APPLICATION OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH ACT TO WORCESTER.
The passing of the Public Health Act in the session of 1848 was an epoch of our civilisation. It was the recognition of a great social want, and an attempt to remedy a great social evil, which had silently grown up with the increase of our large towns, and threatened to turn our prosperity and blessings into a curse. The principle of the act received the cordial and unanimous assent of all the great parties in the state; and though numerous alterations were made in the measure during its progress through the Lower House of Parliament, these were entirely improvements amicably suggested and cordially adopted by the ministry who introduced it. Those who determinedly opposed some of its details were always left, upon a division, in very small minorities.
The chief objection which has been raised against the measure, by those who have conscientiously or interestedly resisted its operation, has been to the constitution of a General Board of Health in London, having some check over the doings of those local bodies to whom the working out of the act has been intrusted. This is denounced by the word “centralisation,” but the Poor Law Board daily exercises, without remark, a much more stringent authority over Boards of Guardians, who are just as much representative bodies as Town Councils, than any which is vested in the Board of Health. In many places where the act has been applied, the need of such a supervision as that of the Central Board has been so strikingly evinced that Parliament will, probably, soon be induced to place yet greater powers of control in the hands of the Board, and make the provisions of the act entirely compulsory instead of optional. It might seem wise and well to leave the unerring laws of health and disease to work out their own results, in punishing those who neglect the necessary conditions by which alone health can be maintained where men congregate together; but as the epidemics engendered by such neglect cannot be confined to those who are their responsible producers, the legislature, on behalf of society at large, has the right to interfere.
The application of the act to Worcester has been productive of immediate results that are sufficiently curious; but its importance, as regards the future welfare of the city, cannot be overrated, and on that account, much more than for any present turmoil, which, in “the whirligig of time,” will subside and be forgotten, the subject claims a special notice here.
Worcester, more than most English towns, needed the application of such a measure to its internal economy. Its fair exterior, and the outward cleanliness of its principal streets, are but the deceitful masks of hidden insalubrities. Surrounded by hills, which attract the moisture and screen it from the healthful breezes that would drive away miasma, its atmosphere is too constantly damp and relaxing in summer, and in winter the fogs, rising from the stream and the undrained soil, lie long upon its dwellings. The river, which flows through it, fortunately keeps up a constant current of air, but epidemics always follow the course of rivers. Though apparently well situated for drainage, the greater part of the city is ill-circumstanced in this respect, for the southern and western half, at least, is built on a cold marl, which retains the soakings of the surface as a sponge. These are natural reasons which, it might be supposed, would have suggested to the inhabitants the most careful attention to drainage and cleanliness; yet it is a fact, that scarcely a street in the whole city is supplied with a sufficient drain, and that it contains more open cesspits, prolific of noisome smells and active disease, than any town of equal size in the kingdom.
The merit of having drawn public attention, in this city, to the paramount importance of Parliamentary interference to enforce sanitary improvements belongs to Sir Charles Hastings, M.D.
At the city election in 1846, when Sir Denis Le Marchant suddenly appeared as a candidate, Dr. Hastings, upon the hustings, addressed the citizens, who were then gathered together, and said he was anxious Sir Denis should have their opinion on a matter of the greatest importance to every individual amongst them. “Amidst the great party struggles,” continued the Doctor, “in the legislature, the social improvement of the people had been too much overlooked, and it was certain that the sanitary condition of the great mass of the inhabitants of this kingdom was such as reflected no credit upon its Government. He wished, therefore, the citizens of Worcester to impress upon Sir Denis Le Marchant the propriety of giving his best attention to this great question, and of using his best endeavours to get it promoted by the Government. He hoped that the measures which had been under the attention of the legislature for the last six or seven years would, at last, receive the consideration they merited. All alike would be benefitted by the passing of laws necessary for the protection of the public health, and which would have also a great effect on public morals. (Applause.) He trusted that was their opinion, and if it was so he prayed them to hold up their hands.”
The assembly unanimously responded to the Doctor’s appeal; and Sir Denis declared himself the warm advocate of sanitary measures.
Dr. Hastings afterwards addressed a letter to the Town Council on the subject; and in seconding Mr. Ricardo’s nomination, in 1847, he again mentioned the matter, amidst the cheers of the assembly, and pressed it upon the attention of each of the candidates.
Mr. Austin, the secretary to the Health of Towns Association, came down in the autumn of 1846 to make an inspection of the city, and report upon the works and alterations necessary to be undertaken for the purpose of securing the greatest possible amount of health and comfort to the inhabitants. Mr. Austin presented his report to the City Commissioners in December, 1846, and so able and informative was it deemed that it was ordered, on the motion of Mr. Pierpoint, to be printed for general circulation; and a sum of £20 was afterwards voted him by the same body. Mr. Austin estimated the gross cost of drainage for the entire city, proper water supply to every house, baths and washhouses, conversion of soil for agricultural purposes, at £74,000; he believed a revenue of £19,000 per annum might be derived from such works when carried into full efficiency; the interest and expenses of management he set down at £11,650. Some parties, unconnected with either of the two governing bodies in the city, this year gave notice of their intention to apply to Parliament for a “City Improvement Act,” in which powers would be taken to carry out all those alterations which were felt to be so necessary for the good ordering of the town; but this project was soon abandoned, and the City Commissioners declared that, if Parliament did not that year introduce a general act, they would themselves apply for an extension of powers to enable them to carry out needful sanitary improvements.
At a dinner given to Captain Candler, in February, 1847, Lord Lyttelton strongly pressed upon the Mayor, and citizens of Worcester generally, the desirability of at once carrying out the suggestions of Mr. Austin’s report in their integrity.
The Government having introduced the Public Health Act into Parliament, in the spring of 1847, petitions in its favour were forwarded from Worcester, one of which was signed by 700 of the working classes. The principal difference between the measure as introduced by the Whig and Conservative Governments was, that the one proposed by the latter placed the “centralising” power in the hands of the Home Secretary, instead of the Central Board, and would have constituted new local bodies for working out the act, instead of placing it in the hands of the Town Councils, which the Whigs did on principle.
