IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 19 - 25 FEBRUARY 1924
This week's many stories include the complications caused by the housing crisis, the Gerards Bridge burning tragedy, the unhelpful publicity given to a young Peter Street couple's marital troubles, the food thief at the Salisbury Street lodging house, the singer who was ordered to quit town and it's last orders for the historic Red Lion – but there's a new Nags Head in the works.
Grimshaw Street in Sutton is named after the family that owned land on the north side of Mill Lane and who were benefactors to St Anne's RC Church. Their descendants owned a large lodging house in Salisbury Street in St Helens that was infamous at times as a place where homeless people could pay a penny a night to use a rope stretched across a room. Overcoats were placed over the line and the customers sagged on them with their arms positioned over the rope, sleeping almost in a sitting position. After WW2 the property was taken over by the Salvation Army and used as a hostel.
This week the man in charge of the lodging house had seen a youth called John Smith help himself to some margarine, bread, sugar and tea from a table and run away. He chased after him into Church Street before running out of steam. It was late at night and when Sgt. Harvey saw Smith sprinting down Market Street he stopped and arrested him. The magistrates remanded the 17-year-old for further enquiries to be made but later decided to give the youth another chance and bound Smith over for two years.
On the 20th John Gledhill was charged in court with singing in the streets of St Helens with the "purpose of begging alms". Gledhill said he was a Burnley man and had decided to wander the country looking for work. The magistrates did something that I don't think they would do today. They inspected Gledhill's hands and concluded that he had not worked for a considerable time. But like a sheriff in a Western film, they told Gledhill to get out of town and said they would dismiss the charge against him as long as he complied.
The council's Parks Committee met on the 20th and set the prices for using the Corporation's bowling greens for the coming season. That appeared to stretch from Easter until September or October. For the peak months of May to August bowlers would have to pay 3d a day and 2d during the other months. Councillor Woodward called for a reduction in the price of the bowling season ticket. But he was told that at 10s 6d, the St Helens' charge was far cheaper than other Lancashire towns, such as Manchester and Southport where they charged a guinea.
The housing and unemployment crises in St Helens created a double jeopardy for many people. Not only did they have great difficulty in paying their rent. But if their arrears led to their eviction, finding alternative accommodation was almost impossible. In St Helens County Court (pictured above) on the 20th a builder called Henry Wilson sought possession of a house in Prescot Road that he had bought for his married daughter to live in. It came with a sitting tenant and Wilson had been patiently waiting for him and his family to leave.
But the tenant Joseph Leigh said he could not find anywhere else to stay and he had also amassed £9 14s 6d arrears in rent. Mr Wilson told the court that his son-in-law had gone to work in Doncaster as he couldn't find a house in St Helens – but would return once the tenanted house was vacant. Leigh said would be happy to leave the house if he could find another and quoted the situation in Dunriding Lane. Pilkingtons were going to build 129 homes there but he claimed they already had 400 names on a waiting list.
The clerk to the court told the judge that over 1,000 houses were needed in the town but the latter still made an order for Leigh's eviction. However, the judge said it would be suspended as long as the defendant paid 4 shillings a week on top of his rent to pay off some of his arrears. When Joseph Leigh asked for the additional amount to be reduced to 3 shillings, Judge Dowdall said: "I do not think you have been trying to pay this rent, and this is the order of the court. If I am doing anyone an injustice, it is the plaintiff, and not you."
The inquest on Elizabeth Marsh from Stanley Street in Gerards Bridge was held on the 21st. The 13-year-old had been getting ready for school and in lighting the house fire had inadvertently set her clothing alight. Elizabeth ran about the house screaming and although her mother quickly smothered the flames with a blanket, she died later that day in hospital.
Her father John Marsh told the coroner that he had been off work for a fortnight with rheumatism and he had been badly burnt when attempting to put the flames out on his daughter. He said he would not be able to work for some time and had six other children at home to provide for. The coroner said Marsh's troubles seemed to have come all at once and he made him a grant of £3 from what used to be called his poor box.
