Or perhaps he sold bear grease as a hair preparation?

Bear Hunt in the City – On Friday afternoon the inhabitants of Hen & Chicken-court and the adjacent parts of Fleet-street, near St. Dunstan’s church and Fetter-lane, were thrown into a state of consternation by the escape of a huge Russian bear from premises at the back of the house of Mr. Bailey, hair-dresser, where he had been for some time fattening in order to supply his Majesty’s subjects with crops of hair. Bruin, after slipping his collar and demolishing the den, made his first entrée through the window of a house in the court, where and old woman was busily engaged in ironing, and who saluting him with an emphatic “Who are you?” made a rapid exit, leaving him in quiet possession of the apartment, and , hastily shutting the door, cut off his further advance in this direction. An alarm was instantly raised, and the shop-doors closed so as to prevent his egress to the street, and a gallant sally was made from the windows of a publish house in the rear, buy several persons who happened to be in the parlour at the time, headed by Mr. Bailey, the proprietor, armed with whatever missiles the place afforded. From this position the bear was driven into the vaults below, one of the assailants receiving, however, a grip in the arm, which rendered surgical aid immediately necessary. In the cellar the chance of mischief was more appalling, several workmen being engaged in repairs; and Mrs. Haydon, the wife of the proprietor of the shades below, narrowly escaped encountering him in his path by shutting herself in a pantry. He here seized a youth by the leg, which he severely lacerated, but being hotly pursued soon surrendered at discretion; and by the agility of the proprietor, who in the attempt received a bite in the arm, a rope was thrown round his neck and Bruin was conducted back to his former quarters.

The Stamford Mercury, 25th November, 1836.

Corn prices were high in 1828 thanks to the Corn Laws which ensured that nobility and large landowners made a good profit from their land at the expense of the rest of society. The right to vote was not universal, depending largely on land ownership, consequently, there was absolutely no desire to reduce prices. These Grantham ladies decided to rebel and get merry at the same time. If only they had restricted themselves to drinking tea.

“Some little disturbance took place at Grantham on Monday evening last, in consequence of the recent advance in the price of flour. A party of the softer sex having assembled in the course of the afternoon to dignify the street in which they reside with the appellation of New-Street, in lieu of the vulgar one of “Sandpit-Lane,” chose to celebrate the important event by a tea-drinking. From the effects of this refreshment, probably, no mischief would have ensued, had not sundry donations from their more opulent neighbours enabled them to purchase too large a portion of the evil spirit gin, which overpowered the bohea, and produced its usual wonderful and calamitous consequences. The ladies threw off their meek and quiet dispositions, and suddenly became lords and masters : and having taken it into their high consideration that the millers and bakers had acted unfairly in being guided by the value of wheat in fixing the price of flour, they proceeded to inflict summary punishment : being joined by a number of boys and other rabble, they succeeded in demolishing several windows, before the police could assemble and put a stop to their proceedings.”

The Stamford Mercury, 24th October, 1828.

Suicide among the clergy is not unknown, but in Great Casterton it’s astonishing and noteworthy, judging by the length of this article. Here is some up-to-date advice designed to prevent the desperation the clergy sometimes feel, that can ultimately lead to suicide.

“DISTRESSING SUICIDE OF A RUTLAND CLERGYMAN

A painful sensation was caused in the district around Stamford on Thursday morning by the circulation of a report, which unfortunately only proved too true, that the Rev. Edwd. George Sellman, for many years Rector of Great Casterton-with-Pickworth, had shot himself with a revolver on the previous night. It transpired that about 11 p.m. the occupants of the Rectory were alarmed by the report of firearms, and subsequently Mr. Sellman was discovered by his son Edgar lying on the library floor in a pool of blood. In the right hand was clutched a revolver from which three shots had been fired, and two of these had entered the body, one penetrating the heart and causing immediate death. In the jacket pocket a six-chambered revolver, fully loaded, was afterwards found, proving that the sad act had been deliberately planned. Deceased was addicted to taking morphia in large quantities, and he had been rather eccentric in his manner of late. He was educated at Cambridge, ordained in 1875, Curate at Holy Trinity, Taunton, from that year to 1877, Curate at Clyst St. George, Devon, 1879-81, and Curate at Chalfont St. Giles, Bucks, up to 1883, when he was appointed to the living at Great Casterton. He was nearly 50 years of age, and leaves a wife, two sons, and a daughter.

