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PREFACE.
PREFACE.
Though the town of Royston is frequently mentioned in the following pages, it was no part of my task to deal with the general historical associations of the place, with its interesting background of Court life under James I. These belong strictly to local history, and the references to the town and neighbourhood of Royston simply arise from the accidental association with the district of the materials which have come most readily to my hand in glancing back at the life of rural England in the ti
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CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION.—"THE GOOD OLD TIMES."
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION.—"THE GOOD OLD TIMES."
The Jubilee Monarch, King George III., and his last name-sake, had succeeded so much that was unsettled in the previous hundred years, that the last half of the 18th Century was a period almost of comparative quiet in home affairs. Abroad were stirring events in abundance in which England played its part, for the century gives, at a rough calculation, 56 years of war to 44 years of peace, while the reign of George III. had 37 years of war and 23 years of peace—the longest period of peace being 1
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CHAPTER II. GETTING ON WHEELS—OLD COACHES, ROADS AND HIGHWAYMEN—THE ROMANCE OF THE ROAD.
CHAPTER II. GETTING ON WHEELS—OLD COACHES, ROADS AND HIGHWAYMEN—THE ROMANCE OF THE ROAD.
It is worthy of notice how locomotion in all ages seems to have classified itself into what we now know as passenger and goods train, saloon and steerage. Away back in the 18th century when men were only dreaming of the wonders of the good time coming, when carriages were actually to "travel without horses," the goods train was simply a long line or cavalcade of Pack-horses. This was before the age of "fly waggons," distinguished for carrying goods, and sometimes passengers as well, at the giddy
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OLD STAGE WAGON, A.D. 1800.
OLD STAGE WAGON, A.D. 1800.
Bad as were the conditions of travel, however, it should be understood that for some time before regular mail coaches were introduced in 1784 (by a Mr. Palmer) there had been some coaching through Royston. Evidence of this is perhaps afforded by the old sign of the "Coach and Horses," in Kneesworth Street, Royston. This old public-house is mentioned in the rate-books for Royston, Cambs., as far back as the beginning of the reign of George III., or about the middle of last century, and as its old
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TO THE PUBLIC. THE OLD ROYSTON COACH ONCE MORE REVIVED. CALLED THE TELEGRAPH.
TO THE PUBLIC. THE OLD ROYSTON COACH ONCE MORE REVIVED. CALLED THE TELEGRAPH.
Will set out on Monday, 2nd May, and will continue to set out during the summer, every Monday and Friday morning at four o'clock; every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday at six o'clock, from the Old Crown Inn, Royston; arrives at the Four Swans Inn, Bishopsgate Street, London, at ten and twelve o'clock. Returns every day (Sunday excepted) from the said Inn, precisely at two o'clock, and arrives at Royston at eight o'clock at night. The proprietors of this undertaking, being persons who
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THE "FOX AND HOUNDS," BARLEY, HERTS.
THE "FOX AND HOUNDS," BARLEY, HERTS.
These picturesque features of our rural country life have now disappeared almost as entirely as the parish stocks. Perhaps the most perfect specimen in existence, and one which could have hardly been rivalled for picturesqueness even in the old days, is that which still points the modern wayfarer to the "Fox and Hounds," in the village of Barley, near Royston, where the visitor may see Reynard making his way across the beam overhead, from one side of the street to the other, into the "cover" of
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CHAPTER III. SOCIAL AND PUBLIC LIFE—WRESTLING AND COCK-FIGHTING—AN EIGHTEENTH CENTURY DEBATING CLUB.
CHAPTER III. SOCIAL AND PUBLIC LIFE—WRESTLING AND COCK-FIGHTING—AN EIGHTEENTH CENTURY DEBATING CLUB.
It may be well here to take a nearer view of local life between the years 1760 and 1800. In doing so we shall probably see two extremes of social and political life, with rather a dead level of morality and public spirit between them—at the one extreme an unreasoning attachment to, and a free and easy acquiescence in, the state of things which actually existed, with too little regard for the possibility of improving it; and at the other extreme an unreasonable ardour in debating broad principles
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LADY IN REIGN OF GEORGE III.
LADY IN REIGN OF GEORGE III.
