IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (3rd - 9th FEBRUARY 1920)
This week's stories include the stolen Sutton loco engine cloths that were made into a bedspread, the Sandon Street mother who protested against her daughter attending school, the woman lodging out in Pigot Street, the man who put Water Street in an uproar and the Vincent Street / New Street marital dispute.
We begin on the 4th when the council's Education Committee met and discussed creating playing fields in congested areas of the borough. These would be for the use of schoolchildren and young people's clubs. This would be a new departure for the town and it was decided to refer the matter to a sub-committee for their consideration.
The St Helens Fresh Air Fund paid for large numbers of poor children to be taken on country outings to spend time away from the town's smoke and grime. Sickly kids would also spend three weeks in a sanatorium in Southport to help them recover from their illness. The fund relied on donations to pay for its activities and in the Reporter on the 6th a number of people and organisations were thanked for their support. These included the £4 18s 3d proceeds of a Whist drive; £5 from the Charity Sports and Cricket Match fund; 4s 7d collection from a children's service at St Mark's and £1 7s 6d from the boys and staff of Higher Grade School. The latter donation was what was left of a collection for a wreath for the funeral of a pupil who had died.
John Sharples of Sandon Street was summoned to St Helens Police Court on the 5th for the non-attendance of his daughter at school. The school leaving age was 14 but a new order meant that the child could not leave until the end of term after their 14th birthday. This enraged Sarah's mother, Mary Sharples, who told the court that she protested strongly against a girl of 14 having to go to school when she could be at work earning money. The magistrates fined her husband 5 shillings.
Also in court was Elizabeth Smith who was charged with "lodging out". This usually meant sleeping rough and making the streets look untidy. However the police had found Elizabeth wandering about Pigot Street at 3:25am and she told them that she only had one penny on her and intended to walk about all night. The woman then made what was described as a "rambling statement" about her husband and three other men with a gun. Probation officer John Holmes suggested to the Bench that Elizabeth be sent to the workhouse and they agreed to dismiss the charge as long as she went to Whiston.
On the 6th Robert Bamber from Clyde Street (which used to be near Peter Street) was summoned to St Helens Police Court charged with stealing eighteen engine cloths. The 18-year-old worked at the Sutton Engine Sheds in Baxters Lane (pictured above), which stored and maintained locomotives. Morrison's supermarket car park now occupies the site. Inspector Bowden had called at Robert Bamber's home in Clyde Street on a separate matter. When he entered a bedroom he noticed a bedspread made out of engine cloths.
Mary Roylance who lodged at the house with the Bambers initially claimed to have bought the cloths on the market and then stitched them all together. Eventually Mrs Roylance admitted that Robert Bamber had brought them home from work and given them to his mother. She in turn had handed the cloths onto her. Robert Bamber was fined 30 shillings and Mary Roylance and Susannah Bamber were both fined 5 shillings for receiving stolen property.
Barton Street is another town centre street that was demolished long ago. It was from there that PC Dillon heard a lot of noise while on patrol in Duke Street. Upon proceeding to Barton Street he found Peter and Ann Yates "shouting for all they were worth". It turned out that one of their neighbours in the street was holding a wedding "feast" and the couple had been refused admittance. The Yates's were furious over the slight and were bound over to be of good behaviour.
Also in the Police Court was Thomas Gilliker from Bold Street who was charged with gaming with dice. Sunday was the day when bored men took to gambling and PC McNulty told the court that on the previous Sabbath he had seen Gilliker on wasteland off Canal Street. He was with several other men throwing dice on a crown and anchor board. The game using special dice with six symbols used to be very popular with sailors and Gilliker was fined ten shillings.
According to the 1911 census there were twenty-two men in St Helens who bore the name of Cornelius. That number did not include Cornelius Hudson, who was then seemingly living elsewhere but was certainly in the town in 1920 when a resident of Gladstone Street. Cornelius was a hawker by trade and appeared in the Police Court to face charges of assaulting and using abusive language to John Graham. They were brothers-in-law and had been good friends until four months earlier when they had a row and fell out.