On the 22nd the Volunteer Hall in Mill Street in St Helens hosted several boxing contests, including a 15-round fight featuring Haydock's Harry Morris. On the same day the St Helens Reporter wrote: "The sad matrimonial troubles of a young married couple were told to the magistrates at the St. Helens Police Court on Monday."
Well, their marriage problems would, I think, have been much easier to fix if the paper had not caused them great embarrassment by reporting what was said in court in great detail. But they knew that their readers loved such salacious stuff and although their reporting style could not be described as sensational, making such a big story out of a private matter was far from helpful to the couple.
Alice Punshon had gone to court to seek a separation order with maintenance payments from her husband George. The couple had married just over three years before and had lived with Alice's mother in Peter Street in St Helens. The newspaper report related private conversations and also described how Alice had found a letter written to George from a Miss Brown.
She was a former school friend of her husband and the letter had been sent after the pair had accidentally met on a tram. By today's standards the encounter appeared quite innocent but much was made of it in court. George blamed his wife's mother for interfering in their marriage but Alice said it had been her spouse's uncle and aunt that had been the troublemakers. She also claimed her husband stayed out late at night and said she couldn't trust him and he said Alice had refused to leave her mother's house and live with him in Haydock.
This was a case crying out for marriage guidance and in a way that's what they got. The Chairman of the Bench said they were not willing to make a separation order at present, as it would be far better for the parties to come to an amicable agreement between themselves. John Holmes, who was the court missionary/social worker, was asked to do his best to "smooth matters" between the couple. But whether Holmes could do any good after all the public criticism of George and Alice and their respective families was another matter.
The building that formerly housed the Nag's Head at the corner of Eccleston Street and Boundary Road (known locally as the "bottom noggs"), bears a plaque that says "1927" – although it was not the original pub of that name. On the 25th the St Helens licensing magistrates granted Greenall Whitley permission to demolish the first Nags Head in Eccleston Street and replace it with a larger building.
Their solicitor said there had been a big expansion of the population in the district and there was so great a crush when customers went in for their "dinner beer" that they found it almost impossible to get out again. It was quite common for the magistrates to do deals with the breweries and they sanctioned the rebuilding of the Nags Head upon condition that Greenall's gave up the Red Lion Hotel at the top of Bridge Street (pictured above). That was an historic pub but St Helens Corporation wanted to acquire the site to widen the road at that point.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the conman that kept donations for the unemployed, the theft from Jimmy James' dressing room in the Theatre Royal and why PC Parr on duty in Parr arrested a woman for shouting "ey up".
Grimshaw Street in Sutton is named after the family that owned land on the north side of Mill Lane and who were benefactors to St Anne's RC Church. Their descendants owned a large lodging house in Salisbury Street in St Helens that was infamous at times as a place where homeless people could pay a penny a night to use a rope stretched across a room. Overcoats were placed over the line and the customers sagged on them with their arms positioned over the rope, sleeping almost in a sitting position. After WW2 the property was taken over by the Salvation Army and used as a hostel.
This week the man in charge of the lodging house had seen a youth called John Smith help himself to some margarine, bread, sugar and tea from a table and run away. He chased after him into Church Street before running out of steam. It was late at night and when Sgt. Harvey saw Smith sprinting down Market Street he stopped and arrested him. The magistrates remanded the 17-year-old for further enquiries to be made but later decided to give the youth another chance and bound Smith over for two years.
On the 20th John Gledhill was charged in court with singing in the streets of St Helens with the "purpose of begging alms". Gledhill said he was a Burnley man and had decided to wander the country looking for work. The magistrates did something that I don't think they would do today. They inspected Gledhill's hands and concluded that he had not worked for a considerable time. But like a sheriff in a Western film, they told Gledhill to get out of town and said they would dismiss the charge against him as long as he complied.
The council's Parks Committee met on the 20th and set the prices for using the Corporation's bowling greens for the coming season. That appeared to stretch from Easter until September or October. For the peak months of May to August bowlers would have to pay 3d a day and 2d during the other months. Councillor Woodward called for a reduction in the price of the bowling season ticket. But he was told that at 10s 6d, the St Helens' charge was far cheaper than other Lancashire towns, such as Manchester and Southport where they charged a guinea.
