Uncategorized Archives - The Bendigo Heritage Project

Bendy Returns To Milton Keynes – 1845

We took ‘Bendy’ our maquette of Bendigo back to the locations around what is now Milton Keynes, where preparations for the third and final fight between these bitter rivals took place. The purse and contract between Bendigo and Caunt had been agreed on 17th April, but it took five months for it to happen.

Bendigo took his training seriously. He always prepared thoroughly, and for longer than the three months that was generally expected of prize-fighters. Those putting up the prize money expected regular updates on their fighter’s preparation. Bendigo trained at Crosby near Liverpool. He was ready.

Caunt also prepared like he had never done before. His fight camp was near Hatfield, north of London, where he was a publican and living amongst the London Fancy. He had lost three stone and weighed just under 14 stone, a weight he had never previously achieved.

The fight had attracted a lot of public attention. Both were genuine and worthy contenders for the title and this would be the deciding contest between them.

Caunt’s physical size and Bendigo’s skill made the outcome harder to predict. There was also uncertainty about Bendigo’s damaged knee and that he was now thirty-three years old. There was so much ill-feeling between them. Neither would give an inch.

Big News

On Sunday 7* September, two days before the event, Bell’s Life announced:

‘The great tilting match between Ben Caunt (the present champion of England) and the renowned Bendigo who seeks to deprive him of the distinction which he has so hardily won and so honourably maintained, is to come off on Tuesday next within 70 miles of London. The precise ground on which ‘the lists’ are to be formed has not yet been selected.’
Bell’s Life

The paper went on to express concern that ‘every possible pain’ was taken to preserve order on the day. As usual an inner ring for the accommodation of the wealthy swells and Corinthians was to be formed twelve yards from the ropes. Rumours had been circulating that the Nottingham Lambs were planning to cut the ropes and break into the ring, if Bendigo appeared to be losing. In view of the Lambs’ customary conduct, this was a distinct possibility, yet Bell’s Life dismissed the rumours as ‘foolish threats’, believing a large contingent of ring stewards armed with whips would be able to repel all trouble-makers.

Police Interest

Bendigo arrived in Newport Pagnell on the evening of Sunday, accompanied by Jem Ward and Sam Merryman. The constabularies of Buckinghamshire and surrounding counties had been on full alert, as hordes of spectators descended on the area. Bendigo’s boisterous arrival was greeted by the large band of his supporters. Before long a constable arrived and announced that he had a warrant to arrest anyone attempting a breach of the peace.

Jem Ward immediately took Bendigo out of the village and installed him at a nearby farmhouse, where he remained until the morning of the fight. The Lambs and other followers from the Midlands, Sheffield and Liverpool, remained in Newport Pagnell. The locals must have disliked this invasion, but money was to be made and the police seemed interested in arresting only the main individuals, should it be necessary.

On Monday evening, Ben Caunt arrived at Wolverton railway station, two miles west of Newport Pagnell. He had travelled on the four o’clock train from Euston, having returned to London from his training base on the Sunday. As part of the build up he made an appearance at Tom Spring’s public house in Holborn, where he gave out two hundred handkerchiefs in his colours of orange with a blue border. The recipients were told to pay him a guinea each if he won, nothing if he lost.

Caunt, Spring and the rest of his party took lodgings at the Cock, an inn in the neighbouring parish of Stony Stratford, while Bendigo’s supporters continued to pour into Wolverton by the trainload.

These were the early days of rail travel and never again would the small station see as many travellers pass through as it did on those two days in September 1845.

Meanwhile, Bendigo’s followers, who some were described as ‘of a most questionable aspect’ set up base in Newport Pagnell. The first arrivals were put up at a coaching inn called The Swan Hotel, but it was not long before every available room, barn and outhouse was occupied for miles around. A man was considered lucky if he found a chair to spend the night in.

The locals soon realised that some of these ruffians had money to spend. Food and drink was sold at exorbitant prices. Carts and gigs and any form of transport, in all sorts of disrepair were hired out at a sovereign per person. Some of the more enterprising locals did six months’ business in a few hours. For the time being the Lambs had things their own way, terrifying the locals with their ‘leering swagger’ and their ‘heavy twigs’, a term used for a cudgel.

