IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (14th - 20th FEBRUARY 1922)
This week's stories include the Sutton child killed after falling into a pan of boiling water, the St Helens shopkeepers accused of placing temptation in the way of poor folk, the lack of drunks in the St Helens district and the house names in Haresfinch Road and Prescot Road that were driving postmen mad!
We begin on the 14th with the holding of the annual licensing or "Brewster" sessions for the St Helens county district – and the magistrates received a shock. There had been no arrests for drunkenness in 1921! Admittedly, what was known as the St Helens County Petty Sessional Division excluded much of the town itself and only encompassed Rainford, Bold, Eccleston and Windle. In total there were just 24 pubs and clubs serving an estimated population of 11,000 – but no drunkenness was still a remarkable achievement.
The 29 clubs within the town of St Helens had recently given rise to a number of complaints from the police. However, the only club in the county division was at Clock Face and it was praised in the sessions for being well run. Cinemas and theatres also came under the licensing magistrates' jurisdiction – but the only such place of entertainment was at Rainford Village Hall (pictured above). There a private operator ran film shows on three days of the week. The cinema was described as being well-managed and had been strictly adhering to the rules and regulations contained within its licence. The film shows "supplied a break in the life of the village", Supt. Garvey informed the magistrates.
The only other point of note in the Brewster sessions was that the rebuilding of the Seven Stars Inn at Eccleston was described as making satisfactory progress. The St Helens Reporter headlined their article on the hearing: "District Without A “Drunk” – St. Helens Neighbours' Proud Distinction – A Happy Brewster".
The Hippodrome Theatre in Corporation Street offered the same mix of music hall entertainment week after week. The acts changed every Monday but throughout the year there were always singers, comedians and speciality and novelty acts performing twice nightly. The only exception was in January and February when for a total of three weeks, pantomime ruled.
However, this week there was an unusual event. The whole week's entertainment was given over to a touring show called 'London to Baghdad'. This, they claimed, was the biggest show that had ever played at the Hippodrome. Meanwhile, further up Corporation Street, the Theatre Royal was concluding its own pantomime season with a version of 'Humpty Dumpty'. That was a popular panto a century ago. Apparently there was a bit more to it than just falling off a wall!
On February 15th the St Helens Highways Committee met and discussed a number of numberless houses on Haresfinch Road. The properties appeared to be substantial residences that extended from Gerards Bridge to the corner of Washway Lane. However, they bore a house name instead of a street number and that was causing much inconvenience to persons trying to locate the homes.
The Mayor, Richard Ellison, suggested calling the whole of the road College Street. However, Councillor Dodd felt that the residents would not be happy with that, adding that if the mayor lived in one of those houses he would not want the place to be called College Street. Cllr. Waring responded that such an attitude was snobbery, adding: "It is all nonsense, people thinking like that."
Of course, Cllr. Dodd was referring to the people in posher houses not wanting their address to bear the same name of a street full of working–class homes! The committee agreed not to incorporate the place into College Street but instead think up a distinctive name for that stretch of road.
Cllr. O’Brien then called attention to the need to number certain houses at Sutton Manor. Some house numbers were mixed up which was leading to letters being delivered to the wrong place. That was followed by a discussion on Prescot Road after Cllr. Dodd said people were constantly "calling at houses to ask where so and so lived, and which was such and such a number".
He explained that the house numbers ran consecutively from the top of Croppers Hill to the top of Boundary Road. Then the numbers varied, and after that they stopped entirely. "It would be a great convenience to have all the houses numbered up there", he added. The Borough Engineer then declared: "Names are a nuisance, because people do not know where they are".
Cllr. Waring then chipped in with: "Take off these stylish names and put on ordinary numbers". It was agreed that numbers should be attached to the homes. However, I don’t believe householders could be forced to display a street number. My father was a engineer for Rothery Radio during the ‘40s and ‘50s and often told me of the problems he had in finding certain houses on Prescot Road.
