Hard Times

1865.  Sad Death of the Wife of a Navvy.  Mr Todd held an inquest at the Alresford Union-house last Saturday on the body of Sarah Pearce, a young woman 22 years of age, wife of Charles Pearce, a railway labourer, employed on the new line making from Alton to Winchester.  Pearce had been married about a year, and they lived for a time at the Rose and Crown beerhouse at Alresford.  Three weeks ago they went to live in a hut made of bricks and sand close to the site of a railway bridge about to be built at Itchen Stoke.  The hut had no window.  The wife was ill before going there from a severe cold, and soon became worse.  She had the advice of Mr Lipscomb, a surgeon.  She eventually lost the use of her limbs, and was advised to go to the County Hospital.  On Wednesday week the husband got a recommendation from a Scripture reader, and borrowing a horse and cart, drove his wife to Winchester and left her at the Hospital.  She was received and kept there nearly two hours, she was sent away again, on the grounds of her being in a wretched filthy state.  The husband drove the poor creature back again in the open cart to Alresford and got her into the Alresford Union at half-past five at night.  That same night she died.

At the inquest the Hospital, in justification of its actions pointed to its printed statutes.  “No vagrant shall be admitted as a patient”.  “No person shall be admitted as an inpatient without a sufficient change of linen.”  “No person apprehended to be in a dying state, or incurable, shall be suffered to remain”.

The Coroner, after some hand-wringing, gave his verdict, “That deceased died from syncope (slow heart rate) occasioned by the causes and circumstances detailed in the evidence, but not by reason of any wilful neglect or treatment of any person whatsoever”.

Don't Blame the Weather!

Judge Jeffries at the Hants Lent Assizes 1683.  The Lord Chief Justice having taken his seat, the crier of the court made the customary proclamation, and then the clerk of the arraigns read from the Commission of the Peace the names of all the then magistrates of the county, seventy-eight in number, of whom only sixteen answered to their names.  The judge frowned, and although he did not then speak, made an entry in his note-book.  The clerk of the arraigns then summoned in succession the mayors of Winchester, Portsmouth, Lymington, Christchurch, Whitchurch, Petersfield, Basingstoke, Romsey, Newport, Newtown and Yarmouth; the bailiffs of Andover, Stockbridge, Alresford and Overton; and then the three county, and four district coroners, of whom only five appeared.  “How is this?” shouted the judge, as he laid his right hand violently on the desk.  “This most miserable attendance is contumacy to his sacred Majesty in the person of his own Chief Justice;” and then turning to the High Sheriff, who was seated on his left hand, said in an angry tone, “Sir, I would have you know that I think your County has disgraced itself.  From upwards of five score persons whose bounden duty it was to attend and hear our charge and, if required, to serve on the Grand Jury, we have not one-fifth of that number,”  “My lord,” said the sheriff, pointing to the windows, “the weather is a fair excuse for many, and the roads, as I hear, have become impassable.” “That is no excuse,” replied the judge in a surly tone.  The parties ought to have been in Winchester, even as I was, overnight.  They must be made an example of, and shall be; and here we order and direct that every one whose name has been called, and has not answered to the same, is fined in the sum of ten pounds, which together will make an acceptable present to the Treasury.  And mind ye, Sir Sheriff, that the whole of the fines be obtained and paid into His Majesty’s Exchequer before the next Assizes, or otherwise we shall not only hold you responsible for the money, but inflict a fine on you for the non-performance of your duty.”

When to let a Tiger chew your arm!

