Wallingford moves into the modern world
We resume our series on Wallingford Borough and its records with a move forward in time.
Civil war surrender
The town had been in decline since the Black Death, but the Civil War of the mid 17th century really marked the end of Wallingford’s glory years. The castle was the subject of a fierce siege and was destroyed after it was surrendered by its beleaguered garrison. A remarkable document from this period is the articles of surrender of the castle in 1646 (now recatalogued as W/ZX5). Find out more about this in The Berkshire Echo 51, April 2010, available to download on the RBA website.
The garrison were to march out of the castle, flags flying, blowing trumpets and beating drums, and were to be allowed to leave the country safely. The town’s industries never recovered, and it was not until the end of the 19th century that things began to improve again and Wallingford began to take its modern shape.
Law and order
A body of Paving and Lighting Commissioners were appointed under a private Act of Parliament in 1795 for the improvement of the town. The mayor, Recorder, town clerk, chamberlain and bailiffs were Commissioners ex officio, with an additional property qualification for other members. They were responsible for paving, lighting and cleansing the streets, and for providing a watch. The expenses were met by levying a rate on property owners. The Act also provided for the prosecution of annoying persons obstructing the pavements by a variety of activities or by building protruding bow windows over the pavement, making bonfires, setting off fireworks, or throwing things at poultry in a dubious practice known as 'Cock-throwing'.
Street lighting was initially by oil lamps, but new state-of-the-art gas lighting was installed in 1834. The first two Watchmen were appointed in 1800 to patrol the streets at night. They were provided with warm greatcoats, lanterns to light their way, and rattles to make their presence known, but the expense of candles for the lanterns had to be met from their own wages. From 1811 they were also issued with hats. From 1814 to 1826 there was only one Watchman to cover the entire duty, then from 1826 there were three. Initially the men only worked at night, but in 1829 additional evening patrols were established.
The Act was repealed and the Commission dissolved in 1865. The Commissioners’ minutes of their deliberations cover the whole period 1795-1865 (WA/AS3/1/1-2). We also have Rules, Orders and Regulations for the Government of the Constables and Others, appointed and employed by the Watch Committee, of the Borough of Wallingford, under the Powers of the Municipal Corporations Act. These set out the duties of the constables and the Superintendent Constable (WA/AZ1/1).
Gas comes to Wallingford
Wallingford Gas Light and Coke Company was established in 1834 by gas engineer and entrepreneur William Morley Stears of Stroud, Gloucestershire. A gas works was built on land leased from the Corporation, situated by the river near Wallingford Bridge. Gas street lights, funded by the borough, came into operation in January 1835. The original gasworks collapsed in 1875 due to a Thames flood, and were replaced by a new gas works near the railway station. The undertaking was purchased by the borough in c.1898-1899. The gas industry was nationalised in 1949 following the passing of the Gas Act 1948.
Records of the gas undertaking (WA/UG) include the initial prospectus for the company in 1834 encouraged potential consumers of gas in Wallingford to buy shares in the new company. Keen to encourage the burgesses to ‘buy in’ to the new ways, the prospectus states that 'the improved method of lighting with Gas (in itself a source of attraction to the Town where it is introduced) is also usually the harbinger of other improvements, and generally so changes the aspect of unimportant places, as to make them rival others which possess superior local advantages, but without the same enterprising spirit'. Naturally Wallingford didn’t want to be an unenterprising backwater, and gas was duly introduced.
Improving the people
Deposited collections within the archive (records of independent organisations which were given to the borough) include the records of Wallingford Mechanics' Institution (later Wallingford Free Library and Literary Institute) (WA/D1). The Mechanics' Institution was founded in 1844 to provide adult education for the working class, many of whom would not have been able to attend school as children, and by 1854 it had 142 members. It had a library and reading room, originally in the High Street, and every winter courses of lectures were held on art, science, history and literature. New premises opened in Fish Street in 1858. In 1871 the new Wallingford Free Library and Literary Institute, in St Leonard's Square, was opened in connection with the Institution, following a generous gift from Auberon Herbert.
WA/D2 is accounts of the Streatley and Goring Bridge Commissioners, 1893-1922. The first bridge between Streatley, in Berkshire, and Goring, in Oxfordshire, was built in 1837 to replace the old ferry at the same spot. The tolls could not support the cost of essential repairs, so in 1922 the bridge was sold to Berkshire and Oxfordshire County Councils, who rebuilt it in 1923 at their own expense, and henceforward it would be free to cross the river Thames.
Money matters
The modern financial records of the council (WA/FA) cover 1867-1973. In the late 19th century, the Corporation had three main series of accounts: the Borough Fund, the Urban District Fund and the Bridge Fund. Separate sets of records were created 1912-1952. The Borough Fund paid administrative staff salaries, and general administration and property expenses. The Urban District Fund paid for expenses associated with the borough's status as an Urban District Council, including public health, sanitation, housing, utilities, the fire brigade, etc. During the Second World War it paid for costs associated with evacuation. They are all included in the general ledgers (FA4/1) up to 1912, although each fund was dealt with separately. There are also rentals for borough property (including the use of Town Hall by the County Justices, market and fair tolls, and licencing for the Cattle Market, Free Library, and Sewage Farm), 1892-1946.
The Town Clerk: edging into the modern world
The Town Clerk’s correspondence files (WA/AZ4) include material on the closure of Wallingford Railway Station and the Cholsey-Wallingford branch line. The station was closed for passenger trains in June 1959 and for freight on 13 September 1965, and a ceremony marked the final passenger train stopping at Wallingford. The file includes a note that difficulties were immediately encountered by persons attending the Polio Clinic using the replacement bus service in July 1959. Perhaps some things never change.
The final part of this series will look at aspects of public health and housing revealed in the archives.