At the Peterborough County Court sitting of this day, a number of orders were made that give us a glimpse of the time. Charles Jenks, a labourer from Water Newton, had debts totalling £21 4s that had accrued due to his loss of work caused by illness. He offered to meet his debts to 8s 6d in the pound at the rate of 3s per month. An order was made allowing this situation. Daniel Monk, a labourer from Eye, was in deeper trouble with debts of £40 10s 4d. He was offering 9s in the pound on the debts - an offer accepted by the court and requiring him to pay at a rate of 6s per month. If my sums are right, that's five years of payments. Among the undefended cases we find that Charles Tebbs, butcher of Midgate, was seeking payment of £26 15s 6d from one W. Chapman of Robin Hood Chase in Nottingham. The claim was upheld and Chapman was required to pay the debt at 10s a month. Tebbs has to wait over four years for settlement of the debt - if he's lucky. (Peterborough Citizen)

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