IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (30th Sept. - 6th Oct. 1919)
This week's stories include the drunken soldier in the Church Street rifle range, the creation of West End in Blackbrook, the effect in St Helens of the national rail strike, deaths in Lea Green and Clock Face collieries, St Helens' picture house prices go up and architectural gem Sutton Grange is declared unfit for human habitation.
We begin on October 1st when St Helens Corporation's Transport Department took over the running of the trams. It had actually first acquired them from a private operator back in 1897 when the trams were powered by huge steam engines that ran in front of the tramcars. However the Corporation decided to lease the running of the service to the New St Helens & District Tramways Company. Now the lease was up and the council decided it could run the trams better and cheaper than a private firm could.
The very first complaint against the new service was published two days later in the St Helens Reporter. This was when a miner complained that a tram on the Rainhill route had been inconveniently rescheduled by ten minutes. There would be many more complaints in the decades to come about the Corporation buses and trams!
Also on the 1st Thomas Kilgallon was killed down Lea Green Colliery while he was undertaking roofing work with his son James. A large stone suddenly fell onto his back, pinning the 47-year-old from Waterloo Street to the ground. Kilgallon asked his 18-year-old son to remove the stone but it was too heavy for him. James called for help and it took five men to lift the stone off his father's back. Thomas was then placed on a stretcher and removed to hospital but found to be dead on arrival.
It seems odd for a prosecution to be brought against a food shop for wasting bread but the food shortage that the war had created still lingered. On the 3rd the manager of the Co-op in Rivington Road appeared in St Helens Police Court charged with unlawfully wasting foodstuff. The police had found three loaves dumped in an ashpit, which James Foster claimed had become mouldy and so unfit to sell.
The Corporation's Assistant Medical Officer of Health checked the bread and declared one loaf fit to eat. However I don't think I'd want to eat bread that had been in an ashpit. They were the dumps that contained human waste and were mixed with ashes to diminish the smell. The prosecution case was that the two unfit loaves should have been sold at a discount or given away before becoming inedible and the manager was fined 20 shillings.
The new admission rates for the eight cinemas in St Helens were set out in the St Helens Reporter on the 3rd. The prices had had to be revised because of increases to the Entertainment Tax charged on tickets. The cinemas were the Picturedrome (Bridge Street); Griffins Theatre (later Scala, Ormskirk Street); Sutton Empire; The Oxford (Duke Street); The Palladium (Boundary Road); The Parrvilion (Jackson Street aka "Parrdog"); Thatto Heath Empire and the Co-op.
Threepence was the cheapest price for admission charged by three of the cinemas, with the most expensive ticket being 1s 3d. One would have thought that the picture houses would encourage the advance booking of tickets; however patrons had to pay an additional threepence for that.
The Reporter also commented on the effects of the national rail strike that had begun six days earlier. The pay dispute had led to 1,000 railwaymen being out in St Helens and the strike was also impacting on local coalmines and glassworks with many men idle at times through shortages of materials.
The Mayor had attended a meeting of motor and steam-driven vehicle owners to explain that these might have to be commandeered if the strike endangered food distribution in the town. However Alderman Bates hoped that they could instead come to an arrangement with the motor owners whereby their vehicles would be lent to the Corporation for a day or two each week.
The Reporter also stated that Haydock Council was anxious to have a more "euphonious" name covering the Blackbrook end of the district and so they had re-christened it "West End". The council also wanted Blackbrook Post Office to be renamed West End Post Office.
The paper also reported that the council's Housing Committee had declared Sutton Grange unfit for human habitation. The 20-room building (pictured above) was situated off Marshalls Cross Road, almost directly opposite the southern edge of present-day Sutton Park and set back about 50 yards from the road. A self-contained property with much land of its own, the Grange was contiguous with, but separate from, Sherdley Park and was an architectural gem.
Its tenants included glass merchants William 'Roby' Pilkington and William Blinkhorn, as well as Leo Weisker, considered to have been one of St Helens' pioneering cinema moguls. It's believed that the owner of Sutton Grange – Colonel Michael Hughes – chose to demolish the building rather than repair it.
Over the years large numbers of bodies were fished out of St Helens Canal as a result of either an accidental or a self-inflicted drowning. Matthew Armour's death probably came into the latter category and his inquest was held on the 3rd at St Helens Town Hall. The 59-year-old labourer from Peter Street had worked for twenty years at Bibby's copper works but had lost his job in March when the longstanding company closed down.
The ending of the war had created much unemployment through the shutting down of munitions factories. In addition the returning soldiers were either adding to the number of job seekers or displacing those that had taken their jobs. A man of Matthew's age was considered old and he probably felt he had little chance of ever working again. His 36 shillings per week unemployment money had also been cut to just over a pound, adding to his woes.
Three days earlier Matthew had left home to go to the Employment Exchange, which was situated within Wolverhampton House in Church Street by the Royal Raven. His family never saw him again, although the night watchman at Bibby's old works had a conversation with him around 7pm. He said Matthew did not appear to be well and on the following morning at 5:30am his body was pulled out of the canal, just 100 yards away from Bibby's, by a passing miner on his way to work.
