IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (10th - 16th FEBRUARY 1920)
This week's stories 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 11th when the council's Health Committee met at the Town Hall and received an update on the campaign against rat infestation. Two professional rat catchers had been engaged and although they had been making progress, there’d been some difficulty in gaining access to property. In some cases they'd experienced obstruction but the Rat and Mice Destruction Act was now law, which gave more powers to local authorities. In order to gain more experience of the problem it had been decided to initially use ferrets, dogs and traps to kill the rats but in future poison and gas would be used.
In the Liverpool Echo on the 11th a miner from Vista Road in Haydock called James Ball was claiming a miracle cure by using a product called Ker-nak. "For fully two years I was a martyr to rheumatism and sciatica", went Mr Ball's glowing testimonial. "During the wet winter months torturing pains caught me in the arms, shoulders and legs. I was swollen from hip to ankle. Once I was laid-up helpless for fully three weeks using the doctor's liniments and taking his medicine. But there was no getting rid of the trouble.
"After reading about Ker-nak Pills and their power in cleansing the system of impurities, I began to think that maybe this treatment would do me good. I hadn't been taking Ker-nak long before the relief I got was truly wonderful. My activity gradually returned, and soon, thanks to Ker-nak, I was able to get about without the aid of sticks. My cure by Ker-nak has astonished friends and neighbours, and I trust that my experience will be a message of hope to all other sufferers." And what was this wonder drug called Ker-nak? It was nothing more than a combined laxative / tonic. You can make your own mind up whether these pills had been responsible for Mr Ball's recovery.
The playing of barrel organs at fairs was highly contentious in St Helens. Local residents hated the din and the council had a policy of only allowing one organ to play at a time. Last year at a music licensing hearing in the Town Hall a solicitor called Jeremiah Haslam Fox said: "There is no town in England or the world, as I understand, where the playing of organs is made so limited."
On the 12th another licensing hearing was held in which a letter from Father Riley of Lowe House Church was read out. The church planned to hold a fair on what was known as the Volunteer Field. This was situated at the rear of Lowe House and used by the part-time soldiers based at the Volunteer Hall in Mill Street. Fr. Riley wanted permission for two organs, claiming a wall that surrounded the field – along with church buildings and the Volunteer Hall – would screen off much of the sound.
Separate applications had also been made for music licenses for fairs on land off Lascelles Street / Sorogold Street and Atlas Street. Local residents had submitted petitions in opposition to these fairs claiming they were a "grave nuisance" to the neighbourhood. The Vicar of Holy Trinity in Parr, the Rev. Desmond Shaw, gave evidence to the hearing on behalf of his parishioners. The vicar claimed that the fairs affected school attendance and brought an undesirable element into the parish. Martha Cunningham from Earle Street was another critic who spoke of the noise and nuisance and impossibility of getting children to bed at nights.
After retiring to consider their decision, the Licensing Justices surprised the court by declaring that all the applications were being refused. The fairs could still go ahead but without the all-important barrel organs, which the promoters considered an essential aspect of the fairground experience and the residents considered a damned nuisance!
The music licensing was part of what was known as the Brewster Sessions, which also licensed pubs. The Chairman revealed that last week a number of the justices had visited some local hostelries and been struck by how dirty they were. There was also poor ventilation and an unhealthy atmosphere. He said the justices would be discussing with the owners the need to get these licensed houses decorated and "made decently clean and amply ventilated in a way we think they should be."
On the 13th in St Helens Police Court the magistrates were told about a row between a landlady and her lodger in Fenton Street. This no longer exists but used to be near Kirkland Street. The landlady was a Mrs Sharrock and Margaret Frost had been lodging with her for about three weeks. On the night in question Mrs Frost had returned home drunk and Mrs Sharrock told the Bench that she'd remonstrated with her about her condition. This went down badly with the woman who began a tirade of abuse against her and so the landlady told her son to bring a policeman to the house.
While Mrs Sharrock was waiting for assistance, Mrs Frost struck her on the back of the head with a syrup tin. However she had seen the blow coming and had raised her hand to guard her head, which led to both hand and head being cut. Mrs Sharrock then stated that her lodger hit her on the side of her jaw and the pair struggled with each until PC Walker arrived on the scene.
