HERE’S a timely glimpse of the past a day ahead of November 5, Guy Fawkes Night.
The Dorset History Centre has shared a document from its quarter session rolls with us which shows a conviction for setting off fireworks within 80ft of the centre of a turnpike road in the parish of Spetisbury, north Dorset.
Charles Hames, a tailor, was convicted in 1829 for letting off or throwing ‘divers’ squibs rockets serpents’ or other fireworks and was fined forty shillings.
Toll roads, to be found throughout the county, represented a huge capital investment, and were protected by law.
Hames was tried in a court session overseen by the Reverend Sir James Hanham, Baronet.
The Dorset History Centre in Dorchester is the home of the Quarter Session Rolls and they can be freely viewed by the public.
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