Mr. E.W. Phillips, county coroner, held an inquest at the Crown inn on Thursday night, Mr. J. Clark being foreman of the jury. Lieut.-Col. White, agent to the Marquis of Exeter, who is patron of the living, was present. The Coroner having remarked upon the very unpleasant duty they had been called together to perform, said it was most unfortunate the presence of Mrs. Sellman would be required at that inquiry, but as she was the last person to see the deceased alive her evidence could not be dispensed with.–Mrs. Ellen Elizabeth Sellman was then called. She said she last saw her husband alive at 10.30 on the previous night, when he said “Good night” to her. He then appeared as usual, and she saw nothing strange in his manner.–Edgar Neville Newmarch Sellman, student, son of the deceased, stated that he was lying on his bed, fully dressed, at about 11 o’clock, when he heard a noise which sounded like a revolver shot. He went down to Mrs. Sellman’s boudoir and spoke to her about the matter, and then went downstairs to see what was going on . The library door was shut, and he entered the dining-room adjoining and looked through the key hole. He saw there was a light in the room and he went out of doors round to the library window, which he found wide open. He then discovered his father lying just inside the room with a pool of blood near his head. He felt the pulse and, having satisfied himself that life was extinct, went and saw his mother and roused Mr. Dexter, who came to the house. Witness then cycled to Stamford and called for Dr. Middlemist.–The Foreman : Was deceased in the habit of sitting up longer at night than the other member of the family? Witness : Yes ; he was occasionally in the habit of going into the church in the evening and playing the organ, and at such times he went to bed fairly late–later than the rest. He would go out after dinner and supper and come back at any hour of the evening, frequently late.–He did not give you any cause for suspicion last evening? No ; I did not think he was any different yesterday form usual.–A juryman : Had you any particular reason for not taking your clothes off last night ? Yes, simply because I was not going to bed just then.– P.c. Plant asked what made the witness feel his father’s pulse to satisfy himself that he was dead.–The Coroner : That is an absurd question ; I shall not allow that.–Mr LeBoeuf (a juror) : was it known that your father had a revolver and was in the habit of practising with it ? Witness : It was known that he had a revolver, but he was not in the habit of practising with it.–You say you did not see the revolver at the time ? Yes, the right hand was under the body, and I thought I should be doing wrong in moving it.–Has he fired the revolver before in the house ? Yes.–William Dexter, farmer, Great Casterton, spoke to the last witness calling him up. When he saw deceased he was lying with his head just on the edge of the window-sill, face downwards, and his arms were underneath him. He pulled out the right arm and found a revolver underneath him.–By the Coroner : I am sure both arms were underneath him.–The son was then recalled and asked by the Coroner which hand he took to feel the pulse ? He replied that it was the left. As far as he could remember the hand underneath deceased was the right in which the revolver was subsequently found.–P.c. Plant, stationed at Ryhall, deposed to a bloodstained revolver, from which three shots had been fired, being handed to him. It was a central-fire weapon, and contained two loaded cartridges. In the deceased’s jacket pocket witness subsequently found a pin-fire revolver loaded in all six chambers.–Mr. R. C. Middlemist, surgeon, Stamford, stated that he had been deceased’s medical attendant nearly three years. He usually attended him when suffering from some eccentricity which he should say was of a temporary nature. He had not been organically ill, but generally suffered from depression.–By the Coroner : To my knowledge deceased had taken narcotic drugs for some time. I have known it for the last six months. He took them without my orders and in excessive amounts–sufficient to kill two or three people who were not used to taking drugs. I have proof of that in a bill in my pocket.–The Coroner : And was he when under the influence of these drugs as rational as at other times ? No, he took morphia to such an extent that natural depression followed. Continuing, witness said he saw deceased on the previous afternoon speaking to his (witness’s) coachman. He observed to his coachman that he thought deceased looked very strange indeed, and he considered he was under the influence of morphia. He was not quite compos mentis, and the pupils of his eyes appeared to be very contracted. Mr. Middlemist then described the result of his examination of the body. The waistcoat was open and the shirt was covered with gunpowder–proof of the shots having been fired at close quarters. There were two bullet wiounds–one under the sixth rib and the other under the fourth. The lower bullet penetrated the lung and the upper one the heart. The latter would cause instantaneous death.–In reply to the Coroner witness said when the first effect of a drug worked off very great depression, almost amounting to melancholia, supervened. He had not doubt the wounds were self-inflicted.–The Coroner having reviewed the evidence, the jury deliberated in private about 20 minutes, when the Foreman said their verdict was that deceased comitted suicide when under the influence of morphia.–Mr. Le Boeuf said that was not a unanimous decision. For his own part he thought deceased was temporarily insane at the time.–The Foreman observed that he would also have liked the jury to have come to that conclusion, but the majority seemed in favour of the verdict. Dr. Middlemist said there was not the least doubt the man was temporarily insane. At the time he was not under the influence of morphia, but was suffering from the effects of that drug. The jury, however, did not alter their decision. In answer to Mr. Le Boeuf, the Coroner said the verdict amounted to practically the same thing as temporary insanity. In thanking the jury for so patiently listening to the evidence, Mr. Phillips remarked that the regretted there had been some little friction amongst them and that they had not come to a unanimous decision. He thought it was a case in which there was very little doubt according to the medical evidence as to what the verdict should have been, and he considered their verdict rather a remarkable one.