Both women had brought summonses against the other alleging assault. However despite the constable visiting the house several times during the night, Margaret Frost had never mentioned to him that Mrs Sharrock had hit her. So the magistrates dismissed Mrs Frost's summons and she was told to pay a fine of fifty shillings.
David Friar died in Haydock Cottage Hospital on the 13th through injuries received in the Old Boston Colliery earlier that day. The 24-year-old had got jammed between some runaway coal tubs and both of his arms and legs had been fractured. It was another example of a young man that had served through the war and survived, only to be seen off by coal mining.
The Reporter was published on the 13th and carried an appeal from St Helens Hospital (pictured above) for more funds. There had been many changes since 1873 when the small cottage hospital with a handful of beds had opened in Marshalls Cross Road. Considerable extensions to the premises had been made and it now boasted 100 beds, with what at the time would have been considered state-of-the-art facilities.
These included a modern operating theatre, outpatients department and X-Ray equipment. Since last year the hospital had finally got its own doctor! For almost fifty years the infirmary had had many nurses working on the wards but not a single resident medic. Instead the local community doctors (that we would call GPs) treated and often operated on their own patients in the hospital. For the more difficult cases, a surgeon or specialist was brought in.
The hospital was mainly funded by the penny-a-week scheme. This was a form of medical insurance in which one pence was deducted from men's wages, allowing free treatment for them and their families. However the war-time inflation had led to a considerable deficit in hospital funds and they were now asking their subscribers to pay twopence instead of a penny.
The memorials to the war dead continued to be installed. On the 15th two windows in memory of fallen soldiers at St Mark's church in North Road were formally unveiled.
Since January the Hippodrome Theatre had presented two pantomimes in 'Little Bo Peep' and 'Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp'. From the 16th for a full week the Corporation Street venue presented its third panto in 'Jack and the Beanstalk', which was performed with an augmented orchestra. This was its last pantomime of the season and next week the Hippodrome would revert back to its usual mix of music hall acts.
During the evening of the 16th Rainford Urban District Council met and considered an application to hire the Village Hall (above) for a dance. However Councillor Evans was far from happy with how the applicant's previous dance in Rainford had been conducted. He told his fellow councillors that the band had been curtained off, the room had been in semi-darkness and some had been dancing what was called a "shadow dance", which he described as "simply shameful".
Cllr Evans added: "I do not think it is a thing we ought to have in Rainford; it was simply disgraceful." As a result of his intervention it was decided to reject the application. Then the conversation turned to a separate dance that had been held on the previous Saturday in which the caretaker of the hall had been threatened. Councillor Huyton said he had heard that thirty men were drunk and that when the police were sent for they would not attend. "It is quite time this sort of thing was stopped", he added.
The Clerk to the council advised the councillors to take some action as otherwise, he said, the Village Hall would become a "Bedlam Hall". Cllr Eden added that if it was not possible to conduct the Village Hall without the aid of the police then it was time to close it down. It was ultimately decided to ask those that had threatened the caretaker to apologise and if they refused, legal proceedings would be taken against them.
Next week's stories will include a burglary in a Liverpool Road clog shop, a tram and a lorry battle it out in Prescot Road, the first female guardian takes her seat, a new centre for disabled ex-soldiers and the Rainford Road woman accused of telling fortunes by palmistry.
We begin on the 11th when the council's Health Committee met at the Town Hall and received an update on the campaign against rat infestation. Two professional rat catchers had been engaged and although they had been making progress, there’d been some difficulty in gaining access to property. In some cases they'd experienced obstruction but the Rat and Mice Destruction Act was now law, which gave more powers to local authorities. In order to gain more experience of the problem it had been decided to initially use ferrets, dogs and traps to kill the rats but in future poison and gas would be used.
