Author: secretary

The lords enjoyed a lively debate about the National Exhibition, planned for the following year. There was ‘much laughter’!

House of Lords, Friday March 22.

“Lord Brougham, with reference to the National Exhibition of 1851, said tradesmen ought not to be called upon the subscribe towards it, as it would be predjudicial to their present interest, though in after years it might produce benefits. He though the nation should subscribe 50,000l. or 60,000l. He complained that at the Lord Mayor’s banquest, or, as he designated it, the meeting of the ‘House of Mayors,’ Lord Stanley had spoen of his (Lord Brougham) as being volatile. – Earl Granville defended the object of the exhibitions from the sarcasms of Lord Brougham; and Lord Overstone, in an admirable maiden speech, said that the sneers of the noble and learnéd lord at the assembly at the Mansion-house were unbecoming, and ill assorted with those principles by the advocacy of which Lord Brougham obtained political station and power. – Lord Stanley also replied to Lord Brougham, and remarked of him, ‘In point of quickness, of activity, or rapidity, and pungency, I think that sal volatile* is nothing to him. I defy any human power, I defy even the noble and learnéd lord himself, – to apply a stopper, whether of glass or any other material, to the intensity, the activity, the ingenuity, and the pungency of his mind. (Much laughter.) But for the future, in order to form a more correct estimate of the noble and learnéd lord’s character, I shall regard him, upon his own showing, as a grave, a serious, a plodding, proper, slow, heaavy individual, not apt to form a hasty judgement, still less to pass a hasty opinion, and never making use of an expression which it might be desirable to recall (laughter), but as one who, by intense labour and study, makes himself master of one subject at a time and no more, never venturing to speak upon any question until he has made himself thoroughly master of it. (Much laughter.)”

The Stamford Mercury, 29th March, 1850.

*sal volatile – a type of smelling salts.

Most people would pay anything to be rid of the dreaded tooth-ache, so Mr. Sweeting and his chemist associates probably made good money from sales of his wonderful elixir.

“My curse on your envenom’d stang,

That shoots my tortur’d gums alang,

And thro’ my lugs gies mony a bang,

Wi’ gnawing vengeance;

Tearing my nerves wi’ bitter twang,

Like racking engines.”

The TOOTH-ACHE Cured by SWEETING’s TOOTH-ACHE ELIXIR.

“This troublesome complaint, which has hitherto been considered incurable except by extraction, is now no longer so: my Elixir has cured up to this time at least 100,000 people. I beg most distinctly to state it is no matter how long or violent the pain may have been, or how many teeth decayed; the Elixir will be found to stop decay, and be a permanent cure in every case of real tooth-ache, without the least danger to the most delicate constitution.”

Knaresborough, 1849. MARTIN SWEETING.

“No 10, Bow Church-yard, London, Jan. 2, 1850.

“To Mr. Sweeting, – Please send as usual 72 dozen Tooth-ache Elixir at 1s. 1 1/2d., and 12 dozen ditto at 2s. 9d.

“For W. SUTTON and Co., G. JONES.”

Prepared only by Martin Sweeting, chemist, Knaresboro’, who has appointed W. Sutton and Co., London, and Jas. Drury, Lincoln; Robson, Louth; Strawson, Market Rasen; Cartwright, Horncastle; Noble, Boston; Bowden, Gainsboro’; Skelton, Grimsby; Ridge, Grantham; Gibson, Kirton Lindsey; E. B. Robinson, Nottingham; Cressey, Brigg; F. Milns, Spalding; Creasey, Sleaford; Mountain, Alford; Leach, Wisbech; Thew, Lynn; and Hattersley, Barton; in bottles at 1s. 1 1/2d. and 2s. 9d. each. – N.B. Any medicine vender who has not got it, will procure it on being applied to.”

The Stamford Mercury, 5th April, 1850.

An experiment to test electric light aparatus for use on the railways.

