IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (11th - 17th February 1919)
This week's stories include the police raid on Church Street "obstructionists", the "deplorable" number of women that were going to the pub, a police union dispute in which four sergeants are disciplined, a dangerous dog in Parr, a Sutton divorce petition and the Clock Face bus gets stuck on the canal swing bridge in Church Street.
"The days when men and women, girls and youths were able to gather together on the footpath and indulge in horseplay seems to be over in St. Helens, and the probability is that those who try to engage in it in future will find themselves in unpleasant places."
So wrote the St Helens Reporter in its Tuesday edition on the 11th as they celebrated what they described as a successful police raid on Church Street during the previous Sunday night.
As I've written previously in these articles, it was a long-standing tradition in certain parts of St Helens for young people to meet up on Sunday evenings. Sometimes called "Monkey Walks", the parading mainly took place in Duke Street, Church Street and around 'Long Wall' on the perimeter of Sherdley Park.
However people had complained of pavements being blocked in Church Street (pictured above) and so a campaign was underway against the so-called "obstructionists". The Reporter's article described how twenty young males and females had been caught "red-handed", with some having been forcing pedestrians into the roadway.
A couple of people had refused to give their names to the police but relented after a threat to "run them in". When the obstructionists appeared in court to face the charges, most of them received fines of 10 shillings.
The town was going through a cold spell and the frozen watercourses proved the usual attraction for adventurous youths. The Reporter commented how two lads had fallen through the ice on the St Helens Canal with one boy getting completely submerged in the cold water. Fortunately assistance was soon at hand and both were rescued.
At a Health Committee meeting on the 12th the St Helens Medical Officer of Health, Dr Joseph Cates, said the town had been hit by a fresh outbreak of the deadly flu and the schools might have to close again. They had been only open for a few weeks after being shut for more than two months.
Few people then lived into their nineties, so the death of a nonagenarian tended to make the papers. The Lancashire Evening Post reported on the 13th that Sister Mary Catherine Joseph had died in the Sutton Convent at the age of 96.
The St Helens Licensing Sessions were held on the 13th in which 201 pubs and beerhouses were licensed to sell intoxicating liquor. The town's Chief Constable reported that convictions for drunkenness were continuing to decline.
A combination of many men being away in the forces and reduced supplies of weak, more expensive beer had led to prosecutions dropping from 525 in 1914 to just 45 in 1918. However of considerable concern was the amount of drinking in the town by women, which the Liverpool Echo considered a "deplorable state of affairs".
Chief Constable Ellerington said on one recent evening his officers had kept watch on 23 licensed houses in St Helens over a period of two and a half hours. A total of 1,728 women were seen frequenting these places with 789 counted as having visited their off-sales departments, where they bought drink to take home. The police chief remarked that some of the females were even observed enjoying a "nip" before leaving the house.
The Chairman of the Licensing Bench said they were very much concerned with the report and hoped licensees would do what they could to discourage women from drinking. He also warned landlords about profiteering, which he described as a "most abominable practice", and which would be treated more severely by the courts in future.
On the 13th a divorce hearing took place in which a Blackpool painter called William McClorry petitioned for the dissolution of his marriage to his wife Mary. This was on the grounds of her misconduct in St Helens with a man named Hacker. McClorry said they had wed in 1899 and for some years had lived happily together. However problems began with their marriage about 1908 through his wife's liking for drink.
In August 1914 Mary had locked him out of their house and soon afterwards he joined the army. In 1917 he was discharged and began saving up to bring divorce proceedings, having heard rumours about his wife's conduct.
On one day he travelled to a street in Sutton where he watched his wife and Hacker visit several pubs together. The couple then went into Hacker's house and later a light was switched on in a bedroom and the blinds were drawn.
His wife failed to turn up at the divorce hearing but made a written charge of cruelty against her husband. She alleged that three days after their marriage he had taken her into their yard and thrashed her, which McClorry denied.
A private detective gave evidence that he had seen the woman drunk in Blackpool on scores of occasions. Another witness was Ann Brown from Joseph Street in Sutton who spoke of seeing the woman going to live in Hacker's house in March 1915.
She said Mary McClorry had moved in her furniture, including a piano, and had lived there ever since. The evidence of misconduct was clear for Mr Justice Roche who granted the petitioner a decree nisi and costs.
This week the Charlie Chaplin film 'Shoulder Arms!' was shown at the Bridge Street Picturedrome. Made in 1918 the silent comedy was set in France during the war with Charlie dreaming of being a hero on a daring mission behind enemy lines.
The St Helens Reporter's Friday edition on the 14th described an accident with a bus as it was leaving St Helens. Until 1937 there was a swing bridge over the canal at the end of Church Street next to the Ship Inn (shown above in the 1930s), which carried the road towards Peasley Cross and Parr.
The later version of the bridge was made of iron with a wood block roadway and stone setts. A large wheel on a post raised the bridge and all traffic, including trams and buses, had to wait until it was back in place. During one evening last week a rear wheel on the bus that was destined for Clock Face went through the bridge's woodwork, trapping the vehicle up to an axle.
