IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 26 JAN - 1 FEB 1926
This week's many stories include the twenty-seven hawkers that were summoned to court, the poor lighting in Eccleston, the unlawful pawning of children's clogs, the shabbily dressed woman given a talking to in court and the Sutton Manor Colliery miner who gave his life for his brother.
We begin during the evening of the 26th when a public meeting was held in what was described as the Eccleston Council Schools to set a lighting rate for Eccleston village. There was much dissatisfaction with the state of the lighting on Eccleston Hill, with places like Grange Drive said to be completely in the dark. It was complained that tramps and roughs wandered off the main road from Liverpool and prowled around their houses.
The chairman of the meeting said the matter had been considered previously but they did not have the money to provide all the lighting that was wanted, with places such as Eccleston Park also demanding additional lighting. And a farmer called Fairclough made a strong plea for lights to be provided in Springfield Lane.
There were also complaints that the lamps in Eccleston were not cleaned as often as they were in St Helens, with a retired school teacher called Davies causing laughter by saying that periodically the lamps around the Seven Stars had measles.
What was officially known as the St Helens Police Aided Scheme for Clothing Destitute Children was more commonly called the "Clog and Stocking Fund". Since it began in 1912 the scheme had helped around 10,000 children in St Helens. The clothing dished out included over 8,000 pairs of clogs and 7,000 pairs of stockings, as well as jackets, trousers and undergarments.
But technically the clothing never belonged to the children or their parents. The items were on loan to them from the Police Association and the child's mother had to sign a form saying they would not be sold or pawned. That led to Hannah Davies of Brook Street appearing in the St Helens Police Court this week to face two charges. One was of unlawfully pawning a pair of children's clogs and the other was of stealing a pair of gent's shoes.
Superintendent Dunn told the court that the defendant had gone into Rothery's pawnshop in Westfield Street and attempted to pledge a pair of new men's shoes. The assistant was suspicious but Mrs Davies insisted that they belonged to her husband but admitted that she had no receipt. It transpired that the shoes were the property of Charles Shiffman and had been stolen from the doorway of his Tontine Street premises on the previous Saturday night, when town centre shops remained open until very late.
When the woman was arrested for the theft, the police found in her possession a number of pawn tickets. One referred to a pair of child's clogs that had been pledged at Dromgoole's pawnshop in Westfield Street. These had been loaned to Mrs Davies a couple of years previously and she had signed a declaration that she would not sell or pawn the clogs.
When she was charged with the offence, Mrs Davies told the police that she had been hard up and needed money to buy bread. Her husband was employed at Varley's iron foundry but only received just over 30 shillings a week and she had six children to keep. The Bench said that taking all her circumstances into consideration, they had decided to bind her over for two years on probation.
The only court hearings in St Helens that were adjudicated by a judge took place at the St Helens County Court in East Street. The weekly hearings considered a very large number of cases mainly concerned with unpaid debt and the judge there could, at times, be quite arrogant and even rude. This week what the Reporter described as a "little shabbily dressed woman" was sharply spoken to by Judge Challenor Dowdall, who had a reputation for blunt talking.
The unidentified woman had placed an order for a picture to be framed but, according to the framer, she had only paid part of the bill. However, the woman insisted that she had paid it in full but had no receipt to prove her case. And she insisted that with her miner husband being on short-time, she was incapable of paying the amount that the picture framer claimed she still owed.
But the woman made the mistake of talking back to the judge after he had made an order for her to pay two shillings a month off her arrears. As the woman left the court, she loudly shouted: "You'll never get it". To that remark the judge told the court usher: "Bring that woman back". As she was returned to the witness box, Judge Dowdall said to her: "The man has framed your pictures. Did you expect him to do it for nothing because your husband was working short time?"
The woman replied that she had already paid the debt. To that the judge remarked: "I know differently. There are some people who, if working conditions are bad, think it a grievance if they have to pay for things they order. You knew you were doing badly, yet you ordered the picture to be framed, and you must pay for it. It is not even food or a necessity."