“On Saturday night an experiment was made on the Great Western Railway, to test the power of a new species of light produced by electricity, particularly with a view to its being used by railway trains. The light is produced by an apparatus invented by M. Le Mott, a French gentleman, who has been for several years employed in electrical experiments in Russia, and whose discoveries in that department are well known to the scientific world. At half past six o’clock a truck, containing a wooden square box, about the size of a sentry-box, and having a galvanic battery of some sixty or seventy small jars disposed around it, was attached to the last carriage of the train then about to proceed from Paddington. The light was produced inside the box, and the rays, condensed and heightened by a powerful reflector, were emitted by an aperture contrived for the purpose. The light was produced before the train left Paddington, when a dazzling blaze filled the whole of the spacious station, casting the numerous gas lamps there completely into the shade. As the train proceeded on its way, the reflection left a long train of clear bright light for the distance of a mile and more behind it, in such a manner as to render it utterly impossible that any train coming up behind should run into it, except as the effect of deliberate intention. The reflection, as seen from the carriage, was very beautiful, the prismatic colours being distinctly and vividly delineated along the outer edge of the circle of radiation; and as these fell upon the dense column of smoke ascending from the engine, the effect was singular and striking. The night was dark, but clear, and so far favourable to the experiment; and objects, such as a bridge, were rendered distinctly visible at the distance of two miles. The experiment was made as far as Slough, on arrivinig at which station the truck was detached from the train, and continued there for about half an hour, till the up-train arrived, with which it returned to town. While at Slough, the light was turned in the direction of Windsor Castle, as it was the expectation of M. Le Mott, who accompanied the experiement, that it would be seen from thence. While there, a gentleman stationed himself at the distance of 200 yards or so from the apparatus, and read a newspaper by the light produced, which he found he could do with perfect ease. The apparatus then returned to town in the same manner, the light being continuously intense during the whole of the journey and return; and it was stated by the ingenious inventor that there could be no difficulty in keeping it up for the whole night. The experiment afforded great satisfaction to all who witnessed it, the only drawback being that the apparatus, having been in the first instance adapted for stationary experiments, suffered considerably from the jolting inseparable from railway motion, a defect which the inventor considered might be with ease overcome in any future experiment. This is the first time that light produced by electricity has been applied to railway purposes; and if its use should be fouind practicable, there can be no doubt that it will add greatly to the safety of night-travelling by railway.”

The Stamford Mercury, 24th November, 1848.

Or the BEDE-HOUSE in STAMFORD.

Oh dear! It seems the Bishop of Lincoln had been letting out hospital properties for incorrect charges and for longer periods than he should.

“The Vice-Chancellor’s decree on this important case has just been promulgated, and is in the following words:-

‘This Court doth declare that, upon the true construction of the letters patent of his Majesty King James the First, the Bishop of Lincoln for the time being has not any power or authority [as it was pretended he had] to make or constitute any statutes, or to revoke, change, determine, enlarge, alter, or make new the same, or any of the existing statutes touching or concerning or relating to the management of the estates and property of the said Hospital, or the distribution of the revenues thereof; but that the power and authority given by the said letters patent to the Bishop of LIncoln for the time being to make and constitute statutes, and to revoke, change, determine, enlarge, alter, or make new the same, or any of the existing statutes, is limited to the making and consituting, revoking, changing, determining, enlarging, alterinig, and making new, statutes touching and concerning the performance of divine service in the said hospital, and touching and concerning the personal conduct and government of the Warden, Confrater, and Poor Persons of the said hospital; and that such limited power of making and constituting, revoking, changing determining, enlarging, altering, and making new, the said statutes, to be exercised so as not to be contrary or repugnant or derogatory to such of the ancient statutes of the said hospital as are consistent with the laws and statutes of the kingdom.

‘And this court doth declare that the practice of letting the estates and property of the said hospital, and that the same ought to be discontinued, at such time and in such manner as the Master in Chancery in settling any scheme under this decree shall direct. And that the said estates and property ought thenceforward to be let at rackrent*, either from year to year, or for terms of years not exceeding twenty-one years in possession, and not in reversion.'”

The Stamford Mercury, 1st March, 1850.

* Rackrent is the full market annual value of a property or estate. It is usually the maximum rent a landlord can charge.

The people of Stamford were alarmed by a very bright light in the sky and a rumbling noise. They thought it might be an earthquake, but it turned out to be a meteor.

“A curious phenomenon was witnessed in Stamford and the country for many miles round at ½ past 10 o’clock on Monday night last.  At a time when the atmosphere was beautifully clear, the heavens were suddenly illuminated with an intensely vivid light, which lasted for several seconds, and eclipsed the effect of gas and candles: this was followed by a hollow rumbling sound, which gradually increased to a report like thunder: it vibrated in the air, and shook buildings to their foundations.  The alarm was general. Domestics who were in underground kitchens describe the noise as a seemingly proceeding from the bowels of the earth; and many thought their neighbours’ houses has fallen in.  There was no repetition of either the light or the sound: hence  some attribute the phenomenon to an earthquake, and others to meteoric agency.

