Mercuriosities

Archbishop Thomas Cranmer and Bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, known as The Oxford Martyrs, were tried in the University Church of St Mary the Virgin and imprisoned in the Bocardo prison at the North Gate. Bishops Latimer and Ridley were burned at the stake on 16th October 1555 for denying the Roman Catholic dogma of Transubstantiation. Cranmer was burnt five months later on 21st March 1556.

A small granite area in the centre of the road outside the front of Balliol College marks the stake. The Victorian Martyr ‘s Memorial nearby, commemorates these events.

Cheap Dinner for Three Bishops.

“In a book kept by the Bailiffs of Oxford, at the time Cranmer, Latimer, and Ridley were in custody there, the following entry occurs of the bill of fare for these highly distinguished prelates (prisoners) on the 1st October, 1554: – ‘Bread and ale 2d., oysters 1d.. butter 2d., eggs 2d., lyng* 8d., a piece of fresh salmon 10d., wine 3d., cheese and pears 2d.:’ the whole three dinners 2s 6d. What would some of our modern Right Rev. Fathers in God say to such fare?”

The Stamford Mercury, 19th March, 1847.

*Presumably and old spelling of ling, the fish.

Currently, in the Army, individuals typically sign up for a minimum of four years, but can extend their contract or leave after that period with proper notice. 

“The Bill for limiting the time of service in the Army, and for amending the Acts for rendering effective the services of the Chelsea and Greenwich Out-pensioners, provides that no person shall be enlisted as a soldier for a longer term than ten years in the infantry, or twelve in the cavalry, artillery, or other ordnance corps, to be reckoned from the day on which the recruit shall have been attested, if he shall have stated himself to be then of the age of eighteen years, or if not, then from the day on which he will complete the age of eighteen years. That any soldier, after completing his term of service, may be re-engaged for any term not exceeding eleven years in the infantry and twelve years in the cavalry and artillery. Provided that both the first and second terms of service may be prolonged for such further, not exceeding on year in time of peace or two in time of war, as shall be directed by the commanding officer on any foreign station; and that any soldier who shall give notice to his commanding officer, after completing his second term of limited service, that he is desirous of continuing in her Majesty’s service, may be continued as a soldier until three calendar months after he shall have given notice of his wish to be discharged.”

The Stamford Mercury, 19th March, 1847.

Disputes on all sides caused the labourers working on the Syston to Peterboro’ railway to strike, because they had not received their wages and they could not purchase beer and necessities.

