BROMSGROVE'S ancient Court Leet met for its autumn meeting in the Town Hall to elect a new Bailiff. The Reeve, traditionally the Bailiff elect, had left the area so the honour went to Thomas Roper.

100 years ago

October 26, 1901

for its autumn meeting in the Town Hall to elect a new Bailiff. The Reeve, traditionally the Bailiff elect, had left the area so the honour went to Thomas Roper. His proposal that his brother, Albert, be the new Reeve was accepted thereby making history. It was the first time brothers had held the two main posts. Later, the court enjoyed a sumptuous seven-course dinner at the Golden Cross Hotel.

GEORGE Taylor, the proprietor of Newtown Ale and Porter Stores, opposite the Board Schools, now Meadows, in Stourbridge Road, Bromsgrove, took an advert in the Messenger to advertise his new Saturdays only offer, a choice of two best ales at 5d (2p) a quart, plus a free Witley Court brand cigar normally selling at 3d (1p).

A SERIOUS accident happened at Lydiate Ash as a two-horse dray belonging to brewers Mitchells and Butlers was returning to Birmingham laden with empty barrels. One of the horses shied at a passing cyclist throwing the driver, William Kib-bey, from his box beneath one of the wheels. He was taken to the Cottage Hospital where Dr Coaker attended to his fractured leg and bruises.

MR J Rea, from the Strand, Bromsgrove, received a letter from his son, a corporal who was recovering in hospital in Springfontein, South Africa, from serious injures sustained while fighting the Boars. In it he said he had been wounded in the chest, shoulder and legs, one of his knee caps having been smashed. But he had been lucky, he said. When ordered to hold up his hands by the enemy, a Boer bullet had skimmed his temple.

FREDERICK Crawford, from School Lane, Lickey End, appeared before Bromsgrove magistrates charged with swearing in his own home within earshot of the public. It was his second similar offence. He was fined 5/- (25p) with 7/6 (37.5p) costs and given until Saturday to pay.

50 years ago

October 27, 1951

ANTHONY Eden, the Tory party deputy leader, was given a tumultuous welcome when he spoke at Colmers Farm School, in Rubery, in support of local candidates in the General Election. The count at Bromsgrove, where there was a straight fight between Tory and Labour, was still going on as the Messenger went to press on Friday morning.

FOR the second time in eight weeks, a British Road Service lorry had crashed into a Bromsgrove shop front. Rosemary Cooke, an assistant at Smith and Wallcroft's shop, who was crossing Worcester Street at the time, escaped unhurt when the vehicle plunged into Nokes' furniture shop, in Worcester Street. The impact smashed a mangle and damaged a lounge suite and carpets.

THE ancient "cottage meeting" tradition of holding religious services in outlying areas had been revived in Hanbury, as part of the Bishop of Worcester's mission to spread the word of God. On Sunday, Broughton Church Hall had been rededicated for worship and reopened for social functions.

A QUICK look at the advertisements in the Messenger showed the Midland Red bus company was running a trip to Ludlow races at a return fare of 5/3 (26p). Gas cookery demonstrations were being staged in the Bromsgrove showroom and Bromsgrove District Council was inviting tenders to build houses at Penmanor, Finstall. Barnsley Hall was to hold an open day, strictly for adults, to help lift some of the mystery attached to mental hospitals.

25 years ago

October 22, 1976

THERE were 141 people on the waiting list for allotments in Bromsgrove. A three-acre plot behind the Sugarbrook pub, in Charford, had been earmarked for plots but cash-strapped Bromsgrove District Council could not afford to fence it to deter vandals.

STEPS were being taken to stop the flooding which had affected the Horsecourse and Green Lane, in Catshill. But a report by Bromsgrove District Council concluded there was not one single cause. However, the recent abnormally heavy rain had not helped matters.

THE recently introduced pay and display parking arrangements in Bromsgrove may be illegal, the minority Labour group claimed. It appeared a public notice had not been put in the Messenger thereby denying residents the right to object.

LICKEY Grange School for the Blind, in Lickey, had taken delivery of a minibus donated by Rubery Round Table and the Ladies' Circle. They began fundraising last spring, but galloping inflation meant they had been forced to take out a £500 bank loan to purchase the vehicle.