STOURBRIDGE AND OLDSWINFORD. 335

years he continued to be the minister of the Stourbridge congregation alone. The Presbyterians have a chapel in High Street, erected in 1788, of which the Rev. D. Maginnis is minister. An Independent chapel was erected in 1810; Rev. James Richards minister. There are also a Wesleyan chapel (Rev. J. Hanna), a Catholic chapel, to which a nunnery has been added (Rev. Mr. Kean), a Baptist Chapel (Rev. B. Bird), New Connexion Methodist (Rev. J, White), and Primitive Methodist.

Joanna Southcote had a champion here some years ago in no less a person than the rector of the parish (!), Rev. T. Foley, who kept a horse always ready saddled to convey him to the New Jerusalem; who was frequently visited by the lady, and published in an advertisement a long vindication of her pretensions,

Two or three more historical items and I have done with Stourbridge. In the year 1800, the colliers being in great distress from a scarcity of provisions, the farmers were requested to bring their wheat into market at 15s. a bushel and barley at 8s. In 1817 a petition was presented to Parliament from this parish, complaining that the poor-rate assessed on houses amounted to 29s. in the £; on the rent of farming land to 32s.; and on other kinds of land to 61s. Out of a population of 4,381 no fewer than 1,868 received parish relief! and only 158 persons were able to contribute to the poor-rate ! ! In 1830, Michael Toll and Charles Wall were hung at Worcester, the former for the murder of Ann Cook, at Oldswinford. After his execution a piece of blanket was found in his stomach, he having swallowed it to produce suffocation. Wall had murdered a little girl named Sally Chance, whom he threw into a lime-pit, as a preparatory step to marrying her mother!