IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 8 - 14 JUNE 1926
This week's many stories include the young thief who claimed he was motivated by hunger, the North Road dog that went after young children, the Royal Italian Circus performs at the Theatre Royal, the profitable Rainford pigeon racers, the first person to be convicted of committing a crime in the new Parish Church and the plans to build new homes on special foundations to guard against subsidence.
"I did it because I was hungry," was what George Shuker of Lewis Street told the St Helens Bench on the 8th after being accused of burglary and shop breaking. It was claimed that the 18-year-old had broken into the house of Thomas Mather of Napier Street and after taking a short sleep had stolen some property, including a missionary box.
Shuker admitted the offence and also said he had broken into Mercer's shop in Westfield Street where he had taken some food. He was committed to take his trial at Liverpool Assizes where Shuker was sentenced to three years in a Borstal institution. "You will have time to turn over a new leaf and become a decent, honest, useful man," Judge Talbot told him.
There was still a great housing shortage in St Helens and although the government was prepared to subsidise the cost of house building by councils, they would lay down conditions as to the types and locations of the properties. They were particularly concerned about constructing houses in St Helens that might in future be affected by mining subsidence.
On the 8th at a meeting of the St Helens Housing Committee, it was revealed that tenders for the building of 200 homes in Parr Stocks, Gerards Lane in Sutton and Scholes Lane in Thatto Heath were being sought. However, to comply with the government's concerns, the council houses would have to be sited on concrete frame foundations or rafts to guard against subsidence. Tenders were also accepted for the building of 80 houses on Broad Oak Road and Allanson Street in Parr and the meeting decided to acquire some land at Haresfinch to build some homes there.
Unemployed men could only obtain the dole for a set period and afterwards they had to apply to the local Guardians for what was called relief. These were small, subsistence payments that were made weekly to the very poor. But the system was designed to support the elderly and young families in which the father had died, been injured or was sick or had done a bunk. Single men had great difficulty in getting relief.
On the 8th several hundred unemployed men from Burtonwood, Earlestown, Haydock and Golborne walked in procession to the offices of the Board of Guardians at Warrington Workhouse to protest against the non-payment of relief to single men. After listening to a deputation, guardian officials advised the men that if they were absolutely destitute they could apply to a relieving officer. Upon making a full inquiry into the merits of their case, each applicant would be considered for relief. However, I expect they had all previously made such applications and been rejected.
I didn't realise that pigeon racing could be so profitable a hobby. The Manchester Evening News wrote on the 9th that J. and C. Francis of Rainford had won £79 by coming second in the Lancashire Central Jersey Club's recent race from the Channel Island back home.
They appear to be brothers James and Cyril Francis who in the 1921 Census were living in Ormskirk Road and with four members of the family (including James) then out of work. £3 to £4 per week would then have been a good wage and so £79 would have been quite a windfall for the brothers. The winner of the pigeon race, incidentally, lived in Widnes and won the huge sum of £114.
The Liverpool Echo wrote on the 10th that the new St Helens Parish Church was expected to be completed and ready for opening early in November. The 1st of the month had originally been scheduled, as that was All Saints Day. However, it was also the date of the annual November council elections in St Helens and so the opening was likely to be put back by a few days. The paper said the new church was on an island site, which had allowed Church Street to be widened by 20 feet. The opportunity had also been taken to widen Market Street.
On the evening of the 10th, a crowd of people thronged Gorsey Lane in Sutton Manor hoping to hear a nightingale sing, after claims one had been heard there on two previous nights. But the bird seemed not to appreciate having an audience and kept quiet.
These days when on my walks, I see many a dog sitting in the windows of their homes watching the world go by and patiently waiting for their owner to return. But other over-protective mutts yap at me through the glass for having the temerity to stroll past their house! One hundred years ago when dogs were allowed much more freedom than today, it was common for such boisterous canines to chase people going past their house.