"After reading about Ker-nak Pills and their power in cleansing the system of impurities, I began to think that maybe this treatment would do me good. I hadn't been taking Ker-nak long before the relief I got was truly wonderful. My activity gradually returned, and soon, thanks to Ker-nak, I was able to get about without the aid of sticks. My cure by Ker-nak has astonished friends and neighbours, and I trust that my experience will be a message of hope to all other sufferers." And what was this wonder drug called Ker-nak? It was nothing more than a combined laxative / tonic. You can make your own mind up whether these pills had been responsible for Mr Ball's recovery.
The playing of barrel organs at fairs was highly contentious in St Helens. Local residents hated the din and the council had a policy of only allowing one organ to play at a time. Last year at a music licensing hearing in the Town Hall a solicitor called Jeremiah Haslam Fox said: "There is no town in England or the world, as I understand, where the playing of organs is made so limited."
On the 12th another licensing hearing was held in which a letter from Father Riley of Lowe House Church was read out. The church planned to hold a fair on what was known as the Volunteer Field. This was situated at the rear of Lowe House and used by the part-time soldiers based at the Volunteer Hall in Mill Street. Fr. Riley wanted permission for two organs, claiming a wall that surrounded the field – along with church buildings and the Volunteer Hall – would screen off much of the sound.
Separate applications had also been made for music licenses for fairs on land off Lascelles Street / Sorogold Street and Atlas Street. Local residents had submitted petitions in opposition to these fairs claiming they were a "grave nuisance" to the neighbourhood. The Vicar of Holy Trinity in Parr, the Rev. Desmond Shaw, gave evidence to the hearing on behalf of his parishioners. The vicar claimed that the fairs affected school attendance and brought an undesirable element into the parish. Martha Cunningham from Earle Street was another critic who spoke of the noise and nuisance and impossibility of getting children to bed at nights.
After retiring to consider their decision, the Licensing Justices surprised the court by declaring that all the applications were being refused. The fairs could still go ahead but without the all-important barrel organs, which the promoters considered an essential aspect of the fairground experience and the residents considered a damned nuisance!
The music licensing was part of what was known as the Brewster Sessions, which also licensed pubs. The Chairman revealed that last week a number of the justices had visited some local hostelries and been struck by how dirty they were. There was also poor ventilation and an unhealthy atmosphere. He said the justices would be discussing with the owners the need to get these licensed houses decorated and "made decently clean and amply ventilated in a way we think they should be."
On the 13th in St Helens Police Court the magistrates were told about a row between a landlady and her lodger in Fenton Street. This no longer exists but used to be near Kirkland Street. The landlady was a Mrs Sharrock and Margaret Frost had been lodging with her for about three weeks. On the night in question Mrs Frost had returned home drunk and Mrs Sharrock told the Bench that she'd remonstrated with her about her condition. This went down badly with the woman who began a tirade of abuse against her and so the landlady told her son to bring a policeman to the house.
While Mrs Sharrock was waiting for assistance, Mrs Frost struck her on the back of the head with a syrup tin. However she had seen the blow coming and had raised her hand to guard her head, which led to both hand and head being cut. Mrs Sharrock then stated that her lodger hit her on the side of her jaw and the pair struggled with each until PC Walker arrived on the scene.
Both women had brought summonses against the other alleging assault. However despite the constable visiting the house several times during the night, Margaret Frost had never mentioned to him that Mrs Sharrock had hit her. So the magistrates dismissed Mrs Frost's summons and she was told to pay a fine of fifty shillings.
David Friar died in Haydock Cottage Hospital on the 13th through injuries received in the Old Boston Colliery earlier that day. The 24-year-old had got jammed between some runaway coal tubs and both of his arms and legs had been fractured. It was another example of a young man that had served through the war and survived, only to be seen off by coal mining.
These included a modern operating theatre, outpatients department and X-Ray equipment. Since last year the hospital had finally got its own doctor! For almost fifty years the infirmary had had many nurses working on the wards but not a single resident medic. Instead the local community doctors (that we would call GPs) treated and often operated on their own patients in the hospital. For the more difficult cases, a surgeon or specialist was brought in.
The hospital was mainly funded by the penny-a-week scheme. This was a form of medical insurance in which one pence was deducted from men's wages, allowing free treatment for them and their families. However the war-time inflation had led to a considerable deficit in hospital funds and they were now asking their subscribers to pay twopence instead of a penny.