“The town of Stamford has been in some peril this week, from the misconduct of persons connected with the works on the railway in a grade which might be expected to exempt society from terror on their account. Owing to a disagreement between Mr. Worswick, the contractor for executing a great portion of the railway from Syston to Peterboro’, and Mr. Chester, his sub-contractor, the labourers on the line eastward of Stamford were not paid their wages on Saturday evening last, and as some delay in this respect had been experienced on a former occasion, the men on Monday became clamorous, refused to continue their work, and assembled in great numbers at Stamford. It seemed that early on that morning Mr. Chester, and a Mr. Roberts (who represented Mr. Worswick), were to have met on the line for the purpose of measuring the work which had been completed, and that Mr. Chester was not punctual to his appointment; in consequence of which, the admeasurement* was not completed; and Mr. Roberts, on meeting Mr. Chester at the George Inn at ten o’clock, refused to pay so large a sum as 400l.. which Mr. C. claimed as being due to him. Mr. Chester declined to receive a less sum, declaring that the whole was due to the labourers, and that without it he could not meet their demands. The dispute coming to the knowledge of the men, they became vociferous in the streets, and Mr. Roberts was in danger of being very roughly handled by them. On his going over the bridge, he was followed by a party whose movements indicated an intention of throwing him over the parapet into the river: he, however, succeeded in getting clear of them, and hastily made to the George inn, to which he was followed by the ‘navvies,’ and was loudly threatened by them. In order to save him from being pulled to pieces, the servants in the booking-office in the inn-yard thrust him into an inner room, the door of which the assailants speedily broke open; but fortunately it was practicable to get him upstairs before they entered; and after he had run through a whole suite of rooms, and fastened the door of each as he quitted, he was at last concealed in a cockloft known only to a few of the servants, and was thus lost to he pursuers. After a considerable time, he was supplied with a dress as a disguise, and was got out of the inn in a fly and driven to Ketton. During all this the navvies were on the watch, and it was feared that some outrage would be committed in the town in the course of the night, as many of the men declared that they had had nothing to eat for two days. Happily the temperate and excelled conduct of the policemen in this emergency preserved the peace; and on Tuesday morning the magistrates assembled at the Town-hall to investigate the case, and to take steps to protect the town from any outbreak of violence on the part of the ill-used labourers. Three of them were admitted to the Magistrates’ room; and with good temper and plainness they related the hardship of their case. There was no dispute whatever between them and their employer (Mr. Chester) about the amount of their wages: to each of 300 or 400 men sums were due, the want of which really prevented their obtaining any food for themselves or their families, as the tradespeople of Stamford and the villages refused to give them credit. One of the men candidly observed that he feared Mr. Chester had deceived himself as to the amount that would be due to him on admeasurement of the work done on the line; but that was no fault of the labourers, whose claim for wages was not in any case disputed, and who had toiled in intense heat which aggravated their privations. Mr. Chester, it was added, could supply the men with beer, which he himself sold to them, and which he set-off against their wages when the settlement took place, but he would supply them with nothing else, and now they could not obtain any money from him to purchase bread or other necessities. Mr. Chester was next introduced to the hall, and admitted the truth of all that the labourers had stated, but he declared that the fault of their not being paid did not rest with him, but with the agent of Mr. Worswick, who had refused to pay him a sum which would be equal to settling with the men. – It was pointed out to him that the peace of the town was greatly endangered by the presence of some hundreds of hungry and exasperated labourers, assembled from all parts of the county; and it was asked what he proposed to do to correct this state of affairs. Mr. Chester replied simply that he ‘could do nothing without money;’ and after a conversation of some length, there seeming to be no other way of keeping quiet the multitudes who were assembles to receive the support to which they were entitles, one of the Magistrates undertook to advance 200l. for Mr. Chester’s instant use, provided he would pay that sum amongst the men in proportion to their respective claims and necessities, and provided the men would immediately return to their work; the Magistrates at large undertaking to procure a settlement of the remainder of their claims, by sending for Mr. Worswick, and also immediately acquainting the Directors of the Railway, at Derby, with the state of affairs at Stamford. This was agreed to; the money was advanced; the men received 10s.each, and the great body of them returned to work; and Mitchell the policeman was dispatched to Derby with a representation of all the circumstances. – On Wednesday morning, Mr. Worswick appeared, and a long conference took place between him and the magistrates. At first he seemed inclined to put the case as one simply of a money transaction in which his agent wanted to extort a larger sum that he was entitled to ; but being strongly remonstrated with for having employed an agent without taking any security whatever for the faithful discharge of his duties, and informed that, if any outrage now arose from the continued privations of the labourers, the consequences would rest upon his own head, he consented to pay all the wages that were due to them men, and in future to see that they were regularly paid for their wok at short intervals. He also repaid the 200l. which had been advanced to Chester, and promised to prevent the continuance of the abominable truck system in beer and necessaries on the lines with which he is connected. – Since this good understanding was established, all had proceeded with order and pleasantness.

