An alternative Axholme History
THE Manor Court at Epworth had a good run and did a useful job but it was eventually replaced by the Vestry Council.
Actually this suited the Lord of the Manor as he had got heartily fed up of having to check up on or track down every petty criminal in town, a business that was giving him premature grey hair.
The new Vestry lot immediately had their hands full just trying to clamp down on all the inebriates who lounged around in the Market Place. At this time Epworth had 13 taverns as well as other illicit boozing venues so the Council had an uphill task.
The Rector, Samuel Wesley, grumbled like mad at the various landlords for hanging on to his congregation and some of the worst offenders faced the Beak at Gainsborough.
The local constable himself had one heck of a job. In fact he had that many tasks that, to be fair, he could only make a mess of most of them.
Well, I ask you, he had to organise the Neighbourhood Watch, run the stocks and pillory, catch stray cattle, sheep, cats, and dogs: mend bridges, fences and gates, and all this lot was just for starters. Oh yes, and worse still when he was not at work, his wife made him do all the washing up and he even had to darn socks. He told her that Thorne Workhouse would have been a holiday camp compared to his life at Epworth.
Locals at Epworth were also absolutely cheesed off with all the different taxes and many went to bed wondering what new levy the morning would bring. They were taxed on windows, fireplaces and even bricks. Then the churchmen wanted their ten percent of anything and everything. There was a lot of wheeling and dealing, backhanders and shady hand shaking in the world of tithing. There were all sorts of rates demanded, land rates, poor rates and others.
Because of all this financial pressure the Parish Relief clerk got little rest constantly being involved in the floods of hard up folk seeking a bob or two. It was a case for many to get what they could from the social security or end up in the workhouse.
Diversion
Saturdays in the Market Place brought some diversion from the monotonous round of make do and mend as well as you could. Saturday afternoon was the time to watch the bull or bear baiting as well as cock fighting. Not everyone's cup of tea but these events saw good crowds. It was not a business for the squeamish so female spectators were thin on the ground. It was all a bit unfair for the bull and the bear as they were tethered and could not pursue their torturers. The cock fighting outside the Royal Oak pub added a bit more spice and occasionally a free for all scrap made things even livelier.
John Wesley was no friend of cock-fighting and whenever he was in town he always gave this spectacle a wide berth. If he had to visit St Andrew's Church he used to to take the field walk from the Rectory. It was all an affair about which his father frequently made objections and he had many a ding dong with the organisers of these sports.
Next week in Part 7 - Samuel's Shock Treatment
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Weather for Epworth
Friday 18 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 8 C to 13 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 8 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North
