In
1883 Robert Rogers was just 31 years old, and anything but wealthy.
But he carried the can for the others, and paid the very heavy fine
imposed for illegally moving cattle across the city boundary into the
fields south of Bedminster (perhaps even the Ashton Vale TG site?).
We
know that he died eight years later in the general hospital, of heart
failure; family legend has it that he had been gored by a bull. We
know that he was buried in an unmarked grave in the paupers' plot at
Arnos Vale, presumably at civic expense, leaving a widow and a
two-year old daughter. And we know that Mrs StockwoodPete owes her
being to the three of them!
Then,
as now, cattle movements did need to be regulated; the coming of
railways must have encouraged a surge in shifting the animals to
distant markets, heightening the risk of fast spreading virulent disease,
while reducing the work available for the drovers who used to drive
the beasts across the country. But a 45/- fine?
But
the pages of newspapers – even the same short article - are full of
heavy court sentences for the most minor of crimes. A ten year old
birched for his part in the theft of oranges.... others fined 3/9d
(or 7 days inside) for taking rhubarb. Along with reports of
industrial accidents and fatalities, not to mention the most lurid of
crimes, these old papers make compulsive reading. This one was found
through findmypast.co.uk – but they can also be read for nothing in
the central reference library!
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