The Highways Committee also discussed estimates for improving the state of the streets of St Helens. The total expenditure was £50,000, around £3m in today's money. Cllr. Dodd requested the inclusion in the scheme of Pocket Nook Street, which he described as worse than any other road in the town. However, the Mayor, Richard Ellison, said: "The town is poorer than it has ever been, and here we are going in for all sorts of luxurious paving".
The Town Clerk explained that they were requesting a £50,000 loan from the Ministry of Health and they needed to provide precise details of how the money was to be spent. They had already budgeted the £50,000, without including Pocket Nook Street. However, in the end it was decided it could be included in the list without exceeding their limit.
On the 17th the Reporter described a case in St Helens Police Court in which the Chairman of the Bench criticised the way that shopkeepers placed temptation in the way of hard up folk. The case concerned a man from Coventry who had stolen boots valued at 7s 11d that had been hanging at the door of James Baker's shoe shop in Church Street in St Helens. Det. Maddocks told the court that as soon as the shopkeeper notified police of the theft, he'd made enquiries at all the nearby lodging houses and pubs.
Within a couple of hours the detective had arrested William Tudor in the Cuerdley Arms in Church Street and later recovered the hob-nailed boots from a man who'd paid seven shillings for them. The court sentenced the accused to prison for seven days but thought that temptation should not have been placed in his way.
On the 18th the inquest into the death of a two-year-old child from Sutton was held at St Helens Town Hall. Sarah Smart told the coroner that she lived at Graces Square, off New Street, and was employed at the Clock Face Brickworks – presumably referring to Roughdale's of Chester Lane. While she was at work her daughter Louise was being cared for by her aunt and, while playing, the little girl had fallen backwards into a pan of boiling water. That was being used for washing and had been carelessly placed on the kitchen floor.
As a result Louise was fatally scalded. Such accidents were very common and the coroner was scathing of people's thoughtlessness, saying: "I wonder how long it will take for people to learn that the kitchen floor is the worst place in the world on which to put down a pan of boiling water. I think some day I may get out statistics to see how many children have lost their lives through falling into pans which have been put on the floor."
On the 20th Thomas Coffey from Park Street and Thomas Durkin from South Johnson Street made further appearances in court. The two young men had been charged with breaking into the British Legion Club in Park Street and stealing a gallon of strong beer, 15 pints of mild, a bottle of rum, 3 glasses of whisky and 26 packets of Woodbines. Just how much that little lot would come to today, I'm not quite sure – but I suspect it would be considerably more than the 30 shillings (or £1.50) that it totalled then!
I place their hapless burglary via a club window in my category of "brainless thefts". Not only did the two Toms live locally (Coffey in Park Street and Durkin in South Johnson Street) – but the Legion in Parr was their local and they'd been supping in it right up to closing time prior to breaking back in! And they left behind a distinctive cap and a button – which proved important evidence in identification.
The dozy pair denied everything, apart from being legitimately in the Legion boozing together during the evening. Coffey even told the police that he didn't smoke – but was then found to have two packets of Woodbines on his person with many other packets stashed in his bedroom. The St Helens magistrates committed the two men for trial at the next Quarter Sessions.
Next week's stories will include the origins of Nevin's grocers, the claim at the Scala that millions now living would never die, the St Helens benefit cheats, a butcher's sad suicide and concern over a dangerous measles epidemic in the town.
We begin on the 14th with the holding of the annual licensing or "Brewster" sessions for the St Helens county district – and the magistrates received a shock. There had been no arrests for drunkenness in 1921! Admittedly, what was known as the St Helens County Petty Sessional Division excluded much of the town itself and only encompassed Rainford, Bold, Eccleston and Windle. In total there were just 24 pubs and clubs serving an estimated population of 11,000 – but no drunkenness was still a remarkable achievement.
The only other point of note in the Brewster sessions was that the rebuilding of the Seven Stars Inn at Eccleston was described as making satisfactory progress. The St Helens Reporter headlined their article on the hearing: "District Without A “Drunk” – St. Helens Neighbours' Proud Distinction – A Happy Brewster".
