Alfie was born in the Stretton Hills and was one of eight children.
Following the death of his labourer father, Alfie’s mother Mary, moved the brood into Nag’s Head Yard. She supported the family by going out charring.
In 1887 Alfie was caught pinching two pork pies from a bakery on the Bull Ring. Had up before the Ludlow magistrate, he was sentenced to six strokes of the birch rod, to be administered by the local constable.
But Alfie was not deterred from a life of crime. Only a year later, he accompanied his little brother Tom and friend George Baynham whilst they broke into a house in nearby Stanton Lacey. The boys came away with some Jubilee medals, a couple of empty boxes and a pair of boots.
Alfie, Tom and George were arrested, and taken to Shrewsbury for trial. There Tom, as a first time offender, was given eight strokes of the birch. Alfie, now termed a repeat offender, was sentenced to fourteen days in prison, followed by five years at the Reformatory. He was lucky. Transportation to the colonies for such offences had been abolished only a few years earlier in 1867. And the even harsher punishments of the early 1800s, when the Bloody Code ruled that over 200 offences would lead to execution, had given way to a more 'enlightened' attitude.
|
Alfie was sent to Bradwall Reformatory for Boys in Cheshire. There he was taught to read and write and set to a trade. However, reformatories were very tough places with stiff discipline enforced by frequent beatings. When additional punishment was considered necessary, Alfie was put to hard labour.
Although the 1901 census shows Alfie back in Ludlow, working as a general labourer, we know from newspaper reports that he remained on the wrong side of the law. In particular the offence of ’trespassing in search of game’ saw Alfie receive several further sentences in his adult life.
Paul Hughes, great-grandson of Alfie’s sister Agnes, has been in touch with us and is keen to find out more about his ancestors and their home in Nag’s Head Yard. |
