Memory Corner May 2nd 2019

Friday May 2nd, 1794

AT THE general Quarter Sessions on Tuesday last, Edward Jones, for stealing a plane at Longford, the property of Thomas Large, was publicly whipped and discharged.

ON MONDAY EVENING LAST DIED, in Frankwell, in the 101styear of his age, John Prichard, linen-draper, formerly of Cophall, near Clun.  He had ten children by his first wife, and twenty-two by the second, who is now left a disconsolate widow.

 

Friday April 30th, 1819

Victorian poverty

STREET MANURE – a large quantity of manure, from 5 to 600 square yards, TO BE SOLD BY AUCTION to the best bidder, by order of the Commissioners of the Street Act, by Tudor and Lawrence, on Saturday the 8thday of May next at Frankwell Quay, Coleham and Bagley Bridge.  At Frankwell Quay precisely at four o’clock; Bagley Bridge at half past four; Coleham Yard at 5.

IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS, Lord Kenyon presented a petition from the manufacturers in Lancashire in favour of limiting the hours of work of children in factories.  Laid on the table.

 

Friday April 30th, 1869

THE REMOVAL OF NUISANCES – the sub-inspector, Mr Chune, is exercising a praiseworthy vigilance in the removal of nuisances in private homes in the borough, and as the approach of warm weather is generally the herald of cholera, fever, or other diseases, the public should assist the officer in the execution of his duty… On Friday last two persons were summoned before the borough magistrates by the sub-inspector and fined for permitting the contents of their privies to percolate through the walls into the adjoining thoroughfares.  The sub-inspector is now making a tour of the town for the discovery of similar nuisances.

 

Friday May 2nd, 1919

A “DELIGHTFUL” SUNDAY – when the local world awoke on Sunday morning the air was thick with flakes of falling snow, and a bitterly cold wind was blowing from the north-west. And so it continued all morning. Noon brought with it a promise of amendment, for the sun shone out brilliantly, but the atmosphere lost none of its chilliness, and thin showers fell at intervals.  There was a heavier fall after sunset, with the result that on Monday morning the roads, the streets, and the whole countryside was white with snow.

AT THE international [football] match at Goodison Park there were around 45,000 spectators.  At the final tie for the Scottish Victory Cup between St Mirren and Hearts there were 70,000 onlookers.  We in England are still a long way behind the Scots in our football enthusiasm.

 

Friday May 4th, 1979

SCHOOLS in Shrewsbury can look forward to the 1980s with confidence.  This is the optimistic view of Belvidere Boys’ Modern School headmaster Mr Jim Hodgson, who retires at the end of term.  Mr Hodgson became head of Belvidere in 1963 after a seven-year spell as head of the then Monkmoor Boys’ School.  And over the years he has seen a great deal of change in the field of education. He said, “The modern schools have vastly changed and improved in all ways, academically and sports-wise.  Nowadays a much wider range of educational and sporting facilities are given to the boys.”  Belvidere Boys’ Modern School goes comprehensive in 1981.

 

Thursday May 5th, 1994

Snailbeach lead mine

THE £2.5 MILLION second phase of the Snailbeach lead mine restoration scheme has been given the go-ahead, Shropshire Country Council has announced.  English Partnerships, the new body with responsibility for reclamation grants, has allocated 100 per cent funding for the scheme.  The first part of the new work involves infilling and stabilising the part of the mine under Lords Hill where there have been surface collapses.  The work has to be done quickly to avoid disturbing an important colony of lesser horseshoe bats which hibernate in the mine.  The second stage will be treatment of the “white tip” – highly contaminated mine waste which can be seen for miles – involving stabilising the material and sealing it to prevent contamination spreading. A separate scheme has involved “consolidating as ruins” the long-disused mine buildings at a cost of about £250,000.

 

Thursday May 7th, 2009

ORGANISERS of two festivals say they are delighted with the huge success of both events, which drew thousands to the town over the bank holiday weekend.  The tenth annual Children’s Bookfest and the inaugural St Chad’s Music Festival entertained adults and children alike with a wide range of events and concerts.  Many famous authors descended on the town for the Bookfest to give talks and hold workshops for children and teenagers.  Top names included Dame Jacqueline Wilson and former children’s laureate Michael Morpurgo, who appeared at Theatre Severn and Shrewsbury School.  Annabel Warburg, press officer for the Bookfest, said, “Many events were sold out and we sold more than 2,000 tickets this year compared to 920 last year, which shows the scale of how it has grown.”