What a picture the Old Assembly Room at the Red Lion must have presented! Ladies with gorgeous and triumphant achievements in the matter of head dresses, hair dressing, and hair powder, and frillings, such as young ladies of to-day never dream of; and gentlemen in their wigs, gold lace, silken hose, buckles, and elegant but economical pantaloons! A dazzling array of candles, artistic decorations, and Kings and Queens looking down from the walls! "A brilliant and polite assembly elegantly conduct
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OLD JOCKEY HOUSE—KING JAMES' STABLES.
OLD JOCKEY HOUSE—KING JAMES' STABLES.
In September, 1764, when the Odsey Races were run, the principal event was the 100 guineas subscription purse, besides minor events of 50 guineas. That large numbers of persons attended them is evident from what is related for that year when we learn that James Butler, a servant of Mr. Beldam, of Royston, was, while engaged in keeping the horses without the ropes of the course, unfortunately thrown down, and run over by several horses, by which he was so miserably bruised that he expired next da
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CHAPTER IV. THE PAROCHIAL PARLIAMENT AND THE OLD POOR-LAW.
CHAPTER IV. THE PAROCHIAL PARLIAMENT AND THE OLD POOR-LAW.
In these days, when so much is heard in favour of coming back to the Parochial area as the unit of local government, it may be of interest just to glance back at the condition of things when, in the last century, the parish vestry was almost omnipotent, and controlled all sorts of things, from a pauper's outfit, or from marrying a pauper, to the maintenance of the fire engine, the repair of the Church, and the wine used at the Communion! The oldest materials I have found available for obtaining
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STAIRCASE INTO THE CAVE.
STAIRCASE INTO THE CAVE.
Since that time this old charity estate has become so closely associated with the Old Cave—which, by the way, is really nearer to the houses on the opposite side of the street—that the shop now occupied by Mr. G. Pool, on the east side of the gate entrance is generally described as the Cave House, and the tenant for the time being has become invested with the office of curator of this old antiquity, while the shop on the other side of the gateway (Messrs. Whitaker's tailoring department), though
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Illustration of a portion of the Interior of Royston Cave
Illustration of a portion of the Interior of Royston Cave
Any account of the Cave itself would be quite foreign to the purpose of these Sketches, but it may be of interest to those readers who are not aware of the variety of curious and ancient carvings which adorn its walls, to give a glimpse of the interior, showing a portion of the figures. The part selected for the following illustration is that showing the High Altar, the Saviour extended on the Cross, with the Virgin Mary on the one side and the beloved disciple on the other, the bold figure to t
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CHAPTER V. DOGBERRY "ON DUTY."
CHAPTER V. DOGBERRY "ON DUTY."
There were two other officials besides the Overseer and Church-warden, the dignity of whose office entitles them to a place of honour in these sketches—viz., the old Parish Constable, and the Parish Beadle. To understand what the old Parish Constable was in relation to the public peace we have to consider him as embodying most of the functions of the present county policeman, and a variety of other matters, some of which now fall upon the Relieving Officer, the Recruiting Sergeant, and Overseer.
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DOGBERRY "ON DUTY."
DOGBERRY "ON DUTY."
In the village constable were merged some of the functions both of policeman and beadle. The function of "watch and ward" had, however, no official representative in the villages, where in times of special risk, when incendiary fires were too common, the principal inhabitants took their turn in keeping watch. To find the Parish Beadle in the full-blown dignity of his office we must therefore go to the towns, to Royston for instance, where we shall find Mr. Bumble in all the stately pomp of cocke
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CHAPTER VI. THE DARK NIGHT OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY—THE SHADOW OF NAPOLEON.
CHAPTER VI. THE DARK NIGHT OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY—THE SHADOW OF NAPOLEON.
The gloom which shrouded the night and morning, the death and birth, of the two centuries, and its terrible consequences to the people of this country, together form an event which has no parallel in our modern history, nor, with the possible exception of the famine years in the fourteenth century, in any known period of our history. The whole of the last quarter of the eighteenth century has been very well described as a period of high prices, low wages, and of unparalleled suffering. The war d
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NAPOLEON BUONAPARTE.
NAPOLEON BUONAPARTE.
A similar meeting was held at Hertford, and men were called to arms between the ages of 15 and 60, and in all towns and villages there was nothing but swearing in and drilling of soldiers, to resist the impending invasion, by which it was said that England was to be divided among the French—"the men all to be killed and the women saved." In accordance with the above mentioned county scheme each parish had its Council of War, so to speak, at which men more accustomed to "speed the plough" found t
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CHAPTER VII. DOMESTIC LIFE AND THE TAX-GATHERER—THE DOCTOR AND THE BODY-SNATCHER.
