IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 7 - 13 APRIL 1925
This week's many stories include the Ashtons Green Colliery coal scavengers, the two fighting sisters-in-law from Walkers Lane, another accident takes place at suicide corner, the one-eyed cow that was maltreated in Greenfield Road, the outgoing Vicar of St Helens pays tribute to the people of the town and the Oldfield Street woman who was placed under the clock after telling a bobby to go to hell.
We begin on the 7th at Lowe House Church where money had being going missing from an offertory box. It was only coppers but theft of any description was then taken very seriously and as a result two detectives had gone undercover occupying a hidden position overlooking the altar.
The officers saw Isabella Critchley, a 16-year-old domestic servant, take some money after looking round to see if she was alone in the church. But she did not check sufficiently as upon leaving, the girl was arrested and found to be in possession of four marked pennies. In court Isabella was put on probation and warned of more serious consequences if she returned to the dock.
Colliery waste heaps largely contained dirt that had been brought up the mine along with the coal. But the huge mounds did contain bits of coal that had either been rejected as unsalable or had slipped through the screening process undertaken by the so-called pit brow lasses. For many poor folk the waste heaps were a lifeline but they could also be dangerous places and mine owners objected to people trespassing on their land as they scavenged for coal. And a few of them were "professionals" who sold on what they found.
The large waste heap at Ashtons Green Colliery in Parr (pictured above) was a popular place for coal scavenging. The mine was situated between Fleet Lane and Derbyshire Hill Road and closed in 1931. On the 10th of this week the St Helens Reporter wrote:
"While industrial magnates rack their brains wondering how to get cheap coal some people at Parr have already solved the problem. They “pinch” it from the waste heap at Bromilow Foster's colliery. “They are becoming a perfect pest,” said a colliery official. “We can't keep them off the place.” “I told my boy to go and run the risk,” said Mrs. Pickersgill, Derbyshire Hill-road, the mother of a fourteen-year-old culprit, who was charged in the Juvenile Court.
"“Then you ought to have known better,” said the Chairman. “Your conduct is extremely reprehensible.” “I didn't sell the coal. Only the experts do that,” she replied. She was ordered to pay 6s. costs and the boy was placed on probation for six months." That was a better outcome for the lad than 50 years earlier when children following parental instructions to steal coal were often sent to prison.
It was tough for kids on Sundays with nothing for them to do. Two youths who had been kicking a football about in a back entry in Peasley Cross were also prosecuted and fined four shillings each. "You should not play football even in a back entry", the Chairman of the Bench told the pair.
Also in court was George Griffiths from Pocket Nook Street. The day after the Grand National, PC Reynolds had seen the man leaning against the fence of a chicken run at the rear of Farnworth Street. The constable witnessed two young men approach him and apparently make bets. When Griffiths saw the policeman he "did a bunk" but admitted his guilt later that day and was fined £10.
Apparently, being locked up inside the police station at the Town Hall was referred to as being "under the clock". The Reporter used that expression when describing another case heard in the Police Court:
"Discovered by the police on Friday evening leaning over a window-sill in Oldfield-street, drunk and screaming at the top of her voice, Rachael Moss, of Oldfield-street, was ultimately conveyed to the lock-up. The policeman's advice to “go in and be quiet,” only elicited the retort of “To He__ with you”.
"She then threw herself to the ground, and as she was minus shoes and stockings, and had very little clothing on her, P.C. Pugh decided she would be better off “under the clock”. “Pay ten shillings, or go to gaol for seven days,” said the Chairman." One might have thought that by 1925 the word "Hell" did not have to be censored by newspapers.
The town's ice-cream hawkers often appeared in court accused of infringing the regulations. Many were Italian and had difficulty understanding the bylaws of St Helens. I'm unsure of the nationality of Annie Rudolph but a constable had caught her pushing her barrow and selling ice cream without a permit. Annie's excuse was that she thought she was outside the St Helens Borough. But it was not accepted and she was fined 10 shillings.
An altercation between two sisters-in-law also made the courts when Mary Liptrot took out a summons against Bessie Liptrot.