But the tenant Joseph Leigh said he could not find anywhere else to stay and he had also amassed £9 14s 6d arrears in rent. Mr Wilson told the court that his son-in-law had gone to work in Doncaster as he couldn't find a house in St Helens – but would return once the tenanted house was vacant. Leigh said would be happy to leave the house if he could find another and quoted the situation in Dunriding Lane. Pilkingtons were going to build 129 homes there but he claimed they already had 400 names on a waiting list.
The clerk to the court told the judge that over 1,000 houses were needed in the town but the latter still made an order for Leigh's eviction. However, the judge said it would be suspended as long as the defendant paid 4 shillings a week on top of his rent to pay off some of his arrears. When Joseph Leigh asked for the additional amount to be reduced to 3 shillings, Judge Dowdall said: "I do not think you have been trying to pay this rent, and this is the order of the court. If I am doing anyone an injustice, it is the plaintiff, and not you."
The inquest on Elizabeth Marsh from Stanley Street in Gerards Bridge was held on the 21st. The 13-year-old had been getting ready for school and in lighting the house fire had inadvertently set her clothing alight. Elizabeth ran about the house screaming and although her mother quickly smothered the flames with a blanket, she died later that day in hospital.
Her father John Marsh told the coroner that he had been off work for a fortnight with rheumatism and he had been badly burnt when attempting to put the flames out on his daughter. He said he would not be able to work for some time and had six other children at home to provide for. The coroner said Marsh's troubles seemed to have come all at once and he made him a grant of £3 from what used to be called his poor box.
On the 22nd the Volunteer Hall in Mill Street in St Helens hosted several boxing contests, including a 15-round fight featuring Haydock's Harry Morris. On the same day the St Helens Reporter wrote: "The sad matrimonial troubles of a young married couple were told to the magistrates at the St. Helens Police Court on Monday."
Well, their marriage problems would, I think, have been much easier to fix if the paper had not caused them great embarrassment by reporting what was said in court in great detail. But they knew that their readers loved such salacious stuff and although their reporting style could not be described as sensational, making such a big story out of a private matter was far from helpful to the couple.
Alice Punshon had gone to court to seek a separation order with maintenance payments from her husband George. The couple had married just over three years before and had lived with Alice's mother in Peter Street in St Helens. The newspaper report related private conversations and also described how Alice had found a letter written to George from a Miss Brown.
She was a former school friend of her husband and the letter had been sent after the pair had accidentally met on a tram. By today's standards the encounter appeared quite innocent but much was made of it in court. George blamed his wife's mother for interfering in their marriage but Alice said it had been her spouse's uncle and aunt that had been the troublemakers. She also claimed her husband stayed out late at night and said she couldn't trust him and he said Alice had refused to leave her mother's house and live with him in Haydock.
This was a case crying out for marriage guidance and in a way that's what they got. The Chairman of the Bench said they were not willing to make a separation order at present, as it would be far better for the parties to come to an amicable agreement between themselves. John Holmes, who was the court missionary/social worker, was asked to do his best to "smooth matters" between the couple. But whether Holmes could do any good after all the public criticism of George and Alice and their respective families was another matter.
The building that formerly housed the Nag's Head at the corner of Eccleston Street and Boundary Road (known locally as the "bottom noggs"), bears a plaque that says "1927" – although it was not the original pub of that name. On the 25th the St Helens licensing magistrates granted Greenall Whitley permission to demolish the first Nags Head in Eccleston Street and replace it with a larger building.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the conman that kept donations for the unemployed, the theft from Jimmy James' dressing room in the Theatre Royal and why PC Parr on duty in Parr arrested a woman for shouting "ey up".
This week's many stories include the complications caused by the housing crisis, the Gerards Bridge burning tragedy, the unhelpful publicity given to a young Peter Street couple's marital troubles, the food thief at the Salisbury Street lodging house, the singer who was ordered to quit town and it's last orders for the historic Red Lion – but there's a new Nags Head in the works.