According to John Graham's testimony his brother-in-law had stood outside his home in Stanhope Street on a Saturday night creating a disturbance and calling him names. Two days later Cornelius Hudson returned to the street and Graham went outside to calm him down. It wasn't a great idea as Hudson hit him three times, knocking him to the ground and his wife found him covered in blood and practically unconscious.
Well that was Graham's story and as you might expect his brother-in-law had a different tale to tell! Cornelius Hudson claimed he hadn't shouted at all on the Saturday night and that on the second occasion he'd been in the street, Graham had struck him first and then tried to kick him. The Bench must have been sick of all these different versions of reality told to them by people who had sworn on the Bible that they would tell the truth. Both men were bound over to keep the peace for six months with the Chairman of the Bench saying it was a great pity that a family squabble of this kind had come into court.
It must have been very noisy in Bridge Street on the 7th as the St Helens and District Cage Bird Society held a show of canaries and British birds. Over 50 pairs were on exhibition at the society's headquarters and the St Helens Reporter wrote: "Providing the members have any luck during the coming spring and summer, St. Helens cage bird fanciers will take the country by storm at the shows."
In the Police Court on the 9th PC Reynolds told the Bench how during the previous evening he had found Water Street "in an uproar". The man responsible had been Michael Dilsheyd, a miner from Green Street, which used to be near Brook Street. The man claimed that a woman called Kivishan had stabbed him and so he was seeking revenge on her family. It wasn't much of a stabbing as the knife had only cut his jacket and torn the skin on his shoulder. But the man was still livid and he had been standing in Water Street for some time demanding that the family come out to fight. Dilsheyd was bound over for six months.
Jane Bridgewater of Vincent Street and her husband John from New Street in Sutton returned to court on the 9th. I'd reported their marital dispute a month ago, which – like many others – was played out in detail in the newspapers for readers to salivate over. Jane had brought a case of persistent cruelty against her husband, who she claimed had been regularly drunk when they had been living together. She also stated that while pregnant John had made her take drugs, which had left her very weak.
The Bench decided to adjourn the case for a month to see if an amicable agreement could be arrived at and in the meantime told John Bridgewater to pay his wife 25 shillings a week maintenance. However at the adjourned hearing it was revealed that the husband had not paid a penny to Jane upon the advice of his solicitor. John Bridgewater was livid that his wife had accused him of cruelty and had claimed he had made her take drugs. He said he was willing to live with Jane but she had to withdraw both allegations first.
Jane was also willing to live with John but seemed unwilling to withdraw the statements that she'd made in court. John Holmes, the Police Court probation officer, had arbitrated between the stubborn couple but had got nowhere. He told the Bench that John Bridgewater "absolutely refused" to support his wife. However the Bench now signed an order compelling the husband to make the payments and if he continued to refuse to cough up, he could be sent to prison.
Next week's stories will include the controversial barrel organs at St Helens' fairs, the shameful dancing in Rainford Village Hall, an update on the war against rats, a Haydock miner's glowing testimonial for a wonder drug and the violent row between a landlady and her lodger in Fenton Street.
We begin on the 4th when the council's Education Committee met and discussed creating playing fields in congested areas of the borough. These would be for the use of schoolchildren and young people's clubs. This would be a new departure for the town and it was decided to refer the matter to a sub-committee for their consideration.
The St Helens Fresh Air Fund paid for large numbers of poor children to be taken on country outings to spend time away from the town's smoke and grime. Sickly kids would also spend three weeks in a sanatorium in Southport to help them recover from their illness. The fund relied on donations to pay for its activities and in the Reporter on the 6th a number of people and organisations were thanked for their support. These included the £4 18s 3d proceeds of a Whist drive; £5 from the Charity Sports and Cricket Match fund; 4s 7d collection from a children's service at St Mark's and £1 7s 6d from the boys and staff of Higher Grade School. The latter donation was what was left of a collection for a wreath for the funeral of a pupil who had died.