Mary and Bessie had married two brothers and they lived next door to each other in Walkers Lane. Too close it seems as Bessie had entered a shop run by Mary to ask her what she had been saying about her. Mary had replied that she had said nothing that she would not tell her to her face. Bessie then blacked Mary's eye and dragged her over the counter.
In her defence Bessie accused her sister-in-law of throwing a saucer at her over a wall but she was still fined 10 shillings. A witness attempted to claim his costs off Bessie for coming to court and missing a day's work. But Bessie retorted, "No. You're on the night turn" and the court Clerk chipped in with "Therefore, he has lost nothing but his sleep."
Despite many motor lorries on the roads perfectly capable of carrying livestock, it was still common to see animals being walked along the streets. Usually they were being taken to market from a farm or vice-versa. Many farmers had yet to embrace the motor age and so their beasts needed to be escorted on foot.
In St Helens Police Court this week PC George said he had been on duty in Greenfield Road when he had seen a cow being taken to a farm. Sam Dean from Haydock Street had been driving it from behind and Arthur Hatton from Phythian Street was at its front pulling the cow with a rope halter round its head. The constable noticed a large splash of blood on the animal's face. A closer examination revealed that an eye was missing and its socket was inflamed.
Part of the halter had been rubbing round the eye and the cow appeared to be in great pain. The owner of the beast later stated that the eye was already damaged when he had bought it at Chester market. Inspector Hallam from the RSPCA told the court that the eye socket was in a terrible condition and he thought the cow had lost its eye at the market while jostling against the horns of another animal. The two defendants were fined 10 shillings each.
The Reporter described how there had been another accident at "suicide corner" (pictured above). That was the nickname for the junction of Westfield Street, Cotham Street, Ormskirk Street and Baldwin Street in St Helens. Over one 12-hour period in 1923, a traffic census had counted 4,143 vehicles passing that point. Steps were in hand to improve safety but collisions were common.
In court this week a constable explained how he had been on point duty outside the Sefton Arms. A tram had been coming along Westfield Street and at the same time a motor car was passing along Ormskirk Street in the direction of Duke Street. The officer said he had held up the motor and waved on the driver of the tramcar to come into the stopping place. However, a vehicle driven by Charles Howard of North Road came up behind the tram and ignored the policeman’s order to stop and his car collided with the tram.
Fortunately the driver of the tram had promptly applied his brakes; otherwise the consequences might have been more serious. There were no injuries and little damage was done and in his defence Mr Howard said he'd been driving slowly and must have mistaken the constable's signal. He was fined a total of £3 10s.
In January the Rev. Canon Albert Baines, the Vicar of St Helens, announced that within a few months he would be leaving the town for Huddersfield. For most of his 14 years in St Helens, Canon Baines had been without a church, as it had burned down in 1916. However, a new building was rising from the ashes and completion was expected before long.
In this week's Reporter the paper quoted Canon Baines' tribute to the town in his latest parish magazine. The outgoing Vicar said he had found St Helens "the most religious industrial town" populated by a "homely people" with a "wonderful capacity" for work. The populace, he added, also possessed a "warmth of character" and a "striking generosity".
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the St Helens doctor that married an actress, the homeless man in Church Street who'd walked from Manchester and the fatality in Southport Colliery in Parr caused by having a man in charge who was deaf.
We begin on the 7th at Lowe House Church where money had being going missing from an offertory box. It was only coppers but theft of any description was then taken very seriously and as a result two detectives had gone undercover occupying a hidden position overlooking the altar.
The officers saw Isabella Critchley, a 16-year-old domestic servant, take some money after looking round to see if she was alone in the church. But she did not check sufficiently as upon leaving, the girl was arrested and found to be in possession of four marked pennies. In court Isabella was put on probation and warned of more serious consequences if she returned to the dock.
