Bloody British History: Stafford E-Book

Anthony Poulton-Smith

• Herausgeber: The History Press
• Kategorie: Sachliteratur, Reportagen, Biografien
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

From its earliest beginnings through to the last days of the Second World War, Staffordshire's county town has seen more than its fair share of gore. Its history is filled with blood, disease, pestilence, poison, dismemberment, decapitation, suicides and hauntings. Featuring life – and death – at Stafford Gaol, the sanguineous siege of the castle and many other tragic true tales from history, you'll never see it in the same way again!

Leseprobe

CONTENTS

Title

99 BC

Iron Age Stafford

AD 99

Roman Stafford

AD 913

Lady of the Mercians

AD 1069

The Battle of Stafford

AD 1399

The King has Been Captured:

Richard II led in chains through Stafford

AD 1560

Capital of Filth!

The Horrors of Stafford’s Unsanitary Streets

AD 1625

Cess and the City!

The Most Bizarre Map in Stafford’s History Revealed

AD 1643

Siege of Stafford Castle

AD 1646

Plagues of Christmas Past

AD 1649

The Man who Killed a King:

John Bradshaw and the Death of Charles I

AD 1680

Tortured by a Traitor:

The Terrible Story of Titus Oates

AD 1742

Horrors of the Workhouse

AD 1772

Leeches and the Crooked Knife:

Life and Death in Stafford General Infirmary

AD 1784

Horrors of the Prison House

AD 1795

The Farmer’s Plot

AD 1833

The Body in the Gaol

AD 1836

Struck with a Stone:

The Strange Case of Mary Kearnes

AD 1838

The Basilisk

AD 1840

The Wench is Dead:

The Tragical Case of Christina Collins

AD 1841

Falling Fowles of the Fiddler:

or, Who Killed Martha Keeling?

AD 1842

Rabies comes to Staffordshire

AD 1855

Post Mortem:

Three of Stafford’s Weirdest Deaths Revealed

AD 1856

The Rugeley Poisoner:

William Palmer

AD 1857

History’s Deadliest Gambles

AD 1860

Strike!

AD 1870

Foul Stench

AD 1887

Fire!

AD 1889

The Sisters, the Baker and the Shoemaker

AD 1940

Air Raids

Bibliography

Copyright

99 BC

IRON AGE STAFFORD

THE PROBLEM WITH telling the story of Iron Age Stafford is the lack of a permanent settlement. As the name given to the era tells us, this was a time when bronze was no longer the only metal produced by smelting – now the much stronger iron was available. The changes in everyday life could be compared to the advancements in the twentieth century, which saw steam and gas lighting become virtually obsolete as electrical power was harnessed.

That there is no evidence of Celtic culture in the county, save for the Romano-British settlements of Letocetum near Lichfield in the south and in the north Rocester and Chesterton, is down to the lack of local materials for the production of iron during this period.

The local Celtic tribe were the Cornovii, their territory extending over Cheshire, Shropshire and across what is now the border into Wales. While they had no coinage they were certainly wealthy enough. Fundamentally an agrarian economy, they were renowned cattle breeders, and also produced vast amounts of salt from their lands in Cheshire. Records from the Greeks and Romans show they had a network of paved roads along which they distributed the salt.

Stafford is an Old English place name – there was no history of ‘Stafford’ in 99 BC. The name did not exist until AD 913, when the first written record of Staefford is found.

The idea these were naked, painted savages is completely wrong. Read Roman writings and it is obvious that they considered the natives ‘vain’ and much concerned with appearance and personal hygiene. The Cornovii excelled in weaving and dyed their cloth in the brightest of colours. Women had long hair, plaited in two lengths which often almost reached their knees. Their tribal name is thought to describe ‘the people of the horned one’, a reference to the image of their chief god. Although similarly-named tribes have been located in Caithness and Cornwall, there was no actual connection between the three tribes, which were as far removed as it is possible for three groups to be on the British mainland.

Little archaeological evidence has been discovered prior to the Roman occupation. For some time this was thought to indicate a lack of possessions and thus a lack of wealth. However, throughout recorded history Staffordshire has been a county with low population density. The population was further reduced by Conquest: at the time of the Domesday Survey the valuation of the parishes clearly reflect the brutal suppression of William the Conqueror.