The funeral of the deceased took place at Great Casterton on Monday, and was attended by a large concourse. The Revs. Canon Williams and G. Steer (Vicar of Ryhall) officiated.”

The Stamford Mercury, 20th April, 1900.

The full story of the murder of Elizabeth Longfoot, of Easton came out after one of the perpetrators was apprehended and confessed under questioning, implicating his accomplices.

“The Murder at Easton. – It may be in the recollection of our readers that a murder of a most atrocious description was committed about four o’clock on the morning of 6th of March last at the village of Easton, near Stamford, upon the body of an elderly single woman, named Elizabeth Longfoot, who lived alone, and whose house was robbed at the same time of a considerable sum of money, together with some silver spoons and other property. On examining the corpse, marks of violence were seen about the neck and throat, which led to the conclusion that death must have been effected by strangulation.. Immediately after the discovery of the dreadful deed, information was conveyed to the Rev. C. Atlay and Dr. Hopkinson, Magistrates for Northamptonshire, who proceeded to The Bell public house at Easton, for the purpose of instituting an inquiry into the circumstances connected with the murder; and owing to the unremitting exertions of these gentlemen, who offered a reward, it is satisfactory to state that the perpetrators of the cold-hearted and inhuman deed are likely to be brought to justice, as they are at present in custody, a circumstance which was accomplished in the following manner:- The morning after the murder, John Stansor, who resided at Easton, and who was a loose character, having been repeatedly in custody for poaching and other lawless acts, absconded, and had been away for a considerable time before any suspicion was attached to him of being guilty of the murder. The Magistrates, acting on the impression that he was concerned, procured the assistance of Reed, constable of Stamford, and that of Goddard, a Bow-street officer, and these persons, after scouring the country for upwards of a hundred miles without success, at length discovered the object of their search at Willow Hall, not far from Peterborough, where they apprehended him on the 4th April. On being take before the Magistrates and questioned as to the murder, and the cause of his absconding, he at first denied all knowledge of it, but, subsequently, having undergone several examinations, he made a full confession of the circumstance, implicating himself and John Archer and Richard Woodward in both the robbery and the murder: they were apprehended on the 11th. His confession was to this effect:- He states that at three o’clock in the morning, about a fortnight before the murder, Woodward, Archer, and himself, having passed the night at a Tom and Jerry shop in the neighbourhood, proceeded, according to a previous arrangement, to the house of the deceased, and it was planned by Woodward that, as soon as they had effected an entrance into the house, he (Stansor) should throw himself into the bed of the deceased, and hold her down under the clothes, while his companions were robbing the house, and by such means they expected to be able to avoid detection, as the old lady was well acquainted with their persons. When they got to the house, however, and were in the act of removing the boards from the wash-house window, the noise awoke the deceased, and caused her to throw up the bed room window, and to cry out, “You villains, I’ll swear my life against you in the morning.” Being thus foiled, they went away, and supposing that it would not be an easy matter to surprise the deceased, they came to the resolution of murdering her, in order to prevent her having the power to identify their persons. Stansor next went on to state, that on the morning of the 6th of March, about four o’clock, his companions and himself went