Children particularly seemed a common target – but if a case came to court, the dog's owner would usually blame the kids for annoying their pet. On the 11th a charge of not keeping a dangerous dog under proper control was brought against Mary Gibbons, a shopkeeper of 81 North Road in St Helens. During the miners' strike their children were being fed 7 days a week and Lowe House School was one of the centres providing free meals.
Although it seemed that the kids needed to provide their own plates and cups. That was because four young boys accused Mrs Gibbons' dog of knocking such a plate out of their hands and biting one of them named Byron, as they walked past the shop to get their meal. As a result of these experiences, which they claimed had occurred several times, they said they were now using Crab Street to avoid passing the shop.
However, Mrs Gibbons' solicitor called witnesses to claim the children had been tormenting the dog or "plaguing it", as it was put. "It is merely playful and not savage", he insisted. But the magistrates still issued an order compelling Mrs Gibbons to keep her dog under control and any breaches would lead to further court appearances and fines.
An advert in the St Helens Newspaper that was published on the 11th said: "Bathing At Carr Mill – Good bathing accommodation for ladies & gentlemen under delightful conditions. Come and see for yourself."
There was also a notice in the paper inviting applications for a grant from the Mayor's Distress Fund. It said: "The Fund is confined to the relief of women and children. Food vouchers will be given, not cash." Applicants needed to attend a certain venue within their council ward.
These were the Volunteer Hall, Victoria Park Museum, Windle Pilkington School, Thatto Heath Library, the Women's Reading Room in Central Library, Parr Library, Cambridge Road Library, Merton Bank School, Sutton Library, Thatto Heath School and Sutton Manor School.
Isaac Edwards – a man with an apparent mania for stealing bicycles – has the dishonour of being the first person to be convicted of committing a crime in the new St Helens Parish Church. In St Helens Police Court on the 12th, Edwards admitted having entered the new building in order to have a sleep, after workmen that were completing the job had left for the day.
In the morning after rising from his slumbers, Ike saw a bicycle belonging to a bricklayer's apprentice and cycled off on it to Bolton. Edwards had been in court several times previously accused of stealing bikes. In a court in Oxford he had received a 9-month prison sentence and in St Helens Edwards was given a further three months.
Cinema and theatrical performances were not allowed in St Helens on Sundays but occasionally the council's Watch Committee permitted charitable concerts if they considered them suitable for the Sabbath. On the 13th the Nutgrove Prize Band gave a "grand performance" in the Hippodrome Theatre. What was described as a "specially selected programme" was given in need of the Miners Distress Fund.
From the 14th the St Helens and District Society for the Welfare of the Blind held a week-long exhibition at the Unitarian Chapel in Corporation Street. The event was opened by the Mayor and featured a demonstration of work by what were described as blind craftsmen and craftswomen.
And also from the 14th, the Royal Italian Circus began a week of performances at the Theatre Royal. Calling themselves "the world's greatest stage circus", their advert promised "wonderful performing animals" in the form of elephants, horses, ponies, donkeys, baboons, dogs, chimpanzees, monkeys etc. There were also equestrians, trapeze acts, acrobats, hand balancers, wire walkers and a host of clowns.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the acrobat who committed suicide in the Theatre Royal, the two child scalding deaths, the scheme to fix the Peasley Cross flooding and the judge that criticised widows for spending too much on gravestones.
"I did it because I was hungry," was what George Shuker of Lewis Street told the St Helens Bench on the 8th after being accused of burglary and shop breaking. It was claimed that the 18-year-old had broken into the house of Thomas Mather of Napier Street and after taking a short sleep had stolen some property, including a missionary box.
Shuker admitted the offence and also said he had broken into Mercer's shop in Westfield Street where he had taken some food. He was committed to take his trial at Liverpool Assizes where Shuker was sentenced to three years in a Borstal institution. "You will have time to turn over a new leaf and become a decent, honest, useful man," Judge Talbot told him.
There was still a great housing shortage in St Helens and although the government was prepared to subsidise the cost of house building by councils, they would lay down conditions as to the types and locations of the properties. They were particularly concerned about constructing houses in St Helens that might in future be affected by mining subsidence.
