The land was duly bought from the Cornewall family in about 1775, and Brown set to work designing and creating the landscape (this was to be his last big project) which included a lovely man- made lake which covers a whopping 14 acres, and a walled garden full of fruit trees. Meanwhile, the building of the house was carried out by his son in law, the architect Henry Holland who completed Berrington Hall in 1783.

Admiral Lord Rodney

Thomas Harley had no sons, but his daughter Anne married the son of Admiral Lord Rodney and so Berrington Hall passed to the Rodney family. The Admiral was a much admired naval commander who had roundly beaten the French, Spanish and Americans in many battles, but he was deeply flawed and had a gambling addiction. He also tended to spend way above his means and at one point, he was obliged to hastily leave Britain in order to escape his creditors. His wife Anne must have been a bit fed up with her husband, to put it mildly, and then to make things worse a succession of tragedies befell the family. First of all her brother in law was lost at sea, and then her three sons (the third, fourth and fifth Baron Rodney) died in 1842, 1843 and 1846.

The Rodneys of Berrington Hall

September 1843 – Death of Lord Rodney at Berrington Hall, he was the second son of George, second Lord Rodney, and brother of the late Lord whom he succeeded in 1841. Born 12th April 1784, he never married.
His will was rather long winded and amounted to some 16 or so pages, and was proved by his brothers – the Rt. Hon and Rt Rev Spencer Baron Rodney and the Hon. W.P. Rodney. Amongst other bequests, he left a year’s wages to each of his servants who had been with him for five years or more but most of his wealth was distributed throughout the family. However, he did particularly mention “four brass cannons, taken by my grandfather from the Spaniards” which were objects of great interest at Berrington Hall.
When the sixth Lord Rodney took over Berrington Hall it was rather dishevelled and needing much attention. However, he was very fond of hosting lavish parties, and took any excuse that he could to do so……… In August 1844 during the Leominster Races (where he gambled ferociously) he held an enormous party at Berrington Hall for his friends. When his wife gave birth to a son and heir in February 1857, he organised a huge and lavish ball for over 200 of their friends and neighbours by way of celebration, then later in the same week he threw open his gardens and grounds to all his tenant farmers plus their families and friends, and also invited local tradesmen. He was clearly generous!
He died in August 1864 of consumption after being ill for some considerable time. He was only 46 and left three children – two boys and a girl of which the eldest boy aged seven succeeded to the title and estates.
The following year, in September 1865, an advert appeared in various papers:
“To be let furnished, with shooting………Berrington Hall, four miles from Leominster; it stands in a beautiful park and commands extensive views, is well furnished and in perfect order for immediate occupation. The shooting is about 4,500 acres of which nearly 360 are woodland and well stocked with game. Good private rifle range close to the house. Can be let for three, five or seven years”
This was to bridge the gap until the seven year old boy came of age and was able to take possession of Berrington Hall.

Berrington Hall is Let

Joseph Tarratt and his wife moved in and remained there until his death in 1869. They were followed by Oswald Bloxsome.

7th Lord G.B.D. Rodney

Then in February 1878, the heir to the estate, the seventh Lord G.B.D. Rodney came of age. He returned to Berrington and was due to have had a celebration party, but this was postponed due to the death of his great aunt, the Dowager Lady Rodney, widow of George, third Lord Rodney. He became a Lieutenant 2nd Life Guards after attending the School of Musketry at Hythe St. Leonard in Kent, and went out to Egypt – upon his return to Berrington Hall in November 1882 he was met at Leominster by many local dignitaries as well as the local Volunteer Band, who all processed with him to the Town Hall where he was feted with congratulatory speeches. Like his ancestor the Admiral, he appeared to be a fearless military man, but unfortunately he took after the Admiral in other ways too and he was more than a little fond of gambling. His obsession spiralled, and he began to lose more than just money – valuable paintings were sold to enable him to pay his debts, followed by expensive fittings from inside the house. Farms were sold off too, and still he gambled………and lost.
In October 1887 it was reported that although Berrington Hall had been up for sale in 33 lots, it had failed to change hands. I have yet to discover for certain why Lord Rodney would have wished to sell up, but in all probability he had wanted to raise a substantial amount of cash by whatever means.
In 1891, Lord Rodney married and on their return from honeymoon were greeted by lavish festivities and celebrations. They were met just outside Leominster by a detachment of the Shropshire Yeomanry Cavalry and escorted through the festooned streets to the Town Hall where there were speeches by the Mayor and others. They then carried on to Berrington Hall to be greeted by a Guard of Honour by the Leominster volunteers. More speeches followed, given by their tenants, the Cricket Club and the Leominster volunteers. Later, nearly 300 people enjoyed lunch in a marquee. So in spite of his gambling habit, or perhaps because of it, he was a popular man. By 1900, there was simply no money left, and little of value inside the house = it was put up for sale, and in 1901 was bought by Frederick Cawley, a Lancastrian who had made his money in the cotton industry.

