Newspapers : From Birmingham Post 150 years ago

[mikejee]

2.8.1866
My query on 30th July as to what was meant by opening the grounds of Aston furnace is answered. Road building is going on. But I can quite see the problem with the pond, now used for drowning dogs and with 15 dead pigs in it. At least someone wasn't trying to sell the pigs as meat.
A reminder that roads then were not free highways. An advert to sell Kew Bridge in London, producing £3000 a year in tolls.

 

[Astoness]

thanks mike...i found the aston furnace one most interesting and this snippet will be printed for my old end folder...it cant be under estimated just how much history we can learn from these newspaper snippets...you wont find them in any published books...i spend hours trawling through them

lyn

 

[mikejee]

4.8.1866
Following the complaints about sanitary conditions in Aston, the Aston Board of surveyors spent a large part of their monthly meeting discussing the problem.

 

[Vivienne14]

Shows how little they knew at the time about the spread of diseases. The reported spread of Scarlet Fever was attributed to the insanitary state of the brook. It would later be disproved following the better understanding of the spread of diseases. Viv.

 

[mikejee]

6.8,1866
This reminds us that at this time there was no arcade opposite snow hill station, but an open cutting. Possibly someone saw the writers letter,as ten years later the Great Western Arcade was constructed where his suggested omnibus departure point might have been

 

[mikejee]

7.8.1866
I wonder if modern writers would be happy with the adaption of one of their works with a title "the Golden Dustman"
The Well known Tipton slasher has been naughty and escaped, but has now been recaptured.
Elizabeth Garrett, a terrible character in some eyes for trying to train as a doctor, IS using her capabilities in a job, despite the medical authorities

 

[Astoness]

mike i wonder what the tipton slashers crime/crimes were...could he have been as bad as jack the ripper...

 

[mikejee]

Lyn
Have just realised that this was put in by mistake. William Perry was known as "the Tipton Slasher", and was champion bareknuckle fighter of England. However this is not William Perry, but is named Hopkinson, which I did not notice. Confusing. Seems (below) he was in for poaching and assaulting a PC, though seems to have a bad record also.

 

[Astoness]

thanks mike..seems a strange name to be called the tipton slasher just for poaching and assault...i thought he would turn out to be a mass murderer lol

lyn

 

[DavidGrain]

Lyn, a little bit of information about the Tipton Slasher
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/day-tipton-slasher-met-match-224953

This fight which at the time was probably called a World Title fight was declared a draw after 74 rounds. I thought that when darkness fell they would continue the fight on another day but this does not seem to have happened.

William Perry would also have been arrested several times as prize fighting was illegal. When not fighting Perry would often work as a "night-soil man" a job which might have also been called euphemistically "a Golden Dustman", as mentioned in a recent post, as I remember when I was just starting work, an older man fellow employee telling us about his childhood when he said that the only wagon that the kids did not hang on the back of was "the Golden Chariot".

 

[Vivienne14]

Re "the Golden Dustman" play at the Theatre Royal. This would have been a year after Dickens issued his "Our Mutual Friend" story in weekly instalments. I expect people outside London would have been fascinated by the play as it would have referred to the dust mounds of London where sifting of rubbish made the owner of the mound very wealthy, while the 'scavengers' sifting the rubbish tolerated dreadful conditions for little pay. If this existed today it would be called recycling.

I also suspect (although no evidence) that Dickens would have been aware, or even consulted, about this play being performed. I doubt he would have objected as through his "Our Mutual Friend" novel he brought to the public notice the dire conditions that the 'scavengers' endured to survive.

And of course Dickens himself had performed at the Theatre Royal. So he may even have had connections. Viv.

