Lack of (National) Compassion

26/01/1861

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During a recent spell of very bad weather, the Guardians of the Peterborough Poor Law Union had granted temporary outdoor relief to some able-bodied agricultural labourers who had been unable to work through no fault of their own. as a result, the National Board had requested that they be furnished with a statement showing the number of persons relieved that were at variance to the General Prohibitory Order. They also requested particulars of the number of persons in each family and the amount of relief that had been afforded. At this Saturday's meeting of the Board of Governors of the Peterborough Poor Law Union, the clerk read a letter that had come from the National Poor Law Board. It stated that 'having regard to the accommodation afforded by the workhouse, and to the number of inmates therein, the Board thought it desirable that the Guardians should, in future, should offer to relieve the necessities of this class of person in the workhouse. They should apply that test of destitution so long as circumstances permitted with regards to each application.' In other words, 'rules is rules', and using common sense and compassion are not allowed. (Lincoln, Rutland and Stamford Mercury)

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

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Robin Hood and Little John

870

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Two stones sit on the north side of the river Nene to the west of Milton Ferry Bridge. They are features on both modern and nineteenth century maps and the subject of local folklore.

Robin Hood and Little John are the names given to the two stones; legend has it that the stones formed where arrows from Robin Hood and Little John landed but thankfully there are other more plausible options. One suggestion is that they were placed on the hill in tribute to Edmund the Martyr, King of East Anglia, also known as St. Edmund. He died in 870, which would make the stones well over 1,000 years old, however there are very few local connections to St. Edmund and no reason for the stones to be placed on the hill.

Two other suggestions take the story back even further in the date. The first is that the stones relate to the Roman landscape that they sit in. During the Roman period the area would have been busy with nearby homes, a pottery industry, a large praetorium and important roads. It is possible that the stones were used to indicate a boundary or trackway from the nearby river or road; the stones are oddly cubed shaped with an indentation indicating stone masons crafted them. There is also a suggestion that the stones were originally part of a prehistoric stone monument. Very few stone monuments exist in the area, so this would be an interesting addition to the archaeological record if correct.

Another theory is that the stones indicated where boats should stop to collect stones delivered from Barnack quarry to build Peterborough Abbey. Whilst not impossible, the route by road is shorter and does not involve loading and unloading stone onto barges. This may have been a distorted history of the account of Simon Gunton from 1686 who claimed the stones marked a point that carts of stones from Barnack quarry could pass through to get to the river without paying a toll whilst on their way to build St Edmund's Abbey (Bury St Edmund's).There are other examples of people desperate to avoid paying tolls and there was a toll to the east of the stones, but the effort to shape and style the stones appears elaborate for markers and there do not appear to be any landscape features that suggest a road or track there, as one would expect with large carts of heavy stones. If the story is true, it may suggest that they have been moved.

Whatever their provenance, they are interesting features of the landscape and could inspire lots of other myths and legends. Picture Credit - Sherwood Forest, Robin Hood Meets Little John For The First Time

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Lack of (National) Compassion

26/01/1861

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Robin Hood and Little John

870

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