Frederick Cawley at Berrington Hall

When Queen Victoria died, and black clothes were worn nationwide, Frederick Cawley patented a pure black dye which gave him further wealth. He was made a Baronet in 1906, and Berrington Hall came back to life as he redecorated and restored the house.
He and his wife had four sons and one daughter:
John Stephen who was born in Lancashire in October 1879; he went to Sandhurst and joined his regiment the 20th Hussars, in India. He served in South Africa, and Egypt, and in 1911 was made Instructor at the Cavalry School in Netheravon. By all accounts he was a sportsman, and an excellent rider. In 1914, as Brigade Major to the lst Cavalry Brigade he was sent to France where he was killed.
The second son, Harold, was born in 1878 in Lancashire. He attended Rugby school and then went up to Oxford from where he was called to the Bar. In 1910 he was elected as the Liberal candidate during the general election. Just a couple of short weeks after arriving in Gallipoli, he too was killed.
The Cawleys third son, Oswald, also attended Rugby school and Oxford. Very sadly, very close to the end of the war, he too was killed.
Frederick Cawley, an MP since 1895, became a peer of the Realm in 1918.

During the second World War, the house was transformed into a hospital building, but despite all the upheaval and probably heartbreaking changes to the house and grounds (remember Downton Abbey!) the new Lord and Lady Cawley did their best to maintain high standards whilst making the best of things.
Lord Cawley died in 1957 and the family was crippled by death duties. Berrington Hall was taken over by the National Trust, but Lady Cawley was allowed to remain living there until her death in 1978. Perhaps nobody expected her to live until she was 100!

Berrington Hall was built of sandstone, a relatively soft material which had deteriorated over the years, and the National Trust spent a great deal of money carrying out repairs so that now the house is restored to its former glory.

Churches of Leominster

• St. Peter & St. Paul Priory - Leominster

  Henry I established  a Benedictine Priory  on this site, but  Henry VIIIs suppression of the Monasteries put paid to this although the church remains.    On one of the inside walls are the fascinating remains of a 13th century ‘Wheel of Life’ mural.

   

  There is a glorious peel of 10 bells but oddly no clock face on the tower

   

   

  

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  Font

  13th Century

   

   

   

  

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  Modern Font

   

   

   

  

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  The town Ducking Stool.

  In fact this was more commonly known as a Cucking Stool, and in medieval England it was used as a punishment in the form of public humiliation – usually for unsavoury or excessively irritating women!   Just nagging your husband would be enough to warrant use of this stool, as well as the act of continually annoying your neighbours!

  The woman would be made to sit on the stool and then she could be trundled around for a while so that people could hurl rotten food at her;  then she would be repeatedly “ducked” into the nearest pond or stream – the dirtier and colder the better.

  There was a much darker use for the ducking stool however, when it was used as a test to see if a woman was a witch.  The unfortunate lady would be ducked under the water, and if she died then she was declared innocent of withcraft.  However, if she survived then it was declared that she had been saved by the devil, and she was executed forthwith.  A bit of a no win situation going on here!

   

   

  

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  Photo reproduced by kind permission of Paul Scott

   

   

   

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Buildings in Leominster

• Prisons

  Leominster had at least two prisons in the past.

