IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 18 - 24 NOVEMBER 1924
This week's many stories include the remarkable cone-shaped privets in Rainford that stopped the traffic, the 17 persons sleeping in a two-bedroomed house, the maid who was attacked in Ravenhead, electricity is set to come to Rainford and the people in Leonard Street houses that said they could hear coal shifting under their feet.
We begin when George Power appeared before St Helens Police Court on the 18th on a charge of stealing a silver watch and 2s 6d cash. The young man had come up from Wolverhampton and been taken in by Frank Locke of Derbyshire Hill Road who had also found him work. But a month later Power rewarded his benefactor by taking off with his watch and money. The Bench bound Power over and ordered him to pay 15 shillings compensation to Mr Locke, along with court costs.
Francis Murray of Duke Street appeared in St Helens Police Court this week accusing of assaulting a young woman. Elsie Prescott worked as a maid at the Pilkington Boys Hostel in Ravenhead. That was the home provided for the many lads that worked for the glass firm who had come to St Helens from all over the country – some of them orphans or having been incarcerated in a reformatory.
Elsie explained to the magistrates that she had been returning to the hostel at about 11 pm on the previous Saturday night and as she was walking up Greenbank she noticed a man following her. She started to quicken her pace but he overtook her near to Nuttall's Bridge and said to her, "Can I come with you?" Elsie said she told the man not to talk to her, as she didn't know him. He then pushed her towards a wall but she managed to escape.
However, he ran after her and at Ravenhead Lodge grabbed hold of her by the neck. Elsie said she screamed and struggled and two men rushed to her assistance. One was a youth named William Lydiate who said he saw the girl running up Ravenhead Road in a breathless and excited condition screaming, "That man has got hold of me." He and another man then said to Francis Murray, "What kind of a game do you think you are playing?" and then escorted him to the hostel.
The assistant matron from the hostel told the court that she had seen fingerprints and marks around Elsie's throat where she'd been seized. Murray denied molesting Elsie "in any shape or form" claiming that he had mistaken her for someone else and was simply saying good night. The man was fined £4, plus witness costs. It was not the first time Murray had been before the court and he was warned that if he appeared again he would probably be sent to prison.
The monthly meeting of Rainford Urban District Council was held this week and had some exciting news. Electricity was coming to the village! Rural areas tended to be last in line for big improvement schemes due to their high cost in relation to their small population. Although some works might invest in their own generators, electricity had not been considered feasible for street and domestic use in places like Rainford.
But the Government's Electricity Commissioners had come up with a scheme for rural districts in which they would lend local authorities the money needed on an interest-free basis over ten years. St Helens Corporation would supply the electricity at an approximate cost of twopence per unit with Rainford paying for the installation of a substation that could potentially supply the whole village. The initial cost of the scheme including power station and cabling would be approximately £3,000. However, that was only for about 200 households and the amount excluded street lighting costs.
Although coming down in price, electricity was still expensive and it was not expected that many consumers in the village would want it at first. Early adopters of electricity in Rainford would also have to pay £1 for each room of their home where it would be installed. A Bill would have to be proposed in Parliament before the work could begin but Rainford Council gave provisional approval to the scheme.
The meeting also approved plans to widen some roads in and around the village. Old Lane would have a stone wall set back to create more space and other improvements would be made at Hill Top (near the Bottle and Glass Inn) and at the Rainford boundary with Bickerstaffe.
Rainford was a fairly healthy place compared to St Helens and its Medical Officer, Dr Frank Prosser, reported to the meeting that there had only been three deaths during October – and these had been compensated by three births. However, there had been two cases of diphtheria reported, two of pneumonia and one of scarlet fever, as well as at Rainford Junction several cases of measles had been notified. As the air that Rainfordians breathed was cleaner than in much of St Helens and their living conditions were generally better, such sufferers had a greater chance of survival.
Some curious comments were made at the meeting of the St Helens Highways Committee on the 19th. Arthur Bradley, the Borough Engineer, said there was a two-bedroom house in Leonard Street in Sutton in which a family of 10 persons were living that ought to be closed for repairs to be made. The Town Clerk responded that there were in fact four houses there that badly needed maintenance but there was nowhere for the tenants to go while the work took place.