The memorials to the war dead continued to be installed. On the 15th two windows in memory of fallen soldiers at St Mark's church in North Road were formally unveiled.
Since January the Hippodrome Theatre had presented two pantomimes in 'Little Bo Peep' and 'Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp'. From the 16th for a full week the Corporation Street venue presented its third panto in 'Jack and the Beanstalk', which was performed with an augmented orchestra. This was its last pantomime of the season and next week the Hippodrome would revert back to its usual mix of music hall acts.
Cllr Evans added: "I do not think it is a thing we ought to have in Rainford; it was simply disgraceful." As a result of his intervention it was decided to reject the application. Then the conversation turned to a separate dance that had been held on the previous Saturday in which the caretaker of the hall had been threatened. Councillor Huyton said he had heard that thirty men were drunk and that when the police were sent for they would not attend. "It is quite time this sort of thing was stopped", he added.
The Clerk to the council advised the councillors to take some action as otherwise, he said, the Village Hall would become a "Bedlam Hall". Cllr Eden added that if it was not possible to conduct the Village Hall without the aid of the police then it was time to close it down. It was ultimately decided to ask those that had threatened the caretaker to apologise and if they refused, legal proceedings would be taken against them.
Next week's stories will include a burglary in a Liverpool Road clog shop, a tram and a lorry battle it out in Prescot Road, the first female guardian takes her seat, a new centre for disabled ex-soldiers and the Rainford Road woman accused of telling fortunes by palmistry.
This week's stories 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 11th when the council's Health Committee met at the Town Hall and received an update on the campaign against rat infestation.
Two professional rat catchers had been engaged and although they had been making progress, there’d been some difficulty in gaining access to property.
In some cases they'd experienced obstruction but the Rat and Mice Destruction Act was now law, which gave more powers to local authorities.
In order to gain more experience of the problem it had been decided to initially use ferrets, dogs and traps to kill the rats but in future poison and gas would be used.
In the Liverpool Echo on the 11th a miner from Vista Road in Haydock called James Ball was claiming a miracle cure by using a product called Ker-nak.
"For fully two years I was a martyr to rheumatism and sciatica", went Mr Ball's glowing testimonial. "During the wet winter months torturing pains caught me in the arms, shoulders and legs. I was swollen from hip to ankle.
"Once I was laid-up helpless for fully three weeks using the doctor's liniments and taking his medicine. But there was no getting rid of the trouble.
"After reading about Ker-nak Pills and their power in cleansing the system of impurities, I began to think that maybe this treatment would do me good. I hadn't been taking Ker-nak long before the relief I got was truly wonderful.
"My activity gradually returned, and soon, thanks to Ker-nak, I was able to get about without the aid of sticks. My cure by Ker-nak has astonished friends and neighbours, and I trust that my experience will be a message of hope to all other sufferers."
And what was this wonder drug called Ker-nak? It was nothing more than a combined laxative / tonic.
You can make your own mind up whether these pills had been responsible for Mr Ball's recovery.
The playing of barrel organs at fairs was highly contentious in St Helens.
Local residents hated the din and the council had a policy of only allowing one organ to play at a time.
Last year at a music licensing hearing in the Town Hall a solicitor called Jeremiah Haslam Fox said:
"There is no town in England or the world, as I understand, where the playing of organs is made so limited."
On the 12th another licensing hearing was held in which a letter from Father Riley of Lowe House Church was read out.
The church planned to hold a fair on what was known as the Volunteer Field.
This was situated at the rear of Lowe House and used by the part-time soldiers based at the Volunteer Hall in Mill Street.
Fr. Riley wanted permission for two organs, claiming a wall that surrounded the field – along with church buildings and the Volunteer Hall – would screen off much of the sound.
Separate applications had also been made for music licenses for fairs on land off Lascelles Street / Sorogold Street and Atlas Street.
Local residents had submitted petitions in opposition to these fairs claiming they were a "grave nuisance" to the neighbourhood.