Caunt still had supporters from Nottinghamshire.The miners and farm hands who had supported him all his career, but as landlord of the Coach and Horses in St Martin’s Lane, he was now very much the London man-about-town. Most of his supporters from the capital travelled up on the morning of the fight.

Final Preparations

On Monday evening a meeting took place at the Swan Inn at Newport Pagnell, now trading as The Swan Revived and situated at 33 High Street, Newport Pagnell.

The Swan Inn. A former coaching inn, it provided good stabling and excellent hospitality for those traveling through Buckinghamshire to Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds. It was re-named the Swan Revived in 1952 after a major refurbishment.

Bendigo had Jem Ward with him. Ward was a former English champion from 1825 until his retirement in 1831 when he based himself in Liverpool, going on to be a successful artist.[

Caunt was joined by former champion Tom Spring who had also moved to London running The Castle Inn at Holborn, where he arranged the patronage and contracts of many of the major boxing events of the period while overseeing fair play in the ring. He was not a similar boxer to Caunt though. He was more scientific and tactical in his approach.

The commissary was the experienced Tom Oliver. A man who knew how to put fights on.

Spring was not happy about the disorder at Newport Pagnell and was worried that the constabulary would find it too easy to interfere in Buckinghamshire, where Bendigo wanted to fight. Instead, he proposed Lillingstone Level, ten miles to the west, where Nick Ward and Deaf Burke had met in 1840.

Bendigo refused on the grounds that Caunt and his party were staying close by and it would be unfair for him to have to make a longer journey. After a heated argument, Oliver suggested a site further south, at Whaddon, which they believed to be in Oxfordshire. All parties agreed.

At first light on Tuesday 7th September, with a warm and dry day ahead of him, Tom Oliver and his assistant set off to set up a ring.

Keeper Of The Ropes

Tom Oliver had boxed in his younger days as ‘The Battersea Gardener’, having lost to Tom Spring. He took over the role of ‘keeper of the ropes and stakes’ on the death of the previous incumbent, Bill Gibbons. His knowledge and skill in staging prize-fights was legendary. He knew his way around the country, having travelled by gig, and later by rail, armed only with his sooty pipe and an Ordnance Survey map. He had scoured the landscape for a patch of turf suitable for the prize-ring’s finest to do battle. He knew the fields, inns and hamlets of almost every county boundary. Even at 56 years of age, he was still fit and athletic. It was said that he could still ‘leap a ditch or hedge and clamber through a gorse bush’ better than any younger man. Oliver was actually imprisoned the following year for being involved in another prize-fight.

On this particular morning, the movement of Oliver and his equipment did not go unnoticed. On his journey to Whaddon, he was soon followed by a procession of people ‘on the prad and toddle’ (horseback and foot). Oliver did not need this attention, as it would attract the blues and beaks (police and magistrates). He tried to escape from the head of the crowd by taking short cuts down narrow lanes and over fields, but was unsuccessful. By the time Oliver the ring had been erected at Whaddon, a crowd of five thousand had gathered. The Nottingham Lambs were already up to their tricks, ejecting people from their enclosure, unless they paid between one and five shillings for the privilege of being near the ropes.

Bendigo was by now at the ringside. He was later criticised for failing to prevent the excesses of his Lamb friends, but in the circumstances it would have taken a lot of energy to try, energy that he no doubt felt better saved for fighting Ben Caunt.

Last Minute Hitch

Ben Caunt was nowhere to be seen though. While the huge crowd waited on that hot afternoon, Caunt was still at The Cock Hotel in Stony Stratford. A constable had visited his team and informed them that Whaddon was in Buckinghamshire, not Oxfordshire as Spring and Oliver believed.

Bendy calls in at The Cock Hotel, at Stony Stratford, where Caunt was based prior to their fight.

The Cock Hotel at 72/74 High Street, Stony Stratford was built in the 18th century, and in its heyday was one of the important coaching inns along the the old Roman Road, Watling Street. It received up to 20 coaches a day through the carriage arch, and provided stabling and facilities for change of horses as well as sustenance for the travellers.

Caunt had been told that if they tried to stage the fight, he would arrest them. The Buckinghamshire magistrates were determined to prevent the fight at all costs.

A messenger on horseback was sent with a letter to Whaddon, but his news was greeted with scorn by Bendigo’s followers. They refused to allow him near Oliver and ripped up the letter he had brought from Spring. They wanted to remain where they were and were not about to give up their profitable enclosure and set off another trail round the countryside on the word of one man on a horse.