Mr Bradley explained that the owner had given notice to the persons in the four houses but none had left. It was stated that the main problem was mining subsidence and it was claimed that the tenants of the houses could actually hear the sound of coal settling underneath their feet. The Town Clerk warned that the Leonard Street houses might fall down and kill someone and they might say that Mr Bradley was responsible for killing them.
It was stated that the landlord was a responsible individual but had nowhere to place his tenants and upon been asked if the Corporation could temporary house them, the Town Clerk bluntly said: "No, we cannot." Cllr Simm then said if the people were turned out of their homes they would be starved and "they might just as well be killed".
Another housing dispute was heard in St Helens County Court (pictured above) on the 19th where Judge Dowdall declared: "Whatever I do in this case, I do very reluctantly". It was yet another hearing where someone living in overcrowded accommodation had bought a house to accommodate either themselves or members of their family. But the sitting tenant in their new property continued to sit tight despite being given notice to quit because, they said, the housing shortage in St Helens meant they could not find another house.
Although there were many out of work or on short-time during the 1920s, the majority of people were in full-time employment and many of these were receiving good wages. On what we would call HP, they could afford to buy luxury items, including motorbikes and for some even cars. Others found they could purchase a house and make repayments that were not much more than the average weekly rent.
But they had to get the existing tenant out of their new property first, which was easier said than done and the recent war complicated matters. George Kersey was an ex-serviceman who lived in rented premises in Dam Row (off Ravenhead Road) in St Helens, which were shared by six adults and eleven children. The house was a typical "two up, two down" and so the mind boggles at the sleeping arrangements for the 17 inhabitants.
And so Mr Ketsey had managed to buy a house in Rivington Road, for some of the seventeen to share, easing the pressure on Dam Row. But the sitting tenant in the new house was a war widow called Elizabeth Holden who had two children aged five and nine. One of these was described as delicate and Mrs Holden's brother – who had been disabled in the war – also lived there.
Judge Dowdall usually granted possession in such cases insisting that he had no choice in the matter. But his normal practice was to allow quite a long time for the sitting tenant to vacate their home. It was the judgement of Solomon and he appears to have got fed up with evicting people in such cases.
And so this time the judge decided to make no order for possession, although he expressed great sympathy with both parties. The judge added that he thought a warning should be given to people buying homes that they should first find out about the personal circumstances of those that were living in them.
"Old False Teeth Wanted" said an ad from a Manchester firm in the St Helens Reporter on the 21st. "Big prices paid for old false teeth, any condition. Call or post. Goods sent by post, cash by return. Try us and get a square deal."
The St Helens branch of the NSPCC had an office in Croppers Hill and the Reporter said that during October they had 11 new cases to deal with that affected 35 children.
The Reporter also published this piece about a rather special garden in Rainford: "An old roadster, who had in years fulfilled the Scriptural allotment of three score years and ten, and whose clothing was tattered and torn, called at one of the village inns the other day. He was asked what struck him most in Rainford.
"His reply was curious. He said he had travelled over the length and breadth of England, and from John o’Groats to Lands End, but he had never seen such a magnificent display of cone-shaped privets as those in the garden of Mr. Rosbotham in Church-road. It may be remarked here that these trees are an object of admiration not only to the villagers, but to many visitors as well. Even motorists often stop their cars to inspect them."
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the fan light that crashed on top of a Church Street shop's customer, the election shindy in Napier Street, the frank love letters read out in a separation order case and the electricity promotion in the Reporter.
We begin when George Power appeared before St Helens Police Court on the 18th on a charge of stealing a silver watch and 2s 6d cash. The young man had come up from Wolverhampton and been taken in by Frank Locke of Derbyshire Hill Road who had also found him work. But a month later Power rewarded his benefactor by taking off with his watch and money. The Bench bound Power over and ordered him to pay 15 shillings compensation to Mr Locke, along with court costs.
Francis Murray of Duke Street appeared in St Helens Police Court this week accusing of assaulting a young woman. Elsie Prescott worked as a maid at the Pilkington Boys Hostel in Ravenhead. That was the home provided for the many lads that worked for the glass firm who had come to St Helens from all over the country – some of them orphans or having been incarcerated in a reformatory.
