100 YEARS AGO:

CHARLES Rogers (29), ice cream vendor, was charged at Worcester Police Court with embezzling two sums of a penny each belonging to Francisco Lanni of 16 Pheasant Street. Magistrate Mr Kay thought the case a farce as it involved such small sums but the chief constable, Mr Byrne said more money had been involved and Rogers had previously been guilty of embezzling money for Mr Lanni, serving 21 days in prison. The latest case was in respect of a pound’s worth of ice cream given by Mr Lanni to Rogers to sell at a co-operative fete. Rogers was sentenced to seven days’ goal in each case, 14 days in all.

● At about 9.30 this morning a rick of old hay, belonging to Edmund Lane, coal and hay merchant, situated in a field on the Bransford Road, Worcester, was fired by two children, both under the age of six, who had lighted a bonfire nearby. The Norwich Union Fire Brigade under chief officer Sayce turned out smartly. They had a plentiful supply of water from Laugherne Brook. As a result of their efforts, about three parts of the rick, being about 40 tons, was saved.

150 YEARS AGO:

St John’s church clock. It has been resolved at a St John’s vestry meeting that this clock shall be put in thorough repair and be modernised by the addition of a minute hand, it having long ceased to remind the good people of St John’s of the flight of time. The work has been entrusted to the mechanical judgement of Mr Skarratt of Broad Street, Worcester, a sufficient guarantee that it will be executed correctly.

200 YEARS AGO:

IT will be recollected that during last winter various attempts were made to enter the houses of several inhabitants of Worcester during the night. The two following recent instances of the same kind show that similar proceedings may be expected at the present time and we are induced to mention them in order that those who are exposed to such depredations may be upon their guard.

Early in the morning of Sunday two men entered the back door of Mr Bennett, linen draper of High Street, but did not succeed in carrying off any booty. Last night, some persons cut a hole in the shop shutter of Mr Scandrett, watchmaker of Broad Street, with the intent no doubt of stealing some of the articles out of the window, but the shutter, being secured with plates of iron, the villains were disappointed in their object.

The evening before, some persons made an attempt to carry away a lead spout from the same premises.

250 YEARS AGO:

ON Saturday last, a baker of this city was convicted before the mayor of selling 46 groat loaves of charity bread, which were deficient 242 ounces in weight, and on Monday he paid the penalty of £24 4s being 2s per ounce of the deficiency.