Houses Houses 1831. Houses. empty. building. Persons. Royston, Herts. 244 3 4 1272 " Cambs. 102 4 0 485 Bassingbourn 35 1 0 157 Kneesworth 6 1 0 49 Therfield 9 0 0 44 Melbourn 1 0 0 1 --- - - ---- Totals 397 9 4 2008 The following are the Census returns for the township of Royston for 1881 and 1891. 1881. 1891. Increase. Decrease. Royston, Herts. 1272 1262 -- 10 " Cambs. 440 439 -- 1 Bassingbourn part 445 472 27 -- The Workhouse 145 101 -- 44 Kneesworth part 461 682 221 -- Melbourn part 190 213 23 -- Therfield part 183 150 -- 33 ---- ---- --- -- Totals 3136 3319 183 -- The interest of the foregoing figures lies in the fact that there was during the first thirty years of the century a great increase in the Hertfordshire part of the town, and scarcely any increase in the Cambridgeshire part, whereas the tendency has now been reversed in so remarkable a manner that against only 9 persons in Kneesworth parish, Royston, in 1801, there are now 682. {198} INDEX. Allotments, 114 Andrews, Hy., astronomer, 34, 107 Anstey Fair, Rural Sports at, 100 Arrington, coaching at, 144 Arrington-hill, 154 "Bacca" and snuff for paupers, 41 Banks stopping payment, 56 Barkway, Day School at, 121 --Milestones near, 15, 16 --Terrible fire at, 178, 179 --Volunteers of, 68 --Whipping post at, 83 --Workhouse at, 40 Barley, "Fox and Hounds" at, 18 Bassingbourn, 24, 65 --Incendiary fires at, 170 --Strange narrative of horse-stealing at, 89 --Volunteers of, 71 Beacon fires, 66, 67 Beadle, dignity and duties of, 53, 54 --The, and Bastardy laws, 163 --Emoluments of, 55 Beldam, Joseph, senr., 28 --Valentine, 27 Biggleswade, dreadful fire at, 179 Bishop Stortford, Volunteers of, 71 Blucher at Cambridge, 72 Body-snatching, horrors of, 81 Bowling Greens, 24, 69 Bow Street Runner, 170 Buntingford, Bridewell at, 93 --Mails from, 115 --Pauper Weddings at, 50 --Queen & Prince Albert at, 187 --Roads, 12 Burying at four cross-roads, 86 Butler, Henry, woolstapler, 105 --John, 27 --W. Warren, and his rhymes, 132-135 Butcher, the, and the Baronet, 136