 

[mikejee]

8.8.1866
Even the toughened reporters of the time seem to find this execution somewhat repulsive.

 

[mikejee]

9.8.1866
Before St Alban's church was built there was a mission church on the site, presumably a "tin church". here they are raising money for the new church, which apparently , as I understand it, would be the first in the midlands to not have private stalls for the "great and the good"
Duddeston mill crossing. Complaints at closing the gated crossing. I am not clear if the "scaffold" is a wooden bridge, but this seems rather a strong description if it is. there seems no mention of the closing of the crossing this early on the Warwickshire railways website, but have e-mailed them to see if they have any knowledge of it

 

[badpenny]

30.7.1866
Big fire at Saltley Carriage works. Full report is very long, but I have it if anyone wishes to see it.
Further discussion as to the cause of illness. Here the sanitary state of a pond close to Aston Furnace is blamed Interestingly it states that the Aston furnace Grounds have recently been "thrown open". Not sure what if that means thrown open to all and sundry to use or what
Model of statue of Rowland Hill unveiled. The final statue It would be unveiled in 1870. am not sure what became of it as wikipedia just states it was removed from the Main Post Office in WW2 for safe keeping. Maybe then fell into a black hole in the council depot.
Amusing statement by policeman re witnesses evidence

I wonder if the statue of Rowland Hill is the same one that may have been erected in Kidderminster?

 

[mikejee]

Have received a reply from Mike Musson on the Warwickshire railway site, and he was very interested, as the cutting does seem to imply that before a road bridge was built at Duddeston Mill, the original crossing was for foot passengers only, and that this was then for a while replaced by a footbridge. This I have now confirmed with other reports. Previously it had been assumed that it had always been a road crossing, first on the level, but then a bridge. The report below from Aris's Birm Gazette of 6.1.1867 gives some idea as to why people were not very happy with the footbridge

 

[Vivienne14]

Nice piece of research Mike. They seem to have swapped one hazard for another ie no handrails on the steps up and down the bridge. And no clearance of ice in winter - well, an accident waiting to happen. Viv.

 

[stever_51]

Urinating in a public place?

 

[mikejee]

Which post are you referring to Stever 51?

 

[mikejee]

10.8.1866
Factories often seemed quite happy to let visitors in to view their processes. Surprising, especially as here it seems that up till then an arms company was happy to possibly give away secrets. Not surprised government imposed otherwise.
Pub closed because licensee's son absconded. With all the takings?
Can't help feeling the mayor was being a little (?) sarcastic with his comments to the defendant regarding intoxication

 

[stever_51]

Which post are you referring to Stever 51?

The one about the mysterious Tipton slasher - sorry I thought I had quoted the original post.

 

[mikejee]

13.8.1866
At one time it was common for directories to try to get advance orders for their product by promising to include name/address of the subscriber, Obviously here Cornish's did not htink it necessary to fulfill their part of the bargain
A part of a very long letter ( too long to include )concerning sanitary conditions around the Hockley Brook which mentions changes in the Brook's course

 

[Astoness]

thanks for the hockley brook snippet mike...i printed off the whole article some time ago and makes very interesting reading...have to say i have learnt more about the history of where i used to live from these newspaper articles than any books i have read...just going back to hockley brook...even in the 60s when i used to walk past it every day to go to school it had a certain stench to it especially when it rose to the top after heavy rain...i can still smell it now ..thanks again mike

lyn

 

[DavidGrain]

Cornish seems to have had a bit of a reputation because I am sure I have seen other reports complaining about his directories

 

[mikejee]

Yes David. there were a lot of court cases brought beycornish for "non=payment of contracted fees". Thye did not seem to have usually succeded

 

[mikejee]

14.8.1866
Should think plucking live chickens would not only be inhumane, but rather difficult

 

[mikejee]

15.8.1866
Alleged theft of £3000 from owner of Sultan Divan- ill-gotten gains no doubt (part of very long report)
Accident at Wolverhampton races

 

[mikejee]

20.8.1866
Serious fire in Broad St.
Mam almost imprisoned for action of rats

 

[mikejee]

21.8.1866
Plea of seven shopmen regarding working conditions

 

[farmerdave]

Thanks Mike. I'm amazed as to how well the letter is written. It puts their case very clearly by making comparisons of how other institutions work shorter hours, especially on a Saturday, and adds quite a bit of humour when looking at how other groups of "sevens" have influenced various outcomes. I didn't know that shopmen could be so well educated in terms of letter-writing. Dave.

 

[mikejee]

21.8.1866
Pit explosion at West Bromwich. Must admit I did not know that there were in this area pits for mining stone.
Prince of Wales theatre cjanging hands again after recent reported kerfuffles