The Vicar of Holy Trinity in Parr, the Rev. Desmond Shaw, gave evidence to the hearing on behalf of his parishioners.
The vicar claimed that the fairs affected school attendance and brought an undesirable element into the parish.
Martha Cunningham from Earle Street was another critic who spoke of the noise and nuisance and impossibility of getting children to bed at nights.
After retiring to consider their decision, the Licensing Justices surprised the court by declaring that all the applications were being refused.
The fairs could still go ahead but without the all-important barrel organs, which the promoters considered an essential aspect of the fairground experience and the residents considered a damned nuisance!
The music licensing was part of what was known as the Brewster Sessions, which also licensed pubs.
The Chairman revealed that last week a number of the justices had visited some local hostelries and been struck by how dirty they were.
There was also poor ventilation and an unhealthy atmosphere within these pubs.
He said the justices would be discussing with the owners the need to get these licensed houses decorated and "made decently clean and amply ventilated in a way we think they should be."
On the 13th in St Helens Police Court the magistrates were told about a row between a landlady and her lodger in Fenton Street. This no longer exists but used to be near Kirkland Street.
The landlady was a Mrs Sharrock and Margaret Frost had been lodging with her for about three weeks.
On the night in question Mrs Frost had returned home drunk and Mrs Sharrock told the Bench that she'd remonstrated with her about her condition.
This went down badly with the woman who began a tirade of abuse against her and so the landlady told her son to bring a policeman to the house.
While Mrs Sharrock was waiting for assistance, Mrs Frost struck her on the back of the head with a syrup tin.
However she had seen the blow coming and had raised her hand to guard her head, which led to both hand and head being cut.
Mrs Sharrock then stated that her lodger hit her on the side of her jaw and the pair struggled with each until PC Walker arrived on the scene.
Both women had brought summonses against the other alleging assault.
However despite the constable visiting the house several times during the night, Margaret Frost had never mentioned to him that Mrs Sharrock had hit her.
So the magistrates dismissed Mrs Frost's summons and she was told to pay a fine of fifty shillings.
David Friar died in Haydock Cottage Hospital on the 13th through injuries received in the Old Boston Colliery earlier that day.
The 24-year-old had got jammed between some runaway coal tubs and both of his arms and legs had been fractured.
It was another example of a young man that had served through the war and survived, only to be seen off by coal mining.
The Reporter was published on the 13th and carried an appeal from St Helens Hospital (pictured above) for more funds.
There had been many changes since 1873 when the small cottage hospital with a handful of beds had opened in Marshalls Cross Road.
Considerable extensions to the premises had been made and it now boasted 100 beds, with what at the time would have been considered state-of-the-art facilities.
These included a modern operating theatre, outpatients department and X-Ray equipment. Since last year the hospital had finally got its own doctor!
For almost fifty years the infirmary had had many nurses working on the wards but not a single resident medic.
Instead the local community doctors (that we would call GPs) treated and often operated on their own patients in the hospital.
For the more difficult cases, a surgeon or specialist was brought in.
The hospital was mainly funded by the penny-a-week scheme.
This was a form of medical insurance in which one pence was deducted from men's wages, allowing free treatment for them and their families.
However the war-time inflation had led to a considerable deficit in hospital funds and they were now asking their subscribers to pay twopence instead of a penny.
The memorials to the war dead continued to be installed. On the 15th two windows in memory of fallen soldiers at St Mark's church in North Road were formally unveiled.
Since January the Hippodrome Theatre had presented two pantomimes in 'Little Bo Peep' and 'Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp'.
From the 16th for a full week the Corporation Street venue presented its third panto in 'Jack and the Beanstalk', which was performed with an augmented orchestra.
This was its last pantomime of the season and next week the Hippodrome would revert back to its usual mix of music hall acts.
During the evening of the 16th Rainford Urban District Council met and considered an application to hire the Village Hall (above) for a dance.
However Councillor Evans was far from happy with how the applicant's previous dance in Rainford had been conducted.
He told his fellow councillors that the band had been curtained off, the room had been in semi-darkness and some had been dancing what was called a "shadow dance", which he described as "simply shameful".