The first public meeting held in Worcester was one convened by the Mayor, Mr. Elgie, on the 19th of April, 1847, to consider the measure proposed by Government. But the Commissioners met in the morning, and determined on opposing the Government bill, doubtless because it would altogether extinguish them; and as a good deal of alarm had already been created in the town by the large figures in Mr. Austin’s report, there was a considerable opposition raised at the meeting. Dr. Hastings and Mr. Orwin moved a resolution, declaring the necessity which existed for sanitary measures; and this was carried. Mr. Arrowsmith and Mr. J. W. Isaac moved a second, approving of the Government measure; but Mr. R. M. Mence and Mr. Francis Hooper moved an amendment, to the effect that the Health of Towns Bill contained many unnecessary and mischievous provisions. The cost and the centralisation were the topics chiefly dwelt upon by the opponents of the measure. Mr. Orwin spoke in favour of the bill, and Mr. Thomas Lucy and Mr. Pierpoint against it; the latter producing a toy whose joints were moved by a string, to illustrate what the Town Council would be in the hands of the Central Board. The proceedings were spun out to such an inordinate length, that the meeting had almost dissolved itself, before the resolution and amendment were put. The division was very close, but the Mayor decided that the resolution in favour of the Government bill was carried. A petition to Parliament in its favour was afterwards proposed, but that was lost, and the resultless meeting then broke up.
The same week the Council adopted a petition in favour of the measure, by a majority of 18 to 8.
In May, a petition was presented from Worcester in favour of the Public Health Act, signed by the Very Rev. the Dean, and most of the Canons and parochial clergy. The medical men of the city also, without a single exception, petitioned that it might pass.
The bill was committed in June, by a majority of 191 to 50; the only Worcestershire members who voted in the minority being General Lygon and Mr. P. Borthwick. The bill was, however, after all, with a multitude of others, in the annual “slaughter of the innocents;” and then came the general election.
In seconding Mr. Ricardo’s nomination as a candidate for Worcester, Dr. Hastings again mentioned sanitary matters, and declared, amidst the cheers of the assembly, that he would not give his vote for any man who would not pledge himself to support a bill for the improvement of the public health.
In January, 1848, Mr. Thomas Beggs lectured in the Town Hall, Worcester, on sanitary improvements; and on the following day a public meeting was held, over which the Mayor, Mr. Edward Webb, presided. The Rev. John Davis then moved a petition to the legislature in favour of sanitary measures, which was carried without dissent; and Mr. Ricardo, who was present, expressed the pleasure he should feel in presenting it, and in supporting Government in any measure they might propose for the advancement of the sanitary condition of the people.
In April, a town’s meeting was called to consider the Government measure, on a hostile requisition; and the Mayor being indisposed, the friends of sanitary improvements took no part. Mr. Summerfield was called to the chair; and on the motion of Mr. Mence and Mr. Hooper, a petition was adopted in opposition to the Health of Towns Bill, and ordered to be forwarded to Mr. Urquahart, for presentation.
In May, the Town Council, with only one dissentient, petitioned in favour of the measure; and a petition of similar import was also very generally signed by the inhabitants of the city.
The bill passed the House of Commons on the 20th of June—the opposition, in their strongest division, having only mustered fifty-four votes. It met in the House of Lords with entire approbation; and every one of the amendments made in committee there, were with a view to make its provisions more stringent and “centralising.”
On the 3rd of October, 1848, the Worcester Town Council, on the motion of Mr. Alderman Elgie, came to a resolution, “That it is desirable forthwith to bring into operation within the city the provisions of the Public Health Act.” In a numerous meeting there was only one dissentient to this resolution. A committee of fifteen members was then appointed to carry out the resolution. They communicated the resolution of the Council to the Central Board, and requested that an inspector might be sent down to inquire into the propriety of applying the act to Worcester.
Mr. George T. Clark, Government Inspector, accordingly gave notice in November, both by advertisement and handbills posted in all parts of the city, that he should make the necessary inquiries as to the sanitary condition of the city, and invited all parties to give evidence before him. Mr. Clark sat for the first time at the Guildhall, on the 4th of December, and was very cordially received by the Mayor, Mr. Padmore, and a considerable number of leading citizens and tradesmen, some of whom have since taken a very active share of the opposition to the working of the measure; but not one word of objection to the application of the act to Worcester was ever uttered in Mr. Clark’s presence.
Mr. Clark’s report appeared in April, 1849, and the conclusions to which the inspector arrived were, that the public nuisances in Worcester were many and great—constantly creating sickness, and increasing the mortality of the place; that what was principally wanted was a proper water supply, surface paving and drainage; and that remedies for the evils complained of might be applied for a rate of not more than one penny a week per house. The cost of the necessary drainage he estimated at £20,315, and of the water supply at £21,750, while he set down the annual income derivable from the water works at £4,238.
Acting upon this report, the Central Board made a provisional order for the application of the Public Health Act to Worcester; being competent to do this, as to any place where the mortality ranged above 23.0 in 1,000 per annum—and, according to the Registrar General’s report, the average mortality in Worcester, for the seven years previous to the passing of the Public Health Act, was 25.05 in 1,000. A bill to confirm this provisional order was introduced into Parliament in July, 1849; and, passing without opposition, received the royal assent in August.
Immediately after the application of the act to this city, all sorts of absurd rumours were put into circulation as to the expense it would occasion to the ratepayers; and the ignorance and misinformation that appeared to prevail upon the subject, would scarcely be credited if related. Ward meetings were very generally held, at which memorials to the Council were adopted, praying them not to carry out the act, or to postpone its operation. And thus commenced an agitation, which, being fostered by persons who had their own or party ends to serve, long continued to disturb the peace of the city.
At the meeting of the Council on the 7th of August, Alderman Elgie moved that the Public Health Committee should report to the next meeting as to what offices were necessary to be appointed, and other steps requisite to be taken under the Health of Towns Act. This was carried by a majority of 19 to 11.
At a subsequent meeting, the committee reported that the officers required would be a clerk, treasurer, surveyor, and medical officer of health. An amendment for delay was rejected by 22 to 12, and the clerk and treasurer were at once appointed.
In consequence of the determination thus evinced by the Council to proceed vigorously with the practical application of the measure, a public meeting was called by the parties hostile to it. This was held on the 25th of September, 1849, and presided over by the Mayor, Mr. Padmore. Mr. Summerfield moved the adoption of a memorial to the Central Board, praying that the act might not be applied to Worcester, because it was denied that the mortality of the city exceeded 23 in 1,000; and because a majority of the inhabitants were said to be unfavourable to the introduction of the Public Health Act. Alderman Thompson seconded the memorial. Alderman Edward Webb proposed, as an amendment, “That inasmuch as the act is at present applied to the city, and considering the unsatisfactory state of the dwellings of the poor, the insufficient drainage, and bad supply of water, the memorial is unnecessary.” Alderman Elgie and Mr. Waters addressed the meeting at great length on the general question, and pointed out the absurdity of supposing that any memorial to a board in London could stop the operation of an Act of Parliament. Excepting Mr. James Wall, who made a few observations, no one attempted to speak on the other side; but the amendment was lost, and the memorial carried by a large majority.