The woman: "I don't like to pay a debt twice over." Judge Dowdall: "I've seen the papers and I'm quite satisfied it is owing. You've only paid 4s. 6d. and that has been deducted from the bill. You can't produce any receipt. Go away. Don't say anything more."
At the inquest on Samuel Cook this week the Coroner declared: "I think he gave his life for his brother". The 32-year-old from Forest Road, along with his brother Harold, had been buried for up to 7 hours under 40 tons of dirt down Sutton Manor Colliery (pictured above) after a roof collapse. Samuel had no children and he had continually urged their rescuers to first liberate Harold who had two youngsters. A second roof fall subsequently occurred and some time elapsed before both brothers could be freed, with the rescuers concentrating their efforts on releasing Harold.
Samuel died in hospital but Harold was described as recovering. Praise was also given at the inquest to Dr Campbell, the colliery doctor, and Dr Fraser, the house surgeon at St Helens Hospital, both of whom descended the pit to attend to the men. The fall occurred while Arthur Nicholson, the Chief Mine Inspector, was at the colliery inquiring into a mishap that had occurred on the previous day when eight out of thirty men travelling in a pit cage had been slightly injured.
I expect that the authorities in St Helens Police Court on February 1st were not unhappy that none of the 27 hawkers from Manchester summoned for hawking without licences failed to turn up. Imagine squeezing all those in the dock! Sgt Beaumont gave evidence that on December 21st he had seen four men working Keswick Road from door to door.
They had no licences and in reply to questions said they had come from Manchester with many others and that the man in charge of them possessed a licence. Someone from the firm that employed the hawkers did appear in court and said they thought their single licence would cover all twenty-seven. They were each fined 5 shillings.
And finally, throughout January the Hippodrome Theatre had been presenting a number of pantomimes and from the 1st they had what was described as the "last and best pantomime of the season!" That was 'Goldilocks and The Three Bears'. Their Reporter advert said: "See! See! The Home of the Bears. The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers in the Toy Fort. The Beautiful Rose Ballet."
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include a call for a first-class hotel in St Helens, the woman who went to court because her grandchildren were driving her mad, the short-weight bread on sale and criticism of the train service between St Helens and Liverpool.
We begin during the evening of the 26th when a public meeting was held in what was described as the Eccleston Council Schools to set a lighting rate for Eccleston village. There was much dissatisfaction with the state of the lighting on Eccleston Hill, with places like Grange Drive said to be completely in the dark. It was complained that tramps and roughs wandered off the main road from Liverpool and prowled around their houses.
The chairman of the meeting said the matter had been considered previously but they did not have the money to provide all the lighting that was wanted, with places such as Eccleston Park also demanding additional lighting. And a farmer called Fairclough made a strong plea for lights to be provided in Springfield Lane.
There were also complaints that the lamps in Eccleston were not cleaned as often as they were in St Helens, with a retired school teacher called Davies causing laughter by saying that periodically the lamps around the Seven Stars had measles.
What was officially known as the St Helens Police Aided Scheme for Clothing Destitute Children was more commonly called the "Clog and Stocking Fund". Since it began in 1912 the scheme had helped around 10,000 children in St Helens. The clothing dished out included over 8,000 pairs of clogs and 7,000 pairs of stockings, as well as jackets, trousers and undergarments.
But technically the clothing never belonged to the children or their parents. The items were on loan to them from the Police Association and the child's mother had to sign a form saying they would not be sold or pawned. That led to Hannah Davies of Brook Street appearing in the St Helens Police Court this week to face two charges. One was of unlawfully pawning a pair of children's clogs and the other was of stealing a pair of gent's shoes.
Superintendent Dunn told the court that the defendant had gone into Rothery's pawnshop in Westfield Street and attempted to pledge a pair of new men's shoes. The assistant was suspicious but Mrs Davies insisted that they belonged to her husband but admitted that she had no receipt. It transpired that the shoes were the property of Charles Shiffman and had been stolen from the doorway of his Tontine Street premises on the previous Saturday night, when town centre shops remained open until very late.