Colliery waste heaps largely contained dirt that had been brought up the mine along with the coal. But the huge mounds did contain bits of coal that had either been rejected as unsalable or had slipped through the screening process undertaken by the so-called pit brow lasses. For many poor folk the waste heaps were a lifeline but they could also be dangerous places and mine owners objected to people trespassing on their land as they scavenged for coal. And a few of them were "professionals" who sold on what they found.
"While industrial magnates rack their brains wondering how to get cheap coal some people at Parr have already solved the problem. They “pinch” it from the waste heap at Bromilow Foster's colliery. “They are becoming a perfect pest,” said a colliery official. “We can't keep them off the place.” “I told my boy to go and run the risk,” said Mrs. Pickersgill, Derbyshire Hill-road, the mother of a fourteen-year-old culprit, who was charged in the Juvenile Court.
"“Then you ought to have known better,” said the Chairman. “Your conduct is extremely reprehensible.” “I didn't sell the coal. Only the experts do that,” she replied. She was ordered to pay 6s. costs and the boy was placed on probation for six months." That was a better outcome for the lad than 50 years earlier when children following parental instructions to steal coal were often sent to prison.
It was tough for kids on Sundays with nothing for them to do. Two youths who had been kicking a football about in a back entry in Peasley Cross were also prosecuted and fined four shillings each. "You should not play football even in a back entry", the Chairman of the Bench told the pair.
Also in court was George Griffiths from Pocket Nook Street. The day after the Grand National, PC Reynolds had seen the man leaning against the fence of a chicken run at the rear of Farnworth Street. The constable witnessed two young men approach him and apparently make bets. When Griffiths saw the policeman he "did a bunk" but admitted his guilt later that day and was fined £10.
Apparently, being locked up inside the police station at the Town Hall was referred to as being "under the clock". The Reporter used that expression when describing another case heard in the Police Court:
"Discovered by the police on Friday evening leaning over a window-sill in Oldfield-street, drunk and screaming at the top of her voice, Rachael Moss, of Oldfield-street, was ultimately conveyed to the lock-up. The policeman's advice to “go in and be quiet,” only elicited the retort of “To He__ with you”.
"She then threw herself to the ground, and as she was minus shoes and stockings, and had very little clothing on her, P.C. Pugh decided she would be better off “under the clock”. “Pay ten shillings, or go to gaol for seven days,” said the Chairman." One might have thought that by 1925 the word "Hell" did not have to be censored by newspapers.
The town's ice-cream hawkers often appeared in court accused of infringing the regulations. Many were Italian and had difficulty understanding the bylaws of St Helens. I'm unsure of the nationality of Annie Rudolph but a constable had caught her pushing her barrow and selling ice cream without a permit. Annie's excuse was that she thought she was outside the St Helens Borough. But it was not accepted and she was fined 10 shillings.
An altercation between two sisters-in-law also made the courts when Mary Liptrot took out a summons against Bessie Liptrot.
Mary and Bessie had married two brothers and they lived next door to each other in Walkers Lane. Too close it seems as Bessie had entered a shop run by Mary to ask her what she had been saying about her. Mary had replied that she had said nothing that she would not tell her to her face. Bessie then blacked Mary's eye and dragged her over the counter.
In her defence Bessie accused her sister-in-law of throwing a saucer at her over a wall but she was still fined 10 shillings. A witness attempted to claim his costs off Bessie for coming to court and missing a day's work. But Bessie retorted, "No. You're on the night turn" and the court Clerk chipped in with "Therefore, he has lost nothing but his sleep."
Despite many motor lorries on the roads perfectly capable of carrying livestock, it was still common to see animals being walked along the streets. Usually they were being taken to market from a farm or vice-versa. Many farmers had yet to embrace the motor age and so their beasts needed to be escorted on foot.
In St Helens Police Court this week PC George said he had been on duty in Greenfield Road when he had seen a cow being taken to a farm. Sam Dean from Haydock Street had been driving it from behind and Arthur Hatton from Phythian Street was at its front pulling the cow with a rope halter round its head. The constable noticed a large splash of blood on the animal's face. A closer examination revealed that an eye was missing and its socket was inflamed.