The presentation of the memorial was intrusted to the Rev. R. Sargeant and Mr. Lucy, but the Board declined to receive them as a deputation in the absence of Mr. Clark. The Rev. R. Sargeant, therefore, forwarded it with a letter, and the Board of course returned for answer, that they had no power to stop proceedings under an Act of Parliament; and further, that the act had been legally applied to Worcester—as the Registrar General had certified to them, under his own hand, that the mortality was 25.05 in 1,000.
The appointment of surveyor was postponed by the Council till after the municipal elections for 1849; but at the meeting of November 16, further delay was resisted, and an amendment to that effect was defeated by 26 votes to 12. Mr. Edward Leader Williams was then chosen surveyor under the Public Health Act, by 23 votes to 8 given for the opposing candidate, Mr. Samuel Purchas. The question of salary was postponed.
For some months Mr. Williams went on, under the directions of the health committee, preparing his plans for the improved drainage and water supply of the city. His report on the drainage question was issued and printed in June, 1850, and met with very general approval. Having been called before the Council, at their meeting in August, and given explanations upon some points, the Council in full meeting adopted the report with only two dissentient voices. The report estimated the cost for the entire drainage of the city at £17,345.
The excitement amongst ratepayers was, however, kept up by a question of the necessity of appointing a medical officer of health; and so strong was the current of public opinion against such an appointment, that the Council were compelled to abandon all thoughts of making it. Dr. Malden and Dr. Hastings both addressed letters to the Council, declaring that, in their opinion, a medical officer was needed for the proper carrying out of the act.
The by-laws necessary under the Public Health Act for the regulation of slaughter houses, lodging houses, &c., were another fruitful source of squabbles during 1850. On the 5th of March a code was agreed to in the Council, by a majority of 15 to 7, which rendered it necessary that an “officer of health” should have the superintendence of such places, and to these the Secretary of State gave his assent. In July, however, the anti-sanitary party having increased in boldness, carried a new set of by-laws, by a majority of 18 to 16, in which the words “inspector of nuisances” was everywhere inserted instead of “officer of health.” They then begged the Home Secretary to endorse their inconsistent proceeding, but he refused to do so. The original by-laws are, therefore, now law in the city of Worcester; but as there is no “officer of health,” no use has been made of them—they remain a dead letter.
On the 5th September, 1850, the anti-sanitary party had a public meeting in the Guildhall, at which Mr. Toulmin Smith attended and delivered an harangue against centralisation. The meeting actually came to a resolution “to resist the application of the act in that city and elsewhere; and, if possible, obtain its repeal.”
At the municipal elections for 1850, parties were returned to the Council avowedly “to put a stop to the working of the act altogether;” but the dignity of the Council and its proceedings was not improved by this infusion of new blood. Up to the present time not a single step has been taken towards the practical application of the act in the city; but, instead of that, the Council have been engaged in a dispute with the surveyor, whom they refused properly to remunerate—and thus they have involved the city in great expense to no sort of purpose. The details of this affair it would be altogether undesirable to resuscitate, and the more so, as the Central Board have pronounced the Council to be entirely in the wrong; but there is reason to hope that wiser and more enlightened views, on a subject which involves the future prosperity of the city and the health and life of its inhabitants, will soon prevail.
WORCESTER INFIRMARY.
This noble charity had its origin in the philanthropy of the medical men of Worcester in the year 1745. It was first opened in a room in Silver Street, and it was not for twenty years afterwards that the present hospital was built, at an expense of upwards of £6,000. It has been enlarged at various periods since that time, and is now capable of accommodating 100 in-patients. The funded property of the institution exceeds £27,000, and the annual subscriptions amount to upwards of £1,200. The physicians and surgeons attached to the institution at the beginning of the present century, were Dr. Johnstone, Dr. Seward, and Dr. Mylne; Mr. Pennell Cole, Mr. Sandford, and Mr. Carden. The following are minutes of the appointments which have since taken place, and of the more important proceedings of the governors:
1800—January 31—Election of physician in the room of Dr. Johnstone, who resigned. There were three candidates, and the choice of the subscribers fell on Dr. Skey, who had 127 votes; Dr. Philip W. Wilson 108, and Dr. Barnett 73.
1800—June 27—At a quarterly meeting of the governors, it was ordered that all legacies and benefactions amounting to or exceeding £50 be funded.
1801—August 7—In consequence of “the distressed state of the Infirmary and the dearness of every article of provision,” the order respecting the funding of £50 legacies was suspended.
1801—August 28—Dr. Barnett unanimously elected one of the physicians in the room of Dr. Chambers, resigned.
1803—February 1—Dr. Philip W. Wilson unanimously elected in the room of Dr. Skey, resigned.
1810—March 30—It was ordered that the property of the institution, then invested in the Three per Cents., should be transferred to the Four per Cent. Government Annuities.
1812—June 26—Ordered that in future the secretaries of the Infirmary should give security, by bond, to the amount of £200, for the delivery of all books and papers belonging to the Infirmary. This was in consequence of the late secretary, Mr. Staples, having refused to give up the books, and a dispute as to the balance due from him. The funds being very low and inadequate to meet the expenses, the Bishop of the Diocese requested the parochial clergy to make collections in their respective churches on behalf of the institution, by which means £1,483 were added to the funds.
1812—October 2—Mr. Charles Hastings elected house surgeon in the room of Mr. Blower, resigned. Mr. Hastings had a competitor in the person of Mr. James Lewis; and the votes were—for Mr. Hastings, 132; Mr. Lewis, 131.
1813—August 13—The number of patients which each subscriber was allowed to recommend was limited to one patient for every guinea subscribed. The high price of provisions was alleged as the reason for this step.
1814—August 30—Dr. G. Woodyatt elected physician on the resignation of Dr. Barnett.
1815—June 30—The order, limiting the number of patients, rescinded, and the subscribers permitted to recommend two patients for each guinea subscribed, as was the case previously. The medical officers were requested to invite the rest of the faculty in Worcester to witness all the more important operations.
1815—November 6—Election of surgeon: the office being vacant by the retirement of Mr. Pennel Cole, Lord Somers proposed Mr. Thomas Stephenson, who was seconded by Lord Beauchamp; Mr. Josiah Palmer proposed Mr. J. P. Sheppard, seconded by Mr. Watson, Stourport; Hon. and Rev. W. Jenkinson proposed Mr. Dangerfield, seconded by Dr. Cameron. The result of the ballot showed for Mr. Stephenson, 335 votes; for Mr. Sheppard, 238; and for Mr. Dangerfield, 135. The total polled was thus 708, or very nearly the then average number of subscribers.