  Forbury Prison

  Little remains of the original building, but part of one wall can still be seen, along with what was either a door or window, although this is now bricked up. The lower courses of masonry are the original stonework.

   

   

  

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  

   

   

   

   

   

   

   
  This prison is thought to have been two storeys high and in its time housed several historic names; including in 1402 Edward Mortimer of Wigmore and later, Owen Tudor who was Henry VIII great grandfather. These and other unfortunate prisoners, were taken without trial from the prison and executed at the nearby Iron Cross. By the mid eighteenth century the prison could no longer cope with the number of potential inmates and plans were afoot to extend the building. Some ten years later however, it was decided that a new prison entirely should be built and this one was demolished in 1753

  New Street Prison

  New Street Prison, Leominster, was built in 1750 to accommodate more prisoners than Forbury but when the Borough Police Force was disbanded in 1888 the prison was no longer used and was rented to a Rifle Volunteer Company.

  Read More >
• Leominster Union Workhouse

  The Priory, Leominster
  This building became a workhouse in 1759, and was originally the Monastic infirmary and loos. It was the only part of the medieval monastry, other than the Church and Forbury chapel, to survive the dissolution in 1539. It served time as a gaol, and then a private house, before becoming the Workhouse. The top floor was a later addition, and formed part of the work carried out in the nineteenth century which included the addition of brick wings to the south to provide more accommodation for inmates

   

   

  

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  

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• Berrington Hall History

  Thomas Harley, a man who had made a fortune supplying the British army, decided that he needed a house to reflect his wealth and standing; he first employed Capability Brown who chose the ideal location for what was to become Berrington Hall – one which would afford wonderful views across to the Black Mountains in Wales as well as swathes of Herefordshire countryside.

  The land was duly bought from the Cornewall family in about 1775, and Brown set to work designing and creating the landscape (this was to be his last big project) which included a lovely man- made lake which covers a whopping 14 acres, and a walled garden full of fruit trees. Meanwhile, the building of the house was carried out by his son in law, the architect Henry Holland who completed Berrington Hall in 1783.

   

   

   

  

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  Admiral Lord Rodney

  Thomas Harley had no sons, but his daughter Anne married the son of Admiral Lord Rodney and so Berrington Hall passed to the Rodney family. The Admiral was a much admired naval commander who had roundly beaten the French, Spanish and Americans in many battles, but he was deeply flawed and had a gambling addiction. He also tended to spend way above his means and at one point, he was obliged to hastily leave Britain in order to escape his creditors. His wife Anne must have been a bit fed up with her husband, to put it mildly, and then to make things worse a succession of tragedies befell the family. First of all her brother in law was lost at sea, and then her three sons (the third, fourth and fifth Baron Rodney) died in 1842, 1843 and 1846.

  The Rodneys of Berrington Hall

  September 1843 – Death of Lord Rodney at Berrington Hall, he was the second son of George, second Lord Rodney, and brother of the late Lord whom he succeeded in 1841. Born 12th April 1784, he never married.
  His will was rather long winded and amounted to some 16 or so pages, and was proved by his brothers – the Rt. Hon and Rt Rev Spencer Baron Rodney and the Hon. W.P. Rodney. Amongst other bequests, he left a year’s wages to each of his servants who had been with him for five years or more but most of his wealth was distributed throughout the family. However, he did particularly mention “four brass cannons, taken by my grandfather from the Spaniards” which were objects of great interest at Berrington Hall.
  When the sixth Lord Rodney took over Berrington Hall it was rather dishevelled and needing much attention. However, he was very fond of hosting lavish parties, and took any excuse that he could to do so……… In August 1844 during the Leominster Races (where he gambled ferociously) he held an enormous party at Berrington Hall for his friends. When his wife gave birth to a son and heir in February 1857, he organised a huge and lavish ball for over 200 of their friends and neighbours by way of celebration, then later in the same week he threw open his gardens and grounds to all his tenant farmers plus their families and friends, and also invited local tradesmen. He was clearly generous!
  He died in August 1864 of consumption after being ill for some considerable time. He was only 46 and left three children – two boys and a girl of which the eldest boy aged seven succeeded to the title and estates.
  The following year, in September 1865, an advert appeared in various papers:
  “To be let furnished, with shooting………Berrington Hall, four miles from Leominster; it stands in a beautiful park and commands extensive views, is well furnished and in perfect order for immediate occupation. The shooting is about 4,500 acres of which nearly 360 are woodland and well stocked with game. Good private rifle range close to the house. Can be let for three, five or seven years”
  This was to bridge the gap until the seven year old boy came of age and was able to take possession of Berrington Hall.

