Since I have my research on Joseph Allday and Winson Green open, here's an extract from the memoirs of prison warder William Brown, recounting his acquaintance with Joseph:
FORTY YEARS OF PRISON LIFE.
THE EXPERIENCES OF CHARLES READE'S ¹
"WARDER EVANS," ²
... as published in the Dundee Evening Telegraph, Saturday 07 December 1895.
Original image hosted on the British Newspaper Archive, transcription and footnotes my own.
THE EVENTFUL HISTORY OF MR ALLDAY.
A few words should be said of Mr Allday, who was instrumental in bringing about the exposure of the atrocities at Winson Green Gaol, and who thereby earned for himself the thanks of the Commissioners and of the public. His history was rather peculiar. Mr Allday, who belonged to a Tamworth family³, was apprenticed to Mr James Busby, wire-worker, who resided on the site of Warwick House, in New Street. On completion of his apprenticeship he commenced business on his own account, being afterwards joined by his brother Edward, who was a saddler's ironmonger, and the two businesses became united. However, they did not agree, and in 1824 they separated. Edward, who was possessed of some literary ability, was the proprietor of a small publication⁴ and to annoy his brother the same year Mr Allday published a little paper called the "Mousetrap," his own articles bearing the nom de plume of "Argus." His next literary venture was a paper called the Argus, which he published in 1828. It was a very good sheet for those days. However, his vigorous attacks on public and private men alike soon got him into serious difficulties. In February 1831 a Mr Gibbons⁵ brought an action against Chidlow, the printer of the paper, who carried on business at 65 Great Charles Street, for libel, and £150 damages were awarded against him, and his type and printing presses were confiscated. The following month Mr George Frederick Muntz and Mr George Edmunds, two of the foremost citizens, instituted proceedings for libel against Allday, and he was
ARRESTED ON A WARRANT
at his house at Highgate. Subsequently, at the March Assizes in 1831, he was found guilty on several indictments for libel, and sentenced to 10 months' imprisonment. The trial lasted three days. One of the local journals said at the time, "Some regret is expressed that a fine was not imposed on Allday, but it was proved that he was penniless, and 10 months' confinement in a gaol is a severe punishment if deserved.” It seems rather curious to find a man with this record becoming the leader of a great cause, and achieving success in it. But Mr Allday, whom I knew very well, was a man of indomitable pluck and perseverance, and on June 1, 1832, in spite of all that had happened, he published No. 1 of volume 4 of the Argus. This time it was "printed and published by Joseph Allday, 38 Upper Temple Street." This was almost striking a note of defiance. He and another brother, in May 1837, went into business in Bull Street, but these two brothers could also not agree. John remained in Bull Street, and Joseph removed to Dale End. He afterwards opened an eating-house in Union Street⁶. But Mr Allday could not stick to business. He was always dabbling in public affairs and exposing the many abuses then existing in the town. He became the ruling spirit in matters political, and in 1849 he was chosen by the electors of St Mary's Ward to represent them in the Town Council. He was for 12 years churchwarden of St Martin's Parish Church, and Chairman of the Board of Guardians. The great event of Mr Allday's life was his exposure of the atrocities, and perhaps it was this action which gave him his most honourable reputation. Poor Allday came to a tragic end. He was returning to his home at 27 Warston Lane, from the annual dinner of the Retail Brewers' Protection Society at Aston Hall, about 10.30 on the night of Wednesday, the 2nd October, and in crossing the road in Vyse Street he fell across a doorstep, sustaining severe injuries from which he died on Saturday, the 12th October 1861.
¹ Charles Reade (8 June 1814 – 11 April 1884) was an English novelist and dramatist, best known for
The Cloister and the Hearth. -
Wikipedia
²
Mr William Brown (1826 – 1903), warden of Winson Green Gaol, Birmingham. Brown came to public prominence in 1853 on the exposure of the prison abuses at Winson Green. During the Royal Commission to investigate the atrocities, he was recognized as one of the few humane officials who tried to mitigate the impact on the inmates of Governor Austin’s sadistic regime. Brown was the basis for the character of “Warder Evans” in Reade’s novel and stageplay
It Is Never Too Late to Mend, inspired by the events of the Commission.
³ I think Brown mistakes Tanworth, Warkwickshire for Tamworth, Staffordshire here
. My family tree has Joseph as a descendant of the Alldays of Tanworth-in-Arden and Knowle.
⁴ Edward Allday's paper was named
The Theatrical John Bull. Like the
Mousetrap it was similarly concerned mainly with theatre reviews, I think.
⁵ Banker Joseph Gibbins of New Street.
⁶ The
Corn Exchange Dining Rooms /
Mrs Allday's Celebrated Tripe Establishment, run by Joseph's wife, Ann, which I've written about elsewhere:
"Restaurants.—Our grandfathers knew them not. They took their chop or steak at their inn or hotel, or visited the tripe houses. Indeed, Joe Allday's tripe shop in Union Street (opened about 1839-40) may be called the first "restaurant" established here, as it was the favourite resort of many...
birminghamhistory.co.uk