1815—December 29—Mr. Herbert Cole (son of Mr. Pennel Cole, for thirty years one of the surgeons to the Worcester Infirmary) unanimously elected as house surgeon of the institution in the place of Mr. Charles Hastings, resigned.
1816—January—Sir William Smith, Bart., furnished the matron’s rooms at his own cost.
1816—July 29—Dr. Lewis Evans elected a physician in the room of Dr. Cameron, resigned.
1818—April 20—At a large meeting of the governors, Dr. Philip W. Wilson brought forward certain charges against his brother officers of the medical staff, as to an operation which he alleged had been improperly performed, but the charges were dismissed by the governors.
1818—April 24—Dr. Philip W. Wilson retired from his post, as physician, avowedly on the ground that his brother physicians and surgeons constantly opposed the admission of others of the profession to witness the operations they performed. Dr. Wilson’s letter to the public was replied to by Mr. J. H. Savigny, who thought it undesirable that infirmaries should be turned into theatres for display.
1818—October 2—Ordered that, if the income arising from subscriptions and funded property is insufficient to keep open two additional wards, then first fitted up, a sum, not exceeding £200 annually, should be appropriated for that purpose from such legacies as should be left to the charity, and not specially directed to be vested in the funds.
1818—November 2—Jonas Malden, M.D., and Charles Hastings, M.D., were appointed physicians in the place of Drs. Philip W. Wilson, and Louis Evans, resigned.
1819—February 15—J. P. Sheppard, Esq., elected surgeon in the room of Mr. Stephenson, resigned.
1819—Dispute amongst the medical men as to the treatment of surgical and medical cases.
1819—April—J. H. Savigny, Esq., took the office of secretary pro. tem., in the place of Mr. Jackson, resigned.
1819—October 29—Mr. Matthew Pierpoint appointed surgeon in the room of Mr. Sandford, who resigned after twenty-seven years of most useful service to this institution. Mr. Pierpoint was proposed by Lord Deerhurst, and seconded by Mr. Sandford himself.
1820—January 12—A silver cup presented to Mr. Savigny for his various and important services to the institution.
1823—April—An additional wing erected in addition to the north end of the Infirmary.
1823—July 26—Mr. John Eleox chosen secretary to the Infirmary, vice J. H. Savigny, Esq., resigned.
1824—April 23—Dr. Lewis chosen physician in the room of Dr. Woodyatt, deceased.
1826—November 6—Election of a physician in the room of Dr. Lewis, resigned. The candidates were Dr. Nash, proposed by John Williams, Esq., and William Wall, Esq.; and Dr. Streeten, proposed by the Rev. Digby Smith and Major Johnson. At the close of the ballot Dr. Nash was found to have 298 votes, and Dr. Streeten 243—majority for Dr. Nash 55.
1827—May 8—The governors agreed to the erection of an operating room, and other necessary offices, at an expense of £700.
1829—June 5—Mr. T. H. Wheeler elected secretary, vice Mr. Elcox, resigned.
1829—July 27—Mr. T. Carden elected surgeon, vice John Carden, Esq., resigned.
1830—July 2—The funded property of the institution, hitherto in different stocks, was all transferred to the Three-and-a-half per Cents. Reduced.
1833—December 27—At the quarterly meeting of the governors, Earl Beauchamp in the chair, it was announced that £1,126 had been collected for the institution during the last few months at different churches and Dissenting chapels, which would pay off the debt of £550, due to the treasurers, and enable them to get through the next twelve months without touching the funded property. Mr. Gutch afterwards read a report of a committee which had been appointed to inquire into the expenditure of the institution which had, for a series of years, exceeded the income. They admitted that there had been great abuses in various departments of the institution, and especially as to the supply of drugs and chemicals, and it was therefore recommended that a practical chemist should be appointed on the drug committee, who, during his appointment, should be ineligible to supply drugs. They recommended also that all legacies, above £100, should be funded, with sundry other regulations. The report was received, but it was determined not to publish the evidence upon which it was founded, by a majority of 16 to 11.
1834—April 4—At the quarterly meeting of the governors, a resolution, determining that all legacies of £100 should be funded, was adopted; and it was also resolved that the evidence taken respecting the mal-administration of the drug department, should be referred to a select committee.
1834—June 27—It was determined to take counsel’s opinion as to the power of the Corporation to renew the lease of ground on which the Infirmary stood, as it belonged to Nash’s Charity. This matter had repeatedly been under the attention of the governors, and at last it was found necessary to obtain an Act of Parliament, in order to legalise the lease. The sub-committee reported that no further investigation that could be made into the irregularities which had taken place, and the discrepancy between the amount of drugs ordered and consumed, would be satisfactory; and so the matter finally dropped.
1838—August 16—Election of a surgeon, in the room of Mr. Thomas Carden, deceased. There were no less than ten candidates, and a great deal of interest was excited in the matter by peculiar circumstances attending some of the candidates. John Williams, Esq., was called to preside over the meeting, which was adjourned to the County Courts for the sake of room. The chairman proposed Mr. Edward Morris, who was seconded by William Acton, Esq.; Colonel Davis and Mr. Sidebottom proposed Mr. J. H. Walsh; James Morton, Esq., and R. Spooner, Esq., proposed Mr. H. D. Carden; the Major and Mr. Duncan proposed Mr. Budd. An objection had been raised to Mr. Carden because he had not been, as the rules were considered to require, resident during the previous twelve months in Worcester. Counsel’s opinion was taken on the point, and a very tedious and hot discussion took place on the matter at the meeting. Ultimately it came to a vote, and 106 declared Mr. Carden eligible, and 90 that he was not. His name, therefore, went to the ballot, and he was elected—having received 310 votes to 131 for Mr. Walsh, and 40 for Mr. Budd.
1843—June 30—At a quarterly meeting of the governors, a strong resolution was passed in reference to a disgraceful attack upon C. H. Hebb, Esq., which had appeared in the Guardian newspaper. Mr. Hebb having had an operation very successfully performed upon him, presented the Infirmary with a sum of £10 in token of his thankfulness, and partly because the instruments belonging to that institution had been employed by the operating surgeon. The writer in the Guardian affirmed that the instruments had been purchased solely with a view to this very operation, and so “the shine was taken out” of Mr. Hebb’s donation. This proved to be utterly false.
1845—December 19—A very sharp contest for the office of secretary to the Infirmary, in the room of Mr. T. H. Wheeler, deceased, between Mr. John Palmer, proposed by Mr. Curtler and Dr. Hastings—and Mr. D. W. Nash, proposed by the Rev. T. Pearson and Mr. John Parker. Mr. Nash had 216 votes, and Mr. Palmer 169.