  Berrington Hall is Let

  Joseph Tarratt and his wife moved in and remained there until his death in 1869. They were followed by Oswald Bloxsome.

  7th Lord G.B.D. Rodney

  Then in February 1878, the heir to the estate, the seventh Lord G.B.D. Rodney came of age. He returned to Berrington and was due to have had a celebration party, but this was postponed due to the death of his great aunt, the Dowager Lady Rodney, widow of George, third Lord Rodney. He became a Lieutenant 2nd Life Guards after attending the School of Musketry at Hythe St. Leonard in Kent, and went out to Egypt – upon his return to Berrington Hall in November 1882 he was met at Leominster by many local dignitaries as well as the local Volunteer Band, who all processed with him to the Town Hall where he was feted with congratulatory speeches. Like his ancestor the Admiral, he appeared to be a fearless military man, but unfortunately he took after the Admiral in other ways too and he was more than a little fond of gambling. His obsession spiralled, and he began to lose more than just money – valuable paintings were sold to enable him to pay his debts, followed by expensive fittings from inside the house. Farms were sold off too, and still he gambled………and lost.
  In October 1887 it was reported that although Berrington Hall had been up for sale in 33 lots, it had failed to change hands. I have yet to discover for certain why Lord Rodney would have wished to sell up, but in all probability he had wanted to raise a substantial amount of cash by whatever means.
  In 1891, Lord Rodney married and on their return from honeymoon were greeted by lavish festivities and celebrations. They were met just outside Leominster by a detachment of the Shropshire Yeomanry Cavalry and escorted through the festooned streets to the Town Hall where there were speeches by the Mayor and others. They then carried on to Berrington Hall to be greeted by a Guard of Honour by the Leominster volunteers. More speeches followed, given by their tenants, the Cricket Club and the Leominster volunteers. Later, nearly 300 people enjoyed lunch in a marquee. So in spite of his gambling habit, or perhaps because of it, he was a popular man. By 1900, there was simply no money left, and little of value inside the house = it was put up for sale, and in 1901 was bought by Frederick Cawley, a Lancastrian who had made his money in the cotton industry.

  Frederick Cawley at Berrington Hall

  When Queen Victoria died, and black clothes were worn nationwide, Frederick Cawley patented a pure black dye which gave him further wealth. He was made a Baronet in 1906, and Berrington Hall came back to life as he redecorated and restored the house.
  He and his wife had four sons and one daughter:
  John Stephen who was born in Lancashire in October 1879; he went to Sandhurst and joined his regiment the 20th Hussars, in India. He served in South Africa, and Egypt, and in 1911 was made Instructor at the Cavalry School in Netheravon. By all accounts he was a sportsman, and an excellent rider. In 1914, as Brigade Major to the lst Cavalry Brigade he was sent to France where he was killed.
  The second son, Harold, was born in 1878 in Lancashire. He attended Rugby school and then went up to Oxford from where he was called to the Bar. In 1910 he was elected as the Liberal candidate during the general election. Just a couple of short weeks after arriving in Gallipoli, he too was killed.
  The Cawleys third son, Oswald, also attended Rugby school and Oxford. Very sadly, very close to the end of the war, he too was killed.
  Frederick Cawley, an MP since 1895, became a peer of the Realm in 1918.

   

  During the second World War, the house was transformed into a hospital building, but despite all the upheaval and probably heartbreaking changes to the house and grounds (remember Downton Abbey!) the new Lord and Lady Cawley did their best to maintain high standards whilst making the best of things.
  Lord Cawley died in 1957 and the family was crippled by death duties. Berrington Hall was taken over by the National Trust, but Lady Cawley was allowed to remain living there until her death in 1978. Perhaps nobody expected her to live until she was 100!