Elsie explained to the magistrates that she had been returning to the hostel at about 11 pm on the previous Saturday night and as she was walking up Greenbank she noticed a man following her. She started to quicken her pace but he overtook her near to Nuttall's Bridge and said to her, "Can I come with you?" Elsie said she told the man not to talk to her, as she didn't know him. He then pushed her towards a wall but she managed to escape.
However, he ran after her and at Ravenhead Lodge grabbed hold of her by the neck. Elsie said she screamed and struggled and two men rushed to her assistance. One was a youth named William Lydiate who said he saw the girl running up Ravenhead Road in a breathless and excited condition screaming, "That man has got hold of me." He and another man then said to Francis Murray, "What kind of a game do you think you are playing?" and then escorted him to the hostel.
The assistant matron from the hostel told the court that she had seen fingerprints and marks around Elsie's throat where she'd been seized. Murray denied molesting Elsie "in any shape or form" claiming that he had mistaken her for someone else and was simply saying good night. The man was fined £4, plus witness costs. It was not the first time Murray had been before the court and he was warned that if he appeared again he would probably be sent to prison.
The monthly meeting of Rainford Urban District Council was held this week and had some exciting news. Electricity was coming to the village! Rural areas tended to be last in line for big improvement schemes due to their high cost in relation to their small population. Although some works might invest in their own generators, electricity had not been considered feasible for street and domestic use in places like Rainford.
But the Government's Electricity Commissioners had come up with a scheme for rural districts in which they would lend local authorities the money needed on an interest-free basis over ten years. St Helens Corporation would supply the electricity at an approximate cost of twopence per unit with Rainford paying for the installation of a substation that could potentially supply the whole village. The initial cost of the scheme including power station and cabling would be approximately £3,000. However, that was only for about 200 households and the amount excluded street lighting costs.
Although coming down in price, electricity was still expensive and it was not expected that many consumers in the village would want it at first. Early adopters of electricity in Rainford would also have to pay £1 for each room of their home where it would be installed. A Bill would have to be proposed in Parliament before the work could begin but Rainford Council gave provisional approval to the scheme.
The meeting also approved plans to widen some roads in and around the village. Old Lane would have a stone wall set back to create more space and other improvements would be made at Hill Top (near the Bottle and Glass Inn) and at the Rainford boundary with Bickerstaffe.
Rainford was a fairly healthy place compared to St Helens and its Medical Officer, Dr Frank Prosser, reported to the meeting that there had only been three deaths during October – and these had been compensated by three births. However, there had been two cases of diphtheria reported, two of pneumonia and one of scarlet fever, as well as at Rainford Junction several cases of measles had been notified. As the air that Rainfordians breathed was cleaner than in much of St Helens and their living conditions were generally better, such sufferers had a greater chance of survival.
Some curious comments were made at the meeting of the St Helens Highways Committee on the 19th. Arthur Bradley, the Borough Engineer, said there was a two-bedroom house in Leonard Street in Sutton in which a family of 10 persons were living that ought to be closed for repairs to be made. The Town Clerk responded that there were in fact four houses there that badly needed maintenance but there was nowhere for the tenants to go while the work took place.
Mr Bradley explained that the owner had given notice to the persons in the four houses but none had left. It was stated that the main problem was mining subsidence and it was claimed that the tenants of the houses could actually hear the sound of coal settling underneath their feet. The Town Clerk warned that the Leonard Street houses might fall down and kill someone and they might say that Mr Bradley was responsible for killing them.
It was stated that the landlord was a responsible individual but had nowhere to place his tenants and upon been asked if the Corporation could temporary house them, the Town Clerk bluntly said: "No, we cannot." Cllr Simm then said if the people were turned out of their homes they would be starved and "they might just as well be killed".
Although there were many out of work or on short-time during the 1920s, the majority of people were in full-time employment and many of these were receiving good wages. On what we would call HP, they could afford to buy luxury items, including motorbikes and for some even cars. Others found they could purchase a house and make repayments that were not much more than the average weekly rent.
But they had to get the existing tenant out of their new property first, which was easier said than done and the recent war complicated matters. George Kersey was an ex-serviceman who lived in rented premises in Dam Row (off Ravenhead Road) in St Helens, which were shared by six adults and eleven children. The house was a typical "two up, two down" and so the mind boggles at the sleeping arrangements for the 17 inhabitants.