When the woman was arrested for the theft, the police found in her possession a number of pawn tickets. One referred to a pair of child's clogs that had been pledged at Dromgoole's pawnshop in Westfield Street. These had been loaned to Mrs Davies a couple of years previously and she had signed a declaration that she would not sell or pawn the clogs.
When she was charged with the offence, Mrs Davies told the police that she had been hard up and needed money to buy bread. Her husband was employed at Varley's iron foundry but only received just over 30 shillings a week and she had six children to keep. The Bench said that taking all her circumstances into consideration, they had decided to bind her over for two years on probation.
The only court hearings in St Helens that were adjudicated by a judge took place at the St Helens County Court in East Street. The weekly hearings considered a very large number of cases mainly concerned with unpaid debt and the judge there could, at times, be quite arrogant and even rude. This week what the Reporter described as a "little shabbily dressed woman" was sharply spoken to by Judge Challenor Dowdall, who had a reputation for blunt talking.
The unidentified woman had placed an order for a picture to be framed but, according to the framer, she had only paid part of the bill. However, the woman insisted that she had paid it in full but had no receipt to prove her case. And she insisted that with her miner husband being on short-time, she was incapable of paying the amount that the picture framer claimed she still owed.
But the woman made the mistake of talking back to the judge after he had made an order for her to pay two shillings a month off her arrears. As the woman left the court, she loudly shouted: "You'll never get it". To that remark the judge told the court usher: "Bring that woman back". As she was returned to the witness box, Judge Dowdall said to her: "The man has framed your pictures. Did you expect him to do it for nothing because your husband was working short time?"
The woman replied that she had already paid the debt. To that the judge remarked: "I know differently. There are some people who, if working conditions are bad, think it a grievance if they have to pay for things they order. You knew you were doing badly, yet you ordered the picture to be framed, and you must pay for it. It is not even food or a necessity."
The woman: "I don't like to pay a debt twice over." Judge Dowdall: "I've seen the papers and I'm quite satisfied it is owing. You've only paid 4s. 6d. and that has been deducted from the bill. You can't produce any receipt. Go away. Don't say anything more."
Samuel died in hospital but Harold was described as recovering. Praise was also given at the inquest to Dr Campbell, the colliery doctor, and Dr Fraser, the house surgeon at St Helens Hospital, both of whom descended the pit to attend to the men. The fall occurred while Arthur Nicholson, the Chief Mine Inspector, was at the colliery inquiring into a mishap that had occurred on the previous day when eight out of thirty men travelling in a pit cage had been slightly injured.
I expect that the authorities in St Helens Police Court on February 1st were not unhappy that none of the 27 hawkers from Manchester summoned for hawking without licences failed to turn up. Imagine squeezing all those in the dock! Sgt Beaumont gave evidence that on December 21st he had seen four men working Keswick Road from door to door.
They had no licences and in reply to questions said they had come from Manchester with many others and that the man in charge of them possessed a licence. Someone from the firm that employed the hawkers did appear in court and said they thought their single licence would cover all twenty-seven. They were each fined 5 shillings.
And finally, throughout January the Hippodrome Theatre had been presenting a number of pantomimes and from the 1st they had what was described as the "last and best pantomime of the season!" That was 'Goldilocks and The Three Bears'. Their Reporter advert said: "See! See! The Home of the Bears. The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers in the Toy Fort. The Beautiful Rose Ballet."
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include a call for a first-class hotel in St Helens, the woman who went to court because her grandchildren were driving her mad, the short-weight bread on sale and criticism of the train service between St Helens and Liverpool.
This week's many stories include the twenty-seven hawkers that were summoned to court, the poor lighting in Eccleston, the unlawful pawning of children's clogs, the shabbily dressed woman given a talking to in court and the Sutton Manor Colliery miner who gave his life for his brother.