John Sharples of Sandon Street was summoned to St Helens Police Court on the 5th for the non-attendance of his daughter at school. The school leaving age was 14 but a new order meant that the child could not leave until the end of term after their 14th birthday. This enraged Sarah's mother, Mary Sharples, who told the court that she protested strongly against a girl of 14 having to go to school when she could be at work earning money. The magistrates fined her husband 5 shillings.
Also in court was Elizabeth Smith who was charged with "lodging out". This usually meant sleeping rough and making the streets look untidy. However the police had found Elizabeth wandering about Pigot Street at 3:25am and she told them that she only had one penny on her and intended to walk about all night. The woman then made what was described as a "rambling statement" about her husband and three other men with a gun. Probation officer John Holmes suggested to the Bench that Elizabeth be sent to the workhouse and they agreed to dismiss the charge as long as she went to Whiston.
Mary Roylance who lodged at the house with the Bambers initially claimed to have bought the cloths on the market and then stitched them all together. Eventually Mrs Roylance admitted that Robert Bamber had brought them home from work and given them to his mother. She in turn had handed the cloths onto her. Robert Bamber was fined 30 shillings and Mary Roylance and Susannah Bamber were both fined 5 shillings for receiving stolen property.
Barton Street is another town centre street that was demolished long ago. It was from there that PC Dillon heard a lot of noise while on patrol in Duke Street. Upon proceeding to Barton Street he found Peter and Ann Yates "shouting for all they were worth". It turned out that one of their neighbours in the street was holding a wedding "feast" and the couple had been refused admittance. The Yates's were furious over the slight and were bound over to be of good behaviour.
Also in the Police Court was Thomas Gilliker from Bold Street who was charged with gaming with dice. Sunday was the day when bored men took to gambling and PC McNulty told the court that on the previous Sabbath he had seen Gilliker on wasteland off Canal Street. He was with several other men throwing dice on a crown and anchor board. The game using special dice with six symbols used to be very popular with sailors and Gilliker was fined ten shillings.
According to the 1911 census there were twenty-two men in St Helens who bore the name of Cornelius. That number did not include Cornelius Hudson, who was then seemingly living elsewhere but was certainly in the town in 1920 when a resident of Gladstone Street. Cornelius was a hawker by trade and appeared in the Police Court to face charges of assaulting and using abusive language to John Graham. They were brothers-in-law and had been good friends until four months earlier when they had a row and fell out.
According to John Graham's testimony his brother-in-law had stood outside his home in Stanhope Street on a Saturday night creating a disturbance and calling him names. Two days later Cornelius Hudson returned to the street and Graham went outside to calm him down. It wasn't a great idea as Hudson hit him three times, knocking him to the ground and his wife found him covered in blood and practically unconscious.
Well that was Graham's story and as you might expect his brother-in-law had a different tale to tell! Cornelius Hudson claimed he hadn't shouted at all on the Saturday night and that on the second occasion he'd been in the street, Graham had struck him first and then tried to kick him. The Bench must have been sick of all these different versions of reality told to them by people who had sworn on the Bible that they would tell the truth. Both men were bound over to keep the peace for six months with the Chairman of the Bench saying it was a great pity that a family squabble of this kind had come into court.
In the Police Court on the 9th PC Reynolds told the Bench how during the previous evening he had found Water Street "in an uproar". The man responsible had been Michael Dilsheyd, a miner from Green Street, which used to be near Brook Street. The man claimed that a woman called Kivishan had stabbed him and so he was seeking revenge on her family. It wasn't much of a stabbing as the knife had only cut his jacket and torn the skin on his shoulder. But the man was still livid and he had been standing in Water Street for some time demanding that the family come out to fight. Dilsheyd was bound over for six months.
