Local Acts—For enclosure of waste lands at Holt, Sedgeberrow, Pensham, Bonehill, Tibberton, and Eckington.
1811.
Our military operations on the continent, and the large amount of specie sent abroad in the previous year for the purchase of corn, continued and increased the depreciation in the value of bank paper; and upon Lord King giving notice to his tenants that he should require his rents paid in guineas—or, if in notes, at an increase of £17. 10s. per cent. upon their nominal value—a bill was hastily passed which made it illegal to give more money for gold coin than was authorised by the mint, or to take Bank of England notes for less than their ostensible value! The other Parliamentary event of the year was the signal defeat of Lord Sidmouth’s attempt to abrogate the Toleration Act, by requiring that Dissenting ministers should find six householders to answer for their respectability, before a license could be granted to them to preach. Consols stood at 64; wheat averaged 95s. 3d.
April 27—A prisoner, named Elizabeth Townshend, made her escape from the County Gaol, having worked a hole in the wall.
May 9—Mr. Barr of Worcester, and three gentlemen from Burslem, had an interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to represent to him the impolicy of imposing a pottery tax as he proposed. The minister appeared to be convinced, and no more was heard of it.
May 31—Lucien Buonaparte came to reside at Thorngrove House.
August 12—The Mayor and Corporation of Worcester dined at Croome. A most sumptuous entertainment was provided for them.
November 3—The Worcester Association for the Severn Fisheries established a fish market in Worcester—none having before existed. They took very active steps in preserving the river from illegal and injurious fishing, and a great number of condemned nets and wheels were publicly burnt in the Corn Market.
November 8—The Directors of the Worcester House of Industry issued a considerable number of copper tokens, which were much in demand on account of the great want of small change in the country. The exchange was immediately vested in the funds, and the interest applied to the assistance of the poor rates. A meeting of tradesmen was afterwards held (Mr. W. Beeken in the chair) at which resolutions were unanimously passed to resist the introduction of any other copper tokens into the trade of the city excepting those issued by Government and the Worcester House of Industry. They asserted that there was a sufficiency of copper coinage in the country. A counter meeting of manufacturers was held at the Star and Garter immediately afterwards, asserting that the business of the city could not be carried on without more change, and they, therefore, determined to continue the issue of their own penny and halfpenny tokens, which they declared to be equal in weight to the legal coin of the realm, and that they always paid twenty shillings in the pound for them.
Local Acts—For enclosure of lands at Astley, Overbury, North, Middle, and South Littleton, and Churchill.