The Coroner recorded an open verdict, saying it was probable that the deceased had got into the water accidentally as it was a dark night. However Matthew Armour would have walked past that spot on his way home on many occasions over his twenty years at the copper works.
Another open verdict was recorded at the inquest on William Owen of Argyll Street that took place on the same day. The 54-year-old glass-cutter had been employed at Pilkington's Cowley Hill works for forty years but had often been off work through depression. His body was found in one of the lakes in Victoria Park by a gardener called Richard Owens. As William had been known to frequent a shed in the park, the coroner thought it likely that he had fallen asleep in the shed and upon wakening had accidentally walked into the lake. This was despite the water only being three feet deep.
The fact that there was a miniature rifle range in Church Street was an interesting revelation in a case in the Police Court on the 4th. It concerned a soldier called Joseph Barton who had gone into the range one night at 10:30pm while drunk and so was not allowed to shoot. Furious at the refusal, Barton grabbed hold of sixty cartridges and stormed out of the premises.
He was quickly nabbed by PC Eastman but became violent and assaulted the officer and twice tried to run away. At one point he threw down his Distinguished Conduct Medal ribbon and his ribbons from the Mons campaign and said to the constable: "This is what I get for fighting for such ______ as you."
However Joseph Barton was a liar. He had been to Mons, but had certainly not won the DCM and had been an absentee from his regiment since August 30th! So he faced a long list of charges in the court for which he was fined a total of £4 3 shillings and ordered to be handed over to a military escort as an absentee.
There was a crowded attendance when the St Helens & District Caged Bird Society held their monthly meeting at the Bridge Street café on the 4th. Subjects discussed included ideas for lectures and their forthcoming show.
On the 4th Joseph Brown died at his home in Derbyshire Hill Road four months after fracturing his spine down Clock Face Colliery (pictured above in the 1920s). The pit contractor was undertaking roofing work with his back to the coalface, when a piece of coal measuring 7ft long and 3ft 6 inches wide fell down and struck him on his back. Joseph had been in hospital until a month ago, when his wife requested that he brought home.
The Ravenhead Military Band gave a concert in the Engineer Hall in Croppers Hill on the 5th, with the Bohemian Quartette Party singing several selections. The audience comprised 400 old members of the town's Royal Engineers (a.k.a. 1st West Lancs) and their lady friends. Before the conclusion of the event, Major Haslam Fox told the men that the hall was open daily to support those former Engineers who were now unemployed.
It's interesting seeing how the sentencing for certain offences changed over the years.
In St Helens Police Court on the 6th labourer Thomas Maleedy was only fined 5 shillings for being drunk and incapable despite twenty previous convictions. Fifty years earlier the man from Langtree Street could have expected a few weeks in prison. PC Dillon had found Maleedy lying across the pavement in Traverse Street "in a helpless state of drunkenness". Maleedy told the magistrates that he'd gone out to have some whisky with an old soldier friend, adding: "The rest I don't remember".
Next week's stories will include the fear of a measles epidemic in St Helens, the town's Peace Day babies receive a presentation, the Lowe House Memorial Fund, the effects on the town of the nine-day national rail strike and the 20-strong child performers Haley's Juveniles appear at the Hippodrome.
We begin on October 1st when St Helens Corporation's Transport Department took over the running of the trams. It had actually first acquired them from a private operator back in 1897 when the trams were powered by huge steam engines that ran in front of the tramcars. However the Corporation decided to lease the running of the service to the New St Helens & District Tramways Company. Now the lease was up and the council decided it could run the trams better and cheaper than a private firm could.
Also on the 1st Thomas Kilgallon was killed down Lea Green Colliery while he was undertaking roofing work with his son James. A large stone suddenly fell onto his back, pinning the 47-year-old from Waterloo Street to the ground. Kilgallon asked his 18-year-old son to remove the stone but it was too heavy for him. James called for help and it took five men to lift the stone off his father's back. Thomas was then placed on a stretcher and removed to hospital but found to be dead on arrival.
It seems odd for a prosecution to be brought against a food shop for wasting bread but the food shortage that the war had created still lingered. On the 3rd the manager of the Co-op in Rivington Road appeared in St Helens Police Court charged with unlawfully wasting foodstuff. The police had found three loaves dumped in an ashpit, which James Foster claimed had become mouldy and so unfit to sell.
The Corporation's Assistant Medical Officer of Health checked the bread and declared one loaf fit to eat. However I don't think I'd want to eat bread that had been in an ashpit. They were the dumps that contained human waste and were mixed with ashes to diminish the smell. The prosecution case was that the two unfit loaves should have been sold at a discount or given away before becoming inedible and the manager was fined 20 shillings.
The new admission rates for the eight cinemas in St Helens were set out in the St Helens Reporter on the 3rd. The prices had had to be revised because of increases to the Entertainment Tax charged on tickets. The cinemas were the Picturedrome (Bridge Street); Griffins Theatre (later Scala, Ormskirk Street); Sutton Empire; The Oxford (Duke Street); The Palladium (Boundary Road); The Parrvilion (Jackson Street aka "Parrdog"); Thatto Heath Empire and the Co-op.