The policeman returned from Derby on Wednesday night, with a letter from Mr. Bell, the secretary of the Railway Company at the station there, expressing great concern for what had occurred at Stamford, and stating that the Chairman and other acting officers of the Midland Lines should be instantly informed of all the particulars, but saying that he himself could give no directions as to what should be done. Fortunately the happy turn which affairs have made this unimportant with reference to the late alarm at Stamford; but for future something should be clearly ascertained as to the means which would be at command in cast of tumult from such a cause as existed here on Monday and Tuesday. It is remarkable that on Saturday last the Magistrates, whilst sitting at the Town-hall, received a friendly visit from the Rev. D. F. Perkins, Rector of Swayfield, in the county, with the view of his making a representation as to a great disturbance in the streets which he had heard in the course of the previous Saturday night, whilst her was sleeping in the town, and which he understood proceeded from the conduct of some railway labourers assembled near St. Michael’s station-house. It had prevented his rest, and must have disturbed the whole neighbourhood for more than an hour. Mr. Perkins stated that he holds also a living in Warwickshire, near Coventry, and is a Magistrate for that county: in which latter capacity he had been called in to act with others in the case of disturbances by ‘navvies,’ and had made an application to the directors of the Railway Company, which had been received with the utmost respect and promptitude; and the Directors had signified that they were willing to incur any charge in supporting the rural constabulary of the district, and requested the Magistrates would select from the Company’s establishment such a number of men as they might think fit to aid the constables and whom the Directors would clothe with the county livery and place under the orders of the Magistrates, The Magistrates had, in consequence, made a selection of six men for the present from the company’s force, and they were acting in consonance with the purpose expressed.

The Stamford Mercury, 19th June, 1846.

• determination and apportionment of shares

Perhaps this could be the answer to the current proposal to close the town bridge between St. Mary’s street and St. Martin’s for seven weeks this summer!?

“In the course of next week, the main thoroughfare between St, Martin’s and Stamford will be cut off, and preparations for the removal of the present dangerous structure called the town bridge will be commenced. A substantial roadway across the meadows from the Sheep-square to the back of St. Martin’s has been completed: it is raised nearly three feet above the level of the meadows, and the sides are guarded by a strong fencing. By this divergence of the thoroughfare from Northamptonshire into the town, the tradesmen of St. Martin’s and St. Mary’s hill apprehend a great falling off in their business; and it has been suggested that what they may lose will only be a foretaste of what the entire borough will suffer, in the event of the deviation to Stamford of the Great Northern Railway being permanently lost.”

The Stamford Mercury, 2nd July, 1847.

This is what happened the last time the town bridge was replaced in 1847. Let’s hope that the current problem will be resolved more easily.

“Considerable misunderstanding has taken place with regards to the construction of the road to be used during the pulling down and rebuilding of Stamford bridge. At first, it was arranged that a temporary bridge should be erected across the Welland from Water-street to Mr. Harper’s wharf; but Mr. Harper, as the lessee of the river, claimed compensation, and failing to get what he considered an adequate sum, he put a stop to the works. Under the direction of the Marquis of Exeter or his agents, Mr. Woolston, the contractor, then commenced making a road in the meadows, from the George bridge to the Castle-dyke, but was again very soon stopped, owing to interference on the part of the town authorities, in consequence of no arrangements having been made with reference to the maintenance of the wide bridges to be erected in place of the present foot-bridges leading into the meadows. For a week, nothing was done; Mr. Woolston in the meantime being at great expense in keeping the men whom he has engaged for the work. On Friday last, activity in the matter was again shown; and it was stated that the road would be made from a corner of the George close, with a bridge across the Welland near to (but independent of) the parish bridge called the George bridge, and also another bridge by the site of the Lammas (corporate) bridge; but on Monday last the workmen were again at a stand-still; the alleged reason being that the last plan had been commenced without Lord Exeter’s sanction having been obtained. It is stated that the directors of the Syston and Peterboro’ railway will interfere, if the new high bridge be not speedily commenced. – Yesterday workmen were engaged in laying down soil for a road across the meadows.”

The Stamford Mercury, 4th June, 1847.

Of course, a lot of things happened in 1846: Sir Robert Peel’s conservative government came to an end after passing legislation to repeal the corn laws and the potato famine started in Ireland.

“We apprehend there can be no doubt that the year 1846 will be memorable to the end of time for the remarkable extension or new application of human knowledge, which will come before future historians as rendering illustrious its narrow limits. Most evident is it that we are now living in the days predicted by the Hebrew propphet when ‘many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.’

1 Foremost among these may be placed the use of ether, inhaled for facilitating surgical operations. Like all other applicances of this kind, it meets with failures, and even with evil results in a few cases. But for one fatal result and five failures, we have five hundred instances of vast benefit; in many of which, beyond all doubt, lives have been saved which would otherwise been lost. Without describing it as infallible, or in all cases safe of to be relied on, there can be no doubt that this discovery has conferred benefits on mankind.

