Elizabeth Waite and Elizabeth Limburne

Elizabeth Waite and Elizabeth Limburne were served a summons on 27th February 1888 for unlawfully assaulting and beating Agnes Anderson. The two women were expected in court on 1st March 1888.

 Elizabeth Waite was born in 1839 and worked as a dairymaid whilst Elizabeth Limburne was twenty years younger, occupation unknown. According to an article from the Berwick Advertiser dated 2nd March 1888, the two women unlawfully beat and assaulted Agnes Anderson, wife of William Anderson of Cowport Gate, on 25th February 1888. The complainant (Agnes) provided evidence of being abused, and in response, the Magistrates fined Limburne 10s and 9s 3d costs, and Waite 5s and 9s 3d costs, with a default of 14 days of imprisonment each as well.

The larger fine imposed on Elizabeth Limburn implies that she may have been the main protagonist.

Another article from the Illustrated Berwick Journal, dated 8th March 1888, details Elizabeth Limburne’s further crime of theft: a Mr Thomas Douglas, engine-driver, Tweedmouth, alerted the police that he had been robbed of 3s 10d and identified Limburne as the culprit. However, Douglas failed to appear for the court trial and thus could not provide evidence against Limburne’s statement of defence, and so the case was dismissed. In spite of this, Elizabeth did state within her defence that she had spent some money, supposedly not from Douglas, on the “shuggy-boats”, although she had not yet paid her fine for the assault on Agnes Anderson.

Elizabeth Limburne appeared in court on several occasions around this time both as a victim and defendant. In 1884, Ralph Noon was accused of attacking her in Narrow Lane. »