IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (18th - 24th March 1919)
This week's stories include the pitch and toss players of Fleet Lane, the shortage of whisky for the St Helens' sick, the Bishop of Liverpool hands out spoons to Parr babies, the Church Street rowdies who were told to take a country walk, the noisy King Street footballers, the boy rabbit thieves and a public inquiry is held into the proposed Windlehurst council estate.
We begin this week on the 18th when the council's Health Committee met and heard a disturbing report from the town's medical officer. Dr Joseph Cates said that in the most recent four-weekly period, infectious diseases had killed folk in St Helens at practically the same rate as children were being born.
However the good news was that the present third wave of the influenza epidemic was starting to decline and Dr Cates had recommended that the schools should reopen on March 17th. There had been 130 deaths so far during the present flu outbreak, bringing the total since the disease first hit the town in June 1918 to 306. Compared to other towns St Helens got off relatively lightly.
The committee also discussed the shortage of whisky for health purposes. The discussion was prompted by a resolution from Farnworth District Council, which called on the Government to "liberate a greater quantity of spirituous liquors" that could be bought by medical certificate.
It was a widespread view that alcohol had great medicinal value and Councillor Thomas Hamblett said it was "deplorable" that poor people could not get spirits when sick. The committee decided to pass a resolution similar to Farnworth's.
The St Helens Reporter’s Tuesday edition reported on the 18th that a public meeting had been held in the Colliery Schools in Clipsley Lane in Haydock to decide the form of a suitable war memorial. It was decided to build a technical school in memory of those from Haydock that had died and a committee was formed to raise the required funds.
On the 19th in St Helens County Court a firm of printers from Leeds brought a claim against the Oxford Picturedrome for £7 15s 6d. The distinctive Duke Street building would later be known as the Plaza (pictured above) and Cindy's nightclub and now the Cinema Bar.
The Oxford's former manager had ordered some posters and 1,000 masks from the printers but his bosses refused to pay, saying the man did not have the authority to buy them. The judge ruled against the Oxford and sadly no details of the masks were stated in the report. I wonder what they were? Initially the manager had ordered 5,000 masks but then reduced his order.
A Local Government Board inquiry was held in the Town Hall on the 19th to consider St Helens Corporation's request to borrow £45,000 to build the first council estate in the borough. The cash (about £2½m in today's money) would be used to buy Sir David Gamble's Windlehurst estate (pictured above) and then build 1,100 houses from City Gardens to Windleshaw Road.
The Mayor revealed that they had also considered a site in Sutton between Robins Lane, New Street and St Nicholas Church but the owner did not want to sell the land for building purposes. Although some homes were built on that site during the 1930s, it wasn't until the 1960s that it became heavily populated with estates.
On the 21st a group of nine men – mainly miners – from Fleet Lane appeared in the Police Court. Seven were charged with gaming with coins and the other two with aiding and abetting. Playing pitch and toss or similar games on Sundays was an institution for the working class and with most gambling illegal, the police did everything they could to catch offenders.
PC Alexander Trail gave evidence to the court that at 3:20pm on the previous Sunday he and PC Rochford had been in plain clothes in Fleet Lane. After the pair had spotted the gamblers they got onto the Ashtons Green Colliery siding to get close to them.
The officers managed to get within thirty yards of the action when the lookouts William Gerard and James Frodsham saw them and shouted "Bobbies" to the other men, who immediately fled. As usual they all denied that they'd been gambling but were found guilty and fined ten shillings – apart from Roderick Nicholson who was given the benefit of the doubt.
Another popular but illegal activity on a Sunday was to play football in the street. This led to Samuel Rushton from Harris Street, Jack Halton from Hamer Street, John Hunter from Mill Street and Thomas Forber from North John Street appearing in court.
PC Latus gave evidence that on Sunday evening at twenty minutes past five he had seen the youths playing football in King Street near a chapel. Many complaints had been received about the noise and sometimes a man was stationed outside the chapel to clear youths away but he said they always refused to leave. Fines of 7/6 were imposed.
Another popular Sunday pastime for young people was to meet up and walk down Church Street during the evening. This parading was only illegal if they obstructed the pavement or their behaviour became rowdy. Some weeks ago the police had launched a campaign against the Church Street "obstructionists" which continued on the 21st with the prosecution of Christopher Howard from Speakman Road and Joseph Bibby from Abbey Road.
PC Hall gave evidence that he had watched the 16-year-olds for ten minutes on Sunday evening. He said they were both "very rough, pulling one another about" and causing people on the pavement to go onto the road.