Cllr Evans added: "I do not think it is a thing we ought to have in Rainford; it was simply disgraceful." As a result of his intervention it was decided to reject the application.
Then the conversation turned to a separate dance that had been held on the previous Saturday in which the caretaker of the hall had been threatened.
Councillor Huyton said he had heard that thirty men were drunk and that when the police were sent for they would not attend. "It is quite time this sort of thing was stopped", he added.
The Clerk to the council advised the councillors to take some action as otherwise, he said, the Village Hall would become a "Bedlam Hall".
Cllr James Eden (pictured above) added that if it was not possible to conduct the Village Hall without the aid of the police then it was time to close it down.
It was ultimately decided to ask those that had threatened the caretaker to apologise and if they refused, legal proceedings would be taken against them.
Next week's stories will include a burglary in a Liverpool Road clog shop, a tram and a lorry battle it out in Prescot Road, the first female guardian takes her seat, a new centre for disabled ex-soldiers and the Rainford Road woman accused of telling fortunes by palmistry.
We begin on the 11th when the council's Health Committee met at the Town Hall and received an update on the campaign against rat infestation.
Two professional rat catchers had been engaged and although they had been making progress, there’d been some difficulty in gaining access to property.
In some cases they'd experienced obstruction but the Rat and Mice Destruction Act was now law, which gave more powers to local authorities.
In order to gain more experience of the problem it had been decided to initially use ferrets, dogs and traps to kill the rats but in future poison and gas would be used.
"For fully two years I was a martyr to rheumatism and sciatica", went Mr Ball's glowing testimonial. "During the wet winter months torturing pains caught me in the arms, shoulders and legs. I was swollen from hip to ankle.
"Once I was laid-up helpless for fully three weeks using the doctor's liniments and taking his medicine. But there was no getting rid of the trouble.
"After reading about Ker-nak Pills and their power in cleansing the system of impurities, I began to think that maybe this treatment would do me good. I hadn't been taking Ker-nak long before the relief I got was truly wonderful.
"My activity gradually returned, and soon, thanks to Ker-nak, I was able to get about without the aid of sticks. My cure by Ker-nak has astonished friends and neighbours, and I trust that my experience will be a message of hope to all other sufferers."
And what was this wonder drug called Ker-nak? It was nothing more than a combined laxative / tonic.
You can make your own mind up whether these pills had been responsible for Mr Ball's recovery.
The playing of barrel organs at fairs was highly contentious in St Helens.
Local residents hated the din and the council had a policy of only allowing one organ to play at a time.
Last year at a music licensing hearing in the Town Hall a solicitor called Jeremiah Haslam Fox said:
"There is no town in England or the world, as I understand, where the playing of organs is made so limited."
On the 12th another licensing hearing was held in which a letter from Father Riley of Lowe House Church was read out.
The church planned to hold a fair on what was known as the Volunteer Field.
This was situated at the rear of Lowe House and used by the part-time soldiers based at the Volunteer Hall in Mill Street.
Fr. Riley wanted permission for two organs, claiming a wall that surrounded the field – along with church buildings and the Volunteer Hall – would screen off much of the sound.
Separate applications had also been made for music licenses for fairs on land off Lascelles Street / Sorogold Street and Atlas Street.
Local residents had submitted petitions in opposition to these fairs claiming they were a "grave nuisance" to the neighbourhood.
The Vicar of Holy Trinity in Parr, the Rev. Desmond Shaw, gave evidence to the hearing on behalf of his parishioners.
The vicar claimed that the fairs affected school attendance and brought an undesirable element into the parish.
Martha Cunningham from Earle Street was another critic who spoke of the noise and nuisance and impossibility of getting children to bed at nights.
After retiring to consider their decision, the Licensing Justices surprised the court by declaring that all the applications were being refused.
The fairs could still go ahead but without the all-important barrel organs, which the promoters considered an essential aspect of the fairground experience and the residents considered a damned nuisance!
The music licensing was part of what was known as the Brewster Sessions, which also licensed pubs.
The Chairman revealed that last week a number of the justices had visited some local hostelries and been struck by how dirty they were.