CHAPTER VII. DOMESTIC LIFE AND THE TAX-GATHERER—THE DOCTOR AND THE BODY-SNATCHER.
By the fireside, in health and disease, and in the separations and contingencies of family life, we must look for the drawbacks which our great-grandfathers had to put up with during that remarkable period which closed and opened the two centuries, when great changes ever seemed on the eve of being born, yet ever eluded the grasp of the reformer. What a sluggish, silent, nerveless world, it must have been as we now think! On the other side of the cloud, which shut out the future, were most of th
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TINDER-BOX, FLINT, STEEL, AND MATCHES.
TINDER-BOX, FLINT, STEEL, AND MATCHES.
The tinder-box, like other household requisites in all ages, was sometimes very homely, sometimes of "superior" make. The above illustration is of one rather out of the common, and the artist has brought the different parts together rather than showing the process, for the lid would have to be removed before the tinder beneath could be fired. The most common form of tinder-box was an oblong wooden box, of two compartments, one for the tinder and the other for flint and steel. At Elbrook House, A
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A LADY OF THE PERIOD.
A LADY OF THE PERIOD.
The vagaries of fashion at the beginning of the century were of almost inconceivable variety and extravagance; not only the ladies, but dandies of the opposite sex wore stays for the improvement of the figure, and curled their hair with curling irons! Though wigs had almost gone out of fashion, hair powder had not. In a former sketch a figure of a lady in the earlier years of the reign of George III. was given. The above is another specimen of head gear at a later period of the same reign. Trade
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CHAPTER VIII. OLD PAINS AND PENALTIES—FROM THE STOCKS TO THE GALLOWS.
CHAPTER VIII. OLD PAINS AND PENALTIES—FROM THE STOCKS TO THE GALLOWS.
All the old punishments, from the Ducking Stool to the Stocks, proceeded upon the appeal to the moral sense of the community, and up to the middle, or probably nearer to the end of last century, the summary punishment of offenders took place, both in village and town, in the most public manner possible. Near the Old Prison House, standing a little eastward of the summit of the Cave, in Melbourn Street, which did duty for both civil parishes of Herts. and Cambs., stood the Royston pillory and als
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THE OLD PARISH STOCKS AT MELDRETH.
THE OLD PARISH STOCKS AT MELDRETH.
Some other things deserve to be mentioned as old penalties besides actual punishment for crimes. One of these was the penalty for felo de se , so well described by Hood in his punning verses on Faithless Nelly Gray and Ben Battle, the soldier bold, who hung himself, and— A dozen men sat on his corpse, To find out how he died; And they buried Ben at four cross-roads, With a stake in his inside. In 1779, John Stanford, who hung himself at the Red Lion, Kneesworth, was found to be a felo de se , an
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CHAPTER IX. OLD MANNERS AND CUSTOMS—SOLDIERS, ELECTIONS AND VOTERS—"STATTIES," MAGIC AND SPELLS.
CHAPTER IX. OLD MANNERS AND CUSTOMS—SOLDIERS, ELECTIONS AND VOTERS—"STATTIES," MAGIC AND SPELLS.
In glancing at the manners and customs which prevailed during the later Georgian era, I find several matters arising out of what has gone before, waiting for notice. Prison discipline was evidently very different from our notion of it, for in 1803 we find prisoners in the Cambridge County Gaol stating that they "beg leave to express their gratitude to the Right Hon. Charles Yorke for a donation of five guineas." If these little indulgences could be obtained in a county gaol it may be imagined th
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CHAPTER X. TRADE, AGRICULTURE AND MARKET ORDINARIES.
CHAPTER X. TRADE, AGRICULTURE AND MARKET ORDINARIES.
One of the most interesting, as well as significant things about old-time studies, is the evolution of industry, from the stage, when each domestic hearth was a factory of some sort, to vast cotton mills and iron foundries. Time was when the wool from the sheep's back was made into cloth in every house in Royston, then the finishing processes of fulling and dyeing were made a business of elsewhere, then with the introduction of machinery the hand-loom disappeared from our cottages to special cen
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READING THE NEWS.
READING THE NEWS.