Part of the halter had been rubbing round the eye and the cow appeared to be in great pain. The owner of the beast later stated that the eye was already damaged when he had bought it at Chester market. Inspector Hallam from the RSPCA told the court that the eye socket was in a terrible condition and he thought the cow had lost its eye at the market while jostling against the horns of another animal. The two defendants were fined 10 shillings each.
In court this week a constable explained how he had been on point duty outside the Sefton Arms. A tram had been coming along Westfield Street and at the same time a motor car was passing along Ormskirk Street in the direction of Duke Street. The officer said he had held up the motor and waved on the driver of the tramcar to come into the stopping place. However, a vehicle driven by Charles Howard of North Road came up behind the tram and ignored the policeman’s order to stop and his car collided with the tram.
Fortunately the driver of the tram had promptly applied his brakes; otherwise the consequences might have been more serious. There were no injuries and little damage was done and in his defence Mr Howard said he'd been driving slowly and must have mistaken the constable's signal. He was fined a total of £3 10s.
In January the Rev. Canon Albert Baines, the Vicar of St Helens, announced that within a few months he would be leaving the town for Huddersfield. For most of his 14 years in St Helens, Canon Baines had been without a church, as it had burned down in 1916. However, a new building was rising from the ashes and completion was expected before long.
In this week's Reporter the paper quoted Canon Baines' tribute to the town in his latest parish magazine. The outgoing Vicar said he had found St Helens "the most religious industrial town" populated by a "homely people" with a "wonderful capacity" for work. The populace, he added, also possessed a "warmth of character" and a "striking generosity".
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the St Helens doctor that married an actress, the homeless man in Church Street who'd walked from Manchester and the fatality in Southport Colliery in Parr caused by having a man in charge who was deaf.
This week's many stories include the Ashtons Green Colliery coal scavengers, the two fighting sisters-in-law from Walkers Lane, another accident takes place at suicide corner, the one-eyed cow that was maltreated in Greenfield Road, the outgoing Vicar of St Helens pays tribute to the people of the town and the Oldfield Street woman who was placed under the clock after telling a bobby to go to hell.
We begin on the 7th at Lowe House Church where money had being going missing from an offertory box.
It was only coppers but theft of any description was then taken very seriously and as a result two detectives had gone undercover occupying a hidden position overlooking the altar.
The officers saw Isabella Critchley, a 16-year-old domestic servant, take some money after looking round to see if she was alone in the church.
But she did not check sufficiently as upon leaving, the girl was arrested and found to be in possession of four marked pennies.
In court Isabella was put on probation and warned of more serious consequences if she returned to the dock.
Colliery waste heaps largely contained dirt that had been brought up the mine along with the coal.
But the huge mounds did contain bits of coal that had either been rejected as unsalable or had slipped through the screening process undertaken by the so-called pit brow lasses.
For many poor folk the waste heaps were a lifeline but they could also be dangerous places and mine owners objected to people trespassing on their land as they scavenged for coal.
And a few of them were "professionals" who sold on what they found.
The large waste heap at Ashtons Green Colliery in Parr (pictured above) was a popular place for coal scavenging.
The mine was situated between Fleet Lane and Derbyshire Hill Road and closed in 1931. On the 10th of this week the St Helens Reporter wrote:
"While industrial magnates rack their brains wondering how to get cheap coal some people at Parr have already solved the problem. They “pinch” it from the waste heap at Bromilow Foster's colliery.
"“They are becoming a perfect pest,” said a colliery official. “We can't keep them off the place.”
"“I told my boy to go and run the risk,” said Mrs. Pickersgill, Derbyshire Hill-road, the mother of a fourteen-year-old culprit, who was charged in the Juvenile Court. “Then you ought to have known better,” said the Chairman. “Your conduct is extremely reprehensible.”
"“I didn't sell the coal. Only the experts do that,” she replied. She was ordered to pay 6s. costs and the boy was placed on probation for six months."
That was a better outcome for the lad than 50 years earlier when children following parental instructions to steal coal were often sent to prison.
