Serious stuff in this report on 1 September 1856 in the Alnwick Mercury:-
"Robert Moseley of Togston Woodhouses, pitman, was convicted of a violent assault upon Elizabeth Smith, of Broomhill, under the idea that she had damaged his scallion bed, and he was fined £10, including costs, and in default of payment to be committed to hard labour for three calendar months."
And the moral of this story.....never mess with a pitman's scallions