1846—March 28—At the quarterly meeting of the governors, the committee appointed, on the motion of Mr. Curtler, to inquire into an alleged laxity of attendance on the part of the medical officers of the institution, and ill conduct of its general business, presented their report. Mr. Curtler, however, had not attended the meetings of the committee, because the medical officers all insisted on their right to be present; and several complaints, therefore, had not been brought before them. The charges, in most of the cases investigated, seemed to be disproved; but of the beneficial effect the inquiry had in the improved management of the institution there can be no doubt. Mr. Curtler obtained another committee, to revise the whole of the rules of the institution.
1846—June 26—A quarterly meeting of the governors held in the Nisi Prius Court, at the Shire Hall, with John Williams, Esq., in the chair. The medical men connected with the institution offered great opposition to a motion of Mr. Curtler’s to exclude the subscribers from all meetings of committees, and give them leave only to attend the general quarterly boards; the object being to enable the governors to appoint select committees. Mr. Curtler supported the proposition, as the usual practice of all large bodies and institutions of this kind, and because inquiry into the affairs of the institution by a select committee became absolutely necessary, as the funds were being frittered away and the rules neglected. The medical men said the alteration was aimed at them, and sought their exclusion from the committees. They called select committees secret committees, and said the rules made with so much wisdom by their ancestors ought not to be altered. The medical men defeated Mr. Curtler’s resolution by 58 to 32.
1847—January 2—A quarterly meeting of the governors held at the Shire Hall, over which the Lord Bishop of the Diocese presided. Mr. Curtler moved for a select committee, on which only two of the medical officers of the institution should attend, to consider what alterations were necessary in the rules. The medical men insisted upon their right to be all present at the meetings of the committee, and only yielded when the majority of the meeting was evidently seen to be against them. They then agreed to a committee of nine gentlemen, reserving the right to delegate any two of their own body to act with them.
1847—March 27—At the quarterly meeting of the governors, Mr. Curtler’s committee for revising the rules of the institution presented their report. The medical men having given way, a great number of alterations were recommended, and power taken to appoint select committees, on which two of the medical officers should always serve. The other medical men of the city and neighbourhood were invited to witness operations; and the salary of Mr. Cole, the house surgeon, increased to £100 a year. Mr. Curtler mentioned—as one among other things showing how necessary inquiry had been—that the malt supplied to the institution was enough for twice the beer that was consumed within the walls, and that about thirty-three hogsheads annually disappeared out of the back door. The report was unanimously received.
1849—March 31—At the quarterly meeting of the governors it was determined that the £840 obtained from the sale of tickets at the Jenny Lind concert should be applied to the building of a chapel for the use of the patients. The Very Rev. the Dean added another £100; and it was principally to his exertions in obtaining what more was necessary in the way of funds, that the public and the patients owe the very pretty erection which is now attached to the back of the main building.
WORCESTER MUSICAL FESTIVALS.
The history of the origin of the meetings of the three choirs of Worcester, Hereford, and Gloucester, does not belong to the nineteenth century. It will be sufficient here to say that the first took place in the year 1725 (when £48. 18s. was collected), and that they have gradually risen in importance, till, besides being the means of obtaining annually a very large sum for the support of the widows and orphans of the clergy, they have now taken a first place amongst the musical réunions of the kingdom, and have greatly aided in fostering the melodious science. It will be seen from the following brief notes of the festivals at Worcester, that the most celebrated singers have, from time to time, all taken a part in the performance here of the chief works of the great masters of music. In the seventeen meetings held here this century, upwards of £14,500 have been realised for the clergy’s widows and orphans.
1800—September 14—Seventy-seventh meeting of the three choirs. The festival this year occupied three days. The sermon was preached by Dr. James. The Messiah, Creation, Acis and Galatea, &c., performed. The principal novelty was the chorus in Handel’s Ode to St. Cecilia—“As from the Power.” Chief performers—Madame Mara and Miss Tennant; Messrs. Knyvett, Nield, and Bartleman. Amount collected for the charity, £468; and the receipts for tickets yielded a surplus of £250 in addition.
1803—September 27—Sermon by the Rev. H. Stillingfleet. Principal vocal performers—Mrs. Billington and Miss Fanny Ross; Messrs. Melville, Incledon, Bartleman, Nield, &c. The collections for the charity amounted to £501. 8s. The receipts were £2,630, and exceeded the expenses by £600.
1806—September 22—Sermon by the Rev. G. Turberville. The Messiah and Alexander’s Feast were the only entire works performed. The principal performers were Mrs. Billington, Mrs. Vaughan, Miss Melville; Messrs. Harrison, Knyvett, &c. The collections amounted to £714.
1809—September 26—Sermon by the Rev. Dr. Wingfield. The Messiah the only oratorio performed entire. Performers—Mrs. Billington and Mrs. Vaughan; Mr. Braham (his first engagement at these festivals), Messrs. Bartleman, Vaughan, and Goss. The sum collected for the charity was £800, the largest amount up to that time ever collected.
1812—September 9—Sermon by Rev. Dr. Onslow, Vicar of Kidderminster. Principal performers—Madame Catalani, Mrs. Salmon, Miss Melville; Messrs. Vaughan, Goss, Hawes, Denman, and Bellamy. The Messiah and Creation performed entire. Collections, £906.
1815—September 12—Sermon by Rev. J. Fleming St. John. Principal performers—Madame Marconi, Miss Stephens, Mrs. Vaughan; and Messrs. Bartleman, Vaughan, Knyvett, &c. The Messiah, Haydn’s Seasons, and various selections performed. Collections, £749. The tickets were printed in London, and some spurious ones got into circulation.
1818—September 15—Sermon by the Rev. William Digby. Principal performers—Miss Stephens, Mrs. Salmon, Miss Symonds; Messrs. Braham, Kynvett, Bellamy, and Hawes. The Messiah was the only oratorio performed entire. The contributions to the charity amounted to £936—the largest amount collected up to that time.
1821—October 3—Sermon by the Dean, Dr. Jenkinson. Principal performers—Miss Stephens, Madame Camporesi, and Miss Travis; Messrs. Bellamy, Vaughan, Knyvett, Hawes, Master Smith, &c. The Messiah was the only oratorio performed entire. A selection from The Seasons one evening. Sum collected for the charity, £877.
1824—September 15—One hundred and first meeting of the three choirs. Sermon preached by the Hon. and Rev. Edward Rice, D.D. Principal performers—Mesdames Salmon, Stephens, Travis, and Ronzi de Beguis; Messrs. Braham, Bellamy, Kynvett, Signor de Begnis, &c. The Messiah was the only oratorio performed entire. Receipts for the charity, £828; and for tickets, £2,957.
