An amazing story. How wonderful to be able to read the actual words your great, great grandfather may have spoken!
Volunteer Transcriber, Deal
The Commissioners Report which sparked our interest in capturing the events that happened in Deal, Walmer & Sandwich in 1880, is a lengthy verbatim account of the three week trial that took place to investigate the extent of the corruption and the people involved.
In its 396 pages, it contains over 22,000 lines of testimony (humorous in places!) between the presiding judges and the witnesses who appeared before them.
Many of the witnesses called to testify are recognisable names – the ancestors of families still living in Sandwich, Deal and Walmer today. The majority of the testimonies begin with the witness confirming their address and occupation. In short, the document contains a fascinating and accurate social snapshot of the towns and their inhabitants in the late 19th century.
A significant amount of hard work has gone into making this website the searchable resource it now is and that is thanks to the kindness and enthusiasm of many volunteers who have spent hours poring over the testimonies and cleaning up the data.
It is now time to get the story told and more widely known.
To that end we are now seeking interested parties who would like a presentation. In particular we wish to engage with local schools where through roleplay with professional actors we will explore how the electoral process works. There are plenty of opportunities to increase children’s research and craft skills – a particular feature of the election was the sheer amount of flags and bunting that was made and displayed, to the extent that people came from miles around to witness the spectacle! We are very happy to tailor visits to your own individual requirements, so please do get in touch!
Please contact pat@therottersopera.uk for more information.