Jane Bridgewater of Vincent Street and her husband John from New Street in Sutton returned to court on the 9th. I'd reported their marital dispute a month ago, which – like many others – was played out in detail in the newspapers for readers to salivate over. Jane had brought a case of persistent cruelty against her husband, who she claimed had been regularly drunk when they had been living together. She also stated that while pregnant John had made her take drugs, which had left her very weak.
The Bench decided to adjourn the case for a month to see if an amicable agreement could be arrived at and in the meantime told John Bridgewater to pay his wife 25 shillings a week maintenance. However at the adjourned hearing it was revealed that the husband had not paid a penny to Jane upon the advice of his solicitor. John Bridgewater was livid that his wife had accused him of cruelty and had claimed he had made her take drugs. He said he was willing to live with Jane but she had to withdraw both allegations first.
Jane was also willing to live with John but seemed unwilling to withdraw the statements that she'd made in court. John Holmes, the Police Court probation officer, had arbitrated between the stubborn couple but had got nowhere. He told the Bench that John Bridgewater "absolutely refused" to support his wife. However the Bench now signed an order compelling the husband to make the payments and if he continued to refuse to cough up, he could be sent to prison.
Next week's stories will include the controversial barrel organs at St Helens' fairs, the shameful dancing in Rainford Village Hall, an update on the war against rats, a Haydock miner's glowing testimonial for a wonder drug and the violent row between a landlady and her lodger in Fenton Street.
This week's stories include the stolen Sutton loco engine cloths that were made into a bedspread, the Sandon Street mother who protested against her daughter attending school, the woman lodging out in Pigot Street, the man who put Water Street in an uproar and the Vincent Street / New Street marital dispute.
We begin on the 4th when the council's Education Committee met and discussed creating playing fields in congested areas of the borough.
These would be for the use of schoolchildren and young people's clubs. This would be a new departure for the town and it was decided to refer the matter to a sub-committee for their consideration.
The St Helens Fresh Air Fund paid for large numbers of poor children to be taken on country outings to spend time away from the town's smoke and grime.
Sickly kids would also spend three weeks in a sanatorium in Southport to help them recover from their illness.
The fund relied on donations to pay for its activities and in the Reporter on the 6th a number of people and organisations were thanked for their support.
These included the £4 18s 3d proceeds of a Whist drive; £5 from the Charity Sports and Cricket Match fund; 4s 7d collection from a children's service at St Mark's and £1 7s 6d from the boys and staff of Higher Grade School.
The latter donation was what was left of a collection for a wreath for the funeral of a pupil who had died.
John Sharples of Sandon Street was summoned to St Helens Police Court on the 5th for the non-attendance of his daughter at school.
The school leaving age was 14 but a new order meant that the child could not leave until the end of term after their 14th birthday.
This enraged Sarah's mother, Mary Sharples, who told the court that she protested strongly against a girl of 14 having to go to school when she could be at work earning money. The magistrates fined her husband 5 shillings.
Also in court was Elizabeth Smith who was charged with "lodging out". This usually meant sleeping rough and making the streets look untidy.
However the police had found Elizabeth wandering about Pigot Street at 3:25am and she told them that she only had one penny on her and intended to walk about all night.
The woman then made what was described as a "rambling statement" about her husband and three other men with a gun.
Probation officer John Holmes suggested to the Bench that Elizabeth be sent to the workhouse and they agreed to dismiss the charge as long as she went to Whiston.
On the 6th Robert Bamber from Clyde Street (which used to be near Peter Street) was summoned to St Helens Police Court charged with stealing eighteen engine cloths.
The 18-year-old worked at the Sutton Engine Sheds in Baxters Lane (pictured above), which stored and maintained locomotives. Morrison's supermarket car park now occupies the site.
