St Helens History This Week

ST HELENS HISTORY THIS WEEK is the home of three 1,500-word weekly articles that describe life in the Lancashire town fifty, one hundred and one hundred and fifty years ago. These are written and researched by Stephen Wainwright and are published on this website every Sunday morning.

The '100 Years Ago’ articles began in March 2016 exclusively on Facebook, with those describing events '50 Years Ago' starting in January 2018 and '150 Years Ago' in August 2018. Due to Facebook's recent prioritisation of Friends' posts over posts from Pages and Groups, only a small number of my articles now appear within my followers’ Facebook Feeds.

So this website has been created to provide an alternative means of viewing these articles, with the added opportunity to provide illustration primarily through photographs. In addition the articles will be archived by month and year for future reference.

As many names as possible are included in all three weekly features. However the '50 Years Ago' articles usually exclude the names of those involved in criminal offences, so as not to embarrass individuals (or their families) who might still be alive.

Also visit my other websites. ‘Sutton Beauty & Heritage’ features the Sutton district of St Helens and ‘The Official Website of George R. Groves’ tells the story of the Oscar-winning, movie sound pioneer from St Helens. Please do feel free to contact me. SRW

THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF ST HELENS VOLUME 3 BOOK

‘The Hidden History of St Helens Vol 3’ contains more amazing stories about life in the Lancashire town that social historian Stephen Wainwright has uncovered. This 268-page social history of St Helens revisits long-forgotten tales and is illustrated by 90 images. The chapter titles of The Hidden History of St Helens Vol 3 are:

1) The St Helens Characters That Enlivened Court Hearings 2) The Freed Slaves In St Helens and Other Slavery Stories 3) The Adoption of Lynch Law In St Helens 4) The Story Of The St Helens Circus 5) Conmen and Imposters In St Helens 6) John Shaw Menzies - The Violent St Helens Vet 7) The St Helens Newspaper's Beat Group Column 8) “Dear Sir” - A Collection Of Curious Correspondence Part 2 9) Four Curious Cases Of Bigamy 10) The Hanging of a St Helens Painter / The Death of a Waterloo Hero 11) The Women Who Accused Their Husbands Of Persistent Cruelty 12) When St Helens Was Only A Village 13) The Champions Of Child Cruelty Cases In St Helens 14) Unusual Things Said In Court

The book is available from the St Helens Book Stop at 11 Bridge Street (corner of Exchange Street) in St Helens, WA10 1NN (01744 902768). Or online from these eBay and Amazon links. The book is delivered free in the UK on eBay and Amazon UK. The price is £12. Any problems or queries – in particular with regards to international purchases – do get in touch.

THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF ST HELENS VOLUME 2 BOOK

‘The Hidden History of St Helens Vol 2’ uncovers more amazing stories from the newspaper archives. This 275-page social history of St Helens is illustrated by 107 images and is priced at £12. The chapter titles are:

Rumours, Hoaxes And Fake News; The St Helens Children That Were Sent To Prison; The Curious Excuses Given In Court; The Fighting Women Of St Helens!; The Weird & Wonderful Things St Helens Folk Have Said; The Teenage Parading On The Streets Of St Helens; The Obsessed Dad Who Shot His Daughter In A Hospital; “Dear Sir” – A Collection Of Curious Correspondence; Flying Saucers Over St Helens; A Collection Of Bizarre Rainford Stories; The Pioneer Record Retailers Of St Helens; When St Helens Was Called The Worst Town In England; Advertising Slogans Of The Old St Helens Stores; The 19th Century Newspapers That Waxed Lyrical; The Constable Of Parr In The Year 1700 and The Three St Helens Town Hall Fires.

The book is available from the St Helens Book Stop at 11 Bridge Street (corner of Exchange Street) in St Helens, WA10 1NN (01744 902768). Or online from these eBay and Amazon links. The book is delivered free in the UK on eBay and Amazon UK. The price is £12. Any problems or queries – in particular with regards to international purchases – do get in touch.

THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF ST HELENS VOLUME 1 BOOK

'The Hidden History of St Helens Vol. 1' contains dozens of amazing stories about life in the Lancashire town during the 19th and early 20th centuries that the author has uncovered. This near 300-page social history by Stephen Wainwright revisits long-forgotten tales from the dusty newspaper archives and is illustrated with ninety images. The chapter titles include:

The Amazing Story of The Great Doctress Madame Enault; The Children Begging and Selling on St Helens Streets; The Colorado Millionaire Conman; Mary Price, The St Helens Poisoner; The Brutal Gang of Highway Robbers; The St Helens Fairs, Menageries & Freaks of Nature; The Day Two Princes Dropped In On Rainford; Six St Helens Ghost Stories; A Collection of Curious Coffin and Graveyard Stories; The Fairy Invasion of St Helens; The Sex Scandal at Whiston Workhouse; Our Giddy Youth! – Child Steeplejacks in St Helens; Three Thatto Heath Runaway Romances; A Collection of Curious Police Stories; The Burning of Effigies in St Helens; The Shooting of a Sweetheart in North Road; The Deadly Firing of Cannons in St Helens and many, many more…

The book is available from the St Helens Book Stop at 11 Bridge Street (corner of Exchange Street) in St Helens, WA10 1NN (01744 902768). Or online from these eBay and Amazon links. The book is delivered free in the UK on eBay and Amazon UK and the price is £12. Any problems or queries – in particular with regards to international purchases do get in touch.