Grimshaw Street in Sutton is named after the family that owned land on the north side of Mill Lane and who were benefactors to St Anne's RC Church.
Their descendants owned a large lodging house in Salisbury Street in St Helens that was infamous at times as a place where homeless people could pay a penny a night to use a rope stretched across a room.
Overcoats were placed over the line and the customers sagged on them with their arms positioned over the rope, sleeping almost in a sitting position.
After WW2 the property was taken over by the Salvation Army and used as a hostel.
This week the man in charge of the lodging house had seen a youth called John Smith help himself to some margarine, bread, sugar and tea from a table and run away. He chased after him into Church Street before running out of steam.
It was late at night and when Sgt. Harvey saw Smith sprinting down Market Street he stopped and arrested him.
The magistrates remanded the 17-year-old for further enquiries to be made but later decided to give the youth another chance and bound Smith over for two years.
On the 20th John Gledhill was charged in court with singing in the streets of St Helens with the "purpose of begging alms".
Gledhill said he was a Burnley man and had decided to wander the country looking for work.
The magistrates did something that I don't think they would do today. They inspected Gledhill's hands and concluded that he had not worked for a considerable time.
But like a sheriff in a Western film, they told Gledhill to get out of town and said they would dismiss the charge against him as long as he complied.
The council's Parks Committee met on the 20th and set the prices for using the Corporation's bowling greens for the coming season.
That appeared to stretch from Easter until September or October. For the peak months of May to August bowlers would have to pay 3d a day and 2d during the other months.
Councillor Woodward called for a reduction in the price of the bowling season ticket. But he was told that at 10s 6d, the St Helens' charge was far cheaper than other Lancashire towns, such as Manchester and Southport where they charged a guinea.
The housing and unemployment crises in St Helens created a double jeopardy for many people.
Not only did they have great difficulty in paying their rent. But if their arrears led to their eviction, finding alternative accommodation was almost impossible.
In St Helens County Court (pictured above) on the 20th a builder called Henry Wilson sought possession of a house in Prescot Road that he had bought for his married daughter to live in.
It came with a sitting tenant and Wilson had been patiently waiting for him and his family to leave.
But the tenant Joseph Leigh said he could not find anywhere else to stay and he had also amassed £9 14s 6d arrears in rent.
Mr Wilson told the court that his son-in-law had gone to work in Doncaster as he couldn't find a house in St Helens – but would return once the tenanted house was vacant.
Leigh said would be happy to leave the house if he could find another and quoted the situation in Dunriding Lane.
Pilkingtons were going to build 129 homes there but he claimed they already had 400 names on a waiting list.
The clerk to the court told the judge that over 1,000 houses were needed in the town but the latter still made an order for Leigh's eviction.
However, the judge said it would be suspended as long as the defendant paid 4 shillings a week on top of his rent to pay off some of his arrears.
When Joseph Leigh asked for the additional amount to be reduced to 3 shillings, Judge Dowdall said:
"I do not think you have been trying to pay this rent, and this is the order of the court. If I am doing anyone an injustice, it is the plaintiff, and not you."
The inquest on Elizabeth Marsh from Stanley Street in Gerards Bridge was held on the 21st.
The 13-year-old had been getting ready for school and in lighting the house fire had inadvertently set her clothing alight.
Elizabeth ran about the house screaming and although her mother quickly smothered the flames with a blanket, she died later that day in hospital.
Her father John Marsh told the coroner that he had been off work for a fortnight with rheumatism and he had been badly burnt when attempting to put the flames out on his daughter.
He said he would not be able to work for some time and had six other children at home to provide for.
The coroner said Marsh's troubles seemed to have come all at once and he made him a grant of £3 from what used to be called his poor box.
On the 22nd the Volunteer Hall in Mill Street in St Helens hosted several boxing contests, including a 15-round fight featuring Haydock's Harry Morris.
On the same day the St Helens Reporter wrote: "The sad matrimonial troubles of a young married couple were told to the magistrates at the St. Helens Police Court on Monday."