We begin during the evening of the 26th when a public meeting was held in what was described as the Eccleston Council Schools to set a lighting rate for Eccleston village.
There was much dissatisfaction with the state of the lighting on Eccleston Hill, with places like Grange Drive said to be completely in the dark.
It was complained that tramps and roughs wandered off the main road from Liverpool and prowled around their houses.
The chairman of the meeting said the matter had been considered previously but they did not have the money to provide all the lighting that was wanted, with places such as Eccleston Park also demanding additional lighting.
And a farmer called Fairclough made a strong plea for lights to be provided in Springfield Lane.
There were also complaints that the lamps in Eccleston were not cleaned as often as they were in St Helens, with a retired school teacher called Davies causing laughter by saying that periodically the lamps around the Seven Stars had measles.
What was officially known as the St Helens Police Aided Scheme for Clothing Destitute Children was more commonly called the "Clog and Stocking Fund".
Since it began in 1912 the scheme had helped around 10,000 children in St Helens. The clothing dished out included over 8,000 pairs of clogs and 7,000 pairs of stockings, as well as jackets, trousers and undergarments.
But technically the clothing never belonged to the children or their parents.
The items were on loan to them from the Police Association and the child's mother had to sign a form saying they would not be sold or pawned.
That led to Hannah Davies of Brook Street appearing in the St Helens Police Court this week to face two charges.
One was of unlawfully pawning a pair of children's clogs and the other was of stealing a pair of gent's shoes.
Superintendent Dunn told the court that the defendant had gone into Rothery's pawnshop in Westfield Street and attempted to pledge a pair of new men's shoes.
The assistant was suspicious but Mrs Davies insisted that they belonged to her husband but admitted that she had no receipt.
It transpired that the shoes were the property of Charles Shiffman and had been stolen from the doorway of his Tontine Street premises on the previous Saturday night, when town centre shops remained open until very late.
When the woman was arrested for the theft, the police found in her possession a number of pawn tickets.
One referred to a pair of child's clogs that had been pledged at Dromgoole's pawnshop in Westfield Street.
These had been loaned to Mrs Davies a couple of years previously and she had signed a declaration that she would not sell or pawn the clogs.
When she was charged with the offence, Mrs Davies told the police that she had been hard up and needed money to buy bread.
Her husband was employed at Varley's iron foundry but only received just over 30 shillings a week and she had six children to keep.
The Bench said that taking all her circumstances into consideration, they had decided to bind her over for two years on probation.
The only court hearings in St Helens that were adjudicated by a judge took place at the St Helens County Court in East Street.
The weekly hearings considered a very large number of cases mainly concerned with unpaid debt and the judge there could, at times, be quite arrogant and even rude.
This week what the Reporter described as a "little shabbily dressed woman" was sharply spoken to by Judge Challenor Dowdall, who had a reputation for blunt talking.
The unidentified woman had placed an order for a picture to be framed but, according to the framer, she had only paid part of the bill.
However, the woman insisted that she had paid it in full but had no receipt to prove her case.
And she insisted that with her miner husband being on short-time, she was incapable of paying the amount that the picture framer claimed she still owed.
But the woman made the mistake of talking back to the judge after he had made an order for her to pay two shillings a month off her arrears.
As the woman left the court, she loudly shouted: "You'll never get it".
To that remark the judge told the court usher: "Bring that woman back".
As she was returned to the witness box, Judge Dowdall said to her:
"The man has framed your pictures. Did you expect him to do it for nothing because your husband was working short time?"
The woman replied that she had already paid the debt. To that the judge remarked:
"I know differently. There are some people who, if working conditions are bad, think it a grievance if they have to pay for things they order. You knew you were doing badly, yet you ordered the picture to be framed, and you must pay for it. It is not even food or a necessity."
The woman: "I don't like to pay a debt twice over."