  Berrington Hall was built of sandstone, a relatively soft material which had deteriorated over the years, and the National Trust spent a great deal of money carrying out repairs so that now the house is restored to its former glory.

   

  Read More >

News from the Past Leominster

• Leominster News from the Past

  Fire, rotting meat and lots more

  1841 – Leominster Infant School

  The infant and juvenile school for the “labouring classes” of Eaton, Hennor, and Stretford in the parish of Leominster, and Kimbolton and Stoke Prior adjoining, is progressing well.

  As well as donations already received, the funds for this school were greatly swelled by very generous donations from John Arkwright of Hampton Court Castle, and the Hon. Harley Rodney.

  1843 – Fire in Rick Yard

  Superintendent McCrohin at Leominster Police Station was alterted to a fire in a rick yard at the Far-end, Monkland, owned by Mr. Sheward.

  Two fire engines were rapidly dispatched along with some policemen, and on arrival they found three large hay ricks well ablaze.  Several “country persons” were trying to put out the flames, but it was apparent that they were roaring drunk, and their efforts were less than helpful!  However, many helpers arrived from Leominster and by cutting and carrying the burning hay away, they managed eventually to put out the fire, but it took some considerable time and hard work.

  Mr. Sheward sent a cart load of refreshments from Stagbach in gratitude to the policemen and helpers from Leominster, as well as the firemen – who did not get back to Leominster until well after midnight.

  This was the third fire in the area, and the cause in each case was the hay being too green when stacked.

  1846 – Sale of Leominster Canal Navigation

  In July 1846, a special meeting of the company of proprietors of the Leominster Canal Navigation was held at the Royal Oak, and attendance was excellent.

  They were considering an offer made by the Herefordshire and Shrewsbury Railway Company to purchase the canal and property owned by the company, and eventually they agreed on the sale of the canal to the railway company for £12,000.

  However, there were difficulties, and over ten years later things were still not settled:

  The Hereford Journal reported –

  “The Leominster Canal Navigation company sought by their bill to compel a specific performance by the defendants, the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway Company, of an agreement for the purchase of the Leominster canal, and payment by them of the purchase money, £12,000 with interest.”

  It went on to say that in 1846 the railway company proposed, through their solicitors, to buy the canal with certain conditions;  the proposal was accepted and by mutual agreement an application was made to Parliament to obtain an Act to enable them to sell, and authorising the railway company to purchase, the canal.

  A problem then arose because the Leominster Canal Navigation Company only had the lease of the property for 40 years, but on 26th August 1854 a letter was sent to them by the defendants’ solicitors, saying that they still wanted to buy, but would have to wait until they had sold some shares at the right price.

  Nothing happened.

  To be continued when I find out a bit more!

  1849 – Cholera in Leominster

  The family of John Morris, a labourer, had been living in Wolverhampton where there was an epidemic of Cholera.  In fear for their lives, they moved to Leominster.

  Shortly afterwards, the ten year old son of John developed diarrhoea which progressed to “rice water evacuations” and other clear symptoms of cholera, and although he seemed to rally briefly, he died a couple of days later.  Other members of the family also developed diarrhoea but recovered.

  It was reported that extensive cleaning operations were carried out in Leominster, and the house where the family lived had been cleansed and whitewashed.

  1850 – First Sewer for Leominster

  The commissioners were due huge gratitude from the inhabitants of Leominster for starting work on a sewer which would carry away the stagnant water and decomposing matter from the streets.

  Many areas of the town were filthy and rank with decomposition etc., and the new sewer would go a long way in preventing the diseases which came from such conditions.

  1853 – Accident on Railway line near Leominster

  Mr. Walter Bartlett of the railway office, Leominster, was surveying the works in progress on the new line;  near to Wharton a couple of miles from Leominster there was an engine and tender, and Walter decided to step up on to the engine.