The situation was now becoming ludicrous. Five thousand people were waiting at Whaddon. Bendigo was ready but Caunt was miles away. No matter how much the Lambs disliked the idea of moving, there could be no fight without the ‘Big `Un’.

Eventually, a new site was agreed. It would be near the village of Lillingstone Level in Oxfordshire, the place Caunt had first proposed. The exact location, close to the Northants, was known for staging local prize-fights. It was called Sutfield Green.

Tom Oliver now led a second procession another eight miles. Bendigo was annoyed, and he blamed Ben Caunt for the chaos. Along the road, when his pony and trap passed the Big ‘Un’s party he shook his fist at the champion and swore to punish him. It was irritation Caunt did not need, rolling along a dusty road on such a hot afternoon.

At half past two, Oliver began to erect a second ring with an outer and inner enclosure. The crowd, which now numbered ten thousand or more, was becoming dangerously impatient.

When Caunt and Bendigo both arrived, unruliness broke out all around. Spectators struggled to find positions where they could see. Their tempers worsened by the heat and frustrations they had endured to be there. A large contingent of Nottingham Lambs dashed into the inner ring, swinging cudgels and forcing back all those not in possession of tickets purchased earlier. The stewards were men from the London Fancy. Most of them were ex-fighters and although armed with sticks and bull-whips, they were left powerless. The Lambs were organised and when the crowd were distracted by the arrival of the combatants, they took their chance.

No one was spared, whatever their status. A party of wealthy Londoners known as ’Corinthians’ had been promised tickets by Tom Spring, but he had not yet arrived. They tried to assert their upper class authority only to be jostled and beaten without fear or favour. The Nottingham Lambs did not hold with airs, graces or social status. At times like this a cudgel was more useful than a public school accent.

Bendigo, standing close by, lapped up the cries and good wishes of his supporters, without attempting to interfere. He had a bigger battle to fight.

In addition to the last minute confusion, neither side had agreed on a choice of referee.

Fortunately, George Osbaldiston, known throughout England as “t” Auld Squire.” who had retreated to his carriage to escape the crush. He finally consented to serve and the battle was declared on.

At twenty past three the fighters finally entered the ring.

Worldwide Attention

In the United States of America, the Nebraska Chronicle newspaper later reported on the fight:

The men presented a remarkable picture of manly and athletic grace as they advanced to the mark. Caunt was six feet two and a half inches in height and trained to a point he had never before equalled. He was nothing but bone and sinew, a hard hitting, bruising lion of a man, with an arm like a swinging beam and built like a windmill.

Bendigo, slender but compactly formed, was about five feet ten inches in height and weighed 169 pounds. He dragged his left leg slightly, part of the after effects of an injury received while skylarking which had once effectively shelved him. Save for this, he was a handsome, rugged figure.

‘In his attitude Caunt showed little science, standing erect, with feet near together. Bendigo kept his right foot well advanced and brought his fists up and close with head back, they came together smiling, Bendigo opening the usual fire of jests with a humorous greeting and Caunt responding easily, then after touching hands, both snapped on guard.

Bendigo flew instantly into his tactics, all bounce and dash, hopping in and dancing out, feinting here, there and here again like a shadow boxer. Caunt knew his man and waited for his chance, suddenly letting out with a humming left swing. Bendigo ducked and grinned like an imp, tapping in lightly to the body with left and right, getting out again, and acting altogether like a mischievous schoolboy.
Caunt went after him doggedly and swung again, when Bendigo, coming under his guard, smacked him hard under the left eye. Caunt drove wildly and the challenger repeated the blow, opening an old scar on Caunt’s cheek and drawing first crimson.
Nebraska Chronicle

Finding Sutfield Green

The third fight between Bendigo and Caunt was in 1845. Described as ‘the most scandalous brawl in boxing history’ it is acknowledged as the fight that marked the beginning of the end of prize-fighting. The modern era was beckoning.

Th fight took place near to what is now Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire.

We were intrigued to find out the exact location of where it took place, as the various reports on the fight give several different locations.

Stony Stratford, Lillington Level and Sutfield Green. None are precisely in the same place, and Sutfield Green does not appear on any current maps at all.

