IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (17 - 23 JULY 1923)
This week's many stories include the huge crowd that watched a fight in Water Street, the two young brothers that drowned at Blackbrook, the desperate need for a mortuary in Eccleston, the two women that fought after one was accused of being a police informer and the men causing a nuisance in Shaw Street while waiting for newspapers to arrive.
We begin on the 18th when 25-year-old John Roughley of Lowe Street in St Helens appeared in court in Islington charged with indecently assaulting a married woman. Sexual offences against women that were married always appeared to be considered more serious than if the victim had been single and Roughley was sent to prison for 6 months with hard labour.
Also on the 18th two brothers from Ashton-in-Makerfield drowned at Blackbrook while bathing in the canal. Neither 12-year-old James nor 9-year-old William Watkinson from Low Bank Road could swim. The two boys had been to Carr Mill for a walk and the older boy had entered the water first, with both lads seemingly unaware of how deep the canal was.
Soon James got out of his depth and cried for help. Another boy called Melling went for assistance and brought back a youth but he could not prevent the lad from drowning. James' younger brother William had been playing on the canal bank and it was realised that he too was missing. It was assumed that he must have gone into the water in a vain attempt to rescue his drowning brother and some time later both boys' bodies were recovered.
There were often men who hung around Shaw Street Station that the police liked to call station loafers. It was a good place to hang out, with lots of comings and goings. But others congregated outside chatting to their mates while waiting for the morning and evening newspapers to arrive. I expect most wanted an early start in checking out job vacancies. But according to the police there could be up to thirty of these clogging up the pavements in Shaw Street and forcing others off the pavement.
And so after receiving complaints and going on an undercover stakeout, the police nabbed five of the men and charged them with obstruction. This week they appeared in court where they strongly protested their innocence. After hearing their side the magistrates decided to dismiss the charge but they did warn the men not to cause a nuisance in future while waiting for the papers to arrive.
St Helens Police Court heard this week that a crowd of 300 people had gathered outside a lodging house in Water Street to watch a fight. John Durkin and Michael Ross were in court charged with breach of the peace and Jeremiah O’Leary and James O’Donell faced charges of obstructing the police, with the latter also accused of assaulting them. PC Robinson described how on the previous Saturday night he'd found a huge crowd in Water Street with people "running to the scene from all directions".
They were gathering to watch John Durkin and Michael Ross engage in a stand-up brawl. The constable arrested one of the combatants and PC Box grabbed the other. But Jeremiah O’Leary jumped on PC Robinson's back and James O’Donell seized the officer by the legs and dragged him to the ground. Then the latter hit PC Robinson in the face and kicked him about his legs. "The yard was full of Irishmen and I could hardly move", explained the constable.
Other officers soon arrived and the four men were eventually arrested, with one discovered hiding under a bed and another concealed under a chest of drawers in the lodging house's back scullery. The fight was said to have begun because Michael Ross had used "horrible" language to children. The combatants were bound over to keep the peace and / or fined.
Last week a 55-year-old mystery man had been fished out of Eccleston Mill Dam. Not only was the identity of the individual unknown but also how he came to drown in the water. The latter would likely never be established and, perhaps, his name would never be known too. Over the years there have been many persons that have drowned in the various waterways in St Helens that were never identified.
But on the 20th the St Helens Reporter described how at the inquest hearing at the Griffin Hotel in Eccleston (pictured above), the police said they had a clue to the man's identity. There had been papers found on his body that suggested a connection with the Plymouth area. And so the police in Plymouth had been informed and they would be making their own enquiries. The usual open verdict of "Found Drowned" was returned at the inquest, which basically meant what it said: "The body of this person was discovered drowned but it is not known how it happened."
Thousands of similar verdicts must have been delivered at inquests in St Helens, although the vast majority would have been of known persons. But after the verdict on the mystery man was delivered, a discussion took place about his body having been stored at the Griffin until the inquest took place. It had been standard practice for a very long time for deceased persons involved in an accident to be taken to the nearest pub where the inquest would subsequently be held.
It was a legal requirement for inquest juries to be able to inspect the body of the deceased – which was one reason why inquests were held rapidly after death to reduce the smell of a decomposing corpse. Around 1900 a mortuary had opened at St Helens Town Hall and many inquests were now held there, allowing jurors to view the deceased within the mortuary before the inquest hearing took place in a separate room.