The Hippodrome Theatre in Corporation Street offered the same mix of music hall entertainment week after week. The acts changed every Monday but throughout the year there were always singers, comedians and speciality and novelty acts performing twice nightly. The only exception was in January and February when for a total of three weeks, pantomime ruled.
However, this week there was an unusual event. The whole week's entertainment was given over to a touring show called 'London to Baghdad'. This, they claimed, was the biggest show that had ever played at the Hippodrome. Meanwhile, further up Corporation Street, the Theatre Royal was concluding its own pantomime season with a version of 'Humpty Dumpty'. That was a popular panto a century ago. Apparently there was a bit more to it than just falling off a wall!
On February 15th the St Helens Highways Committee met and discussed a number of numberless houses on Haresfinch Road. The properties appeared to be substantial residences that extended from Gerards Bridge to the corner of Washway Lane. However, they bore a house name instead of a street number and that was causing much inconvenience to persons trying to locate the homes.
The Mayor, Richard Ellison, suggested calling the whole of the road College Street. However, Councillor Dodd felt that the residents would not be happy with that, adding that if the mayor lived in one of those houses he would not want the place to be called College Street. Cllr. Waring responded that such an attitude was snobbery, adding: "It is all nonsense, people thinking like that."
Of course, Cllr. Dodd was referring to the people in posher houses not wanting their address to bear the same name of a street full of working–class homes! The committee agreed not to incorporate the place into College Street but instead think up a distinctive name for that stretch of road.
Cllr. O’Brien then called attention to the need to number certain houses at Sutton Manor. Some house numbers were mixed up which was leading to letters being delivered to the wrong place. That was followed by a discussion on Prescot Road after Cllr. Dodd said people were constantly "calling at houses to ask where so and so lived, and which was such and such a number".
He explained that the house numbers ran consecutively from the top of Croppers Hill to the top of Boundary Road. Then the numbers varied, and after that they stopped entirely. "It would be a great convenience to have all the houses numbered up there", he added. The Borough Engineer then declared: "Names are a nuisance, because people do not know where they are".
Cllr. Waring then chipped in with: "Take off these stylish names and put on ordinary numbers". It was agreed that numbers should be attached to the homes. However, I don’t believe householders could be forced to display a street number. My father was a engineer for Rothery Radio during the ‘40s and ‘50s and often told me of the problems he had in finding certain houses on Prescot Road.
The Highways Committee also discussed estimates for improving the state of the streets of St Helens. The total expenditure was £50,000, around £3m in today's money. Cllr. Dodd requested the inclusion in the scheme of Pocket Nook Street, which he described as worse than any other road in the town. However, the Mayor, Richard Ellison, said: "The town is poorer than it has ever been, and here we are going in for all sorts of luxurious paving".
The Town Clerk explained that they were requesting a £50,000 loan from the Ministry of Health and they needed to provide precise details of how the money was to be spent. They had already budgeted the £50,000, without including Pocket Nook Street. However, in the end it was decided it could be included in the list without exceeding their limit.
On the 17th the Reporter described a case in St Helens Police Court in which the Chairman of the Bench criticised the way that shopkeepers placed temptation in the way of hard up folk. The case concerned a man from Coventry who had stolen boots valued at 7s 11d that had been hanging at the door of James Baker's shoe shop in Church Street in St Helens. Det. Maddocks told the court that as soon as the shopkeeper notified police of the theft, he'd made enquiries at all the nearby lodging houses and pubs.
Within a couple of hours the detective had arrested William Tudor in the Cuerdley Arms in Church Street and later recovered the hob-nailed boots from a man who'd paid seven shillings for them. The court sentenced the accused to prison for seven days but thought that temptation should not have been placed in his way.
On the 18th the inquest into the death of a two-year-old child from Sutton was held at St Helens Town Hall. Sarah Smart told the coroner that she lived at Graces Square, off New Street, and was employed at the Clock Face Brickworks – presumably referring to Roughdale's of Chester Lane. While she was at work her daughter Louise was being cared for by her aunt and, while playing, the little girl had fallen backwards into a pan of boiling water. That was being used for washing and had been carelessly placed on the kitchen floor.