  Unfortunately, a heavy frost had made the metal slippery and his leg went from under him and beneath the wheel of the engine, which was still moving.  His leg was badly crushed between the ankle and knee, and he was bleeding copiously.  A surveyor in charge of the train immediately found a piece of string and tied it around Walter’s leg below the knee to stop the bleeding, and then they put him on the tender and took him to Leominster station.

  His leg was immediately amputated by H.W. Watling and he was fortunate to recover.

  1857 – Leominster and Kington Railway

  It was announced by telegraph from an official of the company, that the Leominster and Kington Railway would definitely be opened for passenger and general traffic on Thursday 27th August 1857.

  1858 – Butchers offer Rotten Meat in Leominster

  Police descended on Leominster butchers to seize large quantities of “unwholesome” meat, which caused a great sensation in the town.

  All the condemned meat was piled in the Corn Square, and publicly burnt – the resulting disgusting smell drove customers out of the nearby pubs!

  1859 – Leominster Folk Sign the Pledge

  There was a huge revival in interest in total abstinence in Leominster, and following lectures from Mr. Gough and Mr. Samuel Bowley, 71 people signed the pledge.

  A further meeting took place (where attendees were fortified with tea), to which at least 400 people flocked to hear Henry Newman, the Rev. Henry Cooper of Stoke Prior,  Mr. Nash, and Mr. Walsh from Bromyard.

  Enthusiasm for the movement was huge, and since the meeting more and more people signed the pledge.

   

  Read More >

1841 – Leominster Infant School

The infant and juvenile school for the “labouring classes” of Eaton, Hennor, and Stretford in the parish of Leominster, and Kimbolton and Stoke Prior adjoining, is progressing well.

As well as donations already received, the funds for this school were greatly swelled by very generous donations from John Arkwright of Hampton Court Castle, and the Hon. Harley Rodney.

1843 – Fire in Rick Yard

Superintendent McCrohin at Leominster Police Station was alterted to a fire in a rick yard at the Far-end, Monkland, owned by Mr. Sheward.

Two fire engines were rapidly dispatched along with some policemen, and on arrival they found three large hay ricks well ablaze.  Several “country persons” were trying to put out the flames, but it was apparent that they were roaring drunk, and their efforts were less than helpful!  However, many helpers arrived from Leominster and by cutting and carrying the burning hay away, they managed eventually to put out the fire, but it took some considerable time and hard work.

Mr. Sheward sent a cart load of refreshments from Stagbach in gratitude to the policemen and helpers from Leominster, as well as the firemen – who did not get back to Leominster until well after midnight.

This was the third fire in the area, and the cause in each case was the hay being too green when stacked.

1846 – Sale of Leominster Canal Navigation

In July 1846, a special meeting of the company of proprietors of the Leominster Canal Navigation was held at the Royal Oak, and attendance was excellent.

They were considering an offer made by the Herefordshire and Shrewsbury Railway Company to purchase the canal and property owned by the company, and eventually they agreed on the sale of the canal to the railway company for £12,000.

However, there were difficulties, and over ten years later things were still not settled:

The Hereford Journal reported –

“The Leominster Canal Navigation company sought by their bill to compel a specific performance by the defendants, the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway Company, of an agreement for the purchase of the Leominster canal, and payment by them of the purchase money, £12,000 with interest.”

It went on to say that in 1846 the railway company proposed, through their solicitors, to buy the canal with certain conditions;  the proposal was accepted and by mutual agreement an application was made to Parliament to obtain an Act to enable them to sell, and authorising the railway company to purchase, the canal.

A problem then arose because the Leominster Canal Navigation Company only had the lease of the property for 40 years, but on 26th August 1854 a letter was sent to them by the defendants’ solicitors, saying that they still wanted to buy, but would have to wait until they had sold some shares at the right price.

Nothing happened.

To be continued when I find out a bit more!

1849 – Cholera in Leominster

The family of John Morris, a labourer, had been living in Wolverhampton where there was an epidemic of Cholera.  In fear for their lives, they moved to Leominster.