Perhaps a lack of surviving evidence from the Celtic era is not so much because it was a period of constant conflict but quite the reverse. Indeed the few archaeological records found in the Stafford area are a result of battles. Skeletal remains showing injuries sustained in battle have been unearthed, their identity shown by the clothing and artefacts found alongside.

Most conflicts between rival tribes were ritualised. Champions and leaders fought duels after boasting of the personal achievements of their ancestors. It was the failure of these rituals which led to a full-blooded battle, and it is the remains of such we find in Stafford.

Before any actual fighting broke out the Celts would sound war horns, ride around in their chariots, and clatter weapons against wooden shields to add to the din. As the cacophony peaked, and with adrenalin flowing freely, the combatants charged and, shortly before clashing hand to hand, launched a light javelin at the foe. This tactic was primarily to distract and slow the charge rather than maim the enemy. It was in personal combat these warriors tested their prowess.

The principal weapon was the battle-axe. Doubtless the more experienced warrior had his own particular tricks of the trade but, in general terms, the winner was inevitably the one who bludgeoned his opponent first and/or hardest. Wooden shields would not offer much in the way of protection and were only really of use in deflecting the blow. A short handle made it easier to wield, especially in tight quarters.

Examining the skeletons shows most blows were delivered with a downward movement and principally to the area of the neck and ribcage. Other axe marks are found to the arms and legs: these were designed to impair movement and produce an advantage rather than to kill. A successful hit at the neck or shoulder would cleave the opponent in two, with death inevitable – and hopefully mercifully quick. We also find evidence of ribs broken by feet as the victor braced himself against his victim in order to retrieve the blade buried so deeply into the torso.

During this period the spiritual side of life was, sources lead us to believe, primarily influenced by the druids, though virtually nothing is known of their rites and practices at the time. Virtually everything attributed to this period was written by the Romans much later: contemporary Greek reports speak of druids as priests who dabbled in rites more associated with magic but admit little is definitely known about them. Named Celtic deities are generally those worshipped by the Gauls in France, most of which were also common to the pagan Roman religion. It was when the Romans came to Britannia that the druids were hunted down and eventually forced to retreat to the island of Anglesey off the north coast of Wales. Legends of their defence, and the horrific slaughter which ensued, are predominantly based on the reports of Tacitus, the authenticity of which is questionable.

These Celtic peoples could never have been a part of the Roman Empire, for the first Roman emperor was not in power until 27 BC. From the founding of Rome in 753 BC until 509 BC Rome was a kingdom. In between, which includes 99 BC, it was the Roman Republic.

AD 99

ROMAN STAFFORD

BEGINNING IN THE eighth century BC, the Roman Empire had spread to encompass much of the known western world by AD 43. While Julius Caesar had planned to cross the English Channel almost a century earlier, his fleeting attempts were scuppered as much by his misunderstanding of the tides as the fierce defiance of the native Britons.

This may sound odd but until the Romans moved away from the Mediterranean they never experienced the twice-daily movement of the tides, for the Mediterranean has none. Envisage beaching your vessel and letting the troops embark at low tide. Returning six hours later, you would find the tide at full height. With no anchor used to secure it, your boat would have floated away or been crushed against the land.

Tiberius Avidius Quietus was the Roman Governor in charge of Britain in AD 99. He was uncle to Emperor Hadrian’s daughter-in-law, and was well acquainted with the Greek historian Plutarch and the Roman Senator Pliny the Younger.

Before looking at the Romans in Stafford, we should also mention AD 16. In this year there is a record of the ships commanded by Tiberius. While engaged in campaigns in what is now modern Germany, the fleet was swept westwards by a sudden storm and was washed up on the shores of Britain. However, the brave Roman legionnaires did not sweep all before them in a heroic march across Britannia. Having met the rulers of local tribes, they returned meekly to Europe telling tales of a land dominated by hideous monsters.

Twenty-seven years later they arrived and were to stay for a little under four centuries. While there is no question that a number of tribes were fervently opposed to the ‘invasion’, at least as many welcomed the opportunity for trade as part of a vast empire. Joining the European Common Market in 1973 was a drop in the ocean compared with uniting with the Roman Empire 1,563 years earlier!

In AD 99 the year was not recorded as AD 99, but as ‘the Year of the Consulship of Palma and Senecio’ or sometimes ‘Year 852 Ab urbe condita’ meaning ‘from the founding of the City of Rome’.