As a result Louise was fatally scalded. Such accidents were very common and the coroner was scathing of people's thoughtlessness, saying: "I wonder how long it will take for people to learn that the kitchen floor is the worst place in the world on which to put down a pan of boiling water. I think some day I may get out statistics to see how many children have lost their lives through falling into pans which have been put on the floor."
On the 20th Thomas Coffey from Park Street and Thomas Durkin from South Johnson Street made further appearances in court. The two young men had been charged with breaking into the British Legion Club in Park Street and stealing a gallon of strong beer, 15 pints of mild, a bottle of rum, 3 glasses of whisky and 26 packets of Woodbines. Just how much that little lot would come to today, I'm not quite sure – but I suspect it would be considerably more than the 30 shillings (or £1.50) that it totalled then!
I place their hapless burglary via a club window in my category of "brainless thefts". Not only did the two Toms live locally (Coffey in Park Street and Durkin in South Johnson Street) – but the Legion in Parr was their local and they'd been supping in it right up to closing time prior to breaking back in! And they left behind a distinctive cap and a button – which proved important evidence in identification.
The dozy pair denied everything, apart from being legitimately in the Legion boozing together during the evening. Coffey even told the police that he didn't smoke – but was then found to have two packets of Woodbines on his person with many other packets stashed in his bedroom. The St Helens magistrates committed the two men for trial at the next Quarter Sessions.
Next week's stories will include the origins of Nevin's grocers, the claim at the Scala that millions now living would never die, the St Helens benefit cheats, a butcher's sad suicide and concern over a dangerous measles epidemic in the town.
This week's stories include the Sutton child killed after falling into a pan of boiling water, the St Helens shopkeepers accused of placing temptation in the way of poor folk, the lack of drunks in the St Helens district and the house names in Haresfinch Road and Prescot Road that were driving postmen mad!
We begin on the 14th with the holding of the annual licensing or "Brewster" sessions for the St Helens county district – and the magistrates received a shock. There had been no arrests for drunkenness in 1921!
Admittedly, what was known as the St Helens County Petty Sessional Division excluded much of the town itself and only encompassed Rainford, Bold, Eccleston and Windle.
In total there were just 24 pubs and clubs serving an estimated population of 11,000 – but no drunkenness was still a remarkable achievement.
The 29 clubs within the town of St Helens had recently given rise to a number of complaints from the police.
However, the only club in the county division was at Clock Face and it was praised in the sessions for being well run.
Cinemas and theatres also came under the licensing magistrates' jurisdiction – but the only such place of entertainment was at Rainford Village Hall (pictured above).
There a private operator ran film shows on three days of the week.
The cinema was described as being well-managed and had been strictly adhering to the rules and regulations contained within its licence.
The film shows "supplied a break in the life of the village", Supt. Garvey informed the magistrates.
The only other point of note in the Brewster sessions was that the rebuilding of the Seven Stars Inn at Eccleston was described as making satisfactory progress.
The St Helens Reporter headlined their article on the hearing: "District Without A “Drunk” – St. Helens Neighbours' Proud Distinction – A Happy Brewster".
The Hippodrome Theatre in Corporation Street offered the same mix of music hall entertainment week after week.
The acts changed every Monday but throughout the year there were always singers, comedians and speciality and novelty acts performing twice nightly.
The only exception was in January and February when for a total of three weeks, pantomime ruled.
However, this week there was an unusual event. The whole week's entertainment was given over to a touring show called 'London to Baghdad'.
This, they claimed, was the biggest show that had ever played at the Hippodrome.
Meanwhile, further up Corporation Street, the Theatre Royal was concluding its own pantomime season with a version of 'Humpty Dumpty'.
That was a popular panto a century ago. Apparently there was a bit more to it than just falling off a wall!
On February 15th the St Helens Highways Committee met and discussed a number of numberless houses on Haresfinch Road.
