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Some extracts from William Quekett 
My Sayings and Doings (Kegan, Paul & Trench 1888) 


see also further extracts on Baptisms (1837), The Death of Dr Farington (1841), Baths & Wash-houses (1846) and Henry Raine's Marriage Portion Ceremony

Moral Uses of a Punch and Judy Show  (pages 89-90)
This extraordinary action would probably have laid him open to prosecution today...

Having taken the elder children of my schools for their annual trip to Harmer's Park at Greenhithe, the younger ones, under seven, who had been left behind, had their treat next day in the Rectory garden. About 200 assembled, and had tea, cake, and all kinds of games. In order to amuse them further, I made arrangements with a Punch and Judy showman who lived in the parish to come and give an exhibition in the course of the evening.

We had received many complaints of children keeping back a penny or twopence from their school fees, and had found out who were the defaulters; and I gave to the showman twelve names, and asked him to introduce into his entertainment some warning to these young delinquents, explaining to him the whole of the circumstances, and the serious consequences of the bad example.

Accordingly we had in our Punch and Judy variations which greatly astonished the juvenile spectators. Judy produced a baby, and said she was intending when it was big enough to send it to 'Quekett's School'. She was very anxious that it should be well taught and cared for, and that it should grow up honest, and never keep back the school-pennies.

Mr. Punch, at the close of the performance, said:- Now, there are a few of you boys I want to speak to. I want James Brown. Immediately the hue and cry was raised for James Brown, who was so much alarmed at the hints given by Judy that he had kept at a distance. James Brown, Punch wants you, was shouted by the young searchers; and at last he was brought up, and made to stand before Mr. Punch. Put him here, cries Punch, with a wave of his pole. Now fetch Thomas Stringer. Then Mr. Punch at length got before him twelve boys, all of whom had been guilty of keeping back school-pence. He then made the following speech, whilst the poor little fellows trembled all over:-

My dear young boys, I was going to speak to you on a matter of serious importance. You are some of a party of children who keep back the school-pennies your mothers give you to pay for your being taught at the school. You put either the whole or part of what your mothers give you into your pockets. Now, James Brown, I know your father and mother. Suppose I tell them the serious position you are in at this moment, when one word from me to the police would put you in gaol. And you, Thomas Stringer, and all of you. I know you well. You have seen today, after the trial by Judy and myself, how a man was hanged. That man, you know, was a bad man. But he was not worse at first than you are. He began to be bad by nothing worse than stealing pennies; and if you don't leave off this bad trick, and be honest boys, you may come to the gallows too.

The twelve boys were terrified that Punch should know all about them. They swallowed all he said, and were so wrought upon that this bad habit was cured. The results of this harangue were not so beneficial to the showman as to the juvenile culprits. A few days afterwards I happened to meet him, and he said:- Ah, sir, it was a very bad day's work I did, that coming up into your garden. I can't get an audience to listen to me down in this part. As soon as they see me the children cry out, 'Come away, come away; he's got the Punch that knows all about us,' and the consequence is that I can get no custom. I advised him to keep away and visit other places till the thing was forgotten, having only this to regret in the moral lessons which Punch and Judy had taught to my children, viz., that the poor showman should suffer.

Testimonial from My Parishioners at Christ Church    (pages 184-5)

The following paragraph appeared in the Warrington Guardian of Saturday, July 22nd, 1854:-
TESTIMONIAL TO THE NEW RECTOR. - The Earl of Aberdeen having appointed the Rev. William Quekett, M.A. (Incumbent of Christ Church, St George's-in-the-East), Rector of Warrington, a numerous meeting of his friends was holden on Monday evening last at the Schools, in Johnston Street, to witness the presentation by the Senior Churchwarden (Mr. Henry Baddeley) of a candelabrum of silver, valued at a hundred guineas, and bearing the following inscription, viz., 'Presented to the Rev. William Quekett, M.A., Incumbent of Christ Church, St. George's-in-the-East, by many of the congregation and parishioners, as a memorial of the sincere attachment to those for whom he had endeared himself through a faithful ministry of 24 years, upon his preferment to the Rectory of Warrington, July, 1854.' The rev. gentleman most feelingly returned thanks after the presentation, for the additional mark of respect and regard which had been evinced towards him on vacating the sphere of usefulness in which he had laboured for nearly a quarter of a century.

I may mention that this presentation of silver was accompanied by that of a complete new set of robes from the ladies of the congregation.

Planning the Warrington Excursion

Quekett's part in organising this trip was described thus in the local press:

"He called together the working men and their wives; told them of the wonders of London - of the fairy scenes in the Crystal Palace, and of the glorious sights on the world-renowned Thames. He pointed out how by union the working men of Warrington, with their wives, friends, and families, with a little forethought and thrift, might be able to see the whole, and become possessed of an amount of information from actual observation which twenty years ago was only within the power of those to whom a fortnight and a ten pound note were of no serious moment.

"As is usual with novel ideas, numerous objections to it were discovered by those who had never slept a night from home, and whose knowledge of the British Empire was practically confined within the boundaries of Sankey Green and Lower Walton. But all difficulties were met by the practical mind of Mr. Quekett, and the working men of Warrington began to save money for the 'Rector's Trip'. That of itself was a great object attained. The habit became formed of putting by small sums, and not living from hand to mouth, and in addition the Rector came into weekly communication with his parishioners.

"While the people were laying by their coppers for the trip, and for those new clothes necessary for an 'out', the Rector was carrying out arrangements for making the trip instructive, complete in all its parts, and, if possible, without one drawback to its pleasure.

"We need scarcely to rmind our readers that the Sydenham Crystal Palace is the child of the great palace of 1851. Government refused to buy the noble building, or to allow it to remain in Hyde Park after it had served the purpose of its existence; but eight English gentlement purchased it, and from it is partly formed that grand erection known as the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, covering many acres. The building consists of a basement floor set apart for machinery, and over it a grand central nave, two side aisles, two main galleries, three transepts, and two wings. The entire length of the building, with the wings and dailway colonnade, is 3,476 fee, or nearly three-quarters of a mile. The roof from end to end is covered with glass one-thirteenth of an inch thick, weighing 21 ounces per foot. As may be supposed, an enormous number of pillars are in the building - in fact, if laid end to end they would measure 16ΒΌ miles."


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