Author: secretary

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.

Russia said it needed some money to complete its railway from Petersburgh to Moscow, but people were suspicious that the Bear was building up funds in case of war.

“Russia is in the English Money Market, to negotiate a loan of five millions and a half, at the rate of four and a half per cent., to be liquidated by annual instalments in the course of fifty years! The Czar has sagaciously chosen his time for asking the aid of British capitalists. Money, just now, is ‘dirt cheap,’ and able to command scarcely half the interest which Russia offers. The security, too, for a foreign one, is generally looked upon as good. The temptation, therefore, is unusually strong to comply with the desire of the northern despot. On his part, there is a seeming deference to the commercial and pacific principles which have taken so tenacious a hold upon the British public. He is silent on the subject of war: he wishes to ‘complete a railroad between Petersburgh and Moscow.’ He thus appears to be engaged in developing the resources of his vast empire, and in forwarding the civilization of his semi-barbarous subjects. What philanthropist, what advocate of peace, can come between his and the capitalists of this country, to denounce the transaction, as favoring the objects of despotism? The bear has cunning as well as strength; and, we trust, public opinion, at the call of Mr. Cobden, will utter as loud a protest against the hypocrisy of Russia, as it did last autumn against the impudence of beggared Austria. The assertions of the member for the West Riding of Yorkshire, respecting the very limited pecuniary resources of the Russian empire, notwithstanding the exaggerated statements of its vast wealth which had found general credence, are now proved to have been well founded. Russia cannot complete her railroad to Moscow without obtaining a loan from foreigners for that purpose. Her treasury-chest, then, could never have been very abundantly supplied. And such cash as it contained had already been expended in the efforts made last year, and made successfully, to crush Hungarian independence. The overflowings of British industry and enterprise are now called for, to replenish the coffers which have been exhausted by a policy as odious to our sympathies as it was detrimental to our commercial interests. Russia squanders all her available wealth in trampling upon what we most revere, and in destroying what would have been highly beneficial to our trade, and then asks us to ward off from her the embarrassing consequences of her own wilful and wayward imperiousness.”

The Stamford Mercury, 18th January, 1850.

When a tramp appeared before the magistrates, his clothing was commented on by the local M.P.. The magistrate clearly knew his ‘Hamlet‘: the hero calls his Uncle ‘A King of Shreds and Patches, indicating that he is not a true king, having murdered Hamlet’s father and usurped the throne.

Had this story been about forty years earlier, he could have been referring to Nanki Poo in Gilbert and Sullivan’s ‘The Mikado’ – the ‘Wand’ring Minstrel’ – a ‘thing of shreds and patches’.

“Robt. Miller, a tramp, who passed the night of Saturday the 5th inst. in the Sleaford Union workhouse, took him before the magistrates at Sleaford on the following Monday, when R. A. Christopher, Esq., M. P., adjudged him to be committed to Falkingham house of correction for 14 days’ hard labour, and directed that the fragments might be stitched on calico and put together, so that on his next appearance in public he will be very much like ‘a thing of shreds and patches’.”

The Stamford Mercury, 11th August, 1848.

The Duchess of Glouncester was obviously a keen country-woman, and clearly a safari in the wilds of Kenya held no fear for her.

“The vision of the Duchess of Gloucester, clad in slacks, khaki blouse and topi, perched in a shelter on tree-tops at night, watching big game come from the jungles in East Africa to drink in the pools, is in strange contrast to her dainty appearances in this country. Since she arrived in Kenya she has accompanied the Duke on two shooting expeditions and has spent several nights on safari. While the Duke has been shooting, especially in search of the rarer types of antelopes, the Duchess has been busy with her sletch-book, for she possesses artistic talents above the average. She has already held two exhibitions of her pictures of Kenya Colony and landscapes around her old Northamptonshire home, Boughton House, at a West End gallery. Some of her water-colours adorn the rooms at Boughton House and the homes of members of her family.

While the Duchess is away, Queen Mary is acting on her behalf in giving advice concerning the final touches to the re-decoration and furnishing of Barwell Castle, which the Duke purchased recently. The Duke and Duchess are expected to take up their resicdence there two months hence.

Contrary to expectation, the Duke will continue to hunt from Melton Mowbray, where his stud of hunters is still being kept, but with the easy transport facilities that exist to-day both the Duke and Duchess are likely also to be seen out with the Fitzwilliam and Lord Burghley’s Hounds, this season, as the Duchess shares her husband’s zest for the chase.”

