13 December 1891 A struggle in church

Church furnishings were serious business at St Mary’s Church in Newry (now in Northern Ireland). According to a news article in the South Wales Echo, the vestrymen of the church objected to a communion cloth bearing the initials “IHS”. Eleven of them marched into the church and tried to take the cloth, while Rev Samuel Smartt seized the other end: “An exciting scene followed, both parties pulling and tugging.”