It was tough for kids on Sundays with nothing for them to do. Two youths who had been kicking a football about in a back entry in Peasley Cross were also prosecuted and fined four shillings each.
"You should not play football even in a back entry", the Chairman of the Bench told the pair.
Also in court was George Griffiths from Pocket Nook Street. The day after the Grand National, PC Reynolds had seen the man leaning against the fence of a chicken run at the rear of Farnworth Street.
The constable witnessed two young men approach him and apparently make bets.
When Griffiths saw the policeman he "did a bunk" but admitted his guilt later that day and was fined £10.
Apparently, being locked up inside the police station at the Town Hall was referred to as being "under the clock".
The Reporter used that expression when describing another case heard in the Police Court:
"Discovered by the police on Friday evening leaning over a window-sill in Oldfield-street, drunk and screaming at the top of her voice, Rachael Moss, of Oldfield-street, was ultimately conveyed to the lock-up.
"The policeman's advice to “go in and be quiet,” only elicited the retort of “To He__ with you”.
"She then threw herself to the ground, and as she was minus shoes and stockings, and had very little clothing on her, P.C. Pugh decided she would be better off “under the clock”.
"“Pay ten shillings, or go to gaol for seven days,” said the Chairman."
One might have thought that by 1925 the word "Hell" did not have to be censored by newspapers.
The town's ice-cream hawkers often appeared in court accused of infringing the regulations.
Many were Italian and had difficulty understanding the bylaws of St Helens.
I'm unsure of the nationality of Annie Rudolph but a constable had caught her pushing her barrow and selling ice cream without a permit.
Annie's excuse was that she thought she was outside the St Helens Borough. But it was not accepted and she was fined 10 shillings.
An altercation between two sisters-in-law also made the courts when Mary Liptrot took out a summons against Bessie Liptrot.
Mary and Bessie had married two brothers and they lived next door to each other in Walkers Lane.
Too close it seems as Bessie had entered a shop run by Mary to ask her what she had been saying about her.
Mary had replied that she had said nothing that she would not tell her to her face. Bessie then blacked Mary's eye and dragged her over the counter.
In her defence Bessie accused her sister-in-law of throwing a saucer at her over a wall but she was still fined 10 shillings.
A witness attempted to claim his costs off Bessie for coming to court and missing a day's work.
But Bessie retorted, "No. You're on the night turn" and the court Clerk chipped in with "Therefore, he has lost nothing but his sleep."
Despite many motor lorries on the roads perfectly capable of carrying livestock, it was still common to see animals being walked along the streets.
Usually they were being taken to market from a farm or vice-versa.
Many farmers had yet to embrace the motor age and so their beasts needed to be escorted on foot.
In St Helens Police Court this week PC George said he had been on duty in Greenfield Road when he had seen a cow being taken to a farm.
Sam Dean from Haydock Street had been driving it from behind and Arthur Hatton from Phythian Street was at its front pulling the cow with a rope halter round its head.
The constable noticed a large splash of blood on the animal's face. A closer examination revealed that an eye was missing and its socket was inflamed.
Part of the halter had been rubbing round the eye and the cow appeared to be in great pain.
The owner of the beast later stated that the eye was already damaged when he had bought it at Chester market.
Inspector Hallam from the RSPCA told the court that the eye socket was in a terrible condition and he thought the cow had lost its eye at the market while jostling against the horns of another animal.
The two defendants were fined 10 shillings each.
The Reporter described how there had been another accident at "suicide corner" (pictured above).
That was the nickname for the junction of Westfield Street, Cotham Street, Ormskirk Street and Baldwin Street in St Helens.
Over one 12-hour period in 1923, a traffic census had counted 4,143 vehicles passing that point.
Steps were in hand to improve safety but collisions were common.
In court this week a constable explained how he had been on point duty outside the Sefton Arms.
A tram had been coming along Westfield Street and at the same time a motor car was passing along Ormskirk Street in the direction of Duke Street.
The officer said he had held up the motor and waved on the driver of the tramcar to come into the stopping place.