On the 8th at a meeting of the St Helens Housing Committee, it was revealed that tenders for the building of 200 homes in Parr Stocks, Gerards Lane in Sutton and Scholes Lane in Thatto Heath were being sought. However, to comply with the government's concerns, the council houses would have to be sited on concrete frame foundations or rafts to guard against subsidence. Tenders were also accepted for the building of 80 houses on Broad Oak Road and Allanson Street in Parr and the meeting decided to acquire some land at Haresfinch to build some homes there.
Unemployed men could only obtain the dole for a set period and afterwards they had to apply to the local Guardians for what was called relief. These were small, subsistence payments that were made weekly to the very poor. But the system was designed to support the elderly and young families in which the father had died, been injured or was sick or had done a bunk. Single men had great difficulty in getting relief.
On the 8th several hundred unemployed men from Burtonwood, Earlestown, Haydock and Golborne walked in procession to the offices of the Board of Guardians at Warrington Workhouse to protest against the non-payment of relief to single men. After listening to a deputation, guardian officials advised the men that if they were absolutely destitute they could apply to a relieving officer. Upon making a full inquiry into the merits of their case, each applicant would be considered for relief. However, I expect they had all previously made such applications and been rejected.
I didn't realise that pigeon racing could be so profitable a hobby. The Manchester Evening News wrote on the 9th that J. and C. Francis of Rainford had won £79 by coming second in the Lancashire Central Jersey Club's recent race from the Channel Island back home.
They appear to be brothers James and Cyril Francis who in the 1921 Census were living in Ormskirk Road and with four members of the family (including James) then out of work. £3 to £4 per week would then have been a good wage and so £79 would have been quite a windfall for the brothers. The winner of the pigeon race, incidentally, lived in Widnes and won the huge sum of £114.
The Liverpool Echo wrote on the 10th that the new St Helens Parish Church was expected to be completed and ready for opening early in November. The 1st of the month had originally been scheduled, as that was All Saints Day. However, it was also the date of the annual November council elections in St Helens and so the opening was likely to be put back by a few days. The paper said the new church was on an island site, which had allowed Church Street to be widened by 20 feet. The opportunity had also been taken to widen Market Street.
On the evening of the 10th, a crowd of people thronged Gorsey Lane in Sutton Manor hoping to hear a nightingale sing, after claims one had been heard there on two previous nights. But the bird seemed not to appreciate having an audience and kept quiet.
These days when on my walks, I see many a dog sitting in the windows of their homes watching the world go by and patiently waiting for their owner to return. But other over-protective mutts yap at me through the glass for having the temerity to stroll past their house! One hundred years ago when dogs were allowed much more freedom than today, it was common for such boisterous canines to chase people going past their house.
Children particularly seemed a common target – but if a case came to court, the dog's owner would usually blame the kids for annoying their pet. On the 11th a charge of not keeping a dangerous dog under proper control was brought against Mary Gibbons, a shopkeeper of 81 North Road in St Helens. During the miners' strike their children were being fed 7 days a week and Lowe House School was one of the centres providing free meals.
Although it seemed that the kids needed to provide their own plates and cups. That was because four young boys accused Mrs Gibbons' dog of knocking such a plate out of their hands and biting one of them named Byron, as they walked past the shop to get their meal. As a result of these experiences, which they claimed had occurred several times, they said they were now using Crab Street to avoid passing the shop.
However, Mrs Gibbons' solicitor called witnesses to claim the children had been tormenting the dog or "plaguing it", as it was put. "It is merely playful and not savage", he insisted. But the magistrates still issued an order compelling Mrs Gibbons to keep her dog under control and any breaches would lead to further court appearances and fines.
There was also a notice in the paper inviting applications for a grant from the Mayor's Distress Fund. It said: "The Fund is confined to the relief of women and children. Food vouchers will be given, not cash." Applicants needed to attend a certain venue within their council ward.