Roman soldiers. (Courtesy of the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto)

Just how many troops arrived, or even where they landed, is unrecorded. Indeed, all we are certain of is that a single legion was here. This was the II Augusta commanded by Vespasian, who was to become emperor twenty-six years later. Aulus Plautinus was in charge of the invasion itself and probably dripped a supply of soldiers across the Channel rather than send a mass attack. Perhaps the stories from Tiberius’ troops had reached their ears, especially as we know that the troops mutinied shortly before their intended departure.

It is impossible to know when what is now Stafford saw its first Roman, or even when the first settlement was created here. However, as Boudica and the Iceni were defeated at Mancetter near Atherstone in AD 60 or 61, it is safe to assume that they had reached Stafford before then. They had probably constructed a settlement or camp, be it temporary or permanent, by this time. It seems unlikely the archaeological evidence dates from the early occupations: the following details will therefore be from a later time at the end of the first century.

Roman remains in Staffordshire are few. The nearest remaining evidence of Roman occupation is found south of Lichfield at Wall or, as the Romans knew it, Letocetum.

Excavations at Clark Street revealed evidence of occupation during the Roman era. Archaeologists discovered a layer containing Saxon remains; the dominant features were four post holes indicating a permanent structure. These holes had been driven through what had previously been sealed by weathering, the passage of time and post-Roman cultivation.

In 1985 archaeologists removed the fill from the post holes, took soil samples from the sides of these holes and sent these for radiocarbon dating. These revealed a date of the late first century AD. Subsequently these earlier levels were excavated and Romano-British pottery remains discovered. Under a microscope organic material was found, including fragments of charcoal and grains.

Another building was found in St Mary’s Grove. Here post holes contained Saxon remains and, once again, Romano-British pottery was discovered below the cap created by much later farming activity. A larger piece of Roman pottery dating from the second century was discovered near St Mary’s church, with a third-century coin uncovered a little further away. In another dig near the former Stafford Gaol, at what once was the Hanging Ditch public house, archaeologists discovered a tessellated pavement, a conclusive sign of long-term Roman occupation.

In AD 410, with Rome in trouble, the outpost of Britannia was abandoned. While the military presence had gone, the Romano-British culture endured. Moreover, although it is often imagined that the Saxons invaded as soon as the proverbial Roman back was turned, in truth the Saxon culture took a long time to become dominant.

Eventually the Roman roads became overgrown and the houses and other structures fell into disrepair and/or were disassembled for rebuilding. Although it did not happen overnight, the simple truth is the Romano-British way of life ended because those remaining on our island simply forgot the skills required to be Roman.

AD 913

LADY OF THE MERCIANS

INAD913, Stafford was ruled by a warrior queen: Aethelfled, the ‘Lady of the Mercians’. By the time we find the first mention of Aethelfled, roughly the year 890, she was already married. Her husband Aethelred was by then Ealdorman of Mercia, and they were living in the palaces of the Saxon kingdom of Mercia with their daughter Aelfwynn.

Although her date of birth is not recorded, we know she was the first child of Ealhswith and Alfred. This was none other than King Alfred, the only English monarch ever styled ‘the Great’, and the man who did more to unify England than any other. Her brother, Edward the Elder, succeeded his father as king of Wessex and of the English. His eldest son, Aethelstan, followed after Edward, although Aethelfled had virtually raised her nephew in their Mercian court.

Alfred had sought an agreement with the invading Vikings. War was expensive and a negotiated settlement also saved lives. The eventual peace agreement was based around the Danes agreeing to convert to Christianity, a stipulation which, in itself, helped to retain the peace.

With Alfred’s death came unrest and Edward the Elder had to contend with renewed problems from the Danes. Aethelred died in Mercia in 911, leaving Aethelfled to rule as Lady of the Mercians. This was no courtesy title: she had a well-deserved reputation as an accomplished tactician and military leader and, during the next eight years of her time at the helm, she built a series of fortresses to defend the region of Mercia against threat. Chroniclers speak of the construction of Bridgnorth, Tamworth, Eddisbury, Warwick, Chirbury, and Runcorn fortresses, and three others, thus far undiscovered, which were erected at Bremesburh, Scergeat and Weardbyrig.

Statue of Aethelfled outside the castle at Tamworth.