The marriage of John H. Arkwright; deaths and additional verse to the National Anthem
1834 – Suicide of Thomas Jones
Thomas Jones, aged around 60, was a respected married man of Yazor who had formerly lived with Sir Robert Price at Foxley.
He then boarded with a Mr. Matthews for a while before marrying late in life, when he lived with his wife and her family , rather unhappily it turned out. Not only that, but he also had bowel disease and was a bit of a depressive.
All in all it became too much for the poor chap and he wrote a note to Mr. Matthews, detailing complaints of domestic unhappiness and saying what he wanted for his funeral, then with the aid of a stick to pull the trigger, he shot himself in the chest.
Sadly, the verdict at the inquest was Insanity.
1843 – The first Stone of the New Parish Church at Yazor
At the end of March 1843, the first stone of the new parish church at Yazor was laid by Lady Price on a lovely dry sunny day.
The day was declared a holiday throughout the parish, and there was much good cheer provided by the baronet of Foxley.
For the consecration in December 1851, please go to Yazor Church.
1850 – Child Burns to Death
Mary Lawrence, a married woman with four children living at Yazor, sent her four children out into the field in February 1850 to light a fire in order to scare the crows away.
After about half an hour, Mary’s eldest son ran to find her, saying that the baby Robert aged one year was burning, and when she ran to to him she immediately pulled off all his clothes.
He was however very badly burned, so she put oil on the wounds, but he died a few hours later.
1852 – Boy Dragged by Racehorse
Edwin Jones, a young boy, was asked to hold a mare at the end of a day of racing at Yazor Annual Races in October 1852.
It seems that Edwin was unable to resist climbing on board even though it had been forbidden, and in company with another lad in charge of another horse, he set off down the course. He was too small to reach the stirrup irons with his feet so instead he jammed them into the leathers; they avoided the fences across the course, but ended up amongst some trees with low branches which eventually knocked the lad out of the saddle.
Unfortunately, when he fell, his right foot was stuck in the leather and the mare panicked – kicking and plunging before dragging the boy some 150 yards before she was caught by people who had seen what was going on. They managed to cut the girth on the saddle to release Edwin, and carried him to the Lion Inn where Mr. Lomax, the Weobley surgeon, was summoned.
Unfortunately, Edwin had a fractured skull amongst his numerous severe injuries, and he died before Mr. Lomax could do anything to help.
1855 – Death of Mr. Hancocks of Foxley
Mr. Hancocks had not been in good health for some years, suffering from vertigo, giddiness and gout.
One day in September 1855 he attended Hereford market, but on his way home he fell off his horse at Credenhill. His wife and others hastened in a carriage to fetch him, and once home he insisted that he was fine; his family thought otherwise and made him go to bed whilst they called for Mr. Lomax, a surgeon from Weobley.
Mr. Lomax said at the inquest that he found Mr. Hancocks unconscious, with blood pouring from both ears. He found a wound on the scalp and another on his back, but thought that there was no fracture of the skull. He administered care and remedies, and went home.
The next day, Mr. Lomax called to see how Mr. Hancocks was doing, and then called again the following day, when he found that he had a bleed onto the brain (how did they know in those days??). The next morning, Mr. Hancocks was dead.
The verdict was that Mr. Hancocks could have fallen off his horse after suffering one of his giddy spells, and that effusion of blood on the brain caused his death.
1858 – Additional stanza to National Anthem
The following extra verse to the National Anthem was written by the Archdeacon of Hereford, and was sung by the National School children of Yazor at the marriage of the Hon. and Rev. A Bateman Hanbury to Miss Davenport
O Lord upon Thy care
Of this day’s happy pair
Our hope depends;
Do thou their days increase
In love, and health, and peace.
God save our friends.
1863 – Sad death from Exposure at Yazor
Joseph Lane aged 70, was spotted at the Norton Canon turnpike in the back of a cart – he was clearly extremely unwell, and shortly afterwards took his last breath.
Apparently he had been seen the previous week, and was poorly then – despite the kindness of people who gave him sustenance and aid, he was unable to recover.
The verdict at his inquest was that he died of cold and exposure to cold.
1866 – Preparations for the Marriage of John H. Arkwright at Yazor Church
The wedding was planned for Tuesday 12th June 1866 at Yazor Church, and the day was taken as a general holiday for the Foxley Estate.
The band of the Herefordshire Militia was hired, and all the leading tenants and their friends would be given lunch after the wedding, with dancing and old English sports, as well as donkey races and other entertainment.
The children were to be plied with tea and plum cake, provided by Mr. Davenport.
The presents, amongst other things, consisted of silver epergnes for the dinner table given by the tenantry of Foxley, and a frosted silver cruet stand from the children of Foxley school. Also, a great deal of money was pledged for a memorial to the marriage to be erected in Yazor church, consisting of a lovely stained glass window designed by Messrs. Heaton, Butler and Bayne, the celebrated artistes of Garrick Street, Covent Garden. The window was said to rival any of its kind seen in Herefordshire.
The Herefordshire Hunt gave their Master a golden horn.
1867 – Hops at Yazor
In the 1867 season the hop plantations around Yazor were doing pretty well, with the bines being strong and healthy. However, there was a blight and lice problem, althought this did not seem to affect the yield.
Elsewhere in Herefordshire, the hopyards were not so healthy and the crop was not expected to be good.