These were the Volunteer Hall, Victoria Park Museum, Windle Pilkington School, Thatto Heath Library, the Women's Reading Room in Central Library, Parr Library, Cambridge Road Library, Merton Bank School, Sutton Library, Thatto Heath School and Sutton Manor School.
Isaac Edwards – a man with an apparent mania for stealing bicycles – has the dishonour of being the first person to be convicted of committing a crime in the new St Helens Parish Church. In St Helens Police Court on the 12th, Edwards admitted having entered the new building in order to have a sleep, after workmen that were completing the job had left for the day.
In the morning after rising from his slumbers, Ike saw a bicycle belonging to a bricklayer's apprentice and cycled off on it to Bolton. Edwards had been in court several times previously accused of stealing bikes. In a court in Oxford he had received a 9-month prison sentence and in St Helens Edwards was given a further three months.
Cinema and theatrical performances were not allowed in St Helens on Sundays but occasionally the council's Watch Committee permitted charitable concerts if they considered them suitable for the Sabbath. On the 13th the Nutgrove Prize Band gave a "grand performance" in the Hippodrome Theatre. What was described as a "specially selected programme" was given in need of the Miners Distress Fund.
From the 14th the St Helens and District Society for the Welfare of the Blind held a week-long exhibition at the Unitarian Chapel in Corporation Street. The event was opened by the Mayor and featured a demonstration of work by what were described as blind craftsmen and craftswomen.
And also from the 14th, the Royal Italian Circus began a week of performances at the Theatre Royal. Calling themselves "the world's greatest stage circus", their advert promised "wonderful performing animals" in the form of elephants, horses, ponies, donkeys, baboons, dogs, chimpanzees, monkeys etc. There were also equestrians, trapeze acts, acrobats, hand balancers, wire walkers and a host of clowns.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the acrobat who committed suicide in the Theatre Royal, the two child scalding deaths, the scheme to fix the Peasley Cross flooding and the judge that criticised widows for spending too much on gravestones.
This week's many stories include the young thief who claimed he was motivated by hunger, the North Road dog that went after young children, the Royal Italian Circus performs at the Theatre Royal, the profitable Rainford pigeon racers, the first person to be convicted of committing a crime in the new Parish Church and the plans to build new homes on special foundations to guard against subsidence.
"I did it because I was hungry," was what George Shuker of Lewis Street told the St Helens Bench on the 8th after being accused of burglary and shop breaking.
It was claimed that the 18-year-old had broken into the house of Thomas Mather of Napier Street and after taking a short sleep had stolen some property, including a missionary box.
Shuker admitted the offence and also said he had broken into Mercer's shop in Westfield Street where he had taken some food.
He was committed to take his trial at Liverpool Assizes where Shuker was sentenced to three years in a Borstal institution.
"You will have time to turn over a new leaf and become a decent, honest, useful man," Judge Talbot told him.
There was still a great housing shortage in St Helens and although the government was prepared to subsidise the cost of house building by councils, they would lay down conditions as to the types and locations of the properties.
They were particularly concerned about constructing houses in St Helens that might in future be affected by mining subsidence.
On the 8th at a meeting of the St Helens Housing Committee, it was revealed that tenders for the building of 200 homes in Parr Stocks, Gerards Lane in Sutton and Scholes Lane in Thatto Heath were being sought.
However, to comply with the government's concerns, the council houses would have to be sited on concrete frame foundations or rafts to guard against subsidence.
Tenders were also accepted for the building of 80 houses on Broad Oak Road and Allanson Street in Parr and the meeting decided to acquire some land at Haresfinch to build some homes there.
Unemployed men could only obtain the dole for a set period and afterwards they had to apply to the local Guardians for what was called relief.
These were small, subsistence payments that were made weekly to the very poor.
But the system was designed to support the elderly and young families in which the father had died, been injured or was sick or had done a bunk. Single men had great difficulty in getting relief.
On the 8th several hundred unemployed men from Burtonwood, Earlestown, Haydock and Golborne walked in procession to the offices of the Board of Guardians at Warrington Workhouse to protest against the non-payment of relief to single men.