We managed to find out more from some other publications. Here’s a sample

Prize Fighting in the 1850s

“In 1825 and 1826 there were still prosecutions of innkeepers for “suffering tippling during the hours of divine service” and the landlord of the Fox and Hounds at Puxley was fined £1 on this charge. One of the Constable’s duties was preventing prize fights. The parson of Passenham, the Rev Lorrain Smith, was himself a great pugilist and encouraged various meetings on the borders of Bucks and Northants, so that if the police of either county interfered it was quite easy to move over into the next county. A field near Puxley Glebe farm was the favourite venue and Sootfield Green was also used. But Rev. Smith was also a JP, and as such it was his duty to prevent prize-fights. Mr W J Toms relates how on one occasion he organised the police to stop a fight, but himself catching the pugilist, who had laid all the constables flat out, he let him off with a fatherly lecture.
From “The History of Stony Stratford – F E Hyde and S F Markham (1948)

Northamptonshire Prize-Fights

“It is an old ancient road up into the Whittlewood Forest and to Sutfield Green, where there used to be prize-fighting. People used to come from Northampton and all round. A lot of bad men and women used to camp in the woods named Hatchells on the left hand side of the road as one goes to Wicken and Deanshanger, where they used to camp and fight in Sutfield Green where Caunt and Bendigo, professional prize-fighters fought. This is corroborated by my old friend Jack Brown, now 84 years of age (in 1950), whose mother, (a Wicken woman), used to go and watch the fights. One day she picked up the ‘colours’ of one of the champions on the field, which is still treasured by her descendants. There was an old ring marked with posts. I seen the old posties (posts) years ago, when we visited the spot in June 1949. Lord Penrhyn said he wouldn’t pull them up – they could rot in the ground. But in whatever way they may have perished, they have gone now. The green was ploughed by the orders of the War Agricultural Committee, and at the time we saw it, was growing a fine crop of wheat. It must be above a hundred years since they had the fights. Caunt and Bendigo fought for an hour for £100. Bendigo was a Nottinghamshire man.
From; Northamptonshire Past and Present Vol 1 Issue 2 (1950)

Using this information we explored the area between Lillingstone Lovell and Stony Stratford.

We took ‘Bendy’ with us and started at Lillingstone Lovell which is very near to the border with Northants.

Taking the road from Lillingstone Lovell towards Wicken and Deanshanger, we came across the entrance to Whittlewood Forest.

Whittlewood Forest is a former medieval hunting forest, east of Silverstone in Northamptonshire in England. It is managed by the Forestry England. There are tracts of ancient woodland within it and old ditches can be found at the edges of several individual woods.

This map is displayed at the entrance to Whittlewood Forest.

You can see Lillingstone Lovell (bottom left) and Deanshanger (bottom right)

Using the information we had about the ‘old ancient road up into the Whittlewood Forest and to Sutfield Green’ and people ‘used to camp in the woods named Hatchells on the left hand side of the road as one goes to Wicken and Deanshanger, where they used to camp and fight in Sutfield Green’

We went towards Wicken and came across a gated bridle path. There was a crude map on the gate, explaining the rights of way.

We couldn’t believe our luck. The map included the name SUTFIELD GREEN (top left). This was the first time we had seen the name on a map.

Comparing it to the map at Whittlewood Forest, Sutfield Green was clearly on the road we had just used to get from Lillingstone Lovell. He returned to the location.

Bearing in mind the comment from 1950 that said ‘the green was ploughed by the orders of the War Agricultural Committee, and at the time we saw it, was growing a fine crop of wheat’.

It was the wheat field we had just passed, at the junction of two roads.

We were over the moon to have finally found Sutfield Green and taken Bendigo back there after 181 years.

Go ‘Bendy’ Go

Go ‘Bendy’ Go – The Boy Who Liked To Box

A new children’s book about Bendigo has been published over in Australia.

Go ‘Bendy’Go is based on the true story of Bendigo Thompson, underdog and street urchin turned heavyweight bare-knuckle boxing champion of mid 19th century England.

Written by Lauren Mitchell and illustrated by Geoff Hocking, the book shares the early history of Bendigo in a fun and accessible way.

Go ‘Bendy’ Go is based on the true story of William Abednego Thompson, a bare-knuckle boxing champion from England, who unknowingly gave his name to the goldfields city of Bendigo. A treat for all generations, a fun and rollicking read for children and informative for adults – the story of Bendigo.

