Archive Musings | Bridgend Petty Sessions

The first in a series of blogposts about the interesting things I stumble upon during my visits to Glamorgan Archives.

Hello! This is the first in a series of posts about the interesting things I stumble upon at Glamorgan Archives. I don’t often post about everything I find but I am looking forward to using this as an outlet to share them with you all!

‘Newcastle and Ogmore Petty Sessions’

During this week’s visit to Glamorgan Archives, I examined the records of the Newcastle and Ogmore Petty Sessions. These records provide fascinating insights into the lives of the working class in 19th-century Bridgend.

What are Petty Sessions?

As the name suggests, the petty sessions dealt with minor crimes including drunkness, poaching, larceny, assault and bastardy examinations. They were held in front of two (or more) magistrates who also had the power to refer more serious cases to the Assizes. (read more)

In Bridgend, the petty sessions were held in the ‘old’ town hall, and during the construction of the ‘new’ town hall, they were temporarily held in a small office on the Old Stone Bridge. The sessions were originally known as the ‘Newcastle and Ogmore Petty Sessions’ but later became ‘Bridgend Petty Sessions’ when the hamlet of Newcastle officially became part of Bridgend in 1851.

Below are a few of the many interesting petty session cases I came across this week.

Thomas Hopkin of The Eagle, Newcastle Hill, was fined £1 for “keeping his Beer House open after hours.”

David Smith was fined 10 shillings for “Riding on (a) cart on (the) Turnpike Road.”

Thomas Thomas charged Richard Roberts with “stealing windows.” The case was dismissed as the magistrates believed that “removing of windows did not amount to a felony.”

Elizabeth John charged Keziah Morgan with assault. Elizabeth stated “I heard that some young man had slept with Keziah and I told her so. She was very angry and she spat in my face.” The case was dismissed as a quarrel.

Thomas Evans of The New Bear Inn was charged with having a “skittle alley on his premises.”

David Spencer was charged with “drunkenness.” He was discharged without punishment because he was "a person who bears good character."

Mary Thomas charged Mary Owen with assault. Mary Thomas stated that Mary Owen said “Damn you, you Bitch" then struck her. She was found guilty and fined 10s. She did not pay this and was given 14 days of hard labour at Swansea House of Correction.

Samuel Rees was charged with “drunkenness”. The charge was withdrawn upon the condition that he paid for bread to be distributed to the poor of Coity.

David Evans was charged with “shewing a stallion in the streets at Bridgend.” The police constable stated, “I saw the defendant riding his stallion through the streets at Bridgend and I desired him to take the stallion away.” David continued to ride his stallion through the streets, down Rhiw Hill and through Bridgend town. He was found guilty and fined £1.

‘Newcastle and Ogmore Petty Sessions’

(Document references: https://glamorgan.epexio.com/en/records/PSNEW)