After listening to a deputation, guardian officials advised the men that if they were absolutely destitute they could apply to a relieving officer.
Upon making a full inquiry into the merits of their case, each applicant would be considered for relief. However, I expect they had all previously made such applications and been rejected.
I didn't realise that pigeon racing could be so profitable a hobby. The Manchester Evening News wrote on the 9th that J. and C. Francis of Rainford had won £79 by coming second in the Lancashire Central Jersey Club's recent race from the Channel Island back home.
They appear to be brothers James and Cyril Francis who in the 1921 Census were living in Ormskirk Road and with four members of the family (including James) then out of work.
£3 to £4 per week would then have been a good wage and so £79 would have been quite a windfall for the brothers.
The winner of the pigeon race, incidentally, lived in Widnes and won the huge sum of £114.
The Liverpool Echo wrote on the 10th that the new St Helens Parish Church was expected to be completed and ready for opening early in November.
The 1st of the month had originally been scheduled, as that was All Saints Day. However, it was also the date of the annual November council elections in St Helens and so the opening was likely to be put back by a few days.
The paper said the new church was on an island site, which had allowed Church Street to be widened by 20 feet. The opportunity had also been taken to widen Market Street.
On the evening of the 10th, a crowd of people thronged Gorsey Lane in Sutton Manor hoping to hear a nightingale sing, after claims one had been heard there on two previous nights.
But the bird seemed not to appreciate having an audience and kept quiet.
These days when on my walks, I see many a dog sitting in the windows of their homes watching the world go by and patiently waiting for their owner to return.
But other over-protective mutts yap at me through the glass for having the temerity to stroll past their house!
One hundred years ago when dogs were allowed much more freedom than today, it was common for such boisterous canines to chase people going past their house.
Children particularly seemed a common target – but if a case came to court, the dog's owner would usually blame the kids for annoying their pet.
On the 11th a charge of not keeping a dangerous dog under proper control was brought against Mary Gibbons, a shopkeeper of 81 North Road in St Helens.
During the miners' strike their children were being fed 7 days a week and Lowe House School was one of the centres providing free meals.
Although it seemed that the kids needed to provide their own plates and cups.
That was because four young boys accused Mrs Gibbons' dog of knocking such a plate out of their hands and biting one of them named Byron, as they walked past the shop to get their meal.
As a result of these experiences, which they claimed had occurred several times, they said they were now using Crab Street to avoid passing the shop.
However, Mrs Gibbons' solicitor called witnesses to claim the children had been tormenting the dog or "plaguing it", as it was put. "It is merely playful and not savage", he insisted.
But the magistrates still issued an order compelling Mrs Gibbons to keep her dog under control and any breaches would lead to further court appearances and fines.
An advert in the St Helens Newspaper that was published on the 11th said: "Bathing At Carr Mill – Good bathing accommodation for ladies & gentlemen under delightful conditions. Come and see for yourself."
There was also a notice in the paper inviting applications for a grant from the Mayor's Distress Fund. It said:
"The Fund is confined to the relief of women and children. Food vouchers will be given, not cash."
Applicants needed to attend a certain venue within their council ward.
These were the Volunteer Hall, Victoria Park Museum, Windle Pilkington School, Thatto Heath Library, the Women's Reading Room in Central Library, Parr Library, Cambridge Road Library, Merton Bank School, Sutton Library, Thatto Heath School and Sutton Manor School.
Isaac Edwards – a man with an apparent mania for stealing bicycles – has the dishonour of being the first person to be convicted of committing a crime in the new St Helens Parish Church.
In St Helens Police Court on the 12th, Edwards admitted having entered the new building in order to have a sleep, after workmen that were completing the job had left for the day.
In the morning after rising from his slumbers, Ike saw a bicycle belonging to a bricklayer's apprentice and cycled off on it to Bolton.
Edwards had been in court several times previously accused of stealing bikes.