However, a vehicle driven by Charles Howard of North Road came up behind the tram and ignored the policeman’s order to stop and his car collided with the tram.
Fortunately the driver of the tram had promptly applied his brakes; otherwise the consequences might have been more serious.
There were no injuries and little damage was done and in his defence Mr Howard said he'd been driving slowly and must have mistaken the constable's signal. He was fined a total of £3 10s.
In January the Rev. Canon Albert Baines, the Vicar of St Helens, announced that within a few months he would be leaving the town for Huddersfield.
For most of his 14 years in St Helens, Canon Baines had been without a church, as it had burned down in 1916.
However, a new building was rising from the ashes and completion was expected before long.
In this week's Reporter the paper quoted Canon Baines' tribute to the town in his latest parish magazine.
The outgoing Vicar said he had found St Helens "the most religious industrial town" populated by a "homely people" with a "wonderful capacity" for work.
The populace, he added, also possessed a "warmth of character" and a "striking generosity".
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the St Helens doctor that married an actress, the homeless man in Church Street who'd walked from Manchester and the fatality in Southport Colliery in Parr caused by having a man in charge who was deaf.
We begin on the 7th at Lowe House Church where money had being going missing from an offertory box.
It was only coppers but theft of any description was then taken very seriously and as a result two detectives had gone undercover occupying a hidden position overlooking the altar.
The officers saw Isabella Critchley, a 16-year-old domestic servant, take some money after looking round to see if she was alone in the church.
But she did not check sufficiently as upon leaving, the girl was arrested and found to be in possession of four marked pennies.
In court Isabella was put on probation and warned of more serious consequences if she returned to the dock.
Colliery waste heaps largely contained dirt that had been brought up the mine along with the coal.
But the huge mounds did contain bits of coal that had either been rejected as unsalable or had slipped through the screening process undertaken by the so-called pit brow lasses.
For many poor folk the waste heaps were a lifeline but they could also be dangerous places and mine owners objected to people trespassing on their land as they scavenged for coal.
And a few of them were "professionals" who sold on what they found.
The mine was situated between Fleet Lane and Derbyshire Hill Road and closed in 1931. On the 10th of this week the St Helens Reporter wrote:
"While industrial magnates rack their brains wondering how to get cheap coal some people at Parr have already solved the problem. They “pinch” it from the waste heap at Bromilow Foster's colliery.
"“They are becoming a perfect pest,” said a colliery official. “We can't keep them off the place.”
"“I told my boy to go and run the risk,” said Mrs. Pickersgill, Derbyshire Hill-road, the mother of a fourteen-year-old culprit, who was charged in the Juvenile Court. “Then you ought to have known better,” said the Chairman. “Your conduct is extremely reprehensible.”
"“I didn't sell the coal. Only the experts do that,” she replied. She was ordered to pay 6s. costs and the boy was placed on probation for six months."
That was a better outcome for the lad than 50 years earlier when children following parental instructions to steal coal were often sent to prison.
It was tough for kids on Sundays with nothing for them to do. Two youths who had been kicking a football about in a back entry in Peasley Cross were also prosecuted and fined four shillings each.
"You should not play football even in a back entry", the Chairman of the Bench told the pair.
Also in court was George Griffiths from Pocket Nook Street. The day after the Grand National, PC Reynolds had seen the man leaning against the fence of a chicken run at the rear of Farnworth Street.
The constable witnessed two young men approach him and apparently make bets.
When Griffiths saw the policeman he "did a bunk" but admitted his guilt later that day and was fined £10.
Apparently, being locked up inside the police station at the Town Hall was referred to as being "under the clock".
The Reporter used that expression when describing another case heard in the Police Court:
"Discovered by the police on Friday evening leaning over a window-sill in Oldfield-street, drunk and screaming at the top of her voice, Rachael Moss, of Oldfield-street, was ultimately conveyed to the lock-up.
"The policeman's advice to “go in and be quiet,” only elicited the retort of “To He__ with you”.