Well, their marriage problems would, I think, have been much easier to fix if the paper had not caused them great embarrassment by reporting what was said in court in great detail.
But they knew that their readers loved such salacious stuff and although their reporting style could not be described as sensational, making such a big story out of a private matter was far from helpful to the couple.
Alice Punshon had gone to court to seek a separation order with maintenance payments from her husband George.
The couple had married just over three years before and had lived with Alice's mother in Peter Street in St Helens.
The newspaper report related private conversations and also described how Alice had found a letter written to George from a Miss Brown.
She was a former school friend of her husband and the letter had been sent after the pair had accidentally met on a tram.
By today's standards the encounter appeared quite innocent but much was made of it in court.
George blamed his wife's mother for interfering in their marriage but Alice said it had been her spouse's uncle and aunt that had been the troublemakers.
She also claimed her husband stayed out late at night and said she couldn't trust him and he said Alice had refused to leave her mother's house and live with him in Haydock.
This was a case crying out for marriage guidance and in a way that's what they got.
The Chairman of the Bench said they were not willing to make a separation order at present, as it would be far better for the parties to come to an amicable agreement between themselves.
John Holmes, who was the court missionary/social worker, was asked to do his best to "smooth matters" between the couple.
But whether Holmes could do any good after all the public criticism of George and Alice and their respective families was another matter.
The building that formerly housed the Nag's Head at the corner of Eccleston Street and Boundary Road (known locally as the "bottom noggs"), bears a plaque that says "1927" – although it was not the original pub of that name.
On the 25th the St Helens licensing magistrates granted Greenall Whitley permission to demolish the first Nags Head in Eccleston Street and replace it with a larger building.
Their solicitor said there had been a big expansion of the population in the district and there was so great a crush when customers went in for their "dinner beer" that they found it almost impossible to get out again.
It was quite common for the magistrates to do deals with the breweries and they sanctioned the rebuilding of the Nags Head upon condition that Greenall's gave up the Red Lion Hotel at the top of Bridge Street (pictured above).
That was an historic pub but St Helens Corporation wanted to acquire the site to widen the road at that point.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the conman that kept donations for the unemployed, the theft from Jimmy James' dressing room in the Theatre Royal and why PC Parr on duty in Parr arrested a woman for shouting "ey up".
Grimshaw Street in Sutton is named after the family that owned land on the north side of Mill Lane and who were benefactors to St Anne's RC Church.
Their descendants owned a large lodging house in Salisbury Street in St Helens that was infamous at times as a place where homeless people could pay a penny a night to use a rope stretched across a room.
Overcoats were placed over the line and the customers sagged on them with their arms positioned over the rope, sleeping almost in a sitting position.
After WW2 the property was taken over by the Salvation Army and used as a hostel.
This week the man in charge of the lodging house had seen a youth called John Smith help himself to some margarine, bread, sugar and tea from a table and run away. He chased after him into Church Street before running out of steam.
It was late at night and when Sgt. Harvey saw Smith sprinting down Market Street he stopped and arrested him.
The magistrates remanded the 17-year-old for further enquiries to be made but later decided to give the youth another chance and bound Smith over for two years.
On the 20th John Gledhill was charged in court with singing in the streets of St Helens with the "purpose of begging alms".
Gledhill said he was a Burnley man and had decided to wander the country looking for work.
The magistrates did something that I don't think they would do today. They inspected Gledhill's hands and concluded that he had not worked for a considerable time.
But like a sheriff in a Western film, they told Gledhill to get out of town and said they would dismiss the charge against him as long as he complied.
The council's Parks Committee met on the 20th and set the prices for using the Corporation's bowling greens for the coming season.
That appeared to stretch from Easter until September or October. For the peak months of May to August bowlers would have to pay 3d a day and 2d during the other months.
Councillor Woodward called for a reduction in the price of the bowling season ticket. But he was told that at 10s 6d, the St Helens' charge was far cheaper than other Lancashire towns, such as Manchester and Southport where they charged a guinea.
The housing and unemployment crises in St Helens created a double jeopardy for many people.
Not only did they have great difficulty in paying their rent. But if their arrears led to their eviction, finding alternative accommodation was almost impossible.
