HOLY SOIL, TEIGNMOUTH, 1843.

A letter to the Editor of The Western Times  of 16th December 1843 from F. Rice,  the Independent minister at Teignmouth,  described how the Rev. Walter Brunt, the curate at West Teignmouth and an ardent disciple of the Tractarian school of theology, tried to forbid him, F Rice, from walking across the Anglican churchyard:  

"Until within the last few years there was a public foot path through West Teignmouth churchyard, which, for convenience sake, some of the Independent dissenters availed themselves of to go to their chapel on Sundays; and since the public path was stopped, they have, till now, continued to go through the yard without hindrance, when the gates were open.

"In common with others, I did the same, unmolested, till the 15th inst. but on the morning of that day the curate saw me pass through the yard, and enquired who I was, and was told the Independent Minister.

"In the afternoon a message was brought me from the sexton to this effect - that the parson had ordered him to prevent me from going through the yard any more!! the pretext for this being that the ground is consecrated!!

Probably, sir, it may be necessary to re-consecrate the holy soil, or if not, to perform  some ceremony in order to remove the pollution which it has received from the heretical feet of the teacher of a 'conventicle.' 

How devoutly is it to be wished that this intolerant priest would pause awhile when he next reads the following petition in the liturgy - From all uncharitableness,  Good Lord deliver us.

I am, sir, your obedient servant,

F. RICE."  

The next Sunday when F. Rice crossed the churchyard again, the curate came out,  he must have been watching for him, and followed him into the street.  The priest argued that the minister was a trespasser.  F. Rice felt he needed to write an account of their meeting to The Times again.  These petty squabbles were hardly edifying!

The Puseyite, Rev. Walter Brunt MA,  lasted less than another year in Teignmouth.  He became the curate at Helston where, in November 1844, he became famous for fifteen minutes when the complaints of his Cornish parishioners and the consequences thereof hit the national press.

I think and hope that a 'holy soil' story like this could not be credited today.  It is surely progress much to be applauded that much of the silliness, as it seems now to the vast majority of citizens, of the Victorian Christian churches, orthodox or dissenting, has disappeared like the snows of yesteryear and it was a tough struggle for freedom of thought which should be remembered and taught in our schools with many a hero fighting against gammon and Bible tyranny.

Our leaders are cowards. There is still a lot of gammon about!  Islam in particular  gammons a lot of people.  It is a faith that is tyrannical and threatens all of us.  It prescribes all our our liberties and our leaders choose not to speak of it.  They do not speak out for the largely secular society that they represent and that wants none of the nonsense.  They are too fearful to act against the sillinesses, injustices and worse that Islam and perhaps other religions imply even though they recognise them.

PRIZE FIGHTING, EXETER, 1843.

 "We regret to see the brutal practice of prize fighting resorted to in this city, by the following statement of the contest between Mr. Long Cornish and Mr. Whiteway.

(From a correspondent.)

"The fancy of the neighbourhood have for the last week been on the qui vive, in consequence of a rumour that an affair was to come off between Long Cornish, a slaughterman, and the champion of the Butcher-row, and a man named Whiteway, who next to St. Crispin has been regarded as the patron saint and champion of the snobs.

"The origin of the fight appears to have been a squabble among the principals at the late wrestling match at the Mount Radford Inn, when Cornish being under the influence of Sir John Barleycorn,  Whiteway gave him a thrashing; but Mr. Long Cornish being a glutton in these things, the friends of both men endeavoured to get up an affair for ten pounds aside,  which it was stated was the amount for which they were to contend.  The thing was kept as snug as possible, in order to prevent the interference of the beaks, and on Sunday it was rumoured that those who were at Countess Wear Bridge, on Monday morning at ten o'clock, would be near the scene of action.

"The road from Exeter to Countess Wear Bridge was crowded, not only by pedestrians, but by almost every description of vehicle.  At the time appointed, both men arrived, Cornish and his friends in two flys; Whiteway and his friends came on foot.  About half past ten the ring was formed, in a marsh adjoining the bridge, and it was computed that there were not less than two thousand persons present.

"Whiteway was the first to enter the ring, he appeared in excellent spirits - but had too much flesh, his age too was against him, he being 47, and Cornish only 35 - but notwithstanding he was the favourite.  Cornish shortly after entered, attended by Tom Lane as second,  Jem Evans as bottle-holder.  Whiteway was seconded by Shapley.

"At a quarter to eleven, both men being ready, Whiteway addressed the spectators by saying 'that as it was to be a fair stand up fight, he hoped that no one would interfere, and that if either man went down without a blow,  the other should be at liberty to jump upon him.'  The company seemed pleased with this arrangement from the cheering with which it was received.

"The men then set to, and as soon as Whiteway came within reach, Cornish (who is left handed) hit him a most tremendous blow on the right cheek and he went down as if he had been shot.  He recovered and came again to the scratch to be served the same in the next round.  Twelve rounds were fought, in every one of which Whiteway was regularly knocked down by Cornish;  there was no wrestling or attempt at anything of the kind.  It was a regular give and take affair.

"After the second round it was evident that Whiteway had no chance; on two occasions when Cornish laid himself open, his opponent neglected to take advantage of it.  On time being called after the twelfth round, Whiteway's second gave in for him, and Cornish was declared the victor.

"The fight lasted about a quarter of an hour, and the work that was done in the time amply made up fot the short space that it occupied.  The knowing ones appeared to be taken in by the result."

Countess Wear would seem to have been a popular location for such events. 

This account is written in true Pierce Egan 'Boxiana' style  (he was still alive.  He died in 1849) with some  lovely cant words;  the fancy, snug, beaks, bottle-holder. 

A snob was universally understood to mean a shoemaker ( St. Crispin was a shoemaker.) and nothing else.

John Barleycorn, here created a Baron, was and remains, as every schoolboy and girl knows,  the personification of whisky and beer.

Source: The Western Times,  16th September 1843.

A BOY IN A BAG, EXETER, 1843.

 "A man has been observed on the streets, soliciting charity, with a bag on his back, from the mouth of which protruded a human head.  

"On Friday evening he was taken to the station house by one of the police, who found the bag to contain a young man about 18, crippled in both his legs and arms, whom he carried about to excite compassion.

"On being taken before the magistrates he was ordered to make himself scarce."

Which is all we are told by The Western Times  (9th September 1843)  of this horror story from mid-Victorian Exeter. 

This young man recalled to me the heart-rending, Ozymandias-reciting character, Harrison, played by Harry Melling in the Coen Brothers' Buster Scruggs.

It is amazing how little compassion the Exeter magistrates found for this wandering mendicant and the crippled teenager in his bag whom I suspect they saw as being less than human.   The man seeking charity was presumably told to pick up his bag and walk out of town.   The magistrates would no doubt have argued that they were only carrying out a prime duty, (neglected now?) to keep undesirable strangers from the streets of Exeter.