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(1865) LJMC 57, CCR. This case is generally cited as an authority for the proposition that evidence of good character (and, indeed evidence of bad character, but this is the subject of much additional case law) can only allude to the general reputation of the defendant. However, the case has attracted severe criticism for over a hundred years and, in event event, it is difficult to see how it could be applied at all by the defendant if he testifies in his own defence. Consequently, although Rowton has never been officially overruled, the courts seem to take a relaxed attitude to it.