From: The Western Times, 3rd June, 1837:
"HART and JARMAN, two little boys, aged about eight years, were summoned for disturbing the peace of the quiet neighbourhood of Garden-square, by firing cannon therein, on the day of the coming of age of our most gracious Princess Victoria, to the great injury of the nerves of several elderly ladies, and against the peace of our lord the king.
"The facts were fully proved, and the artillery regularly put in in evidence - it consisted of two 2d. brass cannons, the shortest one an inch and a half long and the other a regular bomb of two inches in length, and a bore of one eighth of an inch diameter.
"They were fined one shilling; the guns were seized, and the urchins were admonished - the bench evidently addressing the mothers through their hopeful progeny, they having encouraged the youngsters to annoy the nervous neighbourhood."
The whole kingdom, (with, allegedly, the exception of Exmouth, - see this same source,) was celebrating the birthday of the Princess who, though nobody knew it, a couple of weeks later would be proclaimed Queen and Empress.
In Garden-square, Exeter, however, several elderly ladies were so much disturbed by young Masters Hart and Jarman joining in the fun and firing off their tuppenny firecracker cannons that the boys were brought before the Mayor and Magistrates and fined. It's a wonder they could keep their faces straight! What a travesty of justice!
I ask myself: what happened to those tiny brass(?) cannon seized by the Bench and how much money one could ask for them now on Ebay?
Garden Square must have been a very precious neighbourhood indeed. I haven't yet found it.
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