Rowland Hill and a murder most foul....

Sir Rowland Hill KCB, FRS (1795–1879)

An English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of penny postage and his solution of prepayment, facilitating the safe, speedy and cheap transfer of letters (where did it all go wrong?). Hill later served as a government postal official, and he is usually credited with originating the basic concepts of the modern postal service, including the invention of the postage stamp.

Born in Blackwell Street, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. Rowland's father, Thomas Wright Hill, was an innovator in education and politics, including among his friends Joseph Priestley, Tom Paine and Richard Price. At the age of eleven, Rowland became a student-teacher in his father's school. He taught astronomy and earned extra money fixing scientific instruments. He also worked at the Assay Office in Birmingham and painted landscapes in his spare time. Busy boy.

But there was lots more to this remarkable man. For a spot of company and a swift half or two he is known to have frequented the Woolpack Hotel in Moor Street, together with other notable luminaries of the day, John Baskerville and Dr Samuel Johnson. In 1819, Rowland established the Society of Literary Improvement there. In the latter part of the 18th Century, however, I’m glad to say, this hostelry turned to offer other less academic pursuits and became a cricketing pub, and was for a long time the HQ of the ‘Gentlemen Players’ of England. Not many people know that …

Anyway, whilst researching this incredible Birmingham man and his contributions to stamp collecting, I chanced upon other fascinating character apects, such as cartography and a sort of pre-Agatha Christie interest in ‘murders most foul’....well, judge for yourself, from this link to the Mary Ashford Murder, and his part in it….

The case set a number of legal precedence when Thornton, accused of the Mary Ashford Murder and acquitted but there was sufficient outcry (along the same lines as the modern paediatrician/paedophile hounders) to move to revive the long-disused right of appeal against acquittal.

So Thornton invoked an ancient right and challenged the King's Bench judges to armed combat, literally throwing down his gauntlet. Since they could not respond, the result was a victory for Thornton, followed by an Act abolishing both wager of battle and appeal against acquittal.

Our Rowland Hill was certainly a Polymath. There is an interesting article about him and particularly his impact on schooling in the Stanley Gibbons Monthly mag ... http://www.gibbonsstampmonthly.com/J...owlandhill.pdf
His father owned Hill Top school in Town but he opened Hazelwood School on the Hagley Road in 1819, and in London a few years later to critical acclaim. As there are Blue plaques (anyone have pictures?) at 146 Hagley Road and also in Lionel Street and Severn Street I assume they are connected.

Some associated photos...there may be MUCH more....

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Facinating reading winkle, just one query I have the same photo of Queens Head Yard on Steelhouse Lane, but mine is tagged Crussel Court. Any idea why that should be?

Phil

Posted by phil

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Facinating reading winkle, just one query I have the same photo of Queens Head Yard on Steelhouse Lane, but mine is tagged Crussel Court. Any idea why that should be?

Phil

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Absolutely no idea Phil. I stole the pic from the English Heritage site....the Penny Black sign on the Pub looks Photoshopped on to me as well? Odd, very odd...

The subject of the Queens Head yard has come up before on one of the forums, but I don’t seem to have kept a record of it (or it got lost in a crash). Crussel court and Queens Head Yard are one and the same. I suspect that it was called Crussel court up to about the 1850s and Queens Court Yard from sometime after this.. This is because up to 1858 the directories list the pub as the Kings Arms, and from 1862 as the Queens Arms. McKenna states that the original building was built in the early 16th century (which would fit with its appearance ), but did not become a pub til 1840. He doesn’t mention the earlier name though. Apparently it was locally known as The Stamp, because of the sign over the door, so photoshop was not involved.