100 YEARS AGO:

A PUBLIC meeting was held in St John’s Infants School on Monday when residents of the St John’s and Bath Road areas complained bitterly about the smells suffered for months from the city sewage works. Speakers recorded their sense of deep concern over the unpleasant and dangerous nuisance caused by the close proximity of the works and the present method of sewerage disposal. A possible danger to the health of citizens was a real fear. The city council, which met subsequently, promised to give “close attention” to the complaints.

● A man named Henry St Clair of Blackwick Hill, Kidderminster, was killed at Foregate Street station on Monday.

He was a passenger on a special train conveying hoppickers to the Worcestershire and Herefordshire hopyards.

He alighted briefly from a carriage on to the station platform and, in re-entering the compartment of the moving train, slipped and was caught between the footboard and the edge of the platform, suffering terrible injuries.

He was 43-years-old and married with children.

150 YEARS AGO:

RICHARD Williams, a labourer, was committed by Worcester Magistrates to one month’s hard labour for deserting his wife and three children, leaving them chargeable to the parish of St John, Worcester.

Defendant was described as habitually lazy and known to lie in bed for three weeks at a time. He had deserted his family five years ago and had been in the Black Country, but returned to Worcester very recently and was apprehended at the Falcon public house in Broad Street.

● Michael Jones and Edward Payne were charged at Worcester Police Court with occasioning a nuisance in Bridge Street by carrying large placards about, belonging to Mr Woodward, draper. On Mr Woodward promising to abate the nuisance, the case was dismissed.

● A little girl named Jane Norman, living with her grandmother in the parish of St Clement, Worcester, accidentally fell down the cellar steps while endeavouring to reach a basin on a shelf and received such severe injuries to her head that she expired yesterday morning.

200 YEARS AGO:

THE committee appointed by the subscribers to the fund established for clothing the regiment of the Loyal Worcester Volunteers hereby give notice that if there are any claims remaining due from them on account of the city militia they must be delivered to their clerk N Mence before October 30.

● Brilliants’ Lodge, City Arms, Worcester. The first meeting of this season of the above respectable and loyal institution will be held at Thomas Woffall’s City Arms in Church Street on Monday at 8pm when the company of the brethren is particularly requested. The society already consists of about 300 members and any persons entertaining joining will be welcome at the meeting.

● On Wednesday last died at his seat at Hagley Park in this county, the Right Hon William Henry Lord Lyttelton, Baron of Frankley, who was appointed in 1755 as Governor of South Carolina, afterwards of the island of Jamaica and in 1766, Envoy Extraordinary to the Royal Court of Lisbon. His lordship served in Parliament for many years as member for Bewdley.

250 YEARS AGO:

AT the Assizes in Worcester this week, two persons were capitally convicted and received sentence of death – William Adney for robbing William Hill on the highway near Bewdley and Richard Packington for burglary by breaking into the house of his uncle, Mr Hammond of Worcester (who died last night) and stealing from a drawer in the shop several bank and other bills to a considerable value.

The trial of Packington lasted about two hours during which he was much dejected and fainted away twice. His uncle, being extremely ill, was not able to attend but other witnesses fully proved the case. Packington was also convicted of setting his uncle’s home on fire. He and Adney will be executed by hanging in a fortnight’s time.

● Last Monday afternoon, a pony went 10 miles on the Turnpike Road between Worcester and Ombersley in less than 28 minutes and thereby won the sum of 10 guineas which was laid that it did not perform the task in 31 minutes.