Below are given a few years of average prices of farmers' produce in grain:— The year 1812 was a famine year, but, after this time, prices never rose so high, ranging for wheat from 75s. in 1814, and 96s. in 1817 to 44s. in 1822. Though the landlords took their share and nearly doubled rents between 1790 and 1804, the farmer had reason to remember the good old times if the following story of a Hertfordshire farmer in 1807 be true:— "A wealthy Hertfordshire farmer not long ago made application to
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CHAPTER XI. ROYSTON IN 1800-25.—ITS SURROUNDINGS, ITS STREETS, AND ITS PEOPLE.
CHAPTER XI. ROYSTON IN 1800-25.—ITS SURROUNDINGS, ITS STREETS, AND ITS PEOPLE.
The prospect of Royston from its surroundings was, at the beginning of the century, singularly bleak and uninviting in winter time. Of the many plantations which now beautify the vicinity of the town, and afford such pleasant walks, not one tree had got on end. The London Road, from the top of the town to the sylvan spot now known as the "Seven Rides," had not a single tree near it, and only one solitary bush standing out on the hill-top against the sky-line, on the summit of what was then a ver
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CHAPTER XII. PUBLIC WORSHIP AND EDUCATION—MORALS AND MUSIC.
CHAPTER XII. PUBLIC WORSHIP AND EDUCATION—MORALS AND MUSIC.
When the reforming spirit which brooded over the two centuries touched the subject of education, its advocates became enthusiastic! Here is what an old writer said in 1806 about a proposal to establish evening schools for the instruction of farm servants:— "We should hear the humble countryman talk of the heroes of old, catch the patriotic inspiration from the action of his great forefathers, while wisdom would extend her protecting hand and claim the nation for her own"! However much we may be
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CHAPTER XIII. SPORTS AND PASTIMES—CRICKET, HUNTING, RACING, AND PRIZE-FIGHTING—THE BUTCHER AND THE BARONET, AND OTHER CHAMPIONS.
CHAPTER XIII. SPORTS AND PASTIMES—CRICKET, HUNTING, RACING, AND PRIZE-FIGHTING—THE BUTCHER AND THE BARONET, AND OTHER CHAMPIONS.
Among winter recreations skating was hardly known, and not at all as an amusement for ladies, but then what a glorious pastime was that of sliding! Very few young people can slide on the ice now as the boy in 1800-20 could do. In summer cricket was played, but, as in all the multiplied facilities for acquiring skill and knowledge, to-day the youthful cricketers have the best of tools, while their grandfathers had a home-made bat, or even a pale, and as for stumps, they generally grew in the neig
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THE HUNT BREAKFAST.
THE HUNT BREAKFAST.
Sir Peter was a dark, handsome man, of great muscular power and activity. It was commonly said that he could plant a dozen hurdles only a yard apart and clear them one at a time. As a horseman he had few equals, and was famous for the condition of his horses, which were the best turned out in the hunting field, and Sir Peter himself made a notable figure in his skin-fit leather breeches. It was the fashion then to wear the hunting breeches so tight that it would have been impossible to get into
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CHAPTER XIV. OLD COACHING DAYS—STAGE WAGONS AND STAGE COACHES.
CHAPTER XIV. OLD COACHING DAYS—STAGE WAGONS AND STAGE COACHES.
Many readers, whose lives carry them back before the "forties," taking their stand beneath the broad gateway or pebbled court-yard of our old inns—the Red Lion, the Bull, or the Crown—would require a very slight effort of memory to recall the exhilarating spectacle of the arrival and departure of the stage coach of fifty or sixty years ago. Such a person will once more hear in imagination the cheery coach horn at the town's end; and, watching for only a minute, he knows what to expect—yes, there
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THIRD-CLASS TO LONDON.
THIRD-CLASS TO LONDON.
The coaching traffic at the beginning of the present century, corresponded pretty much with express and stopping trains of the present day. There were what may be called "main line" coaches from London, through Royston to Edinburgh by the North Road (as well as by other great roads through the Kingdom), and the "branch line" coaches, such as those from London to Cambridge, Norwich, Fakenham, &c., and from London to Ipswich, a route that figured so prominently in the memorable adventures
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A CAMBRIDGE ELECTION PARTY.
A CAMBRIDGE ELECTION PARTY.