The bus was positioned at a dangerous angle and the panicking passengers fearing they were going to end up in ice-cold water made a hurried exit. However no injuries were reported and after temporary repairs were made by the addition of extra timber, the bus was able to resume its journey.
And the water would certainly have been ice cold with the Reporter also commenting on the bad weather in the town. Since Christmas Sutton had been affected by large flooded areas and most of this had now frozen over. There were many surface marks on the ice, which suggested that the locals had been slipping and sliding – some intentionally and some apparently not!
William Brown of Parr Mill Farm was summoned to the Police Court on the 14th for not keeping a dangerous dog under control. His neighbour Robert Tunstall from Parr Mill Cottages complained that he'd been passing the farm when the dog rushed out at him.
It did the same on the following day when he called at the farm to complain. However several witnesses gave evidence that the dog was a quiet one. The police sergeant who'd been called in to investigate told the Bench that when he went to the farm the animal had rushed at him and he'd had to dodge round a post to escape it.
This was the important bit of testimony and the magistrates said they were satisfied that the dog was dangerous and issued an order that it be kept under control. Breaches of the order could result in fines and the destruction of the dog.
During the evening of the 14th a meeting of the Trades and Labour Council was held in the Co-operative Hall in Baldwin Street to protest against the treatment of four police sergeants. A police strike had taken place in London last year and many officers wanted to be able to join trade unions to improve their pay and conditions. As a compromise some towns had allowed a Representative Board to be set up for their police force.
In St Helens a letter that had initially been signed by most officers had been sent to the Chief Constable requesting a meeting to discuss setting up such a Board. However at the last minute all but four sergeants took their names off the letter, which was also signed by nearly 50 constables.
That was very wise as the four sergeants were hauled before the council's Watch Committee (who oversaw the police) and disciplined. They retained their ranks but were downgraded, meaning their wages were reduced. The Chief Constable claimed that the men hadn't followed the correct procedure by not obtaining his permission first and then submitting the letter to a senior officer – a really pedantic, technical offence.
At the meeting in the Co-op there were allegations of victimisation and a call for full reinstatement of the four sergeants' grades. This happened on March 11th after the men agreed to apologise to the Watch Committee for their actions.
The Liverpool Echo wrote on the 17th that Pilkingtons were planning to build a housing estate on land to the south and west of the old Eccleston Hall. A village would be created that would link St Helens with Prescot. There will be much more on this in future articles.
Also on that day Rainford Council met and were told that there was a house near the Red Cat in Crank that was inhabited by three families. In total there was eleven persons living in just two rooms. The severe shortage of homes had also led to thirty applications for a vacant property in School Brow. This was the road from Pasture Lane to the Derby Arms that's now part of Church Road.
Next week's stories include the man who behaved "like a lunatic" in College Street, the Thatto Heath burglar who blamed his behaviour on the flu, a tram and a horse-driven coal wagon crash in Duke Street, a toddler drowns in Grafton Street, Lowe House Church plan a war memorial and there's a remarkable presentation to VC winner Jack Davies.
"The days when men and women, girls and youths were able to gather together on the footpath and indulge in horseplay seems to be over in St. Helens, and the probability is that those who try to engage in it in future will find themselves in unpleasant places."
So wrote the St Helens Reporter in its Tuesday edition on the 11th as they celebrated what they described as a successful police raid on Church Street during the previous Sunday night.
As I've written previously in these articles, it was a long-standing tradition in certain parts of St Helens for young people to meet up on Sunday evenings. Sometimes called "Monkey Walks", the parading mainly took place in Duke Street, Church Street and around 'Long Wall' on the perimeter of Sherdley Park.
A couple of people had refused to give their names to the police but relented after a threat to "run them in". When the obstructionists appeared in court to face the charges, most of them received fines of 10 shillings.
The town was going through a cold spell and the frozen watercourses proved the usual attraction for adventurous youths. The Reporter commented how two lads had fallen through the ice on the St Helens Canal with one boy getting completely submerged in the cold water. Fortunately assistance was soon at hand and both were rescued.
At a Health Committee meeting on the 12th the St Helens Medical Officer of Health, Dr Joseph Cates, said the town had been hit by a fresh outbreak of the deadly flu and the schools might have to close again. They had been only open for a few weeks after being shut for more than two months.
Few people then lived into their nineties, so the death of a nonagenarian tended to make the papers. The Lancashire Evening Post reported on the 13th that Sister Mary Catherine Joseph had died in the Sutton Convent at the age of 96.
The St Helens Licensing Sessions were held on the 13th in which 201 pubs and beerhouses were licensed to sell intoxicating liquor. The town's Chief Constable reported that convictions for drunkenness were continuing to decline.
A combination of many men being away in the forces and reduced supplies of weak, more expensive beer had led to prosecutions dropping from 525 in 1914 to just 45 in 1918. However of considerable concern was the amount of drinking in the town by women, which the Liverpool Echo considered a "deplorable state of affairs".
Chief Constable Ellerington said on one recent evening his officers had kept watch on 23 licensed houses in St Helens over a period of two and a half hours. A total of 1,728 women were seen frequenting these places with 789 counted as having visited their off-sales departments, where they bought drink to take home. The police chief remarked that some of the females were even observed enjoying a "nip" before leaving the house.
