'The bigger villain bit through Billy's hand': Victorian street fighting Manchester style

On a Sunday afternoon, the usual time for settling grudges, hundreds of people watched two one-armed beggars fight for their lives

The two beggars squared up to each other on the rough slope of the burying ground and prepared themselves for battle.

It was a Sunday afternoon in the Manchester district of Angel Meadow, the usual time and place for settling grudges with a fight, and hundreds of spectators had poured out of the pubs and gin shops to watch.

In this hotly-anticipated bout …