But the landlord of the Griffin, Christopher Pennington, was getting sick of having dead bodies in his pub. He told the coroner that it was a bit of a nuisance and upon being asked if the bodies smelled, he replied that they did. However, the landlord said he felt he had to accede to the police's request to take in dead persons. The Coroner replied: "If I were you the next body the police offers to you I should refuse to receive it and send it to the overseers of the poor."
Samuel Brighouse, the coroner, wanted a mortuary creating in Eccleston and so getting the licensee to refuse to accept bodies would, he hoped, speed up its creation. However, his plan had a problem, as the landlord Pennington was one of the two Parish overseers for Eccleston. When informed that Thomas Thompson was the other overseer for the district, Brighouse said: "Put it on his doorstep". However, to prevent bodies having to be dumped on doorsteps – whether literally or not – the landlord suggested that part of the old smithy near to the church could be used as a mortuary.
That, presumably, was a reference to what is now the Smithy Heritage Centre in Kiln Lane. A Parish Council meeting was due to be held on the following day and the coroner said he would give Pennington an official letter requesting the creation of a mortuary. Mr Brighouse added: "The care of dead bodies in South-West Lancashire does not meet with my approval. They should be treated with every respect, and we should not hurt the feelings of the relatives by putting them in such places as they do."
"Prestts For Prams" declared the Duke Street firm's advert in the Reporter. Their illustration showed a formidable looking carriage, which probably needed a fair bit of pushing. Like any other vehicle it would need repairing and refurbishing from time to time, which is why their advert said: "Wheels Retyred – Roofs Recovered". Prestts would still be at the same address of 32 / 34 Duke Street fifty years later.
The Reporter also revealed that the Schools Medical Officer in his annual report had stated that at the end of 1922, there had been 276 children of school age in St Helens suffering from various forms of tuberculosis. Thirty of them were fresh cases notified during the year and there were also fifty suspected cases under observation.
Every week the Reporter described court cases involving street betting. References were regularly made to the police having observed such illicit transactions from hidden vantage points. These were rarely identified but appeared to be from the houses of co-operative members of the public. That could lead to fingers being pointed at persons suspected of granting the bobbies access, which seems to have been why on the 20th Mary Bishop and Emily Ennis were in court.
Both lived in Frazer Street, near Jackson Street, and PC Taylor gave evidence that at about 11 o’clock on the previous Friday night he had seen the two defendants fighting. They were, he said, shouting and screaming at one another but they parted as he approached. The constable told the court that he had enquired what their fight was about and Mrs Ennis had replied: "Mrs Bishop started the row and accused me of informing the police of bookies." Both defendant denied being the aggressor and were bound over to keep the peace.
And finally, the Hippodrome Music Hall in Corporation Street reopened on the 23rd after a short summer break. The turns included: The Great Desmo ("The world famous contortionist"); Nicol and Martin ("Two drops o’ Scotch – A song and jazz dance on one wheel cycles"); Tom E. Dean ("Parody comedian"); Will Arley and Mlle Alys ("The comedy jugglers") and Coquelli ("Presenting comedy character cameos").
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Italian man who conned a Thatto Heath priest, the street singer in Corporation Street charged with begging, the traffic congestion outside the Sefton and the man behind Old Mother Riley returns to St Helens.
We begin on the 18th when 25-year-old John Roughley of Lowe Street in St Helens appeared in court in Islington charged with indecently assaulting a married woman. Sexual offences against women that were married always appeared to be considered more serious than if the victim had been single and Roughley was sent to prison for 6 months with hard labour.
Also on the 18th two brothers from Ashton-in-Makerfield drowned at Blackbrook while bathing in the canal. Neither 12-year-old James nor 9-year-old William Watkinson from Low Bank Road could swim. The two boys had been to Carr Mill for a walk and the older boy had entered the water first, with both lads seemingly unaware of how deep the canal was.
Soon James got out of his depth and cried for help. Another boy called Melling went for assistance and brought back a youth but he could not prevent the lad from drowning. James' younger brother William had been playing on the canal bank and it was realised that he too was missing. It was assumed that he must have gone into the water in a vain attempt to rescue his drowning brother and some time later both boys' bodies were recovered.
