Crime & Punishment: In and Around the Costwold Hills

In and Around the Costwold Hills

Nicholas Reardon

• Publisher: Reardon Publishing
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781874192749
• Topic: Architecture
• Subtopic: History of Architecture

Crime and Punishment in and about the Cotswold Hills This fully illustrated colour book written by Cotswold publisher Nicholas Reardon shows the reader in Photographs and Sketches old time punishments such as stocks, whipping posts and lock-ups along with stories of murdered Kings and Court Jesters, Highwaymen and War Crimes committed long ago, when the Cotswold hills were not so peaceful. Having lived in the Cotswolds all my life, and with a keen interest in history, I would like to share my love of this area with you by pointing out some of the hidden features to be found in this unique part of the English countryside. Over the years my father, the well-known Cotswold artist Peter Reardon, had drawn a number of little sketches showing stocks, whipping posts and old town lock-ups. These illustrated the historic types of punishment served up to those who broke the law in and around these lovely and now peaceful hills. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that even after so many years these objects that my father had drawn were still in existence; they had been well looked after and could be viewed by anyone interested in this type of unusual history. Using the drawings as a starting point I photographed these objects to show how they look today. Then, along with a short description plus directions of how to find them, I produced the book you are now holding. Whilst reading this book you may notice that one of my personal interests is Gargoyles and I have scattered a few of my favourites throughout its pages. The Cotswolds contain a treasure trove of history: its grand stately homes and castles; the far older stone circles and ancient burial mounds; all in all, any visitor will be able to find something to delight them in these rolling hills. Nicholas Reardon

CRIME
&
PUNISHMENT

IN AND AROUND
THE COSTWOLD HILLS

BY NICHOLAS REARDON

Stocks in Winter, Stow on the Wold

Table of Contents

Copyright Page

Crime and Punishment

Berkeley

Berkeley Castle

Bibury

Bisley

Bourton on the Water

Chaceley

Cheltenham

Cirencester

Didbrook

Evesham

Filkins

Forthampton

Gloucester

Minchinghampton

Moreton in Marsh

Northleach

Northleach

Painswick

Stow on the Wold

Sudeley Castle

Thornbury

Winchcombe

Published by
REARDON PUBLISHING
PO Box 919, Cheltenham,
Glos, GL50 9AN.
Email: [email protected]
tel: [phone]

Copyright © 2013
Reardon Publishing

Written & Designed by Nicholas Reardon

Line Illustrations by Peter T Reardon

Photographs by Nicholas Reardon

ISBN 187419274X
ISBN (13) 9781874192749

Front Cover:
Shows the famous spectacle stocks in Painswick

Back Cover:
Berkeley Castle with inset of Skull that can be seen on display inside the castle

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

Having lived in the Cotswolds all my life, and with a keen interest in history, I would like to share my love of this area with you by pointing out some of the hidden features to be found in this unique part of the English countryside.

Over the years my father, the well-known Cotswold artist Peter Reardon, had drawn a number of little sketches showing stocks, whipping posts and old town lock-ups. These illustrated the historic types of punishment served up to those who broke the law in and around these lovely and now peaceful hills.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that even after so many years these objects that my father had drawn were still in existence; they had been well looked after and could be viewed by anyone interested in this type of unusual history. Using the drawings as a starting point I photographed these objects to show how they look today. Then, along with a short description plus directions of how to find them, I produced the book you are now holding.

Whilst reading this book you may notice that one of my personal interests is Gargoyles and I have scattered a few of my favourites throughout its pages.

The Cotswolds contain a treasure trove of history: its grand stately homes and castles; the far older stone circles and ancient burial mounds; all in all, any visitor will be able to find something to delight them in these rolling hills.

Nicholas Reardon

BERKELEY

 

BERKELEY

Dicky Pearce, Court Jester at Berkeley Castle.
Did he fall or was he pushed?

Said to be the last court jester in England, he was in his sixties when he fell from the minstrel gallery after making fun of one of Lord Berkeley’s guests. His tomb can be seen in St Mary’s churchyard adjacent to Berkeley Castle.

Dicky Pearce’s tomb carries the epitaph:

HERE LIES THE EARL OF SUFFOLKS FOOL
MEN CALLED HIM DICKY PEARCE
HIS FOLLY SERVED TO MAKE FOLKS LAUGH
WHEN WIT AND MIRTH WERE SCARCE

POOR DICK ALAS! IS DEAD AND GONE
WHAT SIGNIFIES TO CRY!
DICKYS ENOUGH ARE STILL BEHIND
TO LAUGH AT BY-AND-BY

He was buried on the 18th June 1728.

Near-by is the Edward Jenner Museum, housed in the Chantry. His old clinic is open to the public and is located at the bottom of his garden where he conducted his 1796 experiments on a small pox vaccine. The little building was later renamed ‘The Temple of Vaccinia’.

BERKELEY CASTLE

BERKELEY CASTLE

The town of Berkeley, lies in the Vale of Berkeley and is noted for the formidable and awe-inspiring Berkeley Castle.

For a time the castle served as a prison...

Table of contents

• Copyright Page
• Crime and Punishment
• Berkeley
• Berkeley Castle
• Bibury
• Bisley
• Bourton on the Water
• Chaceley
• Cheltenham
• Cirencester
• Didbrook
• Evesham
• Filkins
• Forthampton
• Gloucester
• Minchinghampton
• Moreton in Marsh
• Northleach
• Northleach
• Painswick
• Stow on the Wold
• Sudeley Castle
• Thornbury
• Winchcombe