The properties appeared to be substantial residences that extended from Gerards Bridge to the corner of Washway Lane.
However, they bore a house name instead of a street number and that was causing much inconvenience to persons trying to locate the homes.
The Mayor, Richard Ellison, suggested calling the whole of the road College Street.
However, Councillor Dodd felt that the residents would not be happy with that, adding that if the mayor lived in one of those houses he would not want the place to be called College Street.
Cllr. Waring responded that such an attitude was snobbery, adding: "It is all nonsense, people thinking like that."
Of course, Cllr. Dodd was referring to the people in posher houses not wanting their address to bear the same name of a street full of working–class homes!
The committee agreed not to incorporate the place into College Street but instead think up a distinctive name for that stretch of road.
Cllr. O’Brien then called attention to the need to number certain houses at Sutton Manor.
He said some house numbers were mixed up, which was leading to letters being delivered to the wrong place.
That was followed by a discussion on Prescot Road after Cllr. Dodd said people were constantly "calling at houses to ask where so and so lived, and which was such and such a number".
He explained that the house numbers ran consecutively from the top of Croppers Hill to the top of Boundary Road.
Then the numbers varied, and after that they stopped entirely. "It would be a great convenience to have all the houses numbered up there", he added.
The Borough Engineer then declared: "Names are a nuisance, because people do not know where they are".
Cllr. Waring then chipped in with: "Take off these stylish names and put on ordinary numbers". It was agreed that numbers should be attached to the homes.
However, I don’t believe householders could be forced to display a street number. My father was a engineer for Rothery Radio during the ‘40s and ‘50s and often told me of the problems he had in finding certain houses on Prescot Road.
The Highways Committee also discussed estimates for improving the state of the streets of St Helens. The total expenditure was £50,000, around £3m in today's money.
Cllr. Dodd requested the inclusion in the scheme of Pocket Nook Street, which he described as worse than any other road in the town.
However, the Mayor, Richard Ellison, said: "The town is poorer than it has ever been, and here we are going in for all sorts of luxurious paving".
The Town Clerk explained that they were requesting a £50,000 loan from the Ministry of Health and they needed to provide precise details of how the money was to be spent.
They had already budgeted the £50,000, without including Pocket Nook Street.
However, in the end it was decided it could be included in the list without exceeding their limit.
On the 17th the Reporter described a case in St Helens Police Court in which the Chairman of the Bench criticised the way that shopkeepers placed temptation in the way of hard up folk.
The case concerned a man from Coventry who had stolen boots valued at 7s 11d that had been hanging at the door of James Baker's shoe shop in Church Street in St Helens.
Det. Maddocks told the court that as soon as the shopkeeper notified police of the theft, he'd made enquiries at all the nearby lodging houses and pubs.
Within a couple of hours the detective had arrested William Tudor in the Cuerdley Arms in Church Street and later recovered the hob-nailed boots from a man who'd paid seven shillings for them.
The court sentenced the accused to prison for seven days but thought that temptation should not have been placed in his way.
On the 18th the inquest into the death of a two-year-old child from Sutton was held at St Helens Town Hall.
Sarah Smart told the coroner that she lived at Graces Square, off New Street, and was employed at the Clock Face Brickworks – presumably referring to Roughdale's of Chester Lane.
While she was at work her daughter Louise was being cared for by her aunt and, while playing, the little girl had fallen backwards into a pan of boiling water.
That was being used for washing and had been carelessly placed on the kitchen floor.
As a result Louise was fatally scalded. Such accidents were very common and the coroner was scathing of people's thoughtlessness, saying:
"I wonder how long it will take for people to learn that the kitchen floor is the worst place in the world on which to put down a pan of boiling water.
"I think some day I may get out statistics to see how many children have lost their lives through falling into pans which have been put on the floor."
On the 20th Thomas Coffey from Park Street and Thomas Durkin from South Johnson Street made further appearances in court.