There were often men who hung around Shaw Street Station that the police liked to call station loafers. It was a good place to hang out, with lots of comings and goings. But others congregated outside chatting to their mates while waiting for the morning and evening newspapers to arrive. I expect most wanted an early start in checking out job vacancies. But according to the police there could be up to thirty of these clogging up the pavements in Shaw Street and forcing others off the pavement.
And so after receiving complaints and going on an undercover stakeout, the police nabbed five of the men and charged them with obstruction. This week they appeared in court where they strongly protested their innocence. After hearing their side the magistrates decided to dismiss the charge but they did warn the men not to cause a nuisance in future while waiting for the papers to arrive.
St Helens Police Court heard this week that a crowd of 300 people had gathered outside a lodging house in Water Street to watch a fight. John Durkin and Michael Ross were in court charged with breach of the peace and Jeremiah O’Leary and James O’Donell faced charges of obstructing the police, with the latter also accused of assaulting them. PC Robinson described how on the previous Saturday night he'd found a huge crowd in Water Street with people "running to the scene from all directions".
They were gathering to watch John Durkin and Michael Ross engage in a stand-up brawl. The constable arrested one of the combatants and PC Box grabbed the other. But Jeremiah O’Leary jumped on PC Robinson's back and James O’Donell seized the officer by the legs and dragged him to the ground. Then the latter hit PC Robinson in the face and kicked him about his legs. "The yard was full of Irishmen and I could hardly move", explained the constable.
Other officers soon arrived and the four men were eventually arrested, with one discovered hiding under a bed and another concealed under a chest of drawers in the lodging house's back scullery. The fight was said to have begun because Michael Ross had used "horrible" language to children. The combatants were bound over to keep the peace and / or fined.
Last week a 55-year-old mystery man had been fished out of Eccleston Mill Dam. Not only was the identity of the individual unknown but also how he came to drown in the water. The latter would likely never be established and, perhaps, his name would never be known too. Over the years there have been many persons that have drowned in the various waterways in St Helens that were never identified.
Thousands of similar verdicts must have been delivered at inquests in St Helens, although the vast majority would have been of known persons. But after the verdict on the mystery man was delivered, a discussion took place about his body having been stored at the Griffin until the inquest took place. It had been standard practice for a very long time for deceased persons involved in an accident to be taken to the nearest pub where the inquest would subsequently be held.
It was a legal requirement for inquest juries to be able to inspect the body of the deceased – which was one reason why inquests were held rapidly after death to reduce the smell of a decomposing corpse. Around 1900 a mortuary had opened at St Helens Town Hall and many inquests were now held there, allowing jurors to view the deceased within the mortuary before the inquest hearing took place in a separate room.
But the landlord of the Griffin, Christopher Pennington, was getting sick of having dead bodies in his pub. He told the coroner that it was a bit of a nuisance and upon being asked if the bodies smelled, he replied that they did. However, the landlord said he felt he had to accede to the police's request to take in dead persons. The Coroner replied: "If I were you the next body the police offers to you I should refuse to receive it and send it to the overseers of the poor."
Samuel Brighouse, the coroner, wanted a mortuary creating in Eccleston and so getting the licensee to refuse to accept bodies would, he hoped, speed up its creation. However, his plan had a problem, as the landlord Pennington was one of the two Parish overseers for Eccleston. When informed that Thomas Thompson was the other overseer for the district, Brighouse said: "Put it on his doorstep". However, to prevent bodies having to be dumped on doorsteps – whether literally or not – the landlord suggested that part of the old smithy near to the church could be used as a mortuary.
That, presumably, was a reference to what is now the Smithy Heritage Centre in Kiln Lane. A Parish Council meeting was due to be held on the following day and the coroner said he would give Pennington an official letter requesting the creation of a mortuary. Mr Brighouse added: "The care of dead bodies in South-West Lancashire does not meet with my approval. They should be treated with every respect, and we should not hurt the feelings of the relatives by putting them in such places as they do."
