150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (1st - 7th JUNE 1870)
This week's stories include the Liverpool Road miner who got his sweethearts in the family way, the "Prescot Scandal" comes to court, an "abominable" crime with a donkey is suspected at Eccleston and the Whit Monday recreations and amusements.
We begin on the morning of June 2nd when the Prescot Board of Guardians met in the boardroom of Whiston Workhouse. The elected members who implemented the Poor Law within the St Helens district considered a report from their Visiting Committee. They stated that their medical officer had complained that a dangerous lunatic was staying in the workhouse. Such persons were supposed to be cared for in Rainhill Asylum, however the Guardians' Clerk argued that the man was only dangerous "at intervals". However the doctor refused to change his mind and seemingly wanted him transferred.
It must have been pretty dreary in the workhouse, although the Guardians decided to give the place a lick of paint to brighten it up. A painter would be employed with some of the inmates assisting him when needed.
On the 4th the St Helens Newspaper described Samuel France's most recent appearance in Prescot Police Court. As stated in last week's article, France was a well-known wine and spirit merchant in Prescot. Court records bluntly describe the charge against him as "attempting to commit buggery". However the newspapers of the day would never use such language, instead confusing their readers by referring to such offences as an "abominable", "nameless" or "unmentionable" crime.
The St Helens Newspaper's own account described the charge against Samuel France as "attempting to commit an unnatural offence upon a young man called Francis William Pettitt". The crime was considered so distasteful that the magistrates cleared the courtroom, with only witnesses, lawyers and journalists allowed to remain. Pettitt from Phythian Street in Liverpool told the court that he had known France since last year. The 21-year-old was then in business as a stationer and the wine and spirit merchant had been one of his customers.
France had invited the young man to his home in Prescot and at one point Pettit said he had indecently assaulted him. However they later visited several pubs together and upon returning to the house, a more serious assault occurred. This is how the St Helens Newspaper reported it:
"The witness then described the conduct of the defendant, which is quite unfit for publication, and said when he had dressed himself again he opened his penknife and said “Show me out of this infernal hole, for, by the gods, one of us will be in kingdom come in less than five minutes.” After considerable difficulty, and after threatening to “raise Prescot,” he managed to get out of the house."
Samuel France was defended in court by John Cobb who gave Francis Pettitt a very hard time in court. The solicitor said what had happened had been consensual and accused the young man of being an "impudent scoundrel" for trying to extort cash from his client. Several letters were read out in court in which Pettitt had asked France to make a large payment to charity in order to keep the matter out of court. In one he wrote:
"I am fully convinced that you deserve fifteen years' imprisonment, and if you do not come to terms I will prosecute you, even if my name is everlastingly tainted." The magistrate decided there was sufficient evidence to justify committing France to the next Quarter Sessions at Liverpool on June 27th. He was granted bail but had to pay the huge sum of £500 and his brother paid the same amount as a surety.
Shop assistants worked very long hours in 1870, with some expected to work until around 10pm – or even midnight – on Fridays and Saturdays. Holidays (usually unpaid) were few and far between but some staff would be getting a day off soon, as the St Helens Newspaper explained on the 4th:
"We understand that a number of tradesmen in St. Helens intend closing their shops on Whit-Monday, to afford the inhabitants in their employment a holiday. The Grand Fancy Fair, Bazaar, and Fetes, at Stanley Park, Liverpool, will afford an excellent opportunity for a day's recreation and amusement; while New Brighton and Southport are near enough to tempt those who love to ramble over the sands in the fresh sea breeze, to pay a visit to one or other of those places. Of course, Belle Vue will have its cheap trips and usual Whitsuntide attractions."
Stanley Park had only opened three weeks earlier but the Belle Vue Zoological Gardens in Manchester (pictured above) had been in business since 1836. They had two bands playing during Whit Week and were advertising "boats, steamers, museum, maze, and all the other attractions." Admission to the gardens was 6d.
Multiple people sleeping in the same bed was commonplace. But as well as being an uncomfortable and unsanitary arrangement, it could prove dangerous. On the 5th a ganger [foreman of labourers] called Dane Cooper, who was working on the new railway at Farnworth, went to bed drunk. His wife decided to sleep in another bed in which two of their children were sleeping.
With her was their one-month old baby and she fell asleep with the child resting on her right arm. At 3am she awoke to find that one of her children had been lying on top of the baby and as a consequence the poor mite had been suffocated. An inquest was held at The Horns public house in Farnworth and a verdict of accidental death was returned.
The sitting of the St Helens Petty Sessions on Mondays always had a long list of weekend drunks to deal with. The St Helens Newspaper's report on the cases heard on the 6th bore the headline "The Drunk and Disorderly Roll". The unusual excuse given by a young woman called Jane Rose for committing a breach of the peace in Liverpool Road was that she was only defending herself after being attacked by a "banjo man". Jane was bound over to keep the peace for a month. That was probably sensible, as the banjo fraternity seemed a peculiar lot with some not being too fussy about where their strings came from. In September the Liverpool Courier would ask: "What punishment can said to be adequate for a miscreant caught in the act of skinning a live cat to make a banjo?" The answer was seemingly three months, as that was the maximum penalty, much to the disgust of the Courier as they reported on a recent case.