– A gentleman who devotes much attention to scientific pursuits, has supplied us with the following account:- A meteor passed over Stamford on Monday night, its course being from west to east.  The splendour of its light far exceeded that of the full moon : and in brilliancy it surpassed the electric light.  Its shape was that of a ball surrounded by a dazzling light of a pale blue colour: from the nucleus, or head, proceeded an elongated stream of tortuous light, which displayed magnificently all the colours of the rainbow, and throughout its extent continued to throw off bright sparks, or rather masses of incandescent matter, resembling in appearance the effect produced by the discharge of a ticket.  It was visible for three or four seconds.  In about three or four minutes after it disappeared, a loud heavy noise resembling distant thunder was heard, producing the effects usually resulting from an earthquake.  The altitude of meteors of this character is estimated to be about 90 miles, and the velocity of their motion is about 1000 miles in a minutes: their origin, as well as the matter of which they consist, have in all ages been subjects of debate, but their appearance has seldom failed to produce considerable alarm, and as ‘blazing stars’ they no doubt constitute on part of the ancient prodigies.”

The Stamford Mercury, 15th February, 1850.

‘The old tunes are the best’, so they say, but some of these chimes rung from churches in Stafford and Stamford do not sound at all familiar. It’s a shame we don’t hear them so much nowadays.

“The Merry Church Bells, – In the Staffordshire Advertiser of last week, there is an account of the chimes newly fitted up in the venerable tower of St. Mary’s, Stafford, and a list is given of the tunes adapted to each day.  On Sunday, a psalm tune;  Monday, ‘Life let us cherish,’ Tuesday, ‘My lodging is on the cold ground;’ Wednesday, ‘There is nae luck about the house;’ Thursday, ‘The Harmonious Blacksmith;’ Friday, ‘We won’t go home till morning;’ and Saturday (being market-day), ‘Oh, dear, what can the matter be?’ – In the venerable church of St. Mary’s at Stamford, the chimes play two psalm tunes alternately on Sundays; on Monday, ‘General Toast;’ Tuesday, ‘Tight Little Island;’ Wednesday, ‘Grammachre  Molly;’ Thursday, ‘My lodging is on the cold ground;’ Friday, ‘God save the Queen;’ and Saturday, ‘Highland Laddie.’ – We have often heard it remarked that the Stamford chimes are not excelled by any in England.”

The Stamford Mercury, 27th October, 1848.

For passengers on the 14.10 from Birmingham to Norwich, via Stamford, it was not a very nice Saint Valentine’s day. The train came off the track just near the bridge over the A1.

“BRITISH Rail launched an enquiry on Wednesday to find out what casued a passenger train to veer off the track just outside Stamford.

Disk was falling on Tuesday evening as four carriages of the 14.25 Birmingham to Norwich service were derailed a mile west of Stamford station at the A1 rail bridge near the Ketton turn-off at Tinwell.

Shaken passengers reported ‘a horrible crash’ as the train made an emergency stop and the rear carriages of the six-copach train left the track.

It was said to have been doing 50 mph before it finished up at an angle.

Ambulances raced to the scene, and emergency lines were set up for anxious relatives of the passengers to telephone for news.

But miraculously non e of the travellers were hurt, and sub-officer Albert Exton, of the Stamford Fire Brigade said they kept their heads and didn’t panic.

Most of the passengers were walking along the line. ‘They were quite jovial,’ he said.

~Simon Crewe (17), of Winsover Road, Spalding, a junior apprentice in the Army on leave, said: ‘The engine cut and it just slid. It was grinding and shaking. It stopped quickly – the brakes were on straight away. I assumed it was ice on the track.

‘Bang’

Nicholas Sandford (19), of Knossington near Oakham, said: ‘There was a sharp bang. It was like if you go over a sleeping policeman on the road too fast.’

Adrian Gates (25), of Sudbourne, Suffolk, was in the last but one coaoch: ‘We saw some shingle being thrown up from the track, it shuddered a bit and it tilted and stopped. I thought the thing was going to go right over.’