"Prestts For Prams" declared the Duke Street firm's advert in the Reporter. Their illustration showed a formidable looking carriage, which probably needed a fair bit of pushing. Like any other vehicle it would need repairing and refurbishing from time to time, which is why their advert said: "Wheels Retyred – Roofs Recovered". Prestts would still be at the same address of 32 / 34 Duke Street fifty years later.
The Reporter also revealed that the Schools Medical Officer in his annual report had stated that at the end of 1922, there had been 276 children of school age in St Helens suffering from various forms of tuberculosis. Thirty of them were fresh cases notified during the year and there were also fifty suspected cases under observation.
Every week the Reporter described court cases involving street betting. References were regularly made to the police having observed such illicit transactions from hidden vantage points. These were rarely identified but appeared to be from the houses of co-operative members of the public. That could lead to fingers being pointed at persons suspected of granting the bobbies access, which seems to have been why on the 20th Mary Bishop and Emily Ennis were in court.
Both lived in Frazer Street, near Jackson Street, and PC Taylor gave evidence that at about 11 o’clock on the previous Friday night he had seen the two defendants fighting. They were, he said, shouting and screaming at one another but they parted as he approached. The constable told the court that he had enquired what their fight was about and Mrs Ennis had replied: "Mrs Bishop started the row and accused me of informing the police of bookies." Both defendant denied being the aggressor and were bound over to keep the peace.
And finally, the Hippodrome Music Hall in Corporation Street reopened on the 23rd after a short summer break. The turns included: The Great Desmo ("The world famous contortionist"); Nicol and Martin ("Two drops o’ Scotch – A song and jazz dance on one wheel cycles"); Tom E. Dean ("Parody comedian"); Will Arley and Mlle Alys ("The comedy jugglers") and Coquelli ("Presenting comedy character cameos").
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Italian man who conned a Thatto Heath priest, the street singer in Corporation Street charged with begging, the traffic congestion outside the Sefton and the man behind Old Mother Riley returns to St Helens.
This week's many stories include the huge crowd that watched a fight in Water Street, the two young brothers that drowned at Blackbrook, the desperate need for a mortuary in Eccleston, the two women that fought after one was accused of being a police informer and the men causing a nuisance in Shaw Street while waiting for newspapers to arrive.
We begin on the 18th when 25-year-old John Roughley of Lowe Street in St Helens appeared in court in Islington charged with indecently assaulting a married woman.
Sexual offences against women that were married always appeared to be considered more serious than if the victim had been single and Roughley was sent to prison for 6 months with hard labour.
Also on the 18th two brothers from Ashton-in-Makerfield drowned at Blackbrook while bathing in the canal.
Neither 12-year-old James nor 9-year-old William Watkinson from Low Bank Road could swim.
The two boys had been to Carr Mill for a walk and the older boy had entered the water first, with both lads seemingly unaware of how deep the canal was.
Soon James got out of his depth and cried for help. Another boy called Melling went for assistance and brought back a youth but he could not prevent the lad from drowning.
James' younger brother William had been playing on the canal bank and it was realised that he too was missing.
It was assumed that he must have gone into the water in a vain attempt to rescue his drowning brother and some time later both boys' bodies were recovered.
There were often men who hung around Shaw Street Station that the police liked to call station loafers. It was a good place to hang out, with lots of comings and goings.
But others congregated outside chatting to their mates while waiting for the morning and evening newspapers to arrive. I expect most wanted an early start in checking out job vacancies.
But according to the police there could be up to thirty of these clogging up the pavements in Shaw Street and forcing others off the pavement.
And so after receiving complaints and going on an undercover stakeout, the police nabbed five of the men and charged them with obstruction.
This week they appeared in court where they strongly protested their innocence.
After hearing their side the magistrates decided to dismiss the charge but they did warn the men not to cause a nuisance in future while waiting for the papers to arrive.
St Helens Police Court heard this week that a crowd of 300 people had gathered outside a lodging house in Water Street to watch a fight.
John Durkin and Michael Ross were in court charged with breach of the peace and Jeremiah O’Leary and James O’Donell faced charges of obstructing the police, with the latter also accused of assaulting them.
PC Robinson described how on the previous Saturday night he'd found a huge crowd in Water Street with people "running to the scene from all directions".
