Mr Yates completes his journey 200 years ago

Having read last week's blogpost about Mr Yates who was traveling to Nottingham each day from Loughborough as part of a bet, you might be interested to read about this progress over the week.

"Mr Yates, the Loughborough pedestrian, (of whose engagement, mention was made last week) completed his task, in grand style, on Saturday evening. The concourse of people who met him a short distance from the town, and attended him to the Bull's Head [on High Street], his "winning post" was so great, that it was with the utmost difficulty an avenue could be preserved for him to hobble along with his two sticks! The enlivening sounds of band music - the magnitude of the light shed upon the company by the large flambeau, and lanterns, carried before him - the ringing of bells, and the welcome shouts of his friends, rendered hist entry altogether, a truly exhilarating scene. Paradoxically speaking, the worst leg, about which such apprehensions had been entertained, ultimately "weathered the storm" the best; this however was accounted for by his having walked a good deal with one stick, and pressed considerably on the well let, with a view of saving the other, in the early part of his toil; but both of the were ar last, nevertheless much inflammed. He did not eat an ounce of animal food during the whole six days, subsisting chiefly on gingerbread, biscuits, brandy, gin and tea, with now and then a little soup, and small portions of bread and butter.

Underneath is a tabular view of the time occupied in each day's performance.

Monday, December 6th, 10 hours 25 minutes 

Tuesday, December 7th, 11 hours 7 minutes 

Wednesday, December 8th, 11 hours 39 minutes 

Thursday, December 9th, 11 hours 18 minutes 

Friday, December 10th, 11 hours 24 minutes 

Saturday, December 11th 10 hours 26 minutes"

So, in total Mr Yates walked 183 miles over 6 days, and for a total of 66 hours and 19 minutes! 

All for a bet, and with poorly legs!!  

From: Nottingham Review and General Advertiser for the Midland Counties, 17th December 1819, pg 3


You are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follow:

Dyer, Lynne (2019). Mr Yates complete his journey 200 years ago in Loughborough. Available from:https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2019/12/mr-yates-completes-his-journey-200.html    [Accessed 15 December 2019]

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I post no pictures that are not my own, unless I have express permission so to do. All text is my own, and not copied from any other information sources, printed or electronic, unless identified and credited as such. If you find I have posted something in contravention of these statements, or if there are photographs of you which you would prefer not to be here, please contact me at the address listed on the About Me page, and I will remove these.

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Lynne       

Two hundred years ago in Loughborough

Again, this week I've been busy attending events, like the Loughborough Archaeological and Historical Society talk delivered by James Wright, FSA, on Mediaeval fireplaces, a trip to Nottingham Royal Concert Hall, a visit to Market Bosworth and attendance at an election hustings. I feel the need to go back in time a bit and see what was going on in Loughborough in December 1819 ...

The hustings were focussed particularly on the future of the NHS, and one of the things mentioned was health promotion and prevention of illness. Set me thinking about walking, as this is what I do to keep myself relatively fit, which suits me as I have no interest nor ability in sport. I'm not sure though that I could even begin to contemplate what Mr Samuel Yates of Loughborough did in December 1819:

"Mr Samuel Yates, of Loughborough, has undertaken for a wager, to walk from the Bull's Head Inn, in that town [High Street, most recently Browns beauty salon], to the Black's Head [1] in Nottingham, and back again each day for six successive days between the hours of eight in the morning and eight in the evening. He commenced his task on Monday morning last [Monday 7 December 1819], and there is now (Thursday morning) every probability of his succeeding, unless the leg, which he accidentally broke in going down Bunny Hill, about eighteen months ago, and from which misfortune he is but imperfectively recovered, should be incapable of sustaining the exertion till the end of the appointed term. Mr Yates sometimes walks with one, and sometimes with two sticks, is in his 53rd year, and his diurnal trip thirty miles and a half. The bets are two to one in his favour: indeed, he himself, so confident of winning, sacrificed the like odds in making the wager." 

From:
Nottingham Review and General Advertiser for the Midland Counties, 10 December, 1819, pg 3

Mr Joseph Barnsdall, was a builder and timber surveyor, based at Loughborough Dock, and

it was from him that further details of an amazing private contract sale could be obtained: 

"An entire new packet boat, partly decked over and fitted up for the convenience of passengers, and is well calculated for the conveyance of goods and merchandize [sic] on the River Trent and adjoining canals, to all parts of the kingdom. A good opportunity is now offered to persons who may be desirous of embarking in the conveying of goods etc. on the River Trent, the above packet being remarkably well built, and calculated to be worked by steam, and will be sold at half the original cost of steam packets in general."

From:
Nottingham Review and General Advertiser for the Midland Counties, 10 December, 1819, pg 1


[1] The only Black's Head in Nottingham that I have so far managed to find is one that is on Burton Road, Carlton, which via today's roads is just about 17 miles.

You are welcome to quote passages from any of my posts, with appropriate credit. The correct citation for this looks as follow:

Dyer, Lynne (2019). Two hundred years ago in Loughborough. Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2019/12/two-hundred-years-ago-in-loughborough.html [Accessed 8 December 2019]

Take down policy:

I post no pictures that are not my own, unless I have express permission so to do. All text is my own, and not copied from any other information sources, printed or electronic, unless identified and credited as such. If you find I have posted something in contravention of these statements, or if there are photographs of you which you would prefer not to be here, please contact me at the address listed on the About Me page, and I will remove these.

Thank you for reading this blog. 

Lynne