Then and Now: In the early 1900s the landlord of the Artichoke on Swinegate, Grantham, was mentioned in many of the local newspapers throughout the country

In the early 1900s the landlord of the Artichoke on Swinegate, born in 1855, was mentioned in many of the local newspapers throughout the country, writes Ruth Crook of Grantham Civic Society.

He was landlord of several other public houses in the town during his life. He married in the 1870s and had several children, his wife dying in 1896.

In 1898, he married the barmaid, who also played the piano in the pub. Their daughter was born in 1900, and in April 1901 his new wife and baby went to stay with her sister in Chesterfield. Her husband repeatedly hit her and allegedly had done so since shortly after their marriage.

When she arrived her face was very swollen, with two black eyes, and her body was covered in bruises. In July 1901 she brought a court case against her husband at Chesterfield County Police Court for desertion, because he had thrown her out of the pub with their baby.

There was a long legal case and eventually her claim for desertion was dismissed. In November 1901 in the Divorce Division of the High Court of Justice, she sought a judicial separation on the grounds of cruelty by her husband.

In a deed, the husband had initially agreed to pay his wife £1 per week for the upkeep of his wife and child, but then only paid half, for the upkeep of his daughter. The case in November 1901 resulted in the husband agreeing to live separately from his wife, who had custody of the child and to paying his wife 15s. per week.