In a court in Oxford he had received a 9-month prison sentence and in St Helens Edwards was given a further three months.
Cinema and theatrical performances were not allowed in St Helens on Sundays but occasionally the council's Watch Committee permitted charitable concerts if they considered them suitable for the Sabbath.
On the 13th the Nutgrove Prize Band gave a "grand performance" in the Hippodrome Theatre.
What was described as a "specially selected programme" was given in need of the Miners Distress Fund.
From the 14th the St Helens and District Society for the Welfare of the Blind held a week-long exhibition at the Unitarian Chapel in Corporation Street.
The event was opened by the Mayor and featured a demonstration of work by what were described as blind craftsmen and craftswomen.
And also from the 14th, the Royal Italian Circus began a week of performances at the Theatre Royal.
Calling themselves "the world's greatest stage circus", their advert promised "wonderful performing animals" in the form of elephants, horses, ponies, donkeys, baboons, dogs, chimpanzees, monkeys etc.
There were also equestrians, trapeze acts, acrobats, hand balancers, wire walkers and a host of clowns.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the acrobat who committed suicide in the Theatre Royal, the two child scalding deaths, the scheme to fix the Peasley Cross flooding and the judge that criticised widows for spending too much on gravestones.
"I did it because I was hungry," was what George Shuker of Lewis Street told the St Helens Bench on the 8th after being accused of burglary and shop breaking.
It was claimed that the 18-year-old had broken into the house of Thomas Mather of Napier Street and after taking a short sleep had stolen some property, including a missionary box.
Shuker admitted the offence and also said he had broken into Mercer's shop in Westfield Street where he had taken some food.
He was committed to take his trial at Liverpool Assizes where Shuker was sentenced to three years in a Borstal institution.
"You will have time to turn over a new leaf and become a decent, honest, useful man," Judge Talbot told him.
There was still a great housing shortage in St Helens and although the government was prepared to subsidise the cost of house building by councils, they would lay down conditions as to the types and locations of the properties.
They were particularly concerned about constructing houses in St Helens that might in future be affected by mining subsidence.
On the 8th at a meeting of the St Helens Housing Committee, it was revealed that tenders for the building of 200 homes in Parr Stocks, Gerards Lane in Sutton and Scholes Lane in Thatto Heath were being sought.
However, to comply with the government's concerns, the council houses would have to be sited on concrete frame foundations or rafts to guard against subsidence.
Tenders were also accepted for the building of 80 houses on Broad Oak Road and Allanson Street in Parr and the meeting decided to acquire some land at Haresfinch to build some homes there.
Unemployed men could only obtain the dole for a set period and afterwards they had to apply to the local Guardians for what was called relief.
These were small, subsistence payments that were made weekly to the very poor.
But the system was designed to support the elderly and young families in which the father had died, been injured or was sick or had done a bunk. Single men had great difficulty in getting relief.
On the 8th several hundred unemployed men from Burtonwood, Earlestown, Haydock and Golborne walked in procession to the offices of the Board of Guardians at Warrington Workhouse to protest against the non-payment of relief to single men.
After listening to a deputation, guardian officials advised the men that if they were absolutely destitute they could apply to a relieving officer.
Upon making a full inquiry into the merits of their case, each applicant would be considered for relief. However, I expect they had all previously made such applications and been rejected.
I didn't realise that pigeon racing could be so profitable a hobby. The Manchester Evening News wrote on the 9th that J. and C. Francis of Rainford had won £79 by coming second in the Lancashire Central Jersey Club's recent race from the Channel Island back home.
They appear to be brothers James and Cyril Francis who in the 1921 Census were living in Ormskirk Road and with four members of the family (including James) then out of work.
£3 to £4 per week would then have been a good wage and so £79 would have been quite a windfall for the brothers.
The winner of the pigeon race, incidentally, lived in Widnes and won the huge sum of £114.
The Liverpool Echo wrote on the 10th that the new St Helens Parish Church was expected to be completed and ready for opening early in November.