Judge Dowdall: "I've seen the papers and I'm quite satisfied it is owing. You've only paid 4s. 6d. and that has been deducted from the bill. You can't produce any receipt. Go away. Don't say anything more."
At the inquest on Samuel Cook this week the Coroner declared: "I think he gave his life for his brother".
The 32-year-old from Forest Road, along with his brother Harold, had been buried for up to 7 hours under 40 tons of dirt down Sutton Manor Colliery (pictured above) after a roof collapse.
Samuel had no children and he had continually urged their rescuers to first liberate Harold who had two youngsters.
A second roof fall subsequently occurred and some time elapsed before both brothers could be freed, with the rescuers concentrating their efforts on releasing Harold.
Samuel died in hospital but Harold was described as recovering.
Praise was also given at the inquest to Dr Campbell, the colliery doctor, and Dr Fraser, the house surgeon at St Helens Hospital, both of whom descended the pit to attend to the men.
The fall occurred while Arthur Nicholson, the Chief Mine Inspector, was at the colliery inquiring into a mishap that had occurred on the previous day when eight out of thirty men travelling in a pit cage had been slightly injured.
I expect that the authorities in St Helens Police Court on February 1st were not unhappy that none of the 27 hawkers from Manchester summoned for hawking without licences failed to turn up. Imagine squeezing all those in the dock!
Sgt Beaumont gave evidence that on December 21st he had seen four men working Keswick Road from door to door.
They had no licences and in reply to questions said they had come from Manchester with many others and that the man in charge of them possessed a licence.
Someone from the firm that employed the hawkers did appear in court and said they thought their single licence would cover all twenty-seven. They were each fined 5 shillings.
And finally, throughout January the Hippodrome Theatre had been presenting a number of pantomimes and from the 1st they had what was described as the "last and best pantomime of the season!"
That was 'Goldilocks and The Three Bears'. Their Reporter advert said: "See! See! The Home of the Bears. The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers in the Toy Fort. The Beautiful Rose Ballet."
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include a call for a first-class hotel in St Helens, the woman who went to court because her grandchildren were driving her mad, the short-weight bread on sale and criticism of the train service between St Helens and Liverpool.
We begin during the evening of the 26th when a public meeting was held in what was described as the Eccleston Council Schools to set a lighting rate for Eccleston village.
There was much dissatisfaction with the state of the lighting on Eccleston Hill, with places like Grange Drive said to be completely in the dark.
It was complained that tramps and roughs wandered off the main road from Liverpool and prowled around their houses.
The chairman of the meeting said the matter had been considered previously but they did not have the money to provide all the lighting that was wanted, with places such as Eccleston Park also demanding additional lighting.
And a farmer called Fairclough made a strong plea for lights to be provided in Springfield Lane.
There were also complaints that the lamps in Eccleston were not cleaned as often as they were in St Helens, with a retired school teacher called Davies causing laughter by saying that periodically the lamps around the Seven Stars had measles.
What was officially known as the St Helens Police Aided Scheme for Clothing Destitute Children was more commonly called the "Clog and Stocking Fund".
Since it began in 1912 the scheme had helped around 10,000 children in St Helens. The clothing dished out included over 8,000 pairs of clogs and 7,000 pairs of stockings, as well as jackets, trousers and undergarments.
But technically the clothing never belonged to the children or their parents.
The items were on loan to them from the Police Association and the child's mother had to sign a form saying they would not be sold or pawned.
That led to Hannah Davies of Brook Street appearing in the St Helens Police Court this week to face two charges.
One was of unlawfully pawning a pair of children's clogs and the other was of stealing a pair of gent's shoes.
Superintendent Dunn told the court that the defendant had gone into Rothery's pawnshop in Westfield Street and attempted to pledge a pair of new men's shoes.
The assistant was suspicious but Mrs Davies insisted that they belonged to her husband but admitted that she had no receipt.
It transpired that the shoes were the property of Charles Shiffman and had been stolen from the doorway of his Tontine Street premises on the previous Saturday night, when town centre shops remained open until very late.