It seems strange in these days that there should have been so much interest centred in these flying channels of civilization. I have mentioned the "Safety" and "Tally-ho," two coaches driven through Royston from Cambridge to London and back. These were well-known as rival coaches—rivals in time, for each went up in the morning and back in the evening, and, what is more interesting, they were also rivals in, and between them there was a keen competition for, popular favour; so much so that one mi
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CHAPTER XV. NEW WINE AND OLD BOTTLES.—A PAROCHIAL REVOLUTION.—THE OLD POOR-HOUSE AND THE NEW "BASTILLE."
CHAPTER XV. NEW WINE AND OLD BOTTLES.—A PAROCHIAL REVOLUTION.—THE OLD POOR-HOUSE AND THE NEW "BASTILLE."
Over the dark night of the 18th and the dull grey morning of the 19th century there was this remarkable feature, that while the local records show how deplorable was the condition of the people, there was at the head of the affairs of the nation a perfect galaxy of great men, such as the public life of this nation had perhaps never known. There were Fox, Pitt, Sheridan, Burke, Wellington, Wilberforce, Nelson, Canning, Brougham, Lord Chancellor Eldon—whose greatness was only tempered by the fear
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CHAPTER XVI. WHEN THE POLICEMAN CAME.—WHEN THE RAILWAY CAME.—CURIOUS AND MEMORABLE EVENTS.
CHAPTER XVI. WHEN THE POLICEMAN CAME.—WHEN THE RAILWAY CAME.—CURIOUS AND MEMORABLE EVENTS.
With the abolition of the old Poor-law the Parish Constable, as he was understood in the Georgian era, found a large part of his occupation gone. Those important journeys of Dogberry on the delicate errand of marrying off young couples who promised otherwise to be a trouble to his parish, with all the pleasant suppers, breakfasts, dinners, and beer at inns on the road, of which the reader has been afforded some evidence in the parish accounts of the last century—all this interesting part of the
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TRIUMPHAL ARCH AT BUNTINGFORD.
TRIUMPHAL ARCH AT BUNTINGFORD.
1843. Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Consort visited Wimpole and Cambridge this year, passing through Royston on their way to Cambridge. Triumphal arches and other signs of welcome were erected in most of the towns and villages on the road from London to Cambridge. Of these outward manifestations of loyalty, the illustrations here given appeared at the time in the Illustrated London News , which, now claiming to be the father of illustrated journals, was then in its infancy and only about one
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TRIUMPHAL ARCH AT ROYSTON.
TRIUMPHAL ARCH AT ROYSTON.
At Melbourn the scene was a memorable one as the mounted horsemen and a vast crowd of people from the whole neighbourhood gathered around the old historic elm tree, where the change of horses took place. Such a crush of mounted horsemen had never been seen in the village. Upon the gigantic branch of the old elm tree, which then extended right across the road, some loyal Melbournites, short of bright coloured flags usually employed on such occasions, had spread a huge tarpauling upon which was a
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WIMPOLE MANSION.
WIMPOLE MANSION.
The following reference to this event occurs in a book entitled "Recollections of Military Life and Society," by Lieut.-Col. B. D. W. Ramsay:—"In the autumn of 1843 we were despatched on escort duty with Her Majesty and Prince Albert, between Hertford, Cambridge, Royston, and Wimpole, Lord Hardwicke's place. On arrival at Wimpole, where I commanded the escort, I received a despatch from the Horse Guards directing me to give up the escorting of Her Majesty from Royston to Wimpole to whatever yeom
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CHAPTER XVII. THEN AND NOW.—CONCLUSION.
CHAPTER XVII. THEN AND NOW.—CONCLUSION.
From our present stand-point there is just a touch of pathos in the thought of many aspiring Englishmen of the Georgian era passing away on the eve of momentous changes, privileged only to see indications of the coming times and not to enter into possession. But there is one element which qualifies this sentiment of regret in breaking with the anticipations of the good time coming. It must be so for all conditions of men. Have we not still to look forward, as we pass out of the age of steam into
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APPENDIX.
APPENDIX.
In the following table is given the population of 45 parishes in the Royston district, viz., of the Royston and Buntingford Poor-law Unions, situated in the counties of Herts., Cambs., and Essex, for each decade from 1801 to 1891. In them the reader will be able to trace the growth of the rural population during the middle of the century, and its remarkable decline during the last twenty years, the economic effects of which have led to the cry for bringing back the labourer on to the land, inste
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