Mrs Minifred Lissimore, of Norwich, in the first coach; ‘I have hurt mu arm a bit, it threw me forward on to the table. I’m just thankful no one else was hurt.’

‘Shocked’

Mrs Philippa Sykes (59), of Herefordshire, in one of the rear coaches: ‘It was a pretty terrifying experience.’

Miss Lesley Benstead (22), of Norwich: ‘I was sitting on one side and I ended up on the other side on top of a lady. I was thrown along the seat and across the gangway. I’m a bit shocked still.’

Some passengers walked to Stamford Station, but most waited in the two carriages still on the line for a train from Peterborough to pick them up.

They were given tea at Peterborough station before being put back on their way.

British Rail said later that a broken rail could have caused the accident, as could problems caused by the recent greezing conditions.

‘We are going to do a scientific study of the track as well as the coasssssches,’ said a BR spiokesman.

‘It would be wrong to speculate that it has been the weather, but that certinly has been taken into consideration.’

Three fire appliances from Stamford and one from Bourne attended and 13 firemen helped passengers out of the coaches.

By Wednesday morning all the coaches had been put back on the rails and were being removed from the site.

Single-line working was in operation and there were some delays.

Services were expected to [be] back to normal by Wednesday evening.”

The Stamford Mercury, 14th February 1986.

An exciting antiquity of archaeological interest was found by road-menders in St.Martin’s lane, Lincoln. It was part of a quern – a handmill used to grind corn as long ago as Saxon times.

“In reducing to a level the high-crowned road of St. Martin’s lane, the work men have discovered a portion of a domestic utensil of very high antiquity – the quern or handmill which in bygone ages was an indispensible requisite to the household gear. It is the upper stone of the primitive mill which has been found: unfortunately it is broken into five pieces, but all the pieces have been found. It is circular, and about a foot in diameter. At the edges are four square holes answering to the cardinal points (so to speak), so that two cross lines drawn from these points would form four right angles in the centre. In these holes perpendicular rods of iron were undoubtedly fastened, and these terminated in two cross wooden shafts, whose four arms formed the leverage of this simple adaptation of mechanical skill to the necessities of life. The centre shaft would of course be fixed in the bottom stone, and would terminate in the centre of the cross handles to keep the upper stone steady. This upper stone has a raised circular ridge on the upper surface, to keep the corn from sliding off; and from this ridge there is a fall to the centre, to let down the corn : the under surface is concave; consequently the upper surface of the under stone would be convex, and so the meal would gradually be forced outward, and would fall into a receiver beneath. The grit of the stone is very peculiar: its like is to be found in none of the Lincoln strata; and it had evidently been selected for the peculiar pupose to which is was devoted on account of its alternation of hard particles and cellular spaces, as a surface of the kind now obtained by chipping. That this simple relic of an age long preceding the age of steam-mills belongs to the Saxon period, there can be little hesitation in believing : St. Martin’s church, close by which it was found, is reported to occupy the site of one of the earliest temples of christianity. The Pembroke library once contained a curious medal, with an inscription purporting that it was struck by the prepositus ox chief magistrate of the Saxon city, in honour of the tutelar saint (Martin), to whom was dedicated one of the principal churches : this church remained in the Royal patronage till the Conqueror granted it to Remigius. St. Martini’s is still parcel of the cathedral. Upon the re-building of the Saxon church, the site would not be likely to be lowered, and therefore it is justifiable to assume that this ancient quern had been buried since the days of our Saxon forefathers.”

The Stamford Mercury, 17th September, 1847.

A fierce hurricane hit Stamford on 16th September, 1847 and the wind caused considerable damage. One casualty was an ancient oak tree.