They were gathering to watch John Durkin and Michael Ross engage in a stand-up brawl.
The constable arrested one of the combatants and PC Box grabbed the other. But Jeremiah O’Leary jumped on PC Robinson's back and James O’Donell seized the officer by the legs and dragged him to the ground.
Then the latter hit PC Robinson in the face and kicked him about his legs. "The yard was full of Irishmen and I could hardly move", explained the constable.
Other officers soon arrived and the four men were eventually arrested, with one discovered hiding under a bed and another concealed under a chest of drawers in the lodging house's back scullery.
The fight was said to have begun because Michael Ross had used "horrible" language to children. The combatants were bound over to keep the peace and / or fined.
Last week a 55-year-old mystery man had been fished out of Eccleston Mill Dam. Not only was the identity of the individual unknown but also how he came to drown in the water.
The latter would likely never be established and, perhaps, his name would never be known too.
Over the years there have been many persons that have drowned in the various waterways in St Helens that were never identified.
But on the 20th the St Helens Reporter described how at the inquest hearing at the Griffin Inn in Eccleston (pictured above), the police said they had a clue to the man's identity.
There had been papers found on his body that suggested a connection with the Plymouth area.
And so the police in Plymouth had been informed and they would be making their own enquiries.
The usual open verdict of "Found Drowned" was returned at the inquest, which basically meant what it said: "The body of this person was discovered drowned but it is not known how it happened."
Thousands of similar verdicts must have been delivered at inquests in St Helens, although the vast majority would have been of known persons.
But after the verdict on the mystery man was delivered, a discussion took place about his body having been stored at the Griffin until the inquest took place.
It had been standard practice for a very long time for deceased persons involved in an accident to be taken to the nearest pub where the inquest would subsequently be held.
It was a legal requirement for inquest juries to be able to inspect the body of the deceased – which was one reason why inquests were held rapidly after death to reduce the smell of a decomposing corpse.
Around 1900 a mortuary had opened at St Helens Town Hall and many inquests were now held there, allowing jurors to view the deceased within the mortuary before the inquest hearing took place in a separate room.
But the landlord of the Griffin, Christopher Pennington, was getting sick of having dead bodies in his pub.
He told the coroner that it was a bit of a nuisance and upon being asked if the bodies smelled, he replied that they did.
However, the landlord said he felt he had to accede to the police's request to take in dead persons.
The Coroner replied: "If I were you the next body the police offers to you I should refuse to receive it and send it to the overseers of the poor."
Samuel Brighouse, the coroner, wanted a mortuary creating in Eccleston and so getting the licensee to refuse to accept bodies would, he hoped, speed up its creation.
However, his plan had a problem, as the landlord Pennington was one of the two Parish overseers for Eccleston.
When informed that Thomas Thompson was the other overseer for the district, Brighouse said: "Put it on his doorstep".
However, to prevent bodies having to be dumped on doorsteps – whether literally or not – the landlord suggested that part of the old smithy near to the church could be used as a mortuary.
That, presumably, was a reference to what is now the Smithy Heritage Centre in Kiln Lane.
A Parish Council meeting was due to be held on the following day and the coroner said he would give Pennington an official letter requesting the creation of a mortuary.
Mr Brighouse added: "The care of dead bodies in South-West Lancashire does not meet with my approval. They should be treated with every respect, and we should not hurt the feelings of the relatives by putting them in such places as they do."
"Prestts For Prams" declared the Duke Street firm's advert in the Reporter. Their illustration showed a formidable looking carriage, which probably needed a fair bit of pushing.
Like any other vehicle it would need repairing and refurbishing from time to time, which is why their advert said: "Wheels Retyred – Roofs Recovered".
Prestts would still be at the same address of 32 / 34 Duke Street fifty years later.
The Reporter also revealed that the Schools Medical Officer in his annual report had stated that at the end of 1922, there had been 276 children of school age in St Helens suffering from various forms of tuberculosis.
Thirty of them were fresh cases notified during the year and there were also fifty suspected cases under observation.
Every week the Reporter described court cases involving street betting. References were regularly made to the police having observed such illicit transactions from hidden vantage points.
These were rarely identified but appeared to be from the houses of co-operative members of the public.
