100 YEARS AGO:

AN inquest was held at Worcester Guildhall on Thursday into the death of a two-month-old child, the son of William Henry Phelps, a hawker of 2 Group Lane, Worcester, who said that on Tuesday night the baby slept between him and his wife.

Next morning, his wife called him and said: “The baby is dead.” He maintained that he and his wife were sober when they went to bed.

The coroner, Mr WB Hulme said this was another of those cases when a life might have been saved if the child had not slept with its parents.

He saw there was a Bill before Parliament which, if it came into force, would inflict a penalty on parents whose children died when sleeping with them. The jury returned a verdict of suffocation caused by deprivation of air due to the child sleeping with its parents.

* Harvest Ales delivered in 54, 36 or 18 gallon caskets at six pence per gallon by Spreckley Brothers’ Brewery of Barbourne, Worcester.

Harvest Beer is also available at 6d a gallon from Lewis, Clarke’s Brewery in Angel Place.

150 YEARS AGO:

THE eminent Worcester medical practitioner Sir Charles Hastings, we regret to state met with a serious accident on Friday last.

As Sir Charles (founder of the British Medical Association at Worcester in 1832) was returning from Droitwich to this city, he overtook another vehicle between the Raven Inn and Perdiswell Lodge when his horse became frightened, reared and got one of its legs over the shaft. The carriage overturned and Sir Charles was thrown violently into the road by which one of his collar bones was broken and severe cuts and bruises inflicted upon him. Sir Charles was speedily removed to his residence in Foregate Street and, from enquires made, we find that he is now enabled to resume his professional duties.

* The five cygnets recently hatched on the banks of the Severn near the Old Water Works at the top of Pitchcroft paid their first visit to the city on Tuesday morning. Both the old and young birds appear quite reconciled to the locality and pay a visit morning and evening to Worcester Bridge to be fed.

200 YEARS AGO:

NOTHING could ever afford more gratification to admirers of nature’s product than Mr Polito’s grand menagerie of foreign birds and beasts which is at Pitchcroft this week. The great Lion Nelson, Royal tigers and the world’s largest ostrich are in the collection together with kangaroos, panthers, leopards, emus, wolves, pelicans, vultures, eagles and black swans. The clean and secure state in which the animals are kept and exhibited is highly to the credit of the manager and the price of admission is so small as to afford the opportunity of seeing this marvellous menagerie even to the lowest classes.

* The hop plantations in Worcestershire and Herefordshire look uncommonly well and it is entertained that the season will be most abundant. On Saturday and Monday – Fair Day – 97 pockets were weighed in our hop market at Worcester, the average prices of which were from 40s to £3 a cwt.

250 YEARS AGO:

A FEW days since were committed to our county gaol at Worcester, a woman who calls herself Elizabeth Smith and a lad of about 11 years of age who passes for her son.

They await trial for stealing divers things out of the home of Mr Waters of Pinvin in this county, several of which were found in their possession.

However, they say they were given these things by a tinker who calls himself Richard Smith, with whom they had travelled the country.

The woman acknowledges that she is the wife of one Anthony Cradock who was executed here in the year 1751 for returning from transportation, and likewise will be transported.