Introduction

A richly-illustrated story of William Abednego Thompson, bare knuckle boxing champion of all-England (1832-1850), known as Bold Bendigo, after whom the Australian goldfields of Bendigo, in Central Victoria, is named. His is a story of rising from poverty, from a working class family in industrial Nottingham, UK, to become the ‘Pride of Nottingham. Known the world over as the most athletic, and thrilling fighter of his day, for William Thompson his life was not without its trials and tribulations. After his career in the ring was over he took to the drink and was gaoled 28 times for disorderly, drunken behaviour. In prison he found redemption and became a Methodist lay-preacher. He died in his 69th year after puncturing a lung, falling down the stairs in his cottage. His funeral, which passed through the crowded streets of Nottingham drew more than 10,000 onlookers and fights broke out among his supporters and fans. His tomb remains, the only one left, in a park in central Nottingham today.

Lauren Mitchell

Six generations of Lauren Mitchell’s family have watched the Chinese dragons dance in Bendigo, since her Cornish great, great grandfather arrived to mine for gold. Lauren has been sharing stories of Bendigo’s culture and community for more than 20 years, as a journalist, editor and author.

Bendigo’s Backer – Joseph Whitaker

All fighters needed backers and Bendigo found his as a 19 year old in 1932. His name was Joseph Whitaker, a wealthy landowner and squire of Ramsdale House near Arnold, just outside of Nottingham. His estate covered 1800 acres and is now a golf course.

Born in 1798, Joseph was a true sporting squire of the times, known to all by his nickname, The Duke of Limbs. He was a keen horse rider and one of the top riders to hunt with hounds in Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. He was also a fine shot, and took great interest in all ‘manly sports’.

Here’s what is recorded about him, taken from the book Bold As A Lion by J.P.Bean

Whitaker was an accomplished horseman who rode hounds and a dedicated breeder of fighting cocks. He developed a new strain of duckwing birds that fought an historic contest against Lord Derby’s finest at the Cockpit in Tufton Street, Westminster. The ‘main’ as such events were known in cockfighting circles, was attended by the cream of the prize ring including John Jackson, Tom Cribb and Tom Molyneux. Other celebrity names were there, such as Beau Brummel and the Prince Regent. The latter lost heavily by backing Lord Derby’s birds, which were soundly defeated by those of Whitaker.

The Duke of Limbs nickname came from his powerful build. Wide shouldered and possessed of extraordinarily well-developed arms and legs. He cut a fine figure at the ropes of the prize ring. He stood over six feet tall, wore side-whiskers and dressed in the fashion of the day – a grey beaver hat, a green coat with silver buttons, a flowered waistcoat, leather riding breeches and shining top boots. His Malacca cane and monocle gave him a foppish air but he had true Corinthian manners.

It was said of him “ He had a strong vein of eccentricity and many considered him as mad as a hatter”.

Whitaker was reputed to carry a bag of guineas in one pocket and a brace of pistols in the other, and he was not averse to putting on the muffs and sparring – if he could find anybody willing to take him on.

Although his background was one of wealth and class, Joseph Whitaker had the common touch. He was a prodigious drinker, he was equally at home in the fighting pubs of Nottingham as on his country estate. He was a stalwart of the Nottingham Fancy and had a great appreciation of boxing skills.

One day in 1832 he came across Bendigo sparring with Sam Turner, and The Duke of Limbs liked what he saw.

He agreed to put up stakes for Bendigo’s fights. It was a partnership that would last eighteen years, from Bendigo’s early ‘bye’ fights to the Championship of England.

Joseph Whitaker died in 1874, aged 75.

Familiar Name?

If the name Joseph Whitaker sounds familiar, there is a school with that name at Rainworth in Nottinghamshire. The school takes the name, not from The Duke of Limbs but from his son, also named Joseph.

Joseph Whitaker (junior) was born in 1850 at Ramsdale House. He went to Uppingham School and became an English naturalist. He was also a keen sportsman, botanist, fisherman and collected curios. He wrote several books, and some of his collection passed to the Mansfield Museum.

Whitaker junior loved the outdoors, a trait he learned from his father.

He also seems to have inherited his father’s eccentricity.

