100 Years Ago:

IN the High Court, before Mr Justice Lawrance and a special jury, an action was heard in which Dr Fergusson, lessee of a hydropathic establishment at Tudor House, Malvern, sought to recover losses he had suffered owing to his visitors having contracted typhoid fever, as he alleged, by reason of Malvern Urban District Council having negligently allowed sewage to contaminate his private water supply.

The council pleaded that the typhoid fever was caused by a defective drainage system at Dr Fergusson's establishment. However, the jury found in favour of the plaintiff, and Mr Justice Lawrance said he would grant heavy damages.

However, the barrister for Malvern council said they intended to take the case to the Court of Appeal so the judge granted a stay of execution on his award of damages.

* At the city police court, Emily Florence Watkins, aged 23, married woman of 7 Bromyard Terrace, Worcester, was charged with attempting to commit suicide by cutting her throat with a razor. Her husband had stopped the flow of blood and a doctor treated the small cut.

Defendant said she had become depressed but her husband told the court that there had been no major quarrel nor scandal involving them.

The bench bound her over in the sum of £10 with the husband undertaking to look after her.

150 Years Ago:A Sunday offender. A lad named Beck was brought up at Worcester police court on a charge of spinning a top on the pavement near All Saints Church on Sunday morning during the hours of divine service. The offending juvenile was dismissed with a caution by the magistrates, his mother undertaking to have him well flogged.

* A little girl named Jane Varrander, living in Wyld's Lane, was so severely burnt a few days ago while staying at the house of her aunt in the Tything, that her removal to the infirmary was necessitated.

The child was in the act of taking a kettle off the fire and had not her underclothing been of woollen texture, in all probability her life would have been forfeited. As it is, she is likely to recover in due course from her injuries.

200 Years Ago:A melancholy accident happened at Abbott's Morton in this county on Thursday last to a boy, about 11 years of age, the son of Mr Surman of that place who, being at work in his malt house, was for some little time accompanied by his son.

The boy shortly after absented himself and the father, thinking he was in the house safe, took no further notice till about an hour after when, on a strict search being made for him, the unhappy youth was found a lifeless corpse on the lowermost floor.

He is supposed to have gone to the top floor of the malt house, from whence by some means he fell through, which occasioned his instant death.

* Ann Roberts, Maria Hopkins and Sarah Hopkins, under sentence of transportation in our county gaol at Worcester, were this day conveyed from thence on their way to Deptford, London, where a hulk is waiting to receive and convey convicts.

250 Years Ago:This morning about nine o'clock, a fire broke out at Mr Browning's, a baker without St Martin's Gate in this city, which was happily extinguished before it did any considerable damage.

It was occasioned, it seems, by a crack in the oven through which flames communicated to a hay loft, and great damage must have ensued had it happened in night time when assistance could not so speedily have been had, nor perhaps the fire would have been discovered before it had got to a very powerful height.

* Several petitions have been presented to His Majesty from persons who have been convicted and sentenced to transportation at the last assizes in several counties, including our own, to enter His Majesty's Service in the militia or navy, which His Majesty has been pleased to grant.

* A few days since was married at Lyttleton in this county, the Rev Mr Robert Burges to Miss Pershore, a young lady with a fortune of £6,000, and the sister of Richard Pershore.