“The wind blew a perfect hurricane yesterday (Thursday) between twelve at noon and two o’clock, and did considerable mischief to several windows in Stamford and the neighbourhood. In the early part of the morning, the roof of Hengler’s circus on St. Peter’s Hill was displaced; and shortly before one o’clock in the afternoon damage of a more serious character was occasioned. A gigantic walnut tree, believed to be more than two centuries old, which stood at the bottom of the Castle-hill, in a paddock adjoining the sheep-market occupied by messrs W. and J. Wright, ironmongers, was torn up by the roots, and fell with a tremendous crash across the street leading to the newly-made road (now the Great North Road) in the meadows. The lower part of the trunk burst down Messrs Wright’s wall, and the top part forced off a portion of the wall opposite and nearly destroyed a hovel on the premises of Mr. Wright Waterfield, sadler. A wagon drawn by three horses, belonging to Mr. Rt Simpson, of Little Casterton, was passing along the road at the time: the fore horse, as if by instinct, became restive at the moment the roots of the tree were parting from the soil, and dashed forward; the second horse likewise took the alarm, and both fortunately broke away from the shaft-horse: the last poor animal was crushed beneath the arms of the falling tree, and so dreadfully injured that it was necessary to kill it immediately that it could be reached. The driver escaped by running to the head of the fore horse when that animal became restive. Had the wind blown from the north, and thus forced the tree upon the adjoining house, it is probably there would have been a sacrifice of human life. The passage to St. Martin’s was totally obstructed; but by the activity of the police and some carpenters employed to saw off the branches of the tree, the stoppage of the thoroughfare was not for so long a time as to cause any serious inconvenience to travellers.”

The Stamford Mercury, 17th September, 1847.

The Great Exhibition, as it was commonly known, took place in Hyde Park from May to October, in 1851. It was the creation of Prince Albert and Henry Cole.

“Model of Building for the Exhibition of all nations in 1851. – Mr. Turner, the contractor for the elegant new iron roof of the Lime-street railway station at Liverpool, exhibited last week at that station to a number of gentlemen invited by note from Mr. Graham, secretary of the Liverpool committee of the above important exhibition, a large and beautiful model, from his works in Dublin, of his proposed plan of erections for the great exhibition of the arts, manufactures, and inventions of all nations, which is on its way to be submitted to Prince Albert, and represents iron in toto, is built of wood, and its exterior is carried out in the minutest details with great neatness and accuracy, one inch to represent 10 feet in the proposed real building being the scale adopted. It is proposed that the whole structure should be in the Green-park, and that the present marble arch, erected by George IV., and which cost 70,000l., should be appropriated, as it stands, as the ‘Royal Entrance Gate’ from Piccadilly. The area within the boundary line of the propsed works comprises 25 acres; in addition to which there are two flanking buildings, covering two acres more. These latter buildings (forming two parallel sides of the outer quadrangle), are each 1020 feet long, byt 40 feet wide, and two stories high – the upper parts for the fine arts, the lower parts for the committee rooms, &c. Midway in each of these flanks stands a circular building, dome roofed, and intended for refreshment-rooms. The diameter of each of these is 125- feet. The rooms are all of corrugated iron and glass. The main central building consists of several oblong ranges, disposed in nearly a square, and are peculiarised by segmatical roofs of corrugated iron and huge sheets of glass, forming continuous openings, and by four circular corner buildings rising to a great height, and one large building of the same form in the centre, all of them with cupola roofs. The centre one is (to the top of the dome) 200 feet in height, and, with a colossal statue of Atlas with the world on his back at the top, the whole elevation is 260 feet. The other four correspond, and being 220 feet, bear figures and flags, representing respectively Europe, Asia, Africa and America. The diameter of the centre dome is 200 feet; and (as are the others) it is outwardly surrounded at its base by a balustraded walk, from which extensive views may be obtained. The main central buildings are ranged in parallel, and across the frontage sides, with a wide space between them. The central range is 60 feet by 200 feet; and the other two lateral ranges are 160 feet by 175 feet. Each of these is 600 feet in length, and the surface of superficial glass in the roof of one of them will be three acres. The first range of building is proposed for engine work and machinery; the centre one (600 long and 200 feet wide, which is divided into two by the central circular building), for miscellaneous articles; and the further one for agricultural specimens, implements, &c. From the central dome a comprehensive view of all that is to be seen or done below may be obtained. In the rear of the quadrangle, there are two square object towers, for working steam engines, consuming or preventing the smoke from the buildings, supplying steam for working models &c. A temporary and very rude building for the exhibition would probably cost at least 50,000l., and a few yearly exhibitions would bring a succession of the same expenditure on each occasion: Mr. Turner, therefore, proposes a permanent establishment of art, and in the interregnums between national exhibitions might be profitably appropriated as botanical gardens, theatres, lecture-rooms, museums, &c.”

The Stamford Mercury, 18th January, 1850.