to the house and were proceeding to remove the boards from the wash-room window, when the deceased was aroused, and coming down stairs, opened the side door of the house, and ran into the street, crying “Murder! thieves!” which alarmed two young men named Thompson, living immediately opposite, and according to their statement to the Magistrates in the morning after the murder had occurred, it appeared that, after listening to the cries for a few minutes, they distinctly heard a gurgling noise proceed from the direction of the house, which caused them to suppose the deceased was unwell; they accordingly got up, supposing that something unusual was the matter, and had proceeded as far as the gate of the premises of the deceased, when they heard the house door lock inside. They then went to the front of the house, and upon looking up, observed a light move from one room to another, and supposing that it was the old lady who had been aroused by some false alarm, they returned to their own house, where they remained watching the opposite house for three quarters of an hour, but saw nothing further that night. The confession of Stansor confirms this account for, according to his statement, as the deceased was returning to her house after giving the alarm, and just as she was coming to the window of the wash-house, Archer sprang upon her from a corner in which he had concealed himself, knocked her down, and pressing his knees against her throat, dispatched her by strangling her, whilst Woodward took a plough line from his pocket, and having fastened it round the neck of the deceased, they hauled her into the house, and then shut and locked the door, at the moment the Thompsons came to the gate to listen. After this confession, the accomplices were taken into custody, and Woodward confirmed the whole statement before the Magistrates, and subsequently to the officers when removed to the prison. The result of the statements made by the two prisoners has led to the apprehension of ten other men, inhabitants of Eas(t)on, who had committed burglaries and sheepstealing, all of whom have been committed to Northampton gaol on the several charges preferred against the. The circumstance had caused the greatest sensation in the neighbourhood, as one of the prisoners had borne an irreproachable character.

The Stamford Mercury, 11th May, 1838.

It seems Easton was gaining a reputation for being a hotbed of criminality due to the large scale and amount of crime committed there in recent weeks! But was there, perhaps, a reason for this?

“In addition to the names of 12 males, whom we have shown to be committed to gaol for various felonies at Easton, near Stamford, we lament to record those of 8 females, viz. Mary Ploughwright, Mary Hull, Ann Ford, Mary Ploughwright, jun., Eleanor Ploughwright, Sarah Ploughwright, Frances Walden, and Sarah Scotchbrook, all of that parish, who were yesterday se’nnight committed to the house of correction at Oundle to hard labour to various and repeated delinquencies; thus completing a catalogue of no less than twenty persons, all within a few weeks extracted from the village, and at the present moment incarcerated, for offences from the lowest to the highest in the scale of crime, even murder! – A grave enquiry arises as to the cause of such extreme delinquency, in a village of not very large population; and the chief cause seems to be, that formerly the digging of stones for the purpose of making slates for roofing was very extensively carried on at Easton, but latterly it has been the pleasure of the Marquis of Exeter, the owner of the soil to restrict the continuance of the trade and many person have been in consequence thrown out of employment, their connections, and their settlements, being at Easton, they do not like to quit the parish, and their poverty and their idleness have produced great demoralisation.”

The Stamford Mercury, 4th May, 1838.