June 10—Visitation and address by the Bishop, in which the scarcity was attributed to the war and inclement seasons. Use of “Church Catechism,” in the instruction of children, urgently enforced.
June 26—Honorary degree of M.A. conferred on Lord Foley, at the Oxford Commemoration of Founders and Benefactors of the University.
July 9—A further subscription entered into in Worcester for the relief of the poor, who had been constantly subsidised from the fund ever since the winter; 96,000 quarts of soup having been distributed amongst them, besides great quantities of potatoes and much money.
July 21—Lord Dudley and Ward purchased a large quantity of imported wheat at Liverpool, to retail to the poor at a reduced price. Price of wheat in Worcester market, 21s. to 22s. 6d. per bushel.
August 10—The price of wheat in Worcester market having fallen to 10s. and 13s. per bushel, the relief committee discontinued their labours. The promise of a plenteous harvest produced this change for the better.
August 15—The Mayor and magistrates of Worcester attempted to enforce sanitary regulations—such as cleansing “the kennels,” for they considered “all stagnate water injurious to health, and the exhalations from it the forerunners of contagious disorders.”
August—A great number of houses between Stourport and Worcester searched for unlawful nets, used for the taking of small fish in the Severn. Many such being found they were all publicly burned at Bewdley.
August 25—This evening, because the bakers in Worcester were unprovided with bread to sell, the populace assembled as soon as it was dark and began to demolish their windows, but the disturbance was soon put a stop to by the magistrates. A sudden rise in the price of flour on the previous Saturday had prevented the bakers from supplying themselves with the necessary quantity for the week.
September 12—The Mayor, magistrates, &c., of Worcester met “to ensure a more regular supply of the necessaries of life, at reasonable prices,” to their fellow citizens, and determine to erect a corn mill to be worked by steam.
September 19—A mare, belonging to Mr. Tully of St. John’s, ridden seventy miles on the London Road, from Worcester to Benson, in eleven hours and forty-nine minutes.