The Chairman of the Bench said he had witnessed this "disgraceful conduct" himself in Church Street and Peter Phythian (who would become Mayor in 1922) had a message for the two boys:
"You lads could get better enjoyment I should think by taking a walk in the country. You must find fresh places to go and enjoy yourselves and not be rowdy in Church Street." They were both fined ten shillings, although sadly I can't tell you whether they took the Chairman's advice and went for country walks on Sunday nights!
After being suspended through the resurgence of the flu epidemic, the series of free weekly public health lectures resumed in the Town Hall on the 21st. The talk was called 'The Prevention of Venereal Diseases' and was for women only and delivered by a female speaker. A similar lecture for men only had also been scheduled.
It would be interesting to know how many women braved the stigma and turned up – very few, I should imagine. It was men returning from the brothels of France that were spreading VD, not women.
It would also be interesting to find out what advice was given to the female attendees to prevent VD – lock the bedroom door, perhaps? A detailed report on these lectures was usually printed in the Reporter but I could find nothing published about this one.
On Sunday 23rd the Bishop of Liverpool preached at St Peter's Church at Parr in front of a crowded congregation. Francis Chavasse also participated in an unusual event – the presentation of souvenir spoons to thirty-six babies that had been baptised at St Peter's a year earlier.
It had become a tradition at the Broad Oak Road church for such spoons to be distributed to infants and each year more than two hundred were handed out. The Bishop also gave out medals to the St Peter's School team that had recently won the Pilkington Football Competition.
The acts appearing at the Hippodrome for six evenings from the 24th included: The Three Canadiens ("in a marvellous display of equilibrium and dental strength"); Elsie Norman ("male impersonator"); The Kobes ("Original Japanese acrobats & entertainers"); Jack Shires ("Yorkshire’s representative comedian") and May Locke ("Comedienne and dancer").
On the 24th three boys were charged with breaking and entering a smithy in Brownlow Street (which used to be near Salisbury Street) and stealing eight prize rabbits and other items – including a hammer, chisels and a tin of paint. The lads were 10-year-old Thomas Collins and his 12-year-old brother Edward from George Street and Thomas Gee from Mary Street, who was aged about 9.
The rabbits belonged to John Woodward who hired a man called Wood to look after them on Sundays. He found the lads on the premises after they'd scaled a wall 6 - 7 feet high and entered the smithy by removing a board from a broken window. The magistrates were told that Thomas Collins had been before the court last August when the lad had been bound over for 12 months for stealing cigarettes.
The 10-year-old was ordered to receive six strokes of the birch and his stepfather was told that his £5 surety was at risk if Thomas got into more trouble. Edward Collins and Thomas Gee were bound over and put on probation for two years and their parents ordered to pay the cost of the hearing.
Next week's stories will include the Reporter's warning against communism, a little girl's money making scheme at the Co-op comes unstuck, the "unbearable" state of Church Street, the old men in the cabin at Queens Park, plans for a super-cinema for Bridge Street, the men caught short in an Ormskirk Street entry and how summertime in St Helens began with heavy snow.
We begin this week on the 18th when the council's Health Committee met and heard a disturbing report from the town's medical officer. Dr Joseph Cates said that in the most recent four-weekly period, infectious diseases had killed folk in St Helens at practically the same rate as children were being born.
However the good news was that the present third wave of the influenza epidemic was starting to decline and Dr Cates had recommended that the schools should reopen on March 17th. There had been 130 deaths so far during the present flu outbreak, bringing the total since the disease first hit the town in June 1918 to 306. Compared to other towns St Helens got off relatively lightly.
The committee also discussed the shortage of whisky for health purposes. The discussion was prompted by a resolution from Farnworth District Council, which called on the Government to "liberate a greater quantity of spirituous liquors" that could be bought by medical certificate.
It was a widespread view that alcohol had great medicinal value and Councillor Thomas Hamblett said it was "deplorable" that poor people could not get spirits when sick. The committee decided to pass a resolution similar to Farnworth's.
The St Helens Reporter’s Tuesday edition reported on the 18th that a public meeting had been held in the Colliery Schools in Clipsley Lane in Haydock to decide the form of a suitable war memorial. It was decided to build a technical school in memory of those from Haydock that had died and a committee was formed to raise the required funds.
The Oxford's former manager had ordered some posters and 1,000 masks from the printers but his bosses refused to pay, saying the man did not have the authority to buy them. The judge ruled against the Oxford and sadly no details of the masks were stated in the report. I wonder what they were? Initially the manager had ordered 5,000 masks but then reduced his order.
The Mayor revealed that they had also considered a site in Sutton between Robins Lane, New Street and St Nicholas Church but the owner did not want to sell the land for building purposes. Although some homes were built on that site during the 1930s, it wasn't until the 1960s that it became heavily populated with estates.