Inspector Bowden had called at Robert Bamber's home in Clyde Street on a separate matter. When he entered a bedroom he noticed a bedspread made out of engine cloths.
Mary Roylance who lodged at the house with the Bambers initially claimed to have bought the cloths on the market and then stitched them all together.
Eventually Mrs Roylance admitted that Robert Bamber had brought them home from work and given them to his mother. She in turn had handed the cloths onto her.
Robert Bamber was fined 30 shillings and Mary Roylance and Susannah Bamber were both fined 5 shillings for receiving stolen property.
Barton Street is another town centre street that was demolished long ago. It was from there that PC Dillon heard a lot of noise while on patrol in Duke Street.
Upon proceeding to Barton Street he found Peter and Ann Yates "shouting for all they were worth".
It turned out that one of their neighbours in the street was holding a wedding "feast" and the couple had been refused admittance.
The Yates's were furious over the slight and were bound over by the court to be of good behaviour.
Also in the Police Court was Thomas Gilliker from Bold Street who was charged with gaming with dice.
Sunday was the day when bored men took to gambling and PC McNulty told the court that on the previous Sabbath he had seen Gilliker on wasteland off Canal Street.
He was with several other men throwing dice on a crown and anchor board.
The game using special dice with six symbols used to be very popular with sailors and Gilliker was fined ten shillings.
According to the 1911 census there were twenty-two men in St Helens who bore the name of Cornelius.
That number did not include Cornelius Hudson, who was then seemingly living elsewhere but was certainly in the town in 1920 when a resident of Gladstone Street.
Cornelius was a hawker by trade and appeared in the Police Court to face charges of assaulting and using abusive language to John Graham.
They were brothers-in-law and had been good friends until four months earlier when they had a row and fell out.
According to John Graham's testimony his brother-in-law had stood outside his home in Stanhope Street on a Saturday night creating a disturbance and calling him names.
Two days later Cornelius Hudson returned to the street and Graham went outside to calm him down.
It wasn't a great idea as Hudson hit him three times, knocking him to the ground and his wife found him covered in blood and practically unconscious.
Well that was John Graham's story and as you might expect his brother-in-law had a different tale to tell!
Cornelius Hudson claimed he hadn't shouted at all on the Saturday night and that on the second occasion he'd been in the street, Graham had struck him first and then tried to kick him.
The Bench must have been sick of all these different versions of reality told to them by people who had sworn on the Bible that they would tell the truth.
Both men were bound over to keep the peace for six months with the Chairman of the Bench saying it was a great pity that a family squabble of this kind had come into court.
It must have been very noisy in Bridge Street on the 7th as the St Helens and District Cage Bird Society held a show of canaries and British birds.
Over 50 pairs were on exhibition at the society's headquarters and the St Helens Reporter wrote:
"Providing the members have any luck during the coming spring and summer, St. Helens cage bird fanciers will take the country by storm at the shows."
In the Police Court on the 9th PC Reynolds told the Bench how during the previous evening he had found Water Street "in an uproar".
The man responsible had been Michael Dilsheyd, a miner from Green Street, which used to be near Brook Street.
Dilsheyd claimed that a woman called Kivishan had stabbed him and so he was seeking revenge on her family.
It wasn't much of a stabbing as the knife had only cut his jacket and torn the skin on his shoulder.
But the man was still livid and he had been standing in Water Street for some time demanding the family come out to fight. Dilsheyd was bound over for 6 months.
Jane Bridgewater of Vincent Street and her husband John from New Street in Sutton returned to court on the 9th.
I'd reported their marital dispute a month ago, which – like many others – was played out in detail in the newspapers for readers to salivate over.
Whether it was through overcrowded houses or personal disputes, there was little privacy for many a century ago.
Jane had brought a case of persistent cruelty against her husband, who she claimed had been regularly drunk when they had been living together.
She also stated that while pregnant John had made her take drugs, which had left her very weak.