Shortly afterwards, the ten year old son of John developed diarrhoea which progressed to “rice water evacuations” and other clear symptoms of cholera, and although he seemed to rally briefly, he died a couple of days later.  Other members of the family also developed diarrhoea but recovered.

It was reported that extensive cleaning operations were carried out in Leominster, and the house where the family lived had been cleansed and whitewashed.

1850 – First Sewer for Leominster

The commissioners were due huge gratitude from the inhabitants of Leominster for starting work on a sewer which would carry away the stagnant water and decomposing matter from the streets.

Many areas of the town were filthy and rank with decomposition etc., and the new sewer would go a long way in preventing the diseases which came from such conditions.

1853 – Accident on Railway line near Leominster

Mr. Walter Bartlett of the railway office, Leominster, was surveying the works in progress on the new line;  near to Wharton a couple of miles from Leominster there was an engine and tender, and Walter decided to step up on to the engine.

Unfortunately, a heavy frost had made the metal slippery and his leg went from under him and beneath the wheel of the engine, which was still moving.  His leg was badly crushed between the ankle and knee, and he was bleeding copiously.  A surveyor in charge of the train immediately found a piece of string and tied it around Walter’s leg below the knee to stop the bleeding, and then they put him on the tender and took him to Leominster station.

His leg was immediately amputated by H.W. Watling and he was fortunate to recover.

1857 – Leominster and Kington Railway

It was announced by telegraph from an official of the company, that the Leominster and Kington Railway would definitely be opened for passenger and general traffic on Thursday 27th August 1857.

1858 – Butchers offer Rotten Meat in Leominster

Police descended on Leominster butchers to seize large quantities of “unwholesome” meat, which caused a great sensation in the town.

All the condemned meat was piled in the Corn Square, and publicly burnt – the resulting disgusting smell drove customers out of the nearby pubs!

1859 – Leominster Folk Sign the Pledge

There was a huge revival in interest in total abstinence in Leominster, and following lectures from Mr. Gough and Mr. Samuel Bowley, 71 people signed the pledge.

A further meeting took place (where attendees were fortified with tea), to which at least 400 people flocked to hear Henry Newman, the Rev. Henry Cooper of Stoke Prior,  Mr. Nash, and Mr. Walsh from Bromyard.

Enthusiasm for the movement was huge, and since the meeting more and more people signed the pledge.

Forbury Prison

Little remains of the original building, but part of one wall can still be seen, along with what was either a door or window, although this is now bricked up. The lower courses of masonry are the original stonework.

 
This prison is thought to have been two storeys high and in its time housed several historic names; including in 1402 Edward Mortimer of Wigmore and later, Owen Tudor who was Henry VIII great grandfather. These and other unfortunate prisoners, were taken without trial from the prison and executed at the nearby Iron Cross. By the mid eighteenth century the prison could no longer cope with the number of potential inmates and plans were afoot to extend the building. Some ten years later however, it was decided that a new prison entirely should be built and this one was demolished in 1753

New Street Prison

New Street Prison, Leominster, was built in 1750 to accommodate more prisoners than Forbury but when the Borough Police Force was disbanded in 1888 the prison was no longer used and was rented to a Rifle Volunteer Company.

There is a glorious peel of 10 bells but oddly no clock face on the tower

Font

13th Century

Modern Font

The town Ducking Stool.

In fact this was more commonly known as a Cucking Stool, and in medieval England it was used as a punishment in the form of public humiliation – usually for unsavoury or excessively irritating women!   Just nagging your husband would be enough to warrant use of this stool, as well as the act of continually annoying your neighbours!

The woman would be made to sit on the stool and then she could be trundled around for a while so that people could hurl rotten food at her;  then she would be repeatedly “ducked” into the nearest pond or stream – the dirtier and colder the better.

There was a much darker use for the ducking stool however, when it was used as a test to see if a woman was a witch.  The unfortunate lady would be ducked under the water, and if she died then she was declared innocent of withcraft.  However, if she survived then it was declared that she had been saved by the devil, and she was executed forthwith.  A bit of a no win situation going on here!

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Photo reproduced by kind permission of Paul Scott