Disturbance outside the Prince George

Drawing by David Sawyers, North Laine resident

From the 'Brighton Herald', April 1883

By Jackie Fuller, North Laine resident

Here is an extract from the above newspaper (although the subheadings were not in the original):

Charles Cloud charged

On Monday 21st April [1883] a youth named Charles Cloud, 20, also called Charles James Knight, was charged before Brighton magistrates with being drunk and assaulting the police on Saturday night in Trafalgar Street. 

He struck the officer

PC Ayling said that there was a disturbance outside the Prince George just after closing time. He persuaded the prisoner to go away, he having caused the commotion. After going a short distance up the street the man returned, saying he “meant to have a bleeding row with somebody”. He then struck the officer. 

He lost his helmet

When PC Ayling grasped him and started to march him away , a mob of roughs set on the constable, knocked him down, and kicked him. He lost his helmet and his oil lamp. PC Bloomfield, who ran up to assist his colleague, was then so severely hurt by the mob that he has since been off duty. 

Hard labour and a fine

The constables told the bench that they knew none of the men and youths who had attacked them. The prisoner was then sentenced to a month’s hard labour for being drunk and was fined 40s for assaulting the officers. In default – two months’ hard labour.

[Previously published in the North Laine Runner, No 43, May/June 1983; reprinted in No 202, January/February 2010]