"She then threw herself to the ground, and as she was minus shoes and stockings, and had very little clothing on her, P.C. Pugh decided she would be better off “under the clock”.
"“Pay ten shillings, or go to gaol for seven days,” said the Chairman."
One might have thought that by 1925 the word "Hell" did not have to be censored by newspapers.
The town's ice-cream hawkers often appeared in court accused of infringing the regulations.
Many were Italian and had difficulty understanding the bylaws of St Helens.
I'm unsure of the nationality of Annie Rudolph but a constable had caught her pushing her barrow and selling ice cream without a permit.
Annie's excuse was that she thought she was outside the St Helens Borough. But it was not accepted and she was fined 10 shillings.
An altercation between two sisters-in-law also made the courts when Mary Liptrot took out a summons against Bessie Liptrot.
Mary and Bessie had married two brothers and they lived next door to each other in Walkers Lane.
Too close it seems as Bessie had entered a shop run by Mary to ask her what she had been saying about her.
Mary had replied that she had said nothing that she would not tell her to her face. Bessie then blacked Mary's eye and dragged her over the counter.
In her defence Bessie accused her sister-in-law of throwing a saucer at her over a wall but she was still fined 10 shillings.
A witness attempted to claim his costs off Bessie for coming to court and missing a day's work.
But Bessie retorted, "No. You're on the night turn" and the court Clerk chipped in with "Therefore, he has lost nothing but his sleep."
Despite many motor lorries on the roads perfectly capable of carrying livestock, it was still common to see animals being walked along the streets.
Usually they were being taken to market from a farm or vice-versa.
Many farmers had yet to embrace the motor age and so their beasts needed to be escorted on foot.
In St Helens Police Court this week PC George said he had been on duty in Greenfield Road when he had seen a cow being taken to a farm.
Sam Dean from Haydock Street had been driving it from behind and Arthur Hatton from Phythian Street was at its front pulling the cow with a rope halter round its head.
The constable noticed a large splash of blood on the animal's face. A closer examination revealed that an eye was missing and its socket was inflamed.
Part of the halter had been rubbing round the eye and the cow appeared to be in great pain.
The owner of the beast later stated that the eye was already damaged when he had bought it at Chester market.
Inspector Hallam from the RSPCA told the court that the eye socket was in a terrible condition and he thought the cow had lost its eye at the market while jostling against the horns of another animal.
The two defendants were fined 10 shillings each.
That was the nickname for the junction of Westfield Street, Cotham Street, Ormskirk Street and Baldwin Street in St Helens.
Over one 12-hour period in 1923, a traffic census had counted 4,143 vehicles passing that point.
Steps were in hand to improve safety but collisions were common.
In court this week a constable explained how he had been on point duty outside the Sefton Arms.
A tram had been coming along Westfield Street and at the same time a motor car was passing along Ormskirk Street in the direction of Duke Street.
The officer said he had held up the motor and waved on the driver of the tramcar to come into the stopping place.
However, a vehicle driven by Charles Howard of North Road came up behind the tram and ignored the policeman’s order to stop and his car collided with the tram.
Fortunately the driver of the tram had promptly applied his brakes; otherwise the consequences might have been more serious.
There were no injuries and little damage was done and in his defence Mr Howard said he'd been driving slowly and must have mistaken the constable's signal. He was fined a total of £3 10s.
In January the Rev. Canon Albert Baines, the Vicar of St Helens, announced that within a few months he would be leaving the town for Huddersfield.
For most of his 14 years in St Helens, Canon Baines had been without a church, as it had burned down in 1916.
However, a new building was rising from the ashes and completion was expected before long.
In this week's Reporter the paper quoted Canon Baines' tribute to the town in his latest parish magazine.
The outgoing Vicar said he had found St Helens "the most religious industrial town" populated by a "homely people" with a "wonderful capacity" for work.
The populace, he added, also possessed a "warmth of character" and a "striking generosity".
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the St Helens doctor that married an actress, the homeless man in Church Street who'd walked from Manchester and the fatality in Southport Colliery in Parr caused by having a man in charge who was deaf.