That could lead to fingers being pointed at persons suspected of granting the bobbies access, which seems to have been why on the 20th Mary Bishop and Emily Ennis were in court.
Both lived in Frazer Street, near Jackson Street, and PC Taylor gave evidence that at about 11 o’clock on the previous Friday night he had seen the two defendants fighting.
They were, he said, shouting and screaming at one another but they parted as he approached.
The constable told the court that he had enquired what their fight was about and Mrs Ennis had replied: "Mrs Bishop started the row and accused me of informing the police of bookies."
Both defendant denied being the aggressor and were bound over to keep the peace.
And finally, the Hippodrome Music Hall in Corporation Street reopened on the 23rd after a short summer break. The turns included:
The Great Desmo ("The world famous contortionist"); Nicol and Martin ("Two drops o’ Scotch – A song and jazz dance on one wheel cycles"); Tom E. Dean ("Parody comedian"); Will Arley and Mlle Alys ("The comedy jugglers") and Coquelli ("Presenting comedy character cameos").
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Italian man who conned a Thatto Heath priest, the street singer in Corporation Street charged with begging, the traffic congestion outside the Sefton and the man behind Old Mother Riley returns to St Helens.
We begin on the 18th when 25-year-old John Roughley of Lowe Street in St Helens appeared in court in Islington charged with indecently assaulting a married woman.
Sexual offences against women that were married always appeared to be considered more serious than if the victim had been single and Roughley was sent to prison for 6 months with hard labour.
Also on the 18th two brothers from Ashton-in-Makerfield drowned at Blackbrook while bathing in the canal.
Neither 12-year-old James nor 9-year-old William Watkinson from Low Bank Road could swim.
The two boys had been to Carr Mill for a walk and the older boy had entered the water first, with both lads seemingly unaware of how deep the canal was.
Soon James got out of his depth and cried for help. Another boy called Melling went for assistance and brought back a youth but he could not prevent the lad from drowning.
James' younger brother William had been playing on the canal bank and it was realised that he too was missing.
It was assumed that he must have gone into the water in a vain attempt to rescue his drowning brother and some time later both boys' bodies were recovered.
There were often men who hung around Shaw Street Station that the police liked to call station loafers. It was a good place to hang out, with lots of comings and goings.
But others congregated outside chatting to their mates while waiting for the morning and evening newspapers to arrive. I expect most wanted an early start in checking out job vacancies.
But according to the police there could be up to thirty of these clogging up the pavements in Shaw Street and forcing others off the pavement.
And so after receiving complaints and going on an undercover stakeout, the police nabbed five of the men and charged them with obstruction.
This week they appeared in court where they strongly protested their innocence.
After hearing their side the magistrates decided to dismiss the charge but they did warn the men not to cause a nuisance in future while waiting for the papers to arrive.
St Helens Police Court heard this week that a crowd of 300 people had gathered outside a lodging house in Water Street to watch a fight.
John Durkin and Michael Ross were in court charged with breach of the peace and Jeremiah O’Leary and James O’Donell faced charges of obstructing the police, with the latter also accused of assaulting them.
PC Robinson described how on the previous Saturday night he'd found a huge crowd in Water Street with people "running to the scene from all directions".
They were gathering to watch John Durkin and Michael Ross engage in a stand-up brawl.
The constable arrested one of the combatants and PC Box grabbed the other. But Jeremiah O’Leary jumped on PC Robinson's back and James O’Donell seized the officer by the legs and dragged him to the ground.
Then the latter hit PC Robinson in the face and kicked him about his legs. "The yard was full of Irishmen and I could hardly move", explained the constable.
Other officers soon arrived and the four men were eventually arrested, with one discovered hiding under a bed and another concealed under a chest of drawers in the lodging house's back scullery.
The fight was said to have begun because Michael Ross had used "horrible" language to children. The combatants were bound over to keep the peace and / or fined.
Last week a 55-year-old mystery man had been fished out of Eccleston Mill Dam. Not only was the identity of the individual unknown but also how he came to drown in the water.
The latter would likely never be established and, perhaps, his name would never be known too.
Over the years there have been many persons that have drowned in the various waterways in St Helens that were never identified.
There had been papers found on his body that suggested a connection with the Plymouth area.
