Kevin Pulford’s talk in February was called Regency Lowlife in Bury St Edmunds and was based on information taken from the records of the Quarter Sessions in the borough.
There was no police force, so any complaints were brought to the magistrates.
At that time, small crimes and misdemeanours were dealt with by Justices of the Peace who would visit villages to make judgements. In Wickhambrook these sessions were held at The White Horse Public House, now a dwelling house opposite All Saints Church.
The Magistrate’s Court was held in the Guildhall in Bury St Edmunds and such crimes as theft, (usually poaching or stealing produce from fields) and other minor offences were dealt with there.
Kevin had many stories of Poor Law applications, disputes between apprentices and masters, recusants who refused to attend church, and trouble with the local militia among other issues.
We were amused that traffic offences were taken very seriously. You could be fined for having no one guiding the horse, no name on the cart, being drunk in charge, blocking the road and carrying night soil in the daytime!
Our next meeting is on Tuesday 18th March, when our speaker will be the curator of Gainsborough’s House Museum in Sudbury.