The two young men had been charged with breaking into the British Legion Club in Park Street and stealing a gallon of strong beer, 15 pints of mild, a bottle of rum, 3 glasses of whisky and 26 packets of Woodbines.
Just how much that little lot would come to today, I'm not quite sure – but I suspect it would be considerably more than the 30 shillings (or £1.50) that it totalled then!
I place their hapless burglary via a club window in my category of "brainless thefts".
Not only did the two Toms live locally (Coffey in Park Street and Durkin in South Johnson Street) – but the Legion in Parr was their local and they'd been supping in it right up to closing time prior to breaking back in!
And they left behind a distinctive cap and a button – which proved important evidence in identification.
The dozy pair denied everything, apart from being legitimately in the Legion boozing together during the evening.
Coffey even told the police that he didn't smoke – but was then found to have two packets of Woodbines on his person with many other packets stashed in his bedroom.
The St Helens magistrates committed the two men for trial at the next Quarter Sessions.
Next week's stories will include the origins of Nevin's grocers, the claim at the Scala that millions now living would never die, the St Helens benefit cheats, a butcher's sad suicide and concern over a dangerous measles epidemic in the town.
We begin on the 14th with the holding of the annual licensing or "Brewster" sessions for the St Helens county district – and the magistrates received a shock. There had been no arrests for drunkenness in 1921!
Admittedly, what was known as the St Helens County Petty Sessional Division excluded much of the town itself and only encompassed Rainford, Bold, Eccleston and Windle.
In total there were just 24 pubs and clubs serving an estimated population of 11,000 – but no drunkenness was still a remarkable achievement.
The 29 clubs within the town of St Helens had recently given rise to a number of complaints from the police.
However, the only club in the county division was at Clock Face and it was praised in the sessions for being well run.
There a private operator ran film shows on three days of the week.
The cinema was described as being well-managed and had been strictly adhering to the rules and regulations contained within its licence.
The film shows "supplied a break in the life of the village", Supt. Garvey informed the magistrates.
The only other point of note in the Brewster sessions was that the rebuilding of the Seven Stars Inn at Eccleston was described as making satisfactory progress.
The St Helens Reporter headlined their article on the hearing: "District Without A “Drunk” – St. Helens Neighbours' Proud Distinction – A Happy Brewster".
The Hippodrome Theatre in Corporation Street offered the same mix of music hall entertainment week after week.
The acts changed every Monday but throughout the year there were always singers, comedians and speciality and novelty acts performing twice nightly.
The only exception was in January and February when for a total of three weeks, pantomime ruled.
However, this week there was an unusual event. The whole week's entertainment was given over to a touring show called 'London to Baghdad'.
This, they claimed, was the biggest show that had ever played at the Hippodrome.
Meanwhile, further up Corporation Street, the Theatre Royal was concluding its own pantomime season with a version of 'Humpty Dumpty'.
That was a popular panto a century ago. Apparently there was a bit more to it than just falling off a wall!
On February 15th the St Helens Highways Committee met and discussed a number of numberless houses on Haresfinch Road.
The properties appeared to be substantial residences that extended from Gerards Bridge to the corner of Washway Lane.
However, they bore a house name instead of a street number and that was causing much inconvenience to persons trying to locate the homes.
The Mayor, Richard Ellison, suggested calling the whole of the road College Street.
However, Councillor Dodd felt that the residents would not be happy with that, adding that if the mayor lived in one of those houses he would not want the place to be called College Street.
Cllr. Waring responded that such an attitude was snobbery, adding: "It is all nonsense, people thinking like that."
Of course, Cllr. Dodd was referring to the people in posher houses not wanting their address to bear the same name of a street full of working–class homes!
The committee agreed not to incorporate the place into College Street but instead think up a distinctive name for that stretch of road.
Cllr. O’Brien then called attention to the need to number certain houses at Sutton Manor.
He said some house numbers were mixed up, which was leading to letters being delivered to the wrong place.
That was followed by a discussion on Prescot Road after Cllr. Dodd said people were constantly "calling at houses to ask where so and so lived, and which was such and such a number".