And so the police in Plymouth had been informed and they would be making their own enquiries.
The usual open verdict of "Found Drowned" was returned at the inquest, which basically meant what it said: "The body of this person was discovered drowned but it is not known how it happened."
Thousands of similar verdicts must have been delivered at inquests in St Helens, although the vast majority would have been of known persons.
But after the verdict on the mystery man was delivered, a discussion took place about his body having been stored at the Griffin until the inquest took place.
It had been standard practice for a very long time for deceased persons involved in an accident to be taken to the nearest pub where the inquest would subsequently be held.
It was a legal requirement for inquest juries to be able to inspect the body of the deceased – which was one reason why inquests were held rapidly after death to reduce the smell of a decomposing corpse.
Around 1900 a mortuary had opened at St Helens Town Hall and many inquests were now held there, allowing jurors to view the deceased within the mortuary before the inquest hearing took place in a separate room.
But the landlord of the Griffin, Christopher Pennington, was getting sick of having dead bodies in his pub.
He told the coroner that it was a bit of a nuisance and upon being asked if the bodies smelled, he replied that they did.
However, the landlord said he felt he had to accede to the police's request to take in dead persons.
The Coroner replied: "If I were you the next body the police offers to you I should refuse to receive it and send it to the overseers of the poor."
Samuel Brighouse, the coroner, wanted a mortuary creating in Eccleston and so getting the licensee to refuse to accept bodies would, he hoped, speed up its creation.
However, his plan had a problem, as the landlord Pennington was one of the two Parish overseers for Eccleston.
When informed that Thomas Thompson was the other overseer for the district, Brighouse said: "Put it on his doorstep".
However, to prevent bodies having to be dumped on doorsteps – whether literally or not – the landlord suggested that part of the old smithy near to the church could be used as a mortuary.
That, presumably, was a reference to what is now the Smithy Heritage Centre in Kiln Lane.
A Parish Council meeting was due to be held on the following day and the coroner said he would give Pennington an official letter requesting the creation of a mortuary.
Mr Brighouse added: "The care of dead bodies in South-West Lancashire does not meet with my approval. They should be treated with every respect, and we should not hurt the feelings of the relatives by putting them in such places as they do."
"Prestts For Prams" declared the Duke Street firm's advert in the Reporter. Their illustration showed a formidable looking carriage, which probably needed a fair bit of pushing.
Like any other vehicle it would need repairing and refurbishing from time to time, which is why their advert said: "Wheels Retyred – Roofs Recovered".
Prestts would still be at the same address of 32 / 34 Duke Street fifty years later.
The Reporter also revealed that the Schools Medical Officer in his annual report had stated that at the end of 1922, there had been 276 children of school age in St Helens suffering from various forms of tuberculosis.
Thirty of them were fresh cases notified during the year and there were also fifty suspected cases under observation.
Every week the Reporter described court cases involving street betting. References were regularly made to the police having observed such illicit transactions from hidden vantage points.
These were rarely identified but appeared to be from the houses of co-operative members of the public.
That could lead to fingers being pointed at persons suspected of granting the bobbies access, which seems to have been why on the 20th Mary Bishop and Emily Ennis were in court.
Both lived in Frazer Street, near Jackson Street, and PC Taylor gave evidence that at about 11 o’clock on the previous Friday night he had seen the two defendants fighting.
They were, he said, shouting and screaming at one another but they parted as he approached.
The constable told the court that he had enquired what their fight was about and Mrs Ennis had replied: "Mrs Bishop started the row and accused me of informing the police of bookies."
Both defendant denied being the aggressor and were bound over to keep the peace.
And finally, the Hippodrome Music Hall in Corporation Street reopened on the 23rd after a short summer break. The turns included:
The Great Desmo ("The world famous contortionist"); Nicol and Martin ("Two drops o’ Scotch – A song and jazz dance on one wheel cycles"); Tom E. Dean ("Parody comedian"); Will Arley and Mlle Alys ("The comedy jugglers") and Coquelli ("Presenting comedy character cameos").
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Italian man who conned a Thatto Heath priest, the street singer in Corporation Street charged with begging, the traffic congestion outside the Sefton and the man behind Old Mother Riley returns to St Helens.