He had an unusual trait of always walking on the road, and never on the pavement.

He died on 27 May 1932 at Rainworth Lodge.

The Joseph Whitaker School was founded in 1963, and uses the Whitaker family coat of arms, with its motto ‘SPES ET FIDES’. This accurately reflects the expectations of the school – HOPE for our pupils’ future and FAITH in their ability to rise to whatever challenges they meet.

Bendigo Exhibition

Exhibition To Celebrate ‘Bendigo’

The Bendigo Heritage Project has teamed up with Cafe Sobar on Friar Lane to exhibit a number of images and artwork that promote the importance of Bendigo to the City of Nottingham.

Visitors to Cafe Sobar can now see a variety of items collated by the project since they formed in 2016. There are photographs, some pieces of modern art and memorabilia. It is hoped that the display will stimulate interest in the story of Nottingham’s first sporting superstar.

It will also highlight the work of Café Sobar as an innovative alcohol-free cafe and social space in Nottingham city centre.

William Thompson (known as ‘Bendigo’) was a 19^th century boxer who fought 21 times between 1831 and 1850. He went on to become the undefeated Champion of England and is credited with introducing the ‘southpaw’ boxing stance.

Shortly after his retirement, his mother died and Bendigo developed a problem with alcohol. This led to a number of arrests, behaviour that tarnished his reputation for a number of years.

His life had to change and the moment came when he attended The Mechanics Institute to hear a talk by a preacher named Richard Weaver. Bendigo joined Weaver’s revivalist church and he also preached the sermon to congregations up and down the country. His conversion was written about in various publications, including a well known poem titled Bendigo’s Sermon by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Alan Dawson, trustee of the Bendigo Heritage Project said:

We are keen for the public to see the items that we have collated, and Cafe Sobar is an ideal venue. It is a supportive network that gets people back into a positive lifestyle, something that wouldn’t have been available to Bendigo. Our gallery of items is not extensive but there is a variety of Bendigo related imagery to get people’s attention.
Alan Dawson

Jason Loftus, the general manager at Cafe Sobar said:

“Café Sobar and its parent charity Double Impact are honoured and excited to be in partnership with the amazing Bendigo Heritage Project. There are so many parallels with the life of this Nottingham legend and our own social mission. This partnership is the perfect fit for us to spread the legend of Bendigo and the transformative message he shared even further.”
Jason Loftus

A preview evening was held to allow supporters of the project to see these previously unseen items.

The free exhibition will run from Saturday 3rd February to the 1st April. It will be accessible during normal opening times at Cafe Sobar.

More Than a Statue Appeal

You may have noticed we have changed our ‘trading name’ to The Bendigo Heritage Project.

At a recent meeting, we reviewed the objectives of our campaign and also the individual roles of the trustees.

We realised the project has developed into something wider than a statue appeal. It has become a broader heritage project. Whilst the ultimate goal is to commission a prominent statue of Bendigo in Nottingham, the project is an ongoing celebration of Bendigo’s life and achievements.

We want all visitors to Nottingham to be aware of The Bendigo Story, whether they are from the area, tourists, on business. or visiting for another event.
Alan Dawson – Trustee of The Bendigo Heritage Project

To ensure this, the project now includes:

Guided Tour – Publications – Merchandise – Establishing an Archive of Images and Items – Exhibitions and other events – Ensuring that the Local Authority Celebrate The Bendigo Story at every opportunity (Using Civic Plaques and Signage).

We hope you will continue to support us in any way you can.

Here’s a couple of items we have obtained for our collection:

Bendigo – Antique Aquatint by Charles Hunt. London. Published April 10, 1846 by J. Moore.

Card from 1938 issued in a series for Knock Out Razor Blades

BENDIGO

Our supporter Stuart Whomsley, tells the Bendigo story in this poetic tribute.

Great work Stuart, thank you.