1827—September 11—Sermon preached by the Rev. W. F. Hook, M.A., perpetual curate of Moseley. Principal performers—Madame Pasta, Madame Caradori Allan, Miss Stephens, Mrs. W. Knyvett; Messrs. Braham, Phillips, Knyvett, Vaughan, and Signor Zuchelli. The Messiah and Palestine performed. Receipts for the charity, £1,083; for admission, £3,997. This was one of the most successful meetings ever held. The Duchess of St. Albans held one of the plates the first morning.
1830—September 14—Sermon by the Very Rev. the Dean, Lord Bishop of Rochester. The Messiah was the only oratorio performed. On the first morning the service was opened by a funeral anthem, in commemoration of his late Majesty King George IV. Principal performers—Madame Malibran, Mrs. Knyvett, and Miss Cramer; Messrs. Braham, Phillips, Vaughan, Knyvett, &c. Balls were held every evening at the Town Hall; and a banquet was given by the Bishop of Rochester and Lady Sarah Murray, in the Chapter House, after each morning’s performance. The Duchess of Kent and the Princess Victoria were among the company. The receipts for the charity were £1,005, and for admissions, £3,314; being considerably less than the amount realised in 1827.
1833—September 24—Sermon by the Bishop of Worcester. Every pains had been taken to make this festival successful; the performances occupying four mornings instead of three, and the orchestra being much enlarged. About 170 performers were engaged, the principal vocalists being—Madame Malibran, Miss Clara Novello, and Mrs. Knyvett; Messrs. Braham, Phillips, Vaughan, and E. Taylor. De Beriot, the violinist, was also a feature of this festival. The Messiah was performed entire; and selections from The Creation, Palestine, The Last Judgment, The Deluge (Schneider), and Mount Sinai (Neukomm)—the last proving a decided failure. Malibran was all in all at this meeting. The receipts for the charity were £981, and for admissions, £3,496. The ball at the College Hall was a most brilliant finale, the company numbering upwards of 700. The expenses were no less than £4,300; so that the stewards were £800 out of pocket.
1836—September 27—Sermon by the Rev. Prebendary Benson. Principal performers—Madame Caradori Allan, Miss Hawes, Mrs. Knyvett, and Miss Novello; Messrs. Braham, Phillips, Vaughan, Knyvett, &c. The scheme contained many novelties. The Messiah was performed on the first morning; Mozart’s Redemption, Bishop’s cantata, The Seventh Day, and a selection, the second morning; and The Last Judgment, with a selection, on the third. Acis and Galatea was sung at the first concert; the others were entirely miscellaneous. The receipts exhibited a sad falling off, being, for the charity, £828, and for admissions, £2,685. The stewards were about £1,000 out of pocket. An article of bijouterie was presented to Miss Clara Novello, by Colonel Clive and the committee, as an expression of their admiration at her singing, and of thanks for the kind manner in which she had fallen in with the wishes of the committee as to some alterations of the scheme.
1839—September 10—Sermon by the Rev. W. H. Woodgate, Rector of Bellbroughton. The Messiah, Creation, and Palestine performed in their entirety. The concerts were all made up of miscellanea. Principal performers—Miss Hawes, Miss Clara Novello, Madame Persiani, Miss Woodyatt, Miss Beale; Messrs. Phillips, Vaughan, Bennett, Machin, Edmunds, &c. The receipts for the charity this year were £932, and for admissions £2,820, which was an increase upon the sum realised at the previous meeting, though the prices of tickets were this year reduced to the sums at which they have ever since remained. The expenses, however, reached £4,089, so that there was a deficiency of £1,270.
1842—September 20—The sermon was preached by the Lord Bishop of the Diocese. This festival was marked by an entire change of system and the great success attending upon it. There were no foreign “stars” engaged in the vocal department, and, consequently, a great deal of expense was saved. The oratorios were conducted, not by the organist of the cathedral, Mr. Clarke, but by Mr. Surman of Exeter Hall, and the performances were held in the nave and not in the choir. The only previous occasion on which the festival had been held in the nave was at the visit of George III, sixty years before. The arrangement of orchestra and seats was that which has been ever since observed. The principal singers were—Miss Birch, Miss Marshall, Miss Dolby, Mrs. Loder, and Miss Davis, our own young townswoman; Mr. Phillips, Mr. Leffler, and Mr. Hobbs. The oratorios performed were—The Messiah, Judas Maccabeus, and Engedi. At the evening concerts Alexander’s Feast, Haydn’s Seasons, and Schiller’s Song of the Bell were performed entire. The chorus consisted of 218 singers, and there were 82 instruments in the orchestra. The organ was in the course of being renewed by Hill. The collections for the charity amounted to £1,059. 16s.
1845—Sermon by Canon Wood. Only three morning performances this year, which, for the first time, were under the conduct of Mr. Done. The Last Judgment and a collection of anthems were performed on the Wednesday morning, and The Messiah on the Thursday. In the evenings Acis and Galatea and Mendelssohn’s Walpurgis Nacht were performed entire. The principal vocalists were—the Misses Williams, Miss Rainforth, Miss Whitnall; Herr Staudigl, Mr. Pearsall, Mr. Hobbs, Mr. Machin, and Mr. Young. The amount collected for the charity was £850. 14s.
1848—Sermon by the Very Rev. the Dean of Worcester. Mdlle. Jenny Lind had promised to take a part at this festival, but Mr. Lumley compelled her to break her engagement, and she was actually singing at Birmingham on the first day of the Worcester meeting; notwithstanding this, the festival was one of the most successful, in point of attendance, which has ever been held at either of the three cities. On the first morning at least 1,500 people were present in the nave of the Cathedral, and at the last concert in the College Hall it is computed that 1,100 persons were crammed into the room. There were this year four morning performances; the oratorios performed entire being the Elijah and Messiah, with selections from Palestine, Creation, and Engedi. In the evenings parts of Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, Haydn’s Seasons, and Weber’s Oberon were performed, with miscellaneous selections. The principal vocalists were—Mdlle. Alboni, Madame Castellan, the Misses Williams, and Miss Dolby; Mr. Sims Reeves, Signor Lablache, Mr. Lockey, Mr. Robinson, and Mr. Machin. The amount collected for the charity was £960, and the receipts by sale of tickets reached £3,080; yet the expense attaching to the engagement of the “stars” was so great that the loss was very considerable.
NATURAL PHENOMENA.
