Rain Raises Prices

15/12/1904

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The annual Peterborough Christmas Fat Stock Show was held in the Cattle Market off the New Road in this week. Reports describe a very wet day - all day - but, in the true spirit of things, the show went on as usual. However, the show was not as large as previously, which was disappointing. The upside was that prices were consequently better than normal. Beef prices were singled out as being particularly good and contrasting very favourably with the low prices achieved just a few weeks previous. The champion bullock weighed in at 17.5cwt and fetched the very attractive price of £38 10s. (Northampton Mercury)

Taken from The Peterborough Book of Days by Brian Jones, The History Press, 2014.

Napoleonic Wars

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Death of Sir Harry Smith

1860

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Harry Smith was born in Whittlesey in 1787. In 1805 he joined the 95th rifles as a lieutenant serving in South America and from 1808 in Spain and Portugal. In 1812 he married a well-born Spanish girl, Juana Maria de los Dolores de Leon, and she remained with him on nearly all his subsequent travels. Before fighting at the Battle of Waterloo as a Brigade Major, he served in America and was present at the burning of Washington.

After the Napoleonic War he served in South Africa as a provincial governor then in India as deputy-adjutant-general. He was made Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, then served as High Commissioner and Governor of Cape Colony where he and Juana are memorialised in the names of the towns of 'Harrismith' and 'Ladysmith'.

In this country he is remembered in the name of the Sir Harry Smith College in Whittlesey.

As an interesting aside, his love story with Juana was the basis of a novel, 'The Spanish Bride' by Georgette Heyer (1940).

Napoleonic Wars

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Rain Raises Prices

15/12/1904

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Death of Sir Harry Smith

1860

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