Hi Pauline,
Thank you so much, I would love to see the house. And if it is
not an imposition, and they are still standing, I would love to see the
cottages that were once in the grounds. One was called Coomb Lodge.
According to the 1881 census, there were 2 or 3 families living in cottages
around Coomb Mansion. Our MORRIS family were in one of them.
There are a lot of other names mentioned in the rest of article.
This is a funny-sad story. Sad because of the idea of the people with the
power and authority joking about an execution. I suppose the writer thought
it an amusing?
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From Carmarthen Antiquary VII, 1971
WILLIAM MORRIS OF
COOMB
There were two sons and a daughter at Coomb--Thomas, William, and Magdalen
Mary affectionately known as 'Iffie' Morris. The elder brother Thomas was
born in February, 1849 and held offices of honour and trust in
Carmarthenshire as a Justice of the Peace, Deputy Lieutenant and in 1882 was
High Sheriff. During this year of office a sentence of execution by hanging
was carried out within the precincts of Carmarthen goal at which, according
to the custom of the day, the High Sheriff had to be present. This duty was
apparently regarded as something of a lark by Tom Morris and his friends,
who on the night preceding the execution entertained the public hangman to
supper at one of the hostelries of the town. The company became rather
boisterous after their meal (which certainly was not of a teetotal nature)
and amongst other antics the hangman was persuaded to give a full rehearsal
of the lethal part of his business. For this purpose the High Sheriff was
chosen as the victim, mounted a chair, and a drop was arranged with the
result that Tom Morris was nearly hanged in reality in the midst of this
horseplay. He was only rescued from strangulation almost at his last gasp!
==========================
Kate