The Bench decided to adjourn the case for a month to see if an amicable agreement could be arrived at and in the meantime told John Bridgewater to pay his wife 25 shillings a week maintenance.
However at the adjourned hearing it was revealed that the husband had not paid a penny to Jane upon the advice of his solicitor.
John Bridgewater was livid that his wife had accused him of cruelty and had claimed he had made her take drugs.
He said he was willing to live with Jane but she had to withdraw both allegations first.
Jane was also willing to live with John but seemed unwilling to withdraw the statements that she'd made in court.
John Holmes, the Police Court probation officer, had arbitrated between the stubborn couple but had got nowhere.
He told the Bench that John Bridgewater "absolutely refused" to support his wife.
However the Bench signed an order compelling the husband to make the payments and if he continued to refuse to pay, he could be sent to prison.
Next week's stories will include the controversial barrel organs at St Helens' fairs, the shameful dancing in Rainford Village Hall, an update on the war against rats, a Haydock miner's glowing testimonial for a wonder drug and the violent row between a landlady and her lodger in Fenton Street.
We begin on the 4th when the council's Education Committee met and discussed creating playing fields in congested areas of the borough.
These would be for the use of schoolchildren and young people's clubs. This would be a new departure for the town and it was decided to refer the matter to a sub-committee for their consideration.
The St Helens Fresh Air Fund paid for large numbers of poor children to be taken on country outings to spend time away from the town's smoke and grime.
Sickly kids would also spend three weeks in a sanatorium in Southport to help them recover from their illness.
The fund relied on donations to pay for its activities and in the Reporter on the 6th a number of people and organisations were thanked for their support.
These included the £4 18s 3d proceeds of a Whist drive; £5 from the Charity Sports and Cricket Match fund; 4s 7d collection from a children's service at St Mark's and £1 7s 6d from the boys and staff of Higher Grade School.
The latter donation was what was left of a collection for a wreath for the funeral of a pupil who had died.
John Sharples of Sandon Street was summoned to St Helens Police Court on the 5th for the non-attendance of his daughter at school.
The school leaving age was 14 but a new order meant that the child could not leave until the end of term after their 14th birthday.
This enraged Sarah's mother, Mary Sharples, who told the court that she protested strongly against a girl of 14 having to go to school when she could be at work earning money. The magistrates fined her husband 5 shillings.
Also in court was Elizabeth Smith who was charged with "lodging out". This usually meant sleeping rough and making the streets look untidy.
However the police had found Elizabeth wandering about Pigot Street at 3:25am and she told them that she only had one penny on her and intended to walk about all night.
The woman then made what was described as a "rambling statement" about her husband and three other men with a gun.
Probation officer John Holmes suggested to the Bench that Elizabeth be sent to the workhouse and they agreed to dismiss the charge as long as she went to Whiston.
On the 6th Robert Bamber from Clyde Street (which used to be near Peter Street) was summoned to St Helens Police Court charged with stealing eighteen engine cloths.
Inspector Bowden had called at Robert Bamber's home in Clyde Street on a separate matter. When he entered a bedroom he noticed a bedspread made out of engine cloths.
Mary Roylance who lodged at the house with the Bambers initially claimed to have bought the cloths on the market and then stitched them all together.
Eventually Mrs Roylance admitted that Robert Bamber had brought them home from work and given them to his mother. She in turn had handed the cloths onto her.
Robert Bamber was fined 30 shillings and Mary Roylance and Susannah Bamber were both fined 5 shillings for receiving stolen property.
Barton Street is another town centre street that was demolished long ago. It was from there that PC Dillon heard a lot of noise while on patrol in Duke Street.
Upon proceeding to Barton Street he found Peter and Ann Yates "shouting for all they were worth".
It turned out that one of their neighbours in the street was holding a wedding "feast" and the couple had been refused admittance.
The Yates's were furious over the slight and were bound over by the court to be of good behaviour.