It came with a sitting tenant and Wilson had been patiently waiting for him and his family to leave.
But the tenant Joseph Leigh said he could not find anywhere else to stay and he had also amassed £9 14s 6d arrears in rent.
Mr Wilson told the court that his son-in-law had gone to work in Doncaster as he couldn't find a house in St Helens – but would return once the tenanted house was vacant.
Leigh said would be happy to leave the house if he could find another and quoted the situation in Dunriding Lane.
Pilkingtons were going to build 129 homes there but he claimed they already had 400 names on a waiting list.
The clerk to the court told the judge that over 1,000 houses were needed in the town but the latter still made an order for Leigh's eviction.
However, the judge said it would be suspended as long as the defendant paid 4 shillings a week on top of his rent to pay off some of his arrears.
When Joseph Leigh asked for the additional amount to be reduced to 3 shillings, Judge Dowdall said:
"I do not think you have been trying to pay this rent, and this is the order of the court. If I am doing anyone an injustice, it is the plaintiff, and not you."
The inquest on Elizabeth Marsh from Stanley Street in Gerards Bridge was held on the 21st.
The 13-year-old had been getting ready for school and in lighting the house fire had inadvertently set her clothing alight.
Elizabeth ran about the house screaming and although her mother quickly smothered the flames with a blanket, she died later that day in hospital.
Her father John Marsh told the coroner that he had been off work for a fortnight with rheumatism and he had been badly burnt when attempting to put the flames out on his daughter.
He said he would not be able to work for some time and had six other children at home to provide for.
The coroner said Marsh's troubles seemed to have come all at once and he made him a grant of £3 from what used to be called his poor box.
On the 22nd the Volunteer Hall in Mill Street in St Helens hosted several boxing contests, including a 15-round fight featuring Haydock's Harry Morris.
On the same day the St Helens Reporter wrote: "The sad matrimonial troubles of a young married couple were told to the magistrates at the St. Helens Police Court on Monday."
Well, their marriage problems would, I think, have been much easier to fix if the paper had not caused them great embarrassment by reporting what was said in court in great detail.
But they knew that their readers loved such salacious stuff and although their reporting style could not be described as sensational, making such a big story out of a private matter was far from helpful to the couple.
Alice Punshon had gone to court to seek a separation order with maintenance payments from her husband George.
The couple had married just over three years before and had lived with Alice's mother in Peter Street in St Helens.
The newspaper report related private conversations and also described how Alice had found a letter written to George from a Miss Brown.
She was a former school friend of her husband and the letter had been sent after the pair had accidentally met on a tram.
By today's standards the encounter appeared quite innocent but much was made of it in court.
George blamed his wife's mother for interfering in their marriage but Alice said it had been her spouse's uncle and aunt that had been the troublemakers.
She also claimed her husband stayed out late at night and said she couldn't trust him and he said Alice had refused to leave her mother's house and live with him in Haydock.
This was a case crying out for marriage guidance and in a way that's what they got.
The Chairman of the Bench said they were not willing to make a separation order at present, as it would be far better for the parties to come to an amicable agreement between themselves.
John Holmes, who was the court missionary/social worker, was asked to do his best to "smooth matters" between the couple.
But whether Holmes could do any good after all the public criticism of George and Alice and their respective families was another matter.
The building that formerly housed the Nag's Head at the corner of Eccleston Street and Boundary Road (known locally as the "bottom noggs"), bears a plaque that says "1927" – although it was not the original pub of that name.
On the 25th the St Helens licensing magistrates granted Greenall Whitley permission to demolish the first Nags Head in Eccleston Street and replace it with a larger building.
Their solicitor said there had been a big expansion of the population in the district and there was so great a crush when customers went in for their "dinner beer" that they found it almost impossible to get out again.
That was an historic pub but St Helens Corporation wanted to acquire the site to widen the road at that point.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the conman that kept donations for the unemployed, the theft from Jimmy James' dressing room in the Theatre Royal and why PC Parr on duty in Parr arrested a woman for shouting "ey up".