The Stamford Mercury, 30th September, 1938.

This poor gorilla was clearly frightened and confused, but he was brave enough to pelt his would-be arresters with potatoes! We wonder if the marvellous Guy (late of London Zoo) would have done the same in that situation?

“According to the Paris letter of the Daily Telegraph a gorilla has been arrested in Paris. The animal appeared to be doing sentry duty in front of one particular house. He strode solemnly backwards and forwards, walking erect, and turning sharply when at the end of his beat. When a attempt was made to secure him he suddently lost his temper, tried to bite the bystanders, then pelted them with potatoes, which he seized from a neighbouring greengrocer’s shop. Two policemen came upon the scene, and inquired in the house for the owner of the gorilla, but no one claimed the animal. The representatives of authority then solemnly marched the anthropod, who walked erect between them like a man, off to the police-station, where they reported that they had found a prisoner causing an obstruction in a public thoroughfare. The constables, impressed by the half-human appearance of the animal had serious doubts whether he ought not to be duly charged with the offence; but the officer, overruling their objections, had the gorilla conveyed to the pound.”

The Stamford Post, 14th March, 1902.

After being requisitioned during the Second World War and having attracted huge death duties, the 7^th Earl Lonsdale sold every fixture and fitting of Lowther Castle and it became an empty shell. However, it has been restored and is now a popular tourist attraction.

“It has been said that Lord Lonsdale can never forget the happy years he and his wife spent in Lowther Castle, the ancestral home in Westmoreland which now stands deserted. Although he now has to live at Stud House, Oakham, with typical Lonsdale spirit he has thought of an original way to be reminded daily of the castle. He has a flower sent for his buttonhole from the Castle gardens every day. Even when he went to Paris recently during the Royal visit he had his flower sent to him daily by aeroplane.”

The Stamford Mercury, 30th September, 1938.

J H Pestalozzi was a swiss educationalist who believed that education should help children develop critical thinking skills, foster empathy and emotional intelligence, and practical, hands-on learning.

“Pestalozzian Preparatory BOARDING and DAY SCHOOL for Young GENTLEMEN, STAMFORD.

THE Misses Heatley, in announcing their removal from Barn Hill for the reception of Pupils, avail themselves of this opportunity to repeat their thanks for the support their friends have given to principles which are silently, though successfully, making way in England; a result long since foretold by their ablest advocate, the late Fr. Mayo. He always said they were so consonant with good sense, so much in harmony with the spirit of the People of England, that they must be adopted, though it might be that the name ofPestalozzi would not be appended to them. The general principle seems universally recognised, that Instruction is not Education; that the Child is to be reated as a moral, intellectual, and physical being; or, to repeat the well-lknown words of Pestalozzi, that education must work on the Heart, the Head, and the Hand. It is not the amount of knowledge (in a Preparatory School) which Children may obtain, – but, what is of far more importance than positive knowledge, and far more pleasing to witness, is the freedom of mind, and intelligent sympathy with the meaning of questions. This system attains the important end of sending Children into the world with well-furnished minds, capable of easy development. In whatever direction occasion may call for further progress, there is good ground-work laid: such as will bear ample testimony to the merits of the system.

🖙 The Autumnal Quarter will commence on the 29th of September. Barn Hill, Stamford, Sept. 15th, 1847.”

The Stamford Mercury, 24th September, 1847.

A fantastic advertising ruse resulted in many sales of this Mummy pea, but sadly, it seems it was just a scam which fooled many vegetable gardeners. Perhaps this pea was in need of a father? Incidentally, the real pea named ‘Mummy’s Pea’, which is still available, has well-filled pods and tastes sweet.

“A few months ago the gardening world were thrown into a state of great excitement by the announcement of the discovery of a new pea, which had been propagated from one found in the wrappers of a mummy, supposed to have been placed therein some 1500 years B. C. This pea was said to have a flower like a geranium, a pod like the letter S, to be extremely productive, and to be the best in quality ever before known. The seed sold in London, and numbers of people in different parts were induced to purchase the seed of the mummy pea. It has been at length tried; the bloom is like that of the geranium; but there is no pod like that of the letter S: it is a slow grower, extremely shy in bearing, has a common field-pea appearance, nothing to boast of in quality, and has been pronounced by all who have been duped into its purchase, as being nothing more or less than a piece of mere humbug!”

The Stamford Mercury, 10th August, 1849.