Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Aug 30, 2011
Tagged in:
Wiltshire Militia ,
William Phillips ,
The National Archives ,
serve ,
Salisbury ,
poor relief ,
pension ,
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north Wiltshire ,
Napoleonic Wars ,
muster rolls ,
help desk ,
First World War ,
County Treasurer ,
constables ,
Chippenham ,
Chelsea Hospital ,
army
There has recently become available at the Help Desk a partial index of those men who served in the Wiltshire Militia during the Napoleonic Wars 1793-1815. A brief description of the creation and function of the Militia will explain how and why this could be of use to researchers, together with the five unique features that set them apart from other military forces of the period.
The Infantry drilling, 1807
The first of these features was that the Militia Act of 1758 introduced the idea of conscription. The Regular Army before this date and up to the First World War was officially a volunteer army, but it was felt that volunteering would not raise enough men to serve the purpose of the new force, which was to defend the country in the face of an invasion threat and replace the Regular Army at home during a time of war. Each county was ordered to raise a certain number of infantry men (800 for Wiltshire); each parish was allotted its quota of this total, which was to be selected by ballot from a list drawn up by the parish constables containing the names of all males between the ages of 18-50 (later reduced to 45) with a number of exceptions, including peers, parish officials, clergymen, teachers, preachers, articled clerks, apprentices and members of the regular army. The term of service was for 3 years (later 5) after which time the whole process began again, although men could re-enlist and were encouraged to do so by means of a bounty.
Posted by: Blog Administrator
on Apr 12, 2011
Tagged in:
woodcut ,
Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre ,
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William Prynne ,
whipping ,
whipped ,
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trading standards ,
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towns ,
tokens ,
thumb-pillory ,
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I am currently researching items for my forthcoming talk at the History Centre on Crime and Punishment in Wiltshire (Thursday 14th April) and come across a wonderful woodcut engraving of the pillory at Marlborough in an article on obsolete punishments by Llewellyn Jewitt in “The Reliquary” Quarterly Journal, January 1861.
The pillory was used for a range of moral and political crimes, most notably for dishonest trading - the modern equivalent of implementing trading standards. Its use dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was known as “Healsfang” or “catch-neck”. In France it was called the pillorie. It was well established as a use of punishment after the Conquest. It was considered to be a degrading punishment with offenders standing in the pillory for several hours to be abused by fellow citizens, sometimes being pelted with all manner of organic material such as rotten eggs, mud and filth. If that was not enough, sometimes the offender was drawn to the pillory on a hurdle, accompanied by minstrels and a paper sign hung around his or her head displaying the offence committed.