Also in the Police Court was Thomas Gilliker from Bold Street who was charged with gaming with dice.
Sunday was the day when bored men took to gambling and PC McNulty told the court that on the previous Sabbath he had seen Gilliker on wasteland off Canal Street.
He was with several other men throwing dice on a crown and anchor board.
The game using special dice with six symbols used to be very popular with sailors and Gilliker was fined ten shillings.
According to the 1911 census there were twenty-two men in St Helens who bore the name of Cornelius.
That number did not include Cornelius Hudson, who was then seemingly living elsewhere but was certainly in the town in 1920 when a resident of Gladstone Street.
Cornelius was a hawker by trade and appeared in the Police Court to face charges of assaulting and using abusive language to John Graham.
They were brothers-in-law and had been good friends until four months earlier when they had a row and fell out.
According to John Graham's testimony his brother-in-law had stood outside his home in Stanhope Street on a Saturday night creating a disturbance and calling him names.
Two days later Cornelius Hudson returned to the street and Graham went outside to calm him down.
It wasn't a great idea as Hudson hit him three times, knocking him to the ground and his wife found him covered in blood and practically unconscious.
Well that was John Graham's story and as you might expect his brother-in-law had a different tale to tell!
Cornelius Hudson claimed he hadn't shouted at all on the Saturday night and that on the second occasion he'd been in the street, Graham had struck him first and then tried to kick him.
The Bench must have been sick of all these different versions of reality told to them by people who had sworn on the Bible that they would tell the truth.
Both men were bound over to keep the peace for six months with the Chairman of the Bench saying it was a great pity that a family squabble of this kind had come into court.
Over 50 pairs were on exhibition at the society's headquarters and the St Helens Reporter wrote:
"Providing the members have any luck during the coming spring and summer, St. Helens cage bird fanciers will take the country by storm at the shows."
In the Police Court on the 9th PC Reynolds told the Bench how during the previous evening he had found Water Street "in an uproar".
The man responsible had been Michael Dilsheyd, a miner from Green Street, which used to be near Brook Street.
Dilsheyd claimed that a woman called Kivishan had stabbed him and so he was seeking revenge on her family.
It wasn't much of a stabbing as the knife had only cut his jacket and torn the skin on his shoulder.
But the man was still livid and he had been standing in Water Street for some time demanding the family come out to fight. Dilsheyd was bound over for 6 months.
Jane Bridgewater of Vincent Street and her husband John from New Street in Sutton returned to court on the 9th.
I'd reported their marital dispute a month ago, which – like many others – was played out in detail in the newspapers for readers to salivate over.
Whether it was through overcrowded houses or personal disputes, there was little privacy for many a century ago.
Jane had brought a case of persistent cruelty against her husband, who she claimed had been regularly drunk when they had been living together.
She also stated that while pregnant John had made her take drugs, which had left her very weak.
The Bench decided to adjourn the case for a month to see if an amicable agreement could be arrived at and in the meantime told John Bridgewater to pay his wife 25 shillings a week maintenance.
However at the adjourned hearing it was revealed that the husband had not paid a penny to Jane upon the advice of his solicitor.
John Bridgewater was livid that his wife had accused him of cruelty and had claimed he had made her take drugs.
He said he was willing to live with Jane but she had to withdraw both allegations first.
Jane was also willing to live with John but seemed unwilling to withdraw the statements that she'd made in court.
John Holmes, the Police Court probation officer, had arbitrated between the stubborn couple but had got nowhere.
He told the Bench that John Bridgewater "absolutely refused" to support his wife.
However the Bench signed an order compelling the husband to make the payments and if he continued to refuse to pay, he could be sent to prison.
Next week's stories will include the controversial barrel organs at St Helens' fairs, the shameful dancing in Rainford Village Hall, an update on the war against rats, a Haydock miner's glowing testimonial for a wonder drug and the violent row between a landlady and her lodger in Fenton Street.