The 1st of the month had originally been scheduled, as that was All Saints Day. However, it was also the date of the annual November council elections in St Helens and so the opening was likely to be put back by a few days.
The paper said the new church was on an island site, which had allowed Church Street to be widened by 20 feet. The opportunity had also been taken to widen Market Street.
On the evening of the 10th, a crowd of people thronged Gorsey Lane in Sutton Manor hoping to hear a nightingale sing, after claims one had been heard there on two previous nights.
But the bird seemed not to appreciate having an audience and kept quiet.
These days when on my walks, I see many a dog sitting in the windows of their homes watching the world go by and patiently waiting for their owner to return.
But other over-protective mutts yap at me through the glass for having the temerity to stroll past their house!
One hundred years ago when dogs were allowed much more freedom than today, it was common for such boisterous canines to chase people going past their house.
Children particularly seemed a common target – but if a case came to court, the dog's owner would usually blame the kids for annoying their pet.
On the 11th a charge of not keeping a dangerous dog under proper control was brought against Mary Gibbons, a shopkeeper of 81 North Road in St Helens.
During the miners' strike their children were being fed 7 days a week and Lowe House School was one of the centres providing free meals.
Although it seemed that the kids needed to provide their own plates and cups.
That was because four young boys accused Mrs Gibbons' dog of knocking such a plate out of their hands and biting one of them named Byron, as they walked past the shop to get their meal.
As a result of these experiences, which they claimed had occurred several times, they said they were now using Crab Street to avoid passing the shop.
However, Mrs Gibbons' solicitor called witnesses to claim the children had been tormenting the dog or "plaguing it", as it was put. "It is merely playful and not savage", he insisted.
But the magistrates still issued an order compelling Mrs Gibbons to keep her dog under control and any breaches would lead to further court appearances and fines.
There was also a notice in the paper inviting applications for a grant from the Mayor's Distress Fund. It said:
"The Fund is confined to the relief of women and children. Food vouchers will be given, not cash."
Applicants needed to attend a certain venue within their council ward.
These were the Volunteer Hall, Victoria Park Museum, Windle Pilkington School, Thatto Heath Library, the Women's Reading Room in Central Library, Parr Library, Cambridge Road Library, Merton Bank School, Sutton Library, Thatto Heath School and Sutton Manor School.
Isaac Edwards – a man with an apparent mania for stealing bicycles – has the dishonour of being the first person to be convicted of committing a crime in the new St Helens Parish Church.
In St Helens Police Court on the 12th, Edwards admitted having entered the new building in order to have a sleep, after workmen that were completing the job had left for the day.
In the morning after rising from his slumbers, Ike saw a bicycle belonging to a bricklayer's apprentice and cycled off on it to Bolton.
Edwards had been in court several times previously accused of stealing bikes.
In a court in Oxford he had received a 9-month prison sentence and in St Helens Edwards was given a further three months.
Cinema and theatrical performances were not allowed in St Helens on Sundays but occasionally the council's Watch Committee permitted charitable concerts if they considered them suitable for the Sabbath.
On the 13th the Nutgrove Prize Band gave a "grand performance" in the Hippodrome Theatre.
What was described as a "specially selected programme" was given in need of the Miners Distress Fund.
From the 14th the St Helens and District Society for the Welfare of the Blind held a week-long exhibition at the Unitarian Chapel in Corporation Street.
The event was opened by the Mayor and featured a demonstration of work by what were described as blind craftsmen and craftswomen.
And also from the 14th, the Royal Italian Circus began a week of performances at the Theatre Royal.
Calling themselves "the world's greatest stage circus", their advert promised "wonderful performing animals" in the form of elephants, horses, ponies, donkeys, baboons, dogs, chimpanzees, monkeys etc.
There were also equestrians, trapeze acts, acrobats, hand balancers, wire walkers and a host of clowns.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the acrobat who committed suicide in the Theatre Royal, the two child scalding deaths, the scheme to fix the Peasley Cross flooding and the judge that criticised widows for spending too much on gravestones.