And so Mr Ketsey had managed to buy a house in Rivington Road, for some of the seventeen to share, easing the pressure on Dam Row. But the sitting tenant in the new house was a war widow called Elizabeth Holden who had two children aged five and nine. One of these was described as delicate and Mrs Holden's brother – who had been disabled in the war – also lived there.
Judge Dowdall usually granted possession in such cases insisting that he had no choice in the matter. But his normal practice was to allow quite a long time for the sitting tenant to vacate their home. It was the judgement of Solomon and he appears to have got fed up with evicting people in such cases.
And so this time the judge decided to make no order for possession, although he expressed great sympathy with both parties. The judge added that he thought a warning should be given to people buying homes that they should first find out about the personal circumstances of those that were living in them.
"Old False Teeth Wanted" said an ad from a Manchester firm in the St Helens Reporter on the 21st. "Big prices paid for old false teeth, any condition. Call or post. Goods sent by post, cash by return. Try us and get a square deal."
The St Helens branch of the NSPCC had an office in Croppers Hill and the Reporter said that during October they had 11 new cases to deal with that affected 35 children.
The Reporter also published this piece about a rather special garden in Rainford: "An old roadster, who had in years fulfilled the Scriptural allotment of three score years and ten, and whose clothing was tattered and torn, called at one of the village inns the other day. He was asked what struck him most in Rainford.
"His reply was curious. He said he had travelled over the length and breadth of England, and from John o’Groats to Lands End, but he had never seen such a magnificent display of cone-shaped privets as those in the garden of Mr. Rosbotham in Church-road. It may be remarked here that these trees are an object of admiration not only to the villagers, but to many visitors as well. Even motorists often stop their cars to inspect them."
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the fan light that crashed on top of a Church Street shop's customer, the election shindy in Napier Street, the frank love letters read out in a separation order case and the electricity promotion in the Reporter.
This week's many stories include the remarkable cone-shaped privets in Rainford that stopped the traffic, the 17 persons sleeping in a two-bedroomed house, the maid who was attacked in Ravenhead, electricity is set to come to Rainford and the people in Leonard Street houses that said they could hear coal shifting under their feet.
We begin when George Power appeared before St Helens Police Court on the 18th on a charge of stealing a silver watch and 2s 6d cash.
The young man had come up from Wolverhampton and been taken in by Frank Locke of Derbyshire Hill Road who had also found him work.
But a month later Power rewarded his benefactor by taking off with his watch and money.
The Bench bound Power over and ordered him to pay 15 shillings compensation to Mr Locke, along with court costs.
Francis Murray of Duke Street appeared in St Helens Police Court this week accusing of assaulting a young woman.
Elsie Prescott worked as a maid at the Pilkington Boys Hostel in Ravenhead.
That was the home provided for the many lads that worked for the glass firm who had come to St Helens from all over the country – some of them orphans or having been incarcerated in a reformatory.
Elsie explained to the magistrates that she had been returning to the hostel at about 11 pm on the previous Saturday night and as she was walking up Greenbank she noticed a man following her.
She started to quicken her pace but he overtook her near to Nuttall's Bridge and said to her, "Can I come with you?"
Elsie said she told the man not to talk to her, as she didn't know him. He then pushed her towards a wall but she managed to escape.
However, he ran after her and at Ravenhead Lodge grabbed hold of her by the neck. Elsie said she screamed and struggled and two men rushed to her assistance.
One was a youth named William Lydiate who said he saw the girl running up Ravenhead Road in a breathless and excited condition screaming, "That man has got hold of me."
He and another man then said to Francis Murray, "What kind of a game do you think you are playing?" and then escorted him to the hostel.
The assistant matron from the hostel told the court that she had seen fingerprints and marks around Elsie's throat where she'd been seized.
Murray denied molesting Elsie "in any shape or form" claiming that he had mistaken her for someone else and was simply saying good night.
The man was fined £4, plus witness costs. It was not the first time Murray had been before the court and he was warned that if he appeared again he would probably be sent to prison.
The monthly meeting of Rainford Urban District Council was held this week and had some exciting news. Electricity was coming to the village!
Rural areas tended to be last in line for big improvement schemes due to their high cost in relation to their small population.
