Attempted Murder?
Attempted Murder? - Roland Raffell - July 2025
Among the many more minor offences committed in Southam in the 1840s, one more serious crime stands out in the career of Inspector George Smallbones. This was reported ...
Two Convictions for Inspector Smallbones
Two Convections for Inspector Smallbones - Roland Raffell - June 2025
In 1855, the final year of Inspector George Smallbones’ time in Southam, one of the few cases of passing counterfeit coins in the division was brought ...
Bendigo Mitchell, Highwayman: History or Myth?
Bendigo Mitchell, Highwayman: History or Myth - Roland Raffell - May 2025
There are numerous legends of highwaymen who terrorised travellers across the country, but were they all real, heinous criminals with little regard for their victims, or ...
A Quart of Ale (continued)
A Quart of Ale (continued) - Roland Raffell - April 2025
In nineteenth century Southam it was recognised that there were ‘… drunkards who go in and get drunk week after week. They are known ...
A Quart of Ale
A Pint of Ale - Roland Raffell - March 2025
‘For a Quart of Ale is a Dish for a King.’ (Shakespeare, The Winter’s Tale IV: ii). For centuries, drinking ale has always been a ...
Recusancy: Defiance of the Established Church
Recusancy: Defiance of the Established Church - Roland Raffell - Dec 2024
Recusant was the name given to Roman Catholics and persons of other faiths who refused to attend Church of England services. The term was mainly ...
The Origins of Workhouse Support in Southam
The Origins of Workhouse Support in Southam - Roland Raffell - Nov 2024
Before 1601, poverty was an issue for the country that had never really been addressed successfully, particularly when connected to beggars and vagrants. Despite the use ...
The Land Value Tax
The Land Value Tax - Roland Raffell - Oct 2024
The Land Value Tax of 1692 was enacted with the intention of gaining income for the Crown through a tax related to the value ...
Taxing Hair
Taxing Hair - Dr Roland Raffell - July 2024
‘...but in the world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes...’ (Benjamin Franklin). ...
The Hearth Tax
The Hearth Tax - Dr Roland Raffell - June 2024
In the year 1660, Charles II was restored to the throne following the English Civil War and the Interregnum under ...
Southam’s Charter and Beating the Bounds
Southam's Charter and Beating the Bounds - Dr Roland Raffell - May 2024
Southam town’s Charter, established in 998 AD, provided a clearly defined map of its borders with its neighbours: Long Itchington, Stockton, Napton, Ladbroke, Radbourne, Harbury ...
Vagrancy and Birth Settlement
Vagrancy and Birth Settlement - Dr Roland Raffell - March 2024
In October 1782 a constable from Birmingham apprehended an itinerant, Richard Fairfax, who had, ‘…been lying in the open air…unable to give a good account of himself…’ On ...