250 YEARS AGO:

LAST Monday in the afternoon, a violent storm of thunder, lightning, rain and hail happened at Croome, near Pershore, which did considerable damage, particularly to the glass coverings of the hot-houses in the gardens of the Earl of Coventry. About half-an-hour after the storm had ceased, several hailstones were picked up of a surprising magnitude, some of them even measuring near three inches and a half round. The above storm extended itself through Severn Stoke, Kempsey, Powick and across the county to Witley and Tenbury. At several places it broke many windows, dismantled trees and greatly damaged the produce of some of the fields and gardens. The next day we were visited by a dreadful storm of thunder and lightning, preceded by a most awful darkness for some minutes. Such claps of thunder had not been known here for many years before.

200 YEARS AGO:

AN inquest has been held in Worcester on the body of a child, about four years of age, brought into our infirmary on Sunday, dreadfully burnt about the face and arms. We understand that the child was left with a younger one by themselves and, in attempting to put some fuel upon the fire, the flames caught the clothes of the unfortunate child and ultimately caused its death.

The frequency of such accidents at this season, through similar causes, should certainly act as cautions to parents.

150 YEARS AGO:

ON Wednesday a man named John Isherwood met with an accident at the railway bridge now in construction over the Severn at Worcester. He was fitting the ironwork on the top of the bridge when a plank gave way and he fell on to the temporary wooden bridge below. The woodwork luckily prevented a piece of iron falling upon him which otherwise would have severely crushed him. He was taken to the Infirmary where it was ascertained that no bones were broken and that a few contusions constituted the only injury he had sustained.

● Crown Hotel Glee Club.

The opening night of the season of this old established club in Broad Street, Worcester, was on Tuesday when a large number of gentlemen and tradesmen attended and highly appreciated the choice selection of glees, part-songs etc., which were performed. Jabez Jones ably officiated as conductor and, in the course of the evening, Mr von Holst played a fantasia on the piano-forte in his usual masterly manner. (I wonder if Mr von Holst was a forebear of the famous composer Gustav Holst of Cheltenham. His original surname was von Holst but he dropped the von at the outbreak of the First World War because of anti-German feeling. Gustav Holst’s brother, who retained the “von,” lived at Stoulton, near Worcester, and gave me shorthand lessons).

100 YEARS AGO:

Worcester Glee Club. A meeting of the provisional committee in connection with the movement to revive the old Worcester Glee Club was held at the Crown Hotel on Saturday evening. HF Williams, the secretary said there were about 160 promises of membership. The meeting resolved unanimously that the Glee Club should be resuscitated and that it should meet fortnightly on Tuesday evenings. It was also decided to ask Sir Edward Elgar, who was closely associated with the club in the old days, to become president.

● The Dean of Worcester, Dr W Moore Ede was the principal speaker at a meeting in Birmingham of the Church of England Temperance Society Forward Movement. He said that in England generally during the past 10 years there had been a diminution in the consumption of alcohol on the part of men but all the evidence showed that there had been an increase among women.