On the 21st a group of nine men – mainly miners – from Fleet Lane appeared in the Police Court. Seven were charged with gaming with coins and the other two with aiding and abetting. Playing pitch and toss or similar games on Sundays was an institution for the working class and with most gambling illegal, the police did everything they could to catch offenders.
PC Alexander Trail gave evidence to the court that at 3:20pm on the previous Sunday he and PC Rochford had been in plain clothes in Fleet Lane. After the pair had spotted the gamblers they got onto the Ashtons Green Colliery siding to get close to them.
The officers managed to get within thirty yards of the action when the lookouts William Gerard and James Frodsham saw them and shouted "Bobbies" to the other men, who immediately fled. As usual they all denied that they'd been gambling but were found guilty and fined ten shillings – apart from Roderick Nicholson who was given the benefit of the doubt.
Another popular but illegal activity on a Sunday was to play football in the street. This led to Samuel Rushton from Harris Street, Jack Halton from Hamer Street, John Hunter from Mill Street and Thomas Forber from North John Street appearing in court.
PC Latus gave evidence that on Sunday evening at twenty minutes past five he had seen the youths playing football in King Street near a chapel. Many complaints had been received about the noise and sometimes a man was stationed outside the chapel to clear youths away but he said they always refused to leave. Fines of 7/6 were imposed.
Another popular Sunday pastime for young people was to meet up and walk down Church Street during the evening. This parading was only illegal if they obstructed the pavement or their behaviour became rowdy. Some weeks ago the police had launched a campaign against the Church Street "obstructionists" which continued on the 21st with the prosecution of Christopher Howard from Speakman Road and Joseph Bibby from Abbey Road.
PC Hall gave evidence that he had watched the 16-year-olds for ten minutes on Sunday evening. He said they were both "very rough, pulling one another about" and causing people on the pavement to go onto the road.
The Chairman of the Bench said he had witnessed this "disgraceful conduct" himself in Church Street and Peter Phythian (who would become Mayor in 1922) had a message for the two boys:
"You lads could get better enjoyment I should think by taking a walk in the country. You must find fresh places to go and enjoy yourselves and not be rowdy in Church Street." They were both fined ten shillings, although sadly I can't tell you whether they took the Chairman's advice and went for country walks on Sunday nights!
After being suspended through the resurgence of the flu epidemic, the series of free weekly public health lectures resumed in the Town Hall on the 21st. The talk was called 'The Prevention of Venereal Diseases' and was for women only and delivered by a female speaker. A similar lecture for men only had also been scheduled.
It would be interesting to know how many women braved the stigma and turned up – very few, I should imagine. It was men returning from the brothels of France that were spreading VD, not women.
It would also be interesting to find out what advice was given to the female attendees to prevent VD – lock the bedroom door, perhaps? A detailed report on these lectures was usually printed in the Reporter but I could find nothing published about this one.
On Sunday 23rd the Bishop of Liverpool preached at St Peter's Church at Parr in front of a crowded congregation. Francis Chavasse also participated in an unusual event – the presentation of souvenir spoons to thirty-six babies that had been baptised at St Peter's a year earlier.
It had become a tradition at the Broad Oak Road church for such spoons to be distributed to infants and each year more than two hundred were handed out. The Bishop also gave out medals to the St Peter's School team that had recently won the Pilkington Football Competition.
Francis Chavasse, Bishop of Liverpool and the Hippodrome Theatre in Corporation Street, St Helens, when known as the Empire
Francis Chavasse, Bishop of Liverpool and the Hippodrome Theatre, St Helens
Bishop of Liverpool and Hippodrome Theatre
On the 24th three boys were charged with breaking and entering a smithy in Brownlow Street (which used to be near Salisbury Street) and stealing eight prize rabbits and other items – including a hammer, chisels and a tin of paint. The lads were 10-year-old Thomas Collins and his 12-year-old brother Edward from George Street and Thomas Gee from Mary Street, who was aged about 9.
The rabbits belonged to John Woodward who hired a man called Wood to look after them on Sundays. He found the lads on the premises after they'd scaled a wall 6 - 7 feet high and entered the smithy by removing a board from a broken window. The magistrates were told that Thomas Collins had been before the court last August when the lad had been bound over for 12 months for stealing cigarettes.
The 10-year-old was ordered to receive six strokes of the birch and his stepfather was told that his £5 surety was at risk if Thomas got into more trouble. Edward Collins and Thomas Gee were bound over and put on probation for two years and their parents ordered to pay the cost of the hearing.
Next week's stories will include the Reporter's warning against communism, a little girl's money making scheme at the Co-op comes unstuck, the "unbearable" state of Church Street, the old men in the cabin at Queens Park, plans for a super-cinema for Bridge Street, the men caught short in an Ormskirk Street entry and how summertime in St Helens began with heavy snow.