2 The substitution of a new explosive material, the gun-cotton, is another remarkable event. The extent of its utility is not yet ascertained. Whether it will be largely adopted in warfare, is still a point on which no decided opinion has been formed; but of its great utility in all blasting and mining operations, not the slightest doubt can exist. It is both cheaper and more powerful than gunpowder; and the absence of smoke gives it a decisive advantage. There can remain no question that in all works of this description the new agent will rapidly supersede the old one.

3 The third discovery of 1846 is perhaps even of greater importance than either of the former. We allude to the lately patented process for smelting copper by means of electricity. The effect of this change will be quite prodigious. It produces in less than two days what the old process required three weeks to effect. And the saving of fuel is so vast that in Swansea alone the smelters estimate their annual saving in coals at no less than five hundred thousand pounds! Hence it is clear that the price of copper must be so enormously reduced as to bring it into use for a variety of purposes from which its cost at present excludes it. The facility and cheapness of the process too will enable the ore to be largely smelted on the spot. The Cornish mine-proprietors are anxiously expecting the moment when they can bring the ore which lay in the mine yesterday, into a state to be sent to market to-morrow, – and this at the very mouth of the mine. – In Australia also, the operation of this discovery will be of the utmost importance. Ten thousand tons of copper ore were sent from Australia to England last year, to be smelted at Swansea; and the result was only 1600 tons of copper. But Australia in future will smelt her own copper, by a 36 hours’ process; saving all this useless freight of the 8400 tons of refuse, and saving also the cost of the old and expensive process In a very few years Australia will send to market more copper than is now produced by all the rest of the world. But if our future penny pieces are to bear any proportion to the reduced cost and value of the metal, they must be made the size of dinner plates.” – Cambridge Advertiser.

The Stamford Mercury, 23rd April, 1847.

The rebuilding of the palace of Westminster after a fire in 1834, took thirty years. Its new construction was designed and managed by Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin. This report is from the first session in the new House of Lords.

“HOUSE of LORDS, Thursday, April 15.

The Peers occupied their new apartments this evening for the first time, but no ceremony was observed on the occasion. There was a large gathering of some of Peers and members of the House of Commons at the foot of the throne; among them Lord John Russell appeared for a short time. His Lordship afterwards visited the galleries and the other parts of the House. In consequence of the immense extent of the hall, and its peculiarity of construction, the echo is so great that it is extremely difficult to hear distinctly in the gallery what is said in the body of the House.

Shortly after the Lord Chancellor had taken his seat on the Woolsack, Lord Campbell rose for the purpose of addressing the House. His lordship, however, was by an accident deprived of the honour of being the first person to bring forward any business in the new House, for before he could commence his address, the Usher of the Black Rod announced a message from the House of Commons; whereupon Mr. Green and other members were called in and brought up several bills. This was the first public business transacted in the new House.”

The Stamford Mercury, 23rd April, 1847.

You might have thought that the first decimal coins in the UK were the 5p or 10p coins (which were, of course equvalent to the old shilling and florin, respectively) introduced in anticipation of ‘decimal day’ in 1971. However a victorian florin was produced in 1846, which bore the phrase ‘one tenth of a pound’.

“-Dr. Bowring moved that the adoption of a decimal system of coinage currency and account would be a great public convenience, and that an address be presented to her Majesty, requesting the value of two shillings, being a tenth of a pound, and twopence two-fifths, being the hundreth part of a pound – such coins to be called Queens and Victorias, or any other name which to her Majesty seemed best. – Mr. Hume supported the motion. – The Chancellor of the Exchequer thought the prejudices of the People in favour of the currency to which they had been accustomed were too strong to introduce with effect all the changes proposed by the Hon. Gentleman. He had no objection, however, to striking ooff a two-shillling piece, which might accustom the public to the gradual introduction of the system proposed, by familiarising them to the use of one coin representing a decimal fraction of a pound sterling. He saw no necessity for an address to her Majesty on the subject, and would feel it incumbent on him, if the motion was pressed, to move the previous question. – Mr. Stafford O’Brien congratulated Dr. Bowring on the parial success whch was likely to attend his wefforts – Mr. Sheil thought that the system proposed could be gradually and advantageously adopted, and that the difficulties in the way could soon be oversome. – Sir G. Clerk feared that the issue of a two-shilling piece might give rise to frauds, from the close resemblance which it must necessarily bear to the half-crown – Dr. Bowring, after what had fallen from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, withdrew his motion, satisfied that the Government would soon take the matter entirely into its own hands, when it would find itself well sustained by the good sense of the country.”

