Liverpool is renowned for its famous and ground-breaking names from The Beatles to Cilla Black and it seems centuries ago was no different.
In 1875, the city made the headlines of news publications up and down the country after it was discovered cabdriver, William Seymour, was arrested for stealing meat. However, as historian Dr Billie-Gina Thomason points out, although this may begin like a traditional tale of a lowly man struggling to provide for his family, there is more to the story than meets the eye.
William Seymour was remanded in custody and charged with stealing “22 lbs. of beef and 5 lbs. of veal” from a butcher’s on Leece Street, beside the Bombed Out Church. He was later charged with theft with the Liverpool Mercury, an English newspaper which stopped publishing in 1904, reporting that “upon the arm and breast of his coat were traces of suet which proved incontestably that he was guilty of the crime.”