The Chairman of the Licensing Bench said they were very much concerned with the report and hoped licensees would do what they could to discourage women from drinking. He also warned landlords about profiteering, which he described as a "most abominable practice", and which would be treated more severely by the courts in future.
On the 13th a divorce hearing took place in which a Blackpool painter called William McClorry petitioned for the dissolution of his marriage to his wife Mary. This was on the grounds of her misconduct in St Helens with a man named Hacker. McClorry said they had wed in 1899 and for some years had lived happily together. However problems began with their marriage about 1908 through his wife's liking for drink.
In August 1914 Mary had locked him out of their house and soon afterwards he joined the army. In 1917 he was discharged and began saving up to bring divorce proceedings, having heard rumours about his wife's conduct.
On one day he travelled to a street in Sutton where he watched his wife and Hacker visit several pubs together. The couple then went into Hacker's house and later a light was switched on in a bedroom and the blinds were drawn.
His wife failed to turn up at the divorce hearing but made a written charge of cruelty against her husband. She alleged that three days after their marriage he had taken her into their yard and thrashed her, which McClorry denied.
A private detective gave evidence that he had seen the woman drunk in Blackpool on scores of occasions. Another witness was Ann Brown from Joseph Street in Sutton who spoke of seeing the woman going to live in Hacker's house in March 1915.
She said Mary McClorry had moved in her furniture, including a piano, and had lived there ever since. The evidence of misconduct was clear for Mr Justice Roche who granted the petitioner a decree nisi and costs.
This week the Charlie Chaplin film 'Shoulder Arms!' was shown at the Bridge Street Picturedrome. Made in 1918 the silent comedy was set in France during the war with Charlie dreaming of being a hero on a daring mission behind enemy lines.
The later version of the bridge was made of iron with a wood block roadway and stone setts. A large wheel on a post raised the bridge and all traffic, including trams and buses, had to wait until it was back in place. During one evening last week a rear wheel on the bus that was destined for Clock Face went through the bridge's woodwork, trapping the vehicle up to an axle.
The bus was positioned at a dangerous angle and the panicking passengers fearing they were going to end up in ice-cold water made a hurried exit. However no injuries were reported and after temporary repairs were made by the addition of extra timber, the bus was able to resume its journey.
And the water would certainly have been ice cold with the Reporter also commenting on the bad weather in the town. Since Christmas Sutton had been affected by large flooded areas and most of this had now frozen over. There were many surface marks on the ice, which suggested that the locals had been slipping and sliding – some intentionally and some apparently not!
William Brown of Parr Mill Farm was summoned to the Police Court on the 14th for not keeping a dangerous dog under control. His neighbour Robert Tunstall from Parr Mill Cottages complained that he'd been passing the farm when the dog rushed out at him.
It did the same on the following day when he called at the farm to complain. However several witnesses gave evidence that the dog was a quiet one. The police sergeant who'd been called in to investigate told the Bench that when he went to the farm the animal had rushed at him and he'd had to dodge round a post to escape it.
This was the important bit of testimony and the magistrates said they were satisfied that the dog was dangerous and issued an order that it be kept under control. Breaches of the order could result in fines and the destruction of the dog.
During the evening of the 14th a meeting of the Trades and Labour Council was held in the Co-operative Hall in Baldwin Street to protest against the treatment of four police sergeants. A police strike had taken place in London last year and many officers wanted to be able to join trade unions to improve their pay and conditions. As a compromise some towns had allowed a Representative Board to be set up for their police force.
In St Helens a letter that had initially been signed by most officers had been sent to the Chief Constable requesting a meeting to discuss setting up such a Board. However at the last minute all but four sergeants took their names off the letter, which was also signed by nearly 50 constables.
That was very wise as the four sergeants were hauled before the council's Watch Committee (who oversaw the police) and disciplined. They retained their ranks but were downgraded, meaning their wages were reduced. The Chief Constable claimed that the men hadn't followed the correct procedure by not obtaining his permission first and then submitting the letter to a senior officer – a really pedantic, technical offence.
At the meeting in the Co-op there were allegations of victimisation and a call for full reinstatement of the four sergeants' grades. This happened on March 11th after the men agreed to apologise to the Watch Committee for their actions.
The Liverpool Echo wrote on the 17th that Pilkingtons were planning to build a housing estate on land to the south and west of the old Eccleston Hall. A village would be created that would link St Helens with Prescot. There will be much more on this in future articles.
Also on that day Rainford Council met and were told that there was a house near the Red Cat in Crank that was inhabited by three families. In total there was eleven persons living in just two rooms. The severe shortage of homes had also led to thirty applications for a vacant property in School Brow. This was the road from Pasture Lane to the Derby Arms that's now part of Church Road.
Next week's stories include the man who behaved "like a lunatic" in College Street, the Thatto Heath burglar who blamed his behaviour on the flu, a tram and a horse-driven coal wagon crash in Duke Street, a toddler drowns in Grafton Street, Lowe House Church plan a war memorial and there's a remarkable presentation to VC winner Jack Davies.