Although some works might invest in their own generators, electricity had not been considered feasible for street and domestic use in places like Rainford.
But the Government's Electricity Commissioners had come up with a scheme for rural districts in which they would lend local authorities the money needed on an interest-free basis over ten years.
St Helens Corporation would supply the electricity at an approximate cost of twopence per unit with Rainford paying for the installation of a substation that could potentially supply the whole village.
The initial cost of the scheme including power station and cabling would be approximately £3,000.
However, that was only for about 200 households and the amount excluded street lighting costs.
Although coming down in price, electricity was still expensive and it was not expected that many consumers in the village would want it at first.
Early adopters of electricity in Rainford would also have to pay £1 for each room of their home where it would be installed.
A Bill would have to be proposed in Parliament before the work could begin but Rainford Council gave provisional approval to the scheme.
The meeting also approved plans to widen some roads in and around the village.
Old Lane would have a stone wall set back to create more space and other improvements would be made at Hill Top (near the Bottle and Glass Inn) and at the Rainford boundary with Bickerstaffe.
Rainford was a fairly healthy place compared to St Helens and its Medical Officer, Dr Frank Prosser, reported to the meeting that there had only been three deaths during October – and these had been compensated by three births.
However, there had been two cases of diphtheria reported, two of pneumonia and one of scarlet fever, as well as at Rainford Junction several cases of measles had been notified.
As the air that Rainfordians breathed was cleaner than in much of St Helens and their living conditions were generally better, such sufferers had a greater chance of survival.
Some curious comments were made at the meeting of the St Helens Highways Committee on the 19th.
Arthur Bradley, the Borough Engineer, said there was a two-bedroom house in Leonard Street in Sutton in which a family of 10 persons were living that ought to be closed for repairs to be made.
The Town Clerk responded that there were in fact four houses there that badly needed maintenance but there was nowhere for the tenants to go while the work took place.
Mr Bradley explained that the owner had given notice to the persons in the four houses but none had left.
It was stated that the main problem was mining subsidence and it was claimed that the tenants of the houses could actually hear the sound of coal settling underneath their feet.
The Town Clerk warned that the Leonard Street houses might fall down and kill someone and they might say that Mr Bradley was responsible for killing them.
It was stated that the landlord was a responsible individual but had nowhere to place his tenants and upon been asked if the Corporation could temporary house them, the Town Clerk bluntly said: "No, we cannot."
Cllr Simm then said if the people were turned out of their homes they would be starved and "they might just as well be killed".
Another housing dispute was heard in St Helens County Court (pictured above) on the 19th where Judge Dowdall declared: "Whatever I do in this case, I do very reluctantly".
It was yet another hearing where someone living in overcrowded accommodation had bought a house to accommodate either themselves or members of their family.
But the sitting tenant in their new property continued to sit tight despite being given notice to quit because, they said, the housing shortage in St Helens meant they could not find another house.
Although there were many out of work or on short-time during the 1920s, the majority of people were in full-time employment and many of these were receiving good wages.
On what we would call HP, they could afford to buy luxury items, including motorbikes and for some even cars.
Others found they could purchase a house and make repayments that were not much more than the average weekly rent.
But they had to get the existing tenant out of their new property first, which was easier said than done and the recent war complicated matters.
George Kersey was an ex-serviceman who lived in rented premises in Dam Row (off Ravenhead Road) in St Helens, which were shared by six adults and eleven children.
The house was a typical "two up, two down" and so the mind boggles at the sleeping arrangements for the 17 inhabitants.
And so Mr Ketsey had managed to buy a house in Rivington Road, for some of the seventeen to share, easing the pressure on Dam Row.
But the sitting tenant in the new house was a war widow called Elizabeth Holden who had two children aged five and nine.
One of these was described as delicate and Mrs Holden's brother – who had been disabled in the war – also lived there.
Judge Dowdall usually granted possession in such cases insisting that he had no choice in the matter.
But his normal practice was to allow quite a long time for the sitting tenant to vacate their home.
It was the judgement of Solomon and he appears to have got fed up with evicting people in such cases.
And so this time the judge decided to make no order for possession, although he expressed great sympathy with both parties.
The judge added that he thought a warning should be given to people buying homes that they should first find out about the personal circumstances of those that were living in them.