When the woman was arrested for the theft, the police found in her possession a number of pawn tickets.
One referred to a pair of child's clogs that had been pledged at Dromgoole's pawnshop in Westfield Street.
These had been loaned to Mrs Davies a couple of years previously and she had signed a declaration that she would not sell or pawn the clogs.
When she was charged with the offence, Mrs Davies told the police that she had been hard up and needed money to buy bread.
Her husband was employed at Varley's iron foundry but only received just over 30 shillings a week and she had six children to keep.
The Bench said that taking all her circumstances into consideration, they had decided to bind her over for two years on probation.
The only court hearings in St Helens that were adjudicated by a judge took place at the St Helens County Court in East Street.
The weekly hearings considered a very large number of cases mainly concerned with unpaid debt and the judge there could, at times, be quite arrogant and even rude.
This week what the Reporter described as a "little shabbily dressed woman" was sharply spoken to by Judge Challenor Dowdall, who had a reputation for blunt talking.
The unidentified woman had placed an order for a picture to be framed but, according to the framer, she had only paid part of the bill.
However, the woman insisted that she had paid it in full but had no receipt to prove her case.
And she insisted that with her miner husband being on short-time, she was incapable of paying the amount that the picture framer claimed she still owed.
But the woman made the mistake of talking back to the judge after he had made an order for her to pay two shillings a month off her arrears.
As the woman left the court, she loudly shouted: "You'll never get it".
To that remark the judge told the court usher: "Bring that woman back".
As she was returned to the witness box, Judge Dowdall said to her:
"The man has framed your pictures. Did you expect him to do it for nothing because your husband was working short time?"
The woman replied that she had already paid the debt. To that the judge remarked:
"I know differently. There are some people who, if working conditions are bad, think it a grievance if they have to pay for things they order. You knew you were doing badly, yet you ordered the picture to be framed, and you must pay for it. It is not even food or a necessity."
The woman: "I don't like to pay a debt twice over."
Judge Dowdall: "I've seen the papers and I'm quite satisfied it is owing. You've only paid 4s. 6d. and that has been deducted from the bill. You can't produce any receipt. Go away. Don't say anything more."
At the inquest on Samuel Cook this week the Coroner declared: "I think he gave his life for his brother".
Samuel had no children and he had continually urged their rescuers to first liberate Harold who had two youngsters.
A second roof fall subsequently occurred and some time elapsed before both brothers could be freed, with the rescuers concentrating their efforts on releasing Harold.
Samuel died in hospital but Harold was described as recovering.
Praise was also given at the inquest to Dr Campbell, the colliery doctor, and Dr Fraser, the house surgeon at St Helens Hospital, both of whom descended the pit to attend to the men.
The fall occurred while Arthur Nicholson, the Chief Mine Inspector, was at the colliery inquiring into a mishap that had occurred on the previous day when eight out of thirty men travelling in a pit cage had been slightly injured.
I expect that the authorities in St Helens Police Court on February 1st were not unhappy that none of the 27 hawkers from Manchester summoned for hawking without licences failed to turn up. Imagine squeezing all those in the dock!
Sgt Beaumont gave evidence that on December 21st he had seen four men working Keswick Road from door to door.
They had no licences and in reply to questions said they had come from Manchester with many others and that the man in charge of them possessed a licence.
Someone from the firm that employed the hawkers did appear in court and said they thought their single licence would cover all twenty-seven. They were each fined 5 shillings.
And finally, throughout January the Hippodrome Theatre had been presenting a number of pantomimes and from the 1st they had what was described as the "last and best pantomime of the season!"
That was 'Goldilocks and The Three Bears'. Their Reporter advert said: "See! See! The Home of the Bears. The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers in the Toy Fort. The Beautiful Rose Ballet."
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include a call for a first-class hotel in St Helens, the woman who went to court because her grandchildren were driving her mad, the short-weight bread on sale and criticism of the train service between St Helens and Liverpool.