It is altogether beyond the province of this work to enter into any detail of the scientific peculiarities of the county of Worcester; but it would have been very satisfactory to have been able to have recorded here—besides those isolated disturbances of nature’s more ordinary course, which arrest the attention of indifferent spectators—the results of observations made by competent persons which might have formed the basis of a county meteorology. But, in truth, none such exist; excepting in the daily memoranda of one or two gentlemen extending over only a very few years, there are no data for arriving at any conclusions on the subject. As the members of the medical profession and the scientific agriculturist become increasingly alive to the important part which atmosphere and electricity play in the conditions of animal and vegetable life, the want of such tables will be severely felt. The city of Worcester itself stands but thirty-six feet above the level of the sea; and, from its peculiar position, its temperature is generally higher than that of the surrounding country or of the kingdom generally. Though Worcestershire may be considered as the central county of England, and consequently the most inland, yet we have our fair share of rain, and perhaps even more than an average quantity. Such observations as could be procured on this point will be found in the Appendix. The principal part of our rain, and the greater number of storms that visit us, come from the S.W., and the prevailing wind is also from that quarter. In some parts of the year it may be matter for every day observation to notice the vapours, gathered apparently in the Bristol Channel, attracted by the Malvern range, and spreading out a fan-like nimbus towards the N.E., which distributes its fertilising showers over Worcester and the lands lying between Bredon Hill on the one hand and the upper Severn on the other—often over a much more limited tract of country—while the lands beyond seem to lie under a dry and cloudless sky. The following are memoranda of the more remarkable natural phenomena which have excited notice within the county during this century.
1802—January 20—A hurricane occurred, doing great damage to the houses in and round Worcester. The windmill at Kempsey was set on fire by the sails being whirled round with so great rapidity.
1804—January 20—Violent gale from S.W., doing great damage. A stack of chimneys falling through the roof of the house of Mr. E. Harris, attorney, in Edgar Street, Worcester, killed the nursemaid, who was in bed with two children, who were but little hurt.
1805—January 25—The London mail to Worcester stopped by a heavy fall of snow.
1807—November 10—A violent storm occurred, which raged pretty generally over the whole country. A barge laden with coal, moored near Worcester bridge, was sunk. At Hanley Castle, and Stanford Park, a great many trees were blown down, and several houses unroofed.
1808—July 15—A most awful tempest from the S.W. The thunder continued in one unbroken roar for an hour and a half; and the hailstones which fell were like fragments of a vast plate of ice broken into pieces, being broad, flat, and ragged. Many of them were perfect and unmelted the next morning.
1809—January 29—Great flood upon the Severn, the water rising to within nineteen inches of the level of the extraordinary flood of 1795.
1810—September 22—A storm, described as “a dreadful whirlwind,” commencing at Fearnal Heath, and taking a direction due north, through Salwarp, Ombersley, Doverdale, and to the extremity of Hampton Lovett; and its effects were felt as far as Chaddesley Corbett. The principal sufferers were Sir John Pakington, Mr. Silvester of Doverdale, and Mr. Saunders of Mayeux. Mr. Silvester had two hundred trees on his farm, either torn up by the roots, or shattered at mid-trunk. Most of them were pear trees in full bearing.
1810—November 10—A tempest from the N.E. visited Worcester and its environs. Great numbers of trees torn up by the roots. The lightning struck the house of Mr. Harris of Edgar Street, came down the chimney of the room in which he was sitting, burnt his hand and eyebrows, his stockings and papers, and tore down a wainscot on the opposite side of the room.
1811—May 27—The famous Worcester hailstorm happened this day. It was indeed a tempest, such as had been scarcely ever known in this country before. Between four and five o’clock p.m., clouds of a horrible blackness came up from the S.E., accompanied by a hideous noise. Shortly hail began to fall, which almost immediately became a storm of ice, and fell furiously in flakes of about five or six inches in circumference. The windows of almost every house which faced the S.E. were wholly demolished in a few minutes—gardens were laid utterly waste—and fields, both of grass and corn, sustained irreparable damage. The ice-storm was succeeded by heavy torrents of rain, with all the terrors of a tropical tempest. The river Severn in one hour rose six feet, and continued gradually to swell its torrent till it had reached the height of twenty feet; and the flood, rapid and wide-spreading, swept away in its impetuous career whole herds of cattle from the adjacent fields. 1,200 panes of glass were broken in Messrs. Barr’s china manufactory, 500 in the Workhouse, and 2,000 in Messrs. Chamberlain’s factory. Messrs. Freame’s cabinet warehouse, Goose Lane, lost 1,000 panes, and all the public buildings suffered severely. 150 rooks were killed in the rookery at the White Ladies, and a vast many other birds were also afterwards found dead. At Henwick and Hallow the crops were miserably injured. The cost of replacing the glass broken in the city, alone, was estimated at £5,000; and there being neither sufficient materials nor workpeople at hand to repair it, the inhabitants for weeks had to suffer the inconvenience of exposure to the weather. One glazier, who started off to Stourbridge and purchased all the glass he could lay his hands on, is said to have laid the foundation of a fortune by this calamity. We have no record of the state of the atmosphere previous to this storm.
1814—January 12—The Severn frozen over at Worcester, so as to admit of parties walking across it, and the weather in every respect most severe. January 20—The frost continued with such severity that the Severn was frozen over at Tewkesbury, and several persons going to Tewkesbury market rode over it at the Lode. The roads, also, were so blocked up by snow as to render traffic of every description almost impossible.
1817—June 21—The neighbourhood of Stanford visited with a tremendous tempest. From seven to ten p.m., the roar of the thunder was incessant; the lightning one continued sheet of fire; and the rain descended in such torrents that the whole country was inundated. The brook running from Hanley William through Orleton rose to an enormous height, and carried away fences, trees, and other obstacles, lodging them at great distances. Many hop yards destroyed, and the soil almost wholly washed away. The thermometer stood at 112° Fahrenheit in the sun, on the day before this storm, and at 82° in the shade.
1818—March 4—A very furious storm from the S.W. experienced at Worcester, continuing for about six hours. A great deal of damage done to the roofs of houses. The Bristol mail was detained eleven hours by the floods.
1818—April 11—Great flood on the river Severn, the water rising to within three feet of the height which it reached in February, 1795.
1820—January 14—The Severn frozen over.
1820—May 12—A thunderstorm occurred, which was very terrific in several parts of the county. A rick of hay at Mr. Coucher’s, Woodmanton, Clifton-on-Teme, was set on fire and wholly burnt; and four deer were killed by the lightning in Hagley Park.
1821—January 20—The Severn frozen over.
1821—May 2—A very fearful thunderstorm occurred, which was general throughout the kingdom. It did not do much damage in Worcestershire. At Northwick Park five deer were killed, and their bodies were found floating in the large sheet of water there. Four out of the five were six-year-old bucks; and it was surmised that, blinded by the lightning, they ran into the water; and though deer customarily swim well, yet they were now unable to exert themselves and so were drowned.