The Stamford Mercury, 30th April, 1847.

Wife selling, out of fashion now, very popular in the past. Here are a few more articles on how to sell wife (see previous posts). When you can be so easily satisfied by some beer, brewers and pub owners must have been laughing all the way to the bank.

Selling a wife.–This barbarous occurrence actually took place in Merthyr Tydvil a few days ago between a workman of the Cyfarthfa Ironworks and another. The price for which the workman sold his wife was 3l. ; 2l. 16s. in cash and 16s. worth of beer, the latter to be drunk by the principal parties to the transaction. The husband seemed very well satisfied that he had not only got rid of his wife but also gained something in the bargain. As for the woman, she exhibited few symptoms of either shame or sorrow, and drunk her share of the beer.’

Stamford Mercury, 27 March 1863.

A bit like our fax machines, this telegraph could send letters miles in a few minutes.

“An opportunity was afforded us on Saturday (says the Standard) of witnessing the practical application of Mr. Brett’s electric printing telegraph, at the office of the company in Parliament-street. This telegraph has for some time past been regularly worked in America, communications having been regularly made by it between Philadelphia and Pittsburg, a distance of 300 miles, with the most extraordinary accuracy and celerity. It is stated that the message of the Governor to the Legislature of New York, delivered in Albany on the 7th January, consisting of two columns and a half of solid nonpareil type (the kind of type in which the police records in this paper are printed), was published in the city of New York two hours after its delivery, having been transmitted sentence by sentence by the telegraph in question. The apparatus is as follows:- -At one extremity of the line is fixed a small box containing a row of keys (similar to those of a pianoforte), and marked with the letters of the alphabet, which is connected by a single wire to a printing machine at the other extremity, containing a wheel, having on its circumferences corresponding letters of the type wheel prints, and the alarm-bell rings at the other. The communications are printed on a scroll of paper of unlimited length, from which any portion of the correspondence may be cut off at pleasure. The experiments on Saturday last were very satisfactory; and proof was given that between 80 and 90 letters could be impressed with ease in a single minute upon the recipient paper, while the consecutive letters of the alphabet were even taken down in so short a time as eleven seconds! The appearance of the typography is clean, but the lines are slightly irregular. It is, however, beautifully clear and legible, and whatever defects there may be on the score of symmetry may, no doubt, be easily removed by a little mechanical consideration. The advantages which this telegraph enjoys over all others are too obvious to need mentioning. Correspondence can be transmitted from place to place, no matter the extent of distance, copies of which may be simultaneously secured at all the intermediate stations, and printed news thus fly over the surface of the land with the incomprehensible velocity of lightening.

In a letter addressed to Sir Robert Peel, in July 1845, by Mr. Brett, the attention of the Government was invited to the following proposals: – 1st. The immediate communication of orders and dispatches to all parts of the empire, and the instant return of answers to the same from the seats of local government, &c., all delivered in an unerring and printed form. 2d. A general telegraphic post-office system, uniting the chief and branch offices in London in connexion with all the offices throughout the kingdom, for transmitting messages of business, &c., from merchants, brokers, tradesmen, and police, military, and naval arrangements. That the invention contains within itself these and other advantages cannot for a moment be questioned; and it can hardly be doubted that, before long, the British public will more of less be in possession of them. Mr. Brett is likewise the originator and patentee of an oceanic line upon the same principle, which he affirms to be equally simple and practicable. – Times.”

The Stamford Mercury, 9th April, 1847.