A late-night confrontation at one of Preston's best-known coaching inns in 1854 led to a court battle, a £100 damages award and an unexpected twist for the woman at the centre of the case. Keith Johnson reports.

In late March 1855, at the Liverpool Assizes in the Nisi Prius Court, the plaintiff Harriet Barnes brought an action against Andrew Richmond, an iron merchant who lived in Birkenhead. Miss Barnes, a waitress at the Red Lion Hotel on Church Street in Preston, brought the action to recover compensation for an alleged assault committed on her by Mr Richmond in early December 1854.

The court heard that on the night in question, the defendant was staying at the Red Lion and retired to bed at two o'clock in the morning. The regular chambermaid having gone to bed, Miss Barnes was appointed to light him to his room. She duly did so, but as she was about to leave, she claimed the defendant became aggressive towards her, insisting that she stay with him.

A 19th-century illustration of a chambermaid. Harriet Barnes claimed she was assaulted after escorting a guest to his room at the Red Lion Hotel | Contributed

placeholder image — A 19th-century illustration of a chambermaid. Harriet Barnes claimed she was assaulted after escorting a guest to his room at the Red Lion Hotel | Contributed

She responded by telling him she had to go downstairs to lock the doors, whereupon the defendant seized her by the shoulders and used foul language. A scuffle then took place, with the defendant striking Miss Barnes several times. In return, she scratched his face and called him a bullying coward as she wrestled herself from his grasp and fled the room.

The next morning, she challenged him about his conduct, to which he replied that he remembered nothing of it and that, if it had occurred, he must have been drunk at the time. She replied that his getting beastly drunk was no recompense to her, but a poor excuse, and that if he did not remember it, he should be made to do so. She accordingly brought the action to recover damages so that he would be made to pay for his drunken, selfish behaviour.

Mr Sergeant Wilkins, for the defence, argued that the defendant was drunk at the time and that the account given by Miss Barnes was an exaggerated one. After a brief consultation, the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff and indicated that £100 should be paid in compensation for her ordeal – equivalent to around £14,000 in today's money. Unfortunately for her, as Mr Justice Cresswell pointed out, the damages had been set at only £50 and consequently that was the amount she was entitled to receive.

Mr Justice Cresswell ruled that Harriet Barnes could receive only £50 in damages, despite the jury indicating that she deserved £100 | Contribtued

The landlord of the Red Lion at that time was Thomas Rainford and the inn was popular for stabling, with auctions held there regularly, whether for horses and carriages or cottages and dwelling houses. Rainford spent over a decade in charge before departing in 1858 to take over the White Lion at Ambleside. Sadly, his tenancy there was short-lived, as he died in December 1859.

The Red Lion had been a popular coaching inn since its opening in 1809. Back in the 1820s, at a quarter to nine each morning, the Invincible stagecoach would stop on its way to Carlisle after travelling overnight, with a hearty breakfast laid on for the weary passengers.

A fully laden horse-drawn coach outside the Red Lion on Church Street, recalling the days when the inn was a popular stopping point for travellers heading north | Contributed

The Red Lion had a chequered time in the latter part of the 20th century, closing following problems involving drug dealing and deceit.

The former Red Lion Hotel on Church Street, which has since traded as Reflex and Popworld, is now the Bamboogy nightclub | Contributed

Eventually, the old coaching inn put those dark days behind it and traded under the name of Reflex, a bar celebrating nostalgia for the 1980s. More recently, it traded as Popworld on the nightlife scene, and nowadays it is known as Bamboogy – a place to party.