He explained that the house numbers ran consecutively from the top of Croppers Hill to the top of Boundary Road.
Then the numbers varied, and after that they stopped entirely. "It would be a great convenience to have all the houses numbered up there", he added.
The Borough Engineer then declared: "Names are a nuisance, because people do not know where they are".
Cllr. Waring then chipped in with: "Take off these stylish names and put on ordinary numbers". It was agreed that numbers should be attached to the homes.
However, I don’t believe householders could be forced to display a street number. My father was a engineer for Rothery Radio during the ‘40s and ‘50s and often told me of the problems he had in finding certain houses on Prescot Road.
The Highways Committee also discussed estimates for improving the state of the streets of St Helens. The total expenditure was £50,000, around £3m in today's money.
Cllr. Dodd requested the inclusion in the scheme of Pocket Nook Street, which he described as worse than any other road in the town.
However, the Mayor, Richard Ellison, said: "The town is poorer than it has ever been, and here we are going in for all sorts of luxurious paving".
The Town Clerk explained that they were requesting a £50,000 loan from the Ministry of Health and they needed to provide precise details of how the money was to be spent.
They had already budgeted the £50,000, without including Pocket Nook Street.
However, in the end it was decided it could be included in the list without exceeding their limit.
On the 17th the Reporter described a case in St Helens Police Court in which the Chairman of the Bench criticised the way that shopkeepers placed temptation in the way of hard up folk.
The case concerned a man from Coventry who had stolen boots valued at 7s 11d that had been hanging at the door of James Baker's shoe shop in Church Street in St Helens.
Det. Maddocks told the court that as soon as the shopkeeper notified police of the theft, he'd made enquiries at all the nearby lodging houses and pubs.
Within a couple of hours the detective had arrested William Tudor in the Cuerdley Arms in Church Street and later recovered the hob-nailed boots from a man who'd paid seven shillings for them.
The court sentenced the accused to prison for seven days but thought that temptation should not have been placed in his way.
On the 18th the inquest into the death of a two-year-old child from Sutton was held at St Helens Town Hall.
Sarah Smart told the coroner that she lived at Graces Square, off New Street, and was employed at the Clock Face Brickworks – presumably referring to Roughdale's of Chester Lane.
While she was at work her daughter Louise was being cared for by her aunt and, while playing, the little girl had fallen backwards into a pan of boiling water.
That was being used for washing and had been carelessly placed on the kitchen floor.
As a result Louise was fatally scalded. Such accidents were very common and the coroner was scathing of people's thoughtlessness, saying:
"I wonder how long it will take for people to learn that the kitchen floor is the worst place in the world on which to put down a pan of boiling water.
"I think some day I may get out statistics to see how many children have lost their lives through falling into pans which have been put on the floor."
On the 20th Thomas Coffey from Park Street and Thomas Durkin from South Johnson Street made further appearances in court.
The two young men had been charged with breaking into the British Legion Club in Park Street and stealing a gallon of strong beer, 15 pints of mild, a bottle of rum, 3 glasses of whisky and 26 packets of Woodbines.
Just how much that little lot would come to today, I'm not quite sure – but I suspect it would be considerably more than the 30 shillings (or £1.50) that it totalled then!
I place their hapless burglary via a club window in my category of "brainless thefts".
Not only did the two Toms live locally (Coffey in Park Street and Durkin in South Johnson Street) – but the Legion in Parr was their local and they'd been supping in it right up to closing time prior to breaking back in!
And they left behind a distinctive cap and a button – which proved important evidence in identification.
The dozy pair denied everything, apart from being legitimately in the Legion boozing together during the evening.
Coffey even told the police that he didn't smoke – but was then found to have two packets of Woodbines on his person with many other packets stashed in his bedroom.
The St Helens magistrates committed the two men for trial at the next Quarter Sessions.
Next week's stories will include the origins of Nevin's grocers, the claim at the Scala that millions now living would never die, the St Helens benefit cheats, a butcher's sad suicide and concern over a dangerous measles epidemic in the town.