Bendigo
 
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
Way back in the bible, a long time ago
Thrown by Nebuchadnezzar into the fiery pit
Surely that was the end of it?
But one son rose like a phoenix from the flame
Baptised in St Mary’s font with a different name
William Thompson, but as we all know,
William Thompson was Nottingham’s Bendigo
 
Bare chested Bendigo enters the ring,
Looks at his rival Caunt, with a massive old grin
Knuckles hit stomach then face, stomach then face
Sweat and blood, all over the place,
Caunt, he is hurting, now down on the floor
Victory for Bendigo. Hear the crowds roar
Southpaw, athletic, intelligent, quick and game
Soon all of England knew Bendigo’s name.
Banter like Ali when in his prime
Champion of all England by 1839
 
After the boxing, social justice was Bendigo’s fight
Rioting with the Nottingham Lambs deep into the night
Drink then did to Bendigo what no man could do
Put him down in the gutter, seemed his fight was through
Then preacher Richard Weaver lifted him up
Swapped communion wine for the beer in his cup
Reborn preacher Bendigo toured the land
Could not read the bible, but he could still understand
"See them belts? See them cups?” 
They were all vanity, and that self destructs.
The value of a soul cannot be priced,
“I used to fight for those, now I fight for Christ."
Satan he is hurting, Satan is now on the floor,
Victory for Jesus. Hear the crowds roar.
The hillsides of Nottingham were Bendigo’s Zion,
Bendigo, Bendigo Nottingham’s Lion.

A Moment in Time – 1858

Let’s imagine that we are in Nottingham and the year is 1858.

Queen Victoria has been on the throne for over twenty years and the tragedy of the Irish Potato Famine was thirteen years ago. The Australian Gold Rush is in full swing and people are seeking their fortune in a place called Bendigo. The Houses of Parliament in London have ordered a large bell to be installed. It will be named Big Ben after Ben Caunt, another famous Nottingham prize-fighter.

There is some optimism for the people of Nottingham. Bendigo is now a household name and a sporting hero. Nottingham is a town on the up. The Luddites and the Chartist riots are a thing of the past. The town is now building better housing for its people. The railway had arrived 20 years ago and this has allowed deep coal mining to begin. There is plenty of work in the railways, collieries, and the lace and garment factories. Photography has arrived and is changing the way news is shared.

The Forest Tavern

Bendigo has now been retired for a few years. He is sat in The Forest Tavern on Mansfield Road, the pub where he used to train before his fights. He is a regular at the pub and has developed a liking for beer. This has caused him a few problems. His brother Thomas is involved at the pub and Bendigo has trusted him to look after his money. His brother gives him an allowance each week.

Bendigo retired as the undefeated Champion of All England.

His cups and belts are on permanent display in the pub.

There is funeral taking place and people involved are congregating in the Forest Tavern. The funeral is of a man named Lewis Goldberg. He was the Jewish rabbi and his burial is taking place in the small Jewish burial ground at the back of the pub.

His family later emigrated to Ballarat in Australia, not far from the City of Bendigo.

True Story?

This imaginary scenario is quite possible. We have found evidence to confirm that John Ellis, the proprietor of The Forest Tavern did display Bendigo’s cups and belts there. Thomas Thompson is also the only member of Bendigo’s family, known to have had children. Not only that, the direct descendants of Lewis Goldberg are still living in the area. We have met them and been able to visit the cemetery.

What happened to John Ellis and his family?

What happened to the family of Thomas Thompson?

What happened to Bendigo’s cups and belts?

We would love to know.

Whilst The Forest Tavern no longer operates as a public house, the owners of the building have preserved the original front of the building.

We have also installed a plaque so that the building is identified to passers by.

The Forest Tavern Mansfield Road Nottingham

The Jewish Burial Ground in Nottingham

Here is the more detailed history of the Forest Tavern and the Jewish Burial Ground.

Mansfield Road heads north from Nottingham and dates from at least 1674. It was established as a turnpike by Act of Parliament in 1787 but the roadside remained undeveloped until the early 1800s.

North Sherwood Street (at the rear of The Forest Tavern) was a field road. The Enclosure Act of 1845 brought the common farmland (at the rear of The Forest Tavern) into developable hands. The scarcity of available land at this time meant building three stories high and up to the edge of the street. The rear part of the property fronts onto North Sherwood Street. This part of the building was originally a separate workshop unit, with carriage doors at ground floor level.

Immediately next to the rear workshop is a small Jewish burial ground that was created in 1823. The burial ground is approximately 12 sq/m and contains seventeen graves surrounded by a stone wall. Although the cemetery closed in 1869 it remains unaltered and is included on the Historic England Register of Parks and Gardens at Grade II.