"Old False Teeth Wanted" said an ad from a Manchester firm in the St Helens Reporter on the 21st.
"Big prices paid for old false teeth, any condition. Call or post. Goods sent by post, cash by return. Try us and get a square deal."
The St Helens branch of the NSPCC had an office in Croppers Hill and the Reporter said that during October they had 11 new cases to deal with that affected 35 children.
The Reporter also published this piece about a rather special garden in Rainford:
"An old roadster, who had in years fulfilled the Scriptural allotment of three score years and ten, and whose clothing was tattered and torn, called at one of the village inns the other day. He was asked what struck him most in Rainford.
"His reply was curious. He said he had travelled over the length and breadth of England, and from John o’Groats to Lands End, but he had never seen such a magnificent display of cone-shaped privets as those in the garden of Mr. Rosbotham in Church-road.
"It may be remarked here that these trees are an object of admiration not only to the villagers, but to many visitors as well. Even motorists often stop their cars to inspect them."
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the fan light that crashed on top of a Church Street shop's customer, the election shindy in Napier Street, the frank love letters read out in a separation order case and the electricity promotion in the Reporter.
We begin when George Power appeared before St Helens Police Court on the 18th on a charge of stealing a silver watch and 2s 6d cash.
The young man had come up from Wolverhampton and been taken in by Frank Locke of Derbyshire Hill Road who had also found him work.
But a month later Power rewarded his benefactor by taking off with his watch and money.
The Bench bound Power over and ordered him to pay 15 shillings compensation to Mr Locke, along with court costs.
Francis Murray of Duke Street appeared in St Helens Police Court this week accusing of assaulting a young woman.
Elsie Prescott worked as a maid at the Pilkington Boys Hostel in Ravenhead.
That was the home provided for the many lads that worked for the glass firm who had come to St Helens from all over the country – some of them orphans or having been incarcerated in a reformatory.
Elsie explained to the magistrates that she had been returning to the hostel at about 11 pm on the previous Saturday night and as she was walking up Greenbank she noticed a man following her.
She started to quicken her pace but he overtook her near to Nuttall's Bridge and said to her, "Can I come with you?"
Elsie said she told the man not to talk to her, as she didn't know him. He then pushed her towards a wall but she managed to escape.
However, he ran after her and at Ravenhead Lodge grabbed hold of her by the neck. Elsie said she screamed and struggled and two men rushed to her assistance.
One was a youth named William Lydiate who said he saw the girl running up Ravenhead Road in a breathless and excited condition screaming, "That man has got hold of me."
He and another man then said to Francis Murray, "What kind of a game do you think you are playing?" and then escorted him to the hostel.
The assistant matron from the hostel told the court that she had seen fingerprints and marks around Elsie's throat where she'd been seized.
Murray denied molesting Elsie "in any shape or form" claiming that he had mistaken her for someone else and was simply saying good night.
The man was fined £4, plus witness costs. It was not the first time Murray had been before the court and he was warned that if he appeared again he would probably be sent to prison.
The monthly meeting of Rainford Urban District Council was held this week and had some exciting news. Electricity was coming to the village!
Rural areas tended to be last in line for big improvement schemes due to their high cost in relation to their small population.
Although some works might invest in their own generators, electricity had not been considered feasible for street and domestic use in places like Rainford.
But the Government's Electricity Commissioners had come up with a scheme for rural districts in which they would lend local authorities the money needed on an interest-free basis over ten years.
St Helens Corporation would supply the electricity at an approximate cost of twopence per unit with Rainford paying for the installation of a substation that could potentially supply the whole village.
The initial cost of the scheme including power station and cabling would be approximately £3,000.
However, that was only for about 200 households and the amount excluded street lighting costs.
Although coming down in price, electricity was still expensive and it was not expected that many consumers in the village would want it at first.
Early adopters of electricity in Rainford would also have to pay £1 for each room of their home where it would be installed.
A Bill would have to be proposed in Parliament before the work could begin but Rainford Council gave provisional approval to the scheme.
The meeting also approved plans to widen some roads in and around the village.
Old Lane would have a stone wall set back to create more space and other improvements would be made at Hill Top (near the Bottle and Glass Inn) and at the Rainford boundary with Bickerstaffe.