1821—December 24—Great floods upon the Severn, which entirely cut off the communication between Worcester and the lower parts of the county. The cellars of all the houses near the Severn were flooded for some days.
1822—May 20—A destructive thunderstorm in the neighbourhood of Worcester. The hailstones, which were unusually large, smashed great quantities of glass—particularly about Spetchley, where six hundred panes were broken in the hothouses of R. Berkeley, Esq. Hailstones were picked up measuring four inches in circumference.
1822—December 5—A terrific hurricane from the S.W., which raged with more or less violence throughout the whole of England. In Worcester, the roofs of several houses were almost uncovered, and the gable end of a newly-erected building near the House of Industry was blown in. Five boats were sunk at Diglis; and at Upton bridge one was capsized with three men in it, one of whom was drowned. The coachman of the Holyhead mail was twice blown off the box, and one of the horses dropped down dead, on arriving at Chester, from excessive fatigue.
1825—July 19—A tempest in the neighbourhood of Tenbury and Cleobury Mortimer. The electric fluid struck an oak tree at Kinlet, and killed nine sheep sheltering beneath it; set fire to the wooden steeple of Neen Savage Church, melting the bells which it contained, and threatening the destruction of the entire edifice.
1825—December 14—A fearful storm of wind, hail, rain, and lightning, passed over Worcester from the S.W., and the electric fluid displaced a stone about half way up St. Andrew’s spire. Mr. G. Parry, farmer, of Hanbury, lost thirty-two ewes, heavy with lamb, and valued at £100.
1826—January 14—A storm of wind, which blew a perfect hurricane about noon. A stack of chimneys at Mr. Sidebottom’s house, at Worcester, fell through the roof and two floors, severely injuring a servant. Trees in the neighbourhood were torn up by the roots, walls and fences laid flat, and corn and hay ricks unthatched and scattered. A considerable part of the spire of Cleobury Mortimer Church was broken off during divine service, and the congregation rushed out of the edifice in terror. A barge, heavily laden with coal, was sunk in the Severn.
1828—July 8—A tempest of considerable violence, during which the lightning struck a house in Newdix Court, High Street, Worcester, and a cottage near Merriman’s Hill—not, however, doing much damage in either case. Vehement gusts of wind stripped old roofs of their tiling, and blew down several trees in the neighbourhood.
1830—January 20—A very heavy fall of snow, blocking up all the roads, so that no coaches reached Worcester at all from the west, and the London coaches came in a day after their time.
1831—July 10—A tempest which raged throughout the county, doing much damage. The lightning struck Hales, a watchman of Worcester, while sitting at the door of a house at Spetchley, and he was for a time paralysed, while the blood flowed from his ears and mouth. At Wick a cottage was burnt down, and the nephew of the widow who occupied it was affected by the electric fluid, much in the same manner as Hales. On Defford Common the hailstones lay in hillocks nine inches high, and some of the stones were as large as pigeon’s eggs. A great deal of glass was broken, birds killed, crops destroyed (the heads of the wheat being separated from the straw, and the pods of beans laid open), and fencing laid low.
1836—December 28–30—An extraordinary snowstorm, which extended over the greater part of the country, and continued for several days, till all the roads were blocked up and communication almost at an end. The Worcester mail was blocked up in the snow at Enstone, and could not be got out. The mails for three days were thirty-six hours behind time. In some places the snow was said to have drifted to a height of twenty feet.
1839—January 9—A fearful gale of wind, general throughout the country, and doing great damage to houses and plantations in this county. At Burlish Common, near Stourport, a stack of chimneys fell through the roof of a cottage on to the bed where a young woman was lying, and she sustained such injuries as to cause her death shortly afterwards.
1839—June 13—A very violent hailstorm raged chiefly in the northern part of the county. At Hagley, several hundred pounds’ worth of glass were destroyed; and in Mr. G. B. Lea’s spinning mill, at Drayton, near Kidderminster, 580 small panes were broken. At Hartlebury, &c., great damage was done to the growing crops—many fields of barley being totally destroyed; and at Harvington the hailstones were reported to lie six feet deep on the ground: fifty rooks were killed in that neighbourhood.
1839—July 31—In consequence of unintermittent rains for several days together, a flood occurred in all the running streams, which rose higher than had been known for many years. Of course, great damage was done to the pastures and crops. On several roads communication was cut off. The Ludlow and Aberystwith mails to Worcester were both stopped. The guard of the Ludlow mail attempted to get on in a two-horse fly; but, at Newnham, the fly was fairly floated, and the guard himself narrowly escaped drowning. The Aberystwith coach was stopped at Knightsford bridge, and had to be lashed to a tree: the bags were brought away in boats.
1843—July 5—An alarming tempest visited Worcester and the neighbourhood, killing several sheep, shivering fine trees, and the subsequent hail destroying much glass in greenhouses.
1843—July 13—A very severe thunderstorm again occurred, igniting some farm buildings at Abberton, killing a mare at Redditch, and doing other damage. The wife of a labourer at Eastnor was struck by the lightning, and the whole of her apparel was reduced to tinder; the steel busk of her stays was heated to a red heat! and her body, in consequence, frightfully burnt—nevertheless she recovered. The wife of a gardener at Inkberrow, named Hopkins, was sitting at the fireplace, when the electric fluid came down the chimney, and striking the woman, passed along her spine, killing her on the spot. The damage done to the crops along the eastern border of the county was very great.
1843—August 9—A most violent thunderstorm, whose chief fury seemed to be spent immediately over the city of Worcester. Wind in S.W. For two hours the thunder pealed incessantly, and the electric fluid struck at least ten houses in the city, but without doing any material damage at either place. At one house which the lightning entered, in the Shambles, a boy was standing with an awl in his hand, and the electric fluid severed the blade from the haft, leaving the latter in the hand of the boy!
1845—July 6—A terrific thunderstorm, extending over all the S.W. and midland counties of England, broke this evening over Worcester, just as the several congregations were leaving their respective places of worship. Just before the hurricane of rain commenced, the whole clouded sky was covered with a lurid glare, as if from the reflection of a distant conflagration. A great number of fine trees were uprooted, especially near Bewdley. At Witley Court, great damage was done to the windows and conservatories; at Pershore the hailstones were, in fact, large pieces of ice, and some 2,000 panes of glass were broken.
1846—August 1—A violent thunderstorm, which did considerable damage in some parts of England, but not much in this neighbourhood. Two lambs, belonging to J. Lea, Esq., of The Shrubbery, Kidderminster, were killed by the lightning.