The Jewish community in Nottingham had started to re-establish itself, bearing in mind they had been expelled from England by Edward l in the 13^th Century. An inscription above the entrance reads: This burial ground was given to the community by the Corporation of Nottingham 5586. The ground was closed 5629.

There are between 20 and thirty graves dating between 1824 and 1866.

In 1824 a man named Soloman Barnett was buried here. He died at the Nottingham Workhouse after an epileptic fit. Bendigo also spent time in the workhouse two years later.

Rabbi Lewis Goldberg died in tragic but unusual circumstances at his home on Drury Hill, the famous and very steep lane in Nottingham.

There is a Jewish tradition of placing a symbolic ‘mezuzah’ above the doors of the home. Lewis Goldberg was stood at the top of the stairs and nailing the mezuzah into the door frame when he lost his footing and fell down the stairs. Even more tragically, the claw of his hammer landed on him and pierced his skull, causing his death.

Drury Hill in 1906 Credit Nottingham Hidden History Team

Thanks to the Snapper family, we also know the history of Lewis Goldberg. He was their great-great-great-grandfather and the family are still in Nottingham.

Lewis Goldberg was born in Prussia in 1797. He moved to the UK with his wife Hannah Brasch. They had a total of eight children including Elizabeth (great-great-grandmother) and were known to be living in Nottingham by 1851. Elizabeth Goldberg married Lewis Karmel in Nottingham and they had twelve children. Some of Elizabeth’s sisters moved to Liverpool after marriage.

Following Lewis Goldberg’s death, Hannah and her children were impoverished, and in the early 1870s, members of both the Karmel family and the Goldberg family emigrated to Ballarat in Australia (a centre of the Australian gold rush at the time). Only Lewis and Elizabeth Karmel remained in Nottingham. Their daughter Minnie went on to marry David Snapper, and through two further generations this family name has survived.

Goldfields of Australia showing Bendigo and Ballarat

This moment in time helps to connect our fascinating and shared history.

Trinity Square Needs a Figure Head

Bendigo Memorial Fund is now 18 months old and we are making good progress and lots of friends around the world. Closer to home, Nottingham City Council have approved Trinity Square as the location for Bendigo’s statue.

The Bendigo story centres on this location. Not only was he born here but many significant events in his life happened within a few yards of Trinity Square. Sadly, most of the buildings are gone, several being demolished and redeveloped in the last 60 years.

This makes us more determined to put things right and make the location a permanent reminder to Bendigo.

Trinity Square has always been a popular location for visitors to Nottingham.

In the 19^th century it was home to The Mechanics Hall and the Holy Trinity Church. The Mechanics’ Institution was a national movement for artisans, or mechanics, as they were then called. Many of these artisans were illiterate, and the founder wanted to provide them with a means of improving their knowledge by classes and lectures, by good libraries, music, drama and readings, and by social contacts with a good cross-section of the better-educated section of the community. The original Mechanics Institute stood at the junction of Milton Street, Burton Street and Trinity Square, opposite the Victoria Hotel next to the Railway Station. The Mechanics Institute comprised of a large hall (33m long, 18m wide and 12m high) and a members refreshment room. The hall later became a cinema and was called Mechanics Pictures.

Holy Trinity Church was designed by Henry Isaac Stevens and built in 1841. It was an example of Victorian High Gothic architecture and for many years it had a tall spire which was eventually removed.

In 1953, the council proposed to demolish Holy Trinity Church. The locals were incensed and 16000 people signed a petition against the proposal, however demolition went ahead in 1957.

In 1964 the Mechanics’ Institution decided to redevelop the building on the same site. The stone façade of the 1845 building was exported to the United States of America by an American, who erected as his Californian hunting lodge.

Trinity Square was redeveloped in the 1960s, when multi storey car parks and offices replaced the iconic buildings. These dark and austere looking buildings barely lasted 50 years.

Trinity Square was transformed into a public space again in 2009, with further improvements being made to the seating areas. It now compliments the leisure and retail at The Cornerhouse, which replaced the Nottingham Evening Post offices after they relocated in 1998.

Despite all the recent developments, there are still a few smaller and older buildings, most on the narrow lanes of Trinity Walk and that lead down towards the Old Market Square

Trinity Square remains a well-known part of Nottingham City Centre. All it needs now is a figurehead, and the return of William ‘Bendigo Thompson.

Category: Uncategorized