Gold writes: ‘One correspondent found it abhorrent when a judge of 80 dealt with a youth of 17, a divorcé of 25 or even with the torts of the young.’
The validity of Gretna Green weddings was questioned. There was a series of peculiar cases—shenanigans following the loss of a swarm of bees and, perhaps paying homage to the earlier drama of Donoghue v Stevenson, a Mrs Cattermole contracted agonising dermatitis after consuming a tin of peas.
Meanwhile, solicitors were to be considered gentlemen and the Bar Council banned all forms of advertising by barristers.
Read Stephen's latest exploration of the archives here.