Rainford was a fairly healthy place compared to St Helens and its Medical Officer, Dr Frank Prosser, reported to the meeting that there had only been three deaths during October – and these had been compensated by three births.
However, there had been two cases of diphtheria reported, two of pneumonia and one of scarlet fever, as well as at Rainford Junction several cases of measles had been notified.
As the air that Rainfordians breathed was cleaner than in much of St Helens and their living conditions were generally better, such sufferers had a greater chance of survival.
Some curious comments were made at the meeting of the St Helens Highways Committee on the 19th.
Arthur Bradley, the Borough Engineer, said there was a two-bedroom house in Leonard Street in Sutton in which a family of 10 persons were living that ought to be closed for repairs to be made.
The Town Clerk responded that there were in fact four houses there that badly needed maintenance but there was nowhere for the tenants to go while the work took place.
Mr Bradley explained that the owner had given notice to the persons in the four houses but none had left.
It was stated that the main problem was mining subsidence and it was claimed that the tenants of the houses could actually hear the sound of coal settling underneath their feet.
The Town Clerk warned that the Leonard Street houses might fall down and kill someone and they might say that Mr Bradley was responsible for killing them.
It was stated that the landlord was a responsible individual but had nowhere to place his tenants and upon been asked if the Corporation could temporary house them, the Town Clerk bluntly said: "No, we cannot."
Cllr Simm then said if the people were turned out of their homes they would be starved and "they might just as well be killed".
It was yet another hearing where someone living in overcrowded accommodation had bought a house to accommodate either themselves or members of their family.
But the sitting tenant in their new property continued to sit tight despite being given notice to quit because, they said, the housing shortage in St Helens meant they could not find another house.
Although there were many out of work or on short-time during the 1920s, the majority of people were in full-time employment and many of these were receiving good wages.
On what we would call HP, they could afford to buy luxury items, including motorbikes and for some even cars.
Others found they could purchase a house and make repayments that were not much more than the average weekly rent.
But they had to get the existing tenant out of their new property first, which was easier said than done and the recent war complicated matters.
George Kersey was an ex-serviceman who lived in rented premises in Dam Row (off Ravenhead Road) in St Helens, which were shared by six adults and eleven children.
The house was a typical "two up, two down" and so the mind boggles at the sleeping arrangements for the 17 inhabitants.
And so Mr Ketsey had managed to buy a house in Rivington Road, for some of the seventeen to share, easing the pressure on Dam Row.
But the sitting tenant in the new house was a war widow called Elizabeth Holden who had two children aged five and nine.
One of these was described as delicate and Mrs Holden's brother – who had been disabled in the war – also lived there.
Judge Dowdall usually granted possession in such cases insisting that he had no choice in the matter.
But his normal practice was to allow quite a long time for the sitting tenant to vacate their home.
It was the judgement of Solomon and he appears to have got fed up with evicting people in such cases.
And so this time the judge decided to make no order for possession, although he expressed great sympathy with both parties.
The judge added that he thought a warning should be given to people buying homes that they should first find out about the personal circumstances of those that were living in them.
"Old False Teeth Wanted" said an ad from a Manchester firm in the St Helens Reporter on the 21st.
"Big prices paid for old false teeth, any condition. Call or post. Goods sent by post, cash by return. Try us and get a square deal."
The St Helens branch of the NSPCC had an office in Croppers Hill and the Reporter said that during October they had 11 new cases to deal with that affected 35 children.
The Reporter also published this piece about a rather special garden in Rainford:
"An old roadster, who had in years fulfilled the Scriptural allotment of three score years and ten, and whose clothing was tattered and torn, called at one of the village inns the other day. He was asked what struck him most in Rainford.
"His reply was curious. He said he had travelled over the length and breadth of England, and from John o’Groats to Lands End, but he had never seen such a magnificent display of cone-shaped privets as those in the garden of Mr. Rosbotham in Church-road.
"It may be remarked here that these trees are an object of admiration not only to the villagers, but to many visitors as well. Even motorists often stop their cars to inspect them."
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the fan light that crashed on top of a Church Street shop's customer, the election shindy in Napier Street, the frank love letters read out in a separation order case and the electricity promotion in the Reporter.