Threepence was the cheapest price for admission charged by three of the cinemas, with the most expensive ticket being 1s 3d. One would have thought that the picture houses would encourage the advance booking of tickets; however patrons had to pay an additional threepence for that.
The Reporter also commented on the effects of the national rail strike that had begun six days earlier. The pay dispute had led to 1,000 railwaymen being out in St Helens and the strike was also impacting on local coalmines and glassworks with many men idle at times through shortages of materials.
The Mayor had attended a meeting of motor and steam-driven vehicle owners to explain that these might have to be commandeered if the strike endangered food distribution in the town. However Alderman Bates hoped that they could instead come to an arrangement with the motor owners whereby their vehicles would be lent to the Corporation for a day or two each week.
The Reporter also stated that Haydock Council was anxious to have a more "euphonious" name covering the Blackbrook end of the district and so they had re-christened it "West End". The council also wanted Blackbrook Post Office to be renamed West End Post Office.
Its tenants included glass merchants William 'Roby' Pilkington and William Blinkhorn, as well as Leo Weisker, considered to have been one of St Helens' pioneering cinema moguls. It's believed that the owner of Sutton Grange – Colonel Michael Hughes – chose to demolish the building rather than repair it.
Over the years large numbers of bodies were fished out of St Helens Canal as a result of either an accidental or a self-inflicted drowning. Matthew Armour's death probably came into the latter category and his inquest was held on the 3rd at St Helens Town Hall. The 59-year-old labourer from Peter Street had worked for twenty years at Bibby's copper works but had lost his job in March when the longstanding company closed down.
The ending of the war had created much unemployment through the shutting down of munitions factories. In addition the returning soldiers were either adding to the number of job seekers or displacing those that had taken their jobs. A man of Matthew's age was considered old and he probably felt he had little chance of ever working again. His 36 shillings per week unemployment money had also been cut to just over a pound, adding to his woes.
Three days earlier Matthew had left home to go to the Employment Exchange, which was situated within Wolverhampton House in Church Street by the Royal Raven. His family never saw him again, although the night watchman at Bibby's old works had a conversation with him around 7pm. He said Matthew did not appear to be well and on the following morning at 5:30am his body was pulled out of the canal, just 100 yards away from Bibby's, by a passing miner on his way to work.
The Coroner recorded an open verdict, saying it was probable that the deceased had got into the water accidentally as it was a dark night. However Matthew Armour would have walked past that spot on his way home on many occasions over his twenty years at the copper works.
Another open verdict was recorded at the inquest on William Owen of Argyll Street that took place on the same day. The 54-year-old glass-cutter had been employed at Pilkington's Cowley Hill works for forty years but had often been off work through depression. His body was found in one of the lakes in Victoria Park by a gardener called Richard Owens. As William had been known to frequent a shed in the park, the coroner thought it likely that he had fallen asleep in the shed and upon wakening had accidentally walked into the lake. This was despite the water only being three feet deep.
The fact that there was a miniature rifle range in Church Street was an interesting revelation in a case in the Police Court on the 4th. It concerned a soldier called Joseph Barton who had gone into the range one night at 10:30pm while drunk and so was not allowed to shoot. Furious at the refusal, Barton grabbed hold of sixty cartridges and stormed out of the premises.
He was quickly nabbed by PC Eastman but became violent and assaulted the officer and twice tried to run away. At one point he threw down his Distinguished Conduct Medal ribbon and his ribbons from the Mons campaign and said to the constable: "This is what I get for fighting for such ______ as you."
However Joseph Barton was a liar. He had been to Mons, but had certainly not won the DCM and had been an absentee from his regiment since August 30th! So he faced a long list of charges in the court for which he was fined a total of £4 3 shillings and ordered to be handed over to a military escort as an absentee.
There was a crowded attendance when the St Helens & District Caged Bird Society held their monthly meeting at the Bridge Street café on the 4th. Subjects discussed included ideas for lectures and their forthcoming show.
The Ravenhead Military Band gave a concert in the Engineer Hall in Croppers Hill on the 5th, with the Bohemian Quartette Party singing several selections. The audience comprised 400 old members of the town's Royal Engineers (a.k.a. 1st West Lancs) and their lady friends. Before the conclusion of the event, Major Haslam Fox told the men that the hall was open daily to support those former Engineers who were now unemployed.
It's interesting seeing how the sentencing for certain offences changed over the years.
In St Helens Police Court on the 6th labourer Thomas Maleedy was only fined 5 shillings for being drunk and incapable despite twenty previous convictions. Fifty years earlier the man from Langtree Street could have expected a few weeks in prison. PC Dillon had found Maleedy lying across the pavement in Traverse Street "in a helpless state of drunkenness". Maleedy told the magistrates that he'd gone out to have some whisky with an old soldier friend, adding: "The rest I don't remember".
Next week's stories will include the fear of a measles epidemic in St Helens, the town's Peace Day babies receive a presentation, the Lowe House Memorial Fund, the effects on the town of the nine-day national rail strike and the 20-strong child performers Haley's Juveniles appear at the Hippodrome.