Jury find soldier, 18, not guilty of killing woman he kicked to floor

When Preston Guild occurs exiled Prestonians often return to the town of their birth and in September 1882 one of those was Rachael Hart.

- with Keith Johnson

She had spent her childhood firstly in Edward Street and later in Poplar Street, her parents Mr and Mrs. Leonard earning their livelihood by rearing pigs and cultivating land on the Marsh.

Eventually, her parents tired of their daily toil and emigrated to America, leaving Rachael and her brother, who set up as a clogger, to fend for themselves.

So it was that aged just sixteen she was courted and wed by Edward Hart, an ambitious young man in the cotton trade. The couple had three children and moved to Manchester before a separation of the couple.