There was also poor ventilation and an unhealthy atmosphere within these pubs.
He said the justices would be discussing with the owners the need to get these licensed houses decorated and "made decently clean and amply ventilated in a way we think they should be."
On the 13th in St Helens Police Court the magistrates were told about a row between a landlady and her lodger in Fenton Street. This no longer exists but used to be near Kirkland Street.
The landlady was a Mrs Sharrock and Margaret Frost had been lodging with her for about three weeks.
On the night in question Mrs Frost had returned home drunk and Mrs Sharrock told the Bench that she'd remonstrated with her about her condition.
This went down badly with the woman who began a tirade of abuse against her and so the landlady told her son to bring a policeman to the house.
While Mrs Sharrock was waiting for assistance, Mrs Frost struck her on the back of the head with a syrup tin.
However she had seen the blow coming and had raised her hand to guard her head, which led to both hand and head being cut.
Mrs Sharrock then stated that her lodger hit her on the side of her jaw and the pair struggled with each until PC Walker arrived on the scene.
Both women had brought summonses against the other alleging assault.
However despite the constable visiting the house several times during the night, Margaret Frost had never mentioned to him that Mrs Sharrock had hit her.
So the magistrates dismissed Mrs Frost's summons and she was told to pay a fine of fifty shillings.
David Friar died in Haydock Cottage Hospital on the 13th through injuries received in the Old Boston Colliery earlier that day.
The 24-year-old had got jammed between some runaway coal tubs and both of his arms and legs had been fractured.
It was another example of a young man that had served through the war and survived, only to be seen off by coal mining.
There had been many changes since 1873 when the small cottage hospital with a handful of beds had opened in Marshalls Cross Road.
Considerable extensions to the premises had been made and it now boasted 100 beds, with what at the time would have been considered state-of-the-art facilities.
These included a modern operating theatre, outpatients department and X-Ray equipment. Since last year the hospital had finally got its own doctor!
For almost fifty years the infirmary had had many nurses working on the wards but not a single resident medic.
Instead the local community doctors (that we would call GPs) treated and often operated on their own patients in the hospital.
For the more difficult cases, a surgeon or specialist was brought in.
The hospital was mainly funded by the penny-a-week scheme.
This was a form of medical insurance in which one pence was deducted from men's wages, allowing free treatment for them and their families.
However the war-time inflation had led to a considerable deficit in hospital funds and they were now asking their subscribers to pay twopence instead of a penny.
The memorials to the war dead continued to be installed. On the 15th two windows in memory of fallen soldiers at St Mark's church in North Road were formally unveiled.
Since January the Hippodrome Theatre had presented two pantomimes in 'Little Bo Peep' and 'Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp'.
From the 16th for a full week the Corporation Street venue presented its third panto in 'Jack and the Beanstalk', which was performed with an augmented orchestra.
This was its last pantomime of the season and next week the Hippodrome would revert back to its usual mix of music hall acts.
However Councillor Evans was far from happy with how the applicant's previous dance in Rainford had been conducted.
He told his fellow councillors that the band had been curtained off, the room had been in semi-darkness and some had been dancing what was called a "shadow dance", which he described as "simply shameful".
Cllr Evans added: "I do not think it is a thing we ought to have in Rainford; it was simply disgraceful." As a result of his intervention it was decided to reject the application.
Then the conversation turned to a separate dance that had been held on the previous Saturday in which the caretaker of the hall had been threatened.
Councillor Huyton said he had heard that thirty men were drunk and that when the police were sent for they would not attend. "It is quite time this sort of thing was stopped", he added.
The Clerk to the council advised the councillors to take some action as otherwise, he said, the Village Hall would become a "Bedlam Hall".
It was ultimately decided to ask those that had threatened the caretaker to apologise and if they refused, legal proceedings would be taken against them.
Next week's stories will include a burglary in a Liverpool Road clog shop, a tram and a lorry battle it out in Prescot Road, the first female guardian takes her seat, a new centre for disabled ex-soldiers and the Rainford Road woman accused of telling fortunes by palmistry.