1863.  Desperate Tiger Hunt.  My dear Robert,-I have just half an hour to write an overland letter, and it is a very short time to do it in.  Why have I left it so late?  I will tell you.  About a week ago I got a letter telling me that my dear old friend Bradford had been “mauled” by a tiger, and six hours after this letter I was on my way to Augur.  Since I last wrote I have had one friend killed, and another severely injured by tigers.  …  Then poor Bradford has been “mauled” to use the cant phrase of the tiger shooters.  It was thus:- The Goorah hunting party had killed 18 tigers without a casualty, when Bradford and Captain Curtis (Inneskillings) left the party, their leave being up, and started for Augur.  At a place called Degloupoor they heard of a tiger, and made arrangements for a hunt.  Bradford occupied a tree that bent over some water, and his feet were about 10 feet off the ground; Curtis occupied another tree, and a certain Sowar a third.  Sowar got the shot and hit a large old tiger.  It came towards Bradford’s tree, when B. cocked him with both barrels.  The beast came on with a rush at B.’s tree, and stopped for a moment underneath it.  Bradford pulled the triggers of his second gun, but a twig of the tree had got between the hammers, and they fell on the twig instead of on the percussion tubes – for it was a percussion tube gun; so the gun missed, and B. was by this accident momentarily helpless.  Now ensued a very strange and terrible scene.  The tiger is not a climbing beast, the leopard is, but the tiger has rarely been known to climb.  After poor dear Bradford had vainly pulled his trigger, the beast after glaring at him for an instant leaped into the tree and commenced climbing and scrambling up to him like a cat.  Whereon Bradford dropped off the tree into the water below and tried to hide in some bushes near.  The beast followed sharp and boned poor Bradford in the water, nearly drowning him in it.  Curtis of the dragoons, was in a tree about 15 yards off and saw this part of the scene, but he scarcely dared to shoot, for the beast and its victim were so close together that he feared lest he should hit Bradford.  The tiger now dragged Bradford out to the bank, and lying on its side and whisking its great tail about, began to pat and play with my old friend just as a cat does with a mouse, occasionally taking his arm in its mouth, and giving him a crunch.  Poor Bradford had his wits about him all the time, and kept quiet; merely sparring with his arm at the beast as it showed inclinations to catch at his neck.  At this the beast would take the arm into his mouth, and chew it.  But during this the relative positions of man and beast had changed, so that Curtis, a very brave and cool fellow, let drive three or four shells into the tiger as he could, though as he said afterwards, “I was awfully afraid once that I had shot Bradford,”  These shells sickened the tiger, which left Bradford after fetching him “a crack over the head with its paw, and lay down bleeding profusely in a neighbouring bush.  Curtis now descended, when poor Bradford called out, “don’t come near, he is a regular brute.”  A native ghikarry, of Bradford’s. dodging about, got a glimpse at the brute just at this time and killed him with a shot in the neck.  Curtis now put Bradford on a bedstead, and commenced taking him into Augur, sending a horseman in for the doctor.  He (Dr Beaumont), set off at once, and found the party 35 miles from Augur.  Bradford, who had kept up wonderfully, had begged Curtis to cut off the limb, which gave him much torment, and I believe that Curtis would have done so, “but,” said he to me, “I don’t know what I should have done to stop the bleeding, you see.”  Beaumont found the arm in a most dreadful state, as the shoulder joint had been opened by the brute’s fangs, so, assisted by Curtis, who was as good as a doctor, said Beaumont, he removed the left arm at the shoulder joint, and they took the poor fellow into Augur, where I found him 24 hours after I had heard of the accident, having done 60 miles in express mail carts, and 30 more on Sowar’s horses.  I remained there about 40 hours, and when I left the patient was doing very fairly, and has been progressing well since, as out letters tell us.

A Cool Character!

1863.  A remarkable incident occurred in the village of Ludgershall on Tuesday.  Mr W Hunt, miller, was in his garden, expecting the swarm of a hive of bees, when the queen suddenly took possession of his head, and was speedily followed by the swarm.  His back and shoulders were quickly covered with the insects, causing a rare and singular spectacle.  With great self command Mr Hunt allowed them to remain undisturbed, and sent for his neighbour, Mr W Lovelock, who cleverly hived the industrious colony without either party sustaining the slightest injury.

Racial Insults!

1853.  Abstract of a letter from Lord Ashburton to the Statistical Committee of the Alresford Union on the topic of agricultural statistics returns. 

“I should add that our Scotch neighbours, who are shrewd enough to detect what is and what is not for their advantage, have made their return without hesitation.  A still more searching return has been made for two years from Ireland, without complaint on the part of a tenantry who are as quick in perceiving as they are skilful in producing a grievance.”

A Model Railway for Grown-ups!

1843.  A curiosity in railway engineering is now in process in a meadow in the parish of New Alresford where Robt. Rodney Esq of the Scotch Fusileer Guards is constructing, without regard to expense a railway in the form of a circle, measuring 400 yards.  This novel undertaking has now been in course of execution about four months and in its contracted course presents various specimens of engineering, such as a tunnel seventy yards in length, &c.  The opulent proprietor, it is gratifying to state, has been liberal in the remuneration of his numerous workmen during the winter.  It is expected that the works will be completed and the line opened shortly after Easter.  A locomotive engine and two beautifully finished carriages are being built to travel the line.

How not to impress a lady!

January 1832.  On Sunday afternoon last the inhabitants of the houses in the East street of New Alresford were alarmed by a loud explosion, followed by an instant crash of glass, &c. – On the clearing away of the smoke, it appeared that nearly the whole of the bow window of the house  in the occupation of Miss Wakeham, was blown into the street, and a young man by the name of Chase had received some severe injuries in the head, from the bursting of a powder flask, from which he was incautiously scattering gunpowder over a part of the grate, which firing, communicated with the flask, and caused the mischief, and it is to be considered a providential escape that he was not killed on the spot.

Often while researching topics in family or social history, I come across accounts of events quite by chance, which I find amusing, fascinating, horrifying or just plain interesting.  I thought I would share them with a wider audience. This is the first.  There will be more!

Don Fox

20161803