A Quart of Ale
A Pint of Ale - Roland Raffell - March 2025
‘For a Quart of Ale is a Dish for a King.’ (Shakespeare, The Winter’s Tale IV: ii). For centuries, drinking ale has always been a ...
Recusancy: Defiance of the Established Church
Recusancy: Defiance of the Established Church - Roland Raffell - Dec 2024
Recusant was the name given to Roman Catholics and persons of other faiths who refused to attend Church of England services. The term was mainly ...
The Origins of Workhouse Support in Southam
The Origins of Workhouse Support in Southam - Roland Raffell - Nov 2024
Before 1601, poverty was an issue for the country that had never really been addressed successfully, particularly when connected to beggars and vagrants. Despite the use ...
The Land Value Tax
The Land Value Tax - Roland Raffell - Oct 2024
The Land Value Tax of 1692 was enacted with the intention of gaining income for the Crown through a tax related to the value ...
Taxing Hair
Taxing Hair - Dr Roland Raffell - July 2024
‘...but in the world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes...’ (Benjamin Franklin). ...
The Hearth Tax
The Hearth Tax - Dr Roland Raffell - June 2024
In the year 1660, Charles II was restored to the throne following the English Civil War and the Interregnum under ...
Southam’s Charter and Beating the Bounds
Southam's Charter and Beating the Bounds - Dr Roland Raffell - May 2024
Southam town’s Charter, established in 998 AD, provided a clearly defined map of its borders with its neighbours: Long Itchington, Stockton, Napton, Ladbroke, Radbourne, Harbury ...
Vagrancy and Birth Settlement
Vagrancy and Birth Settlement - Dr Roland Raffell - March 2024
In October 1782 a constable from Birmingham apprehended an itinerant, Richard Fairfax, who had, ‘…been lying in the open air…unable to give a good account of himself…’ On ...
Southam Parish: Charter, Foundation and Beating the Bounds
Southam town’s Charter was established in 998 AD and is of great significance as it provided a clearly defined map of its borders with its contiguous ...
Southam Friendly Society
Southam Friendly Society - Dr Roland Raffell - Feb 2024
It is estimated that in 1795 Southam had some 750 inhabitants, including farmers, tradesmen, publicans for its 13 ale houses and shopkeepers, together with landowners and ...
Southam on Fire
Southam on Fire - Dr Roland Raffell - Jan 2024
‘…it pleased Almighty God to lay a heavy affliction upon him by a sudden and fearful fire…his house burnt to the ground.’ Thus the local Justices of the Peace described ...
The Long Arm of the Law
The Long Arm of the Law - Dr Roland Raffell - Dec 2023
In Southam, the role of the local constable is evident from the seventeenth century, as responsibility for local administration moved from the Lord of the Manor towards ...