Back to the St Helens Newspaper, and this week’s word of the week, which is "sweethearting". Under the heading "A Gay Deceiver", they wrote about an application for maintenance in a so-called "bastardy" case: "Samuel Fillingham, who did not appear, was charged by Ann Wright with being the father of her illegitimate child. The applicant said Fillingham had been her sweetheart for a considerable time and had promised her marriage.
"She called another young woman, who stated that the parties had been sweethearting for a long time, and she had seen them often together at dancing rooms and other places. Fillingham was now sweethearting another young woman, who, was in the family way by him. Had heard Fillingham say, when he saw the child, “Come to your daddy.” – The bench made an order for 2s 6d. per week."
Samuel Fillingham does not appear to have made an honest woman of either of the females that he was sweethearting and made pregnant. In the 1871 census the 23-year-old coal miner was living with his widowed mother and siblings in Liverpool Road.
It was a week for abominable acts as Owen Cook was charged with committing an act of bestiality on a donkey. The Newspaper said the evidence was quite unfit for publication but they did report that the 21-year-old had been caught "in the act" by Dominic Leehey of The Crescent in Eccleston. He was a marine store dealer who kept his donkey at a stable owned by a man called Ripley and Leehey had found the young man interfering with his animal.
PC Geddes arrested Owen Cook on the same night and told the court that the prisoner was under the influence of drink "but he knew what he was about". Cook was committed for trial in Liverpool in July but was found not guilty. That must have been a massive relief to the man, as another defendant charged with a similar offence was sentenced to ten years in prison. Newspapers wrote that Cook was "acquitted on the charge of having committed an abominable crime". Checking court records again, he had been accused of "attempting to commit buggery with an ass".
Another charge of indecency was levelled at John Kean – although he had simply been skinny dipping in Pennington's lake in Sutton. The young man was accused of exposing himself in the public highway after being observed by Thomas Beasley. He was a solicitor who lived at Sutton House in the Peasley Cross area and had five servants tending to his family's needs.
Beasley accused the lad of being naked with the exception of his clogs and said he seemed to be jumping up and down. John Kean denied being nude, saying he was wearing a pair of calico drawers. The young man was only fined sixpence but told to pay 7 shillings costs and cautioned by the Bench as to his future conduct.
The Pilkington glass strike of 1970 lasted for seven weeks and created massive publicity in newspapers nationwide. However the strike of 1870 lasted far longer and received far less coverage in the papers. The St Helens Newspaper of June 7th devoted just eight lines to the dispute that had begun on April 18th when Pilkingtons announced plans to cut the wages of their glassblowers by at least 20%.
The Newspaper reported that the strike committee had sent representatives to towns throughout the country seeking financial help and their appeals were being "liberally responded to". The brief report was concluded with the statement: "A settlement of the dispute, we regret to say, seems as remote as ever."
Next week's stories will include the Sutton miner who committed bigamy because his wife made him unhappy, the miniature yacht race on Carr Mill Dam, Pilkington strikers denounce claims of coercion, the death of Charles Dickens and the 13-year-old girls who stole for their mothers.
We begin on the morning of June 2nd when the Prescot Board of Guardians met in the boardroom of Whiston Workhouse. The elected members who implemented the Poor Law within the St Helens district considered a report from their Visiting Committee. They stated that their medical officer had complained that a dangerous lunatic was staying in the workhouse. Such persons were supposed to be cared for in Rainhill Asylum, however the Guardians' Clerk argued that the man was only dangerous "at intervals". However the doctor refused to change his mind and seemingly wanted him transferred.
It must have been pretty dreary in the workhouse, although the Guardians decided to give the place a lick of paint to brighten it up. A painter would be employed with some of the inmates assisting him when needed.
On the 4th the St Helens Newspaper described Samuel France's most recent appearance in Prescot Police Court. As stated in last week's article, France was a well-known wine and spirit merchant in Prescot. Court records bluntly describe the charge against him as "attempting to commit buggery". However the newspapers of the day would never use such language, instead confusing their readers by referring to such offences as an "abominable", "nameless" or "unmentionable" crime.
The St Helens Newspaper's own account described the charge against Samuel France as "attempting to commit an unnatural offence upon a young man called Francis William Pettitt". The crime was considered so distasteful that the magistrates cleared the courtroom, with only witnesses, lawyers and journalists allowed to remain. Pettitt from Phythian Street in Liverpool told the court that he had known France since last year. The 21-year-old was then in business as a stationer and the wine and spirit merchant had been one of his customers.
France had invited the young man to his home in Prescot and at one point Pettit said he had indecently assaulted him. However they later visited several pubs together and upon returning to the house, a more serious assault occurred. This is how the St Helens Newspaper reported it:
"The witness then described the conduct of the defendant, which is quite unfit for publication, and said when he had dressed himself again he opened his penknife and said “Show me out of this infernal hole, for, by the gods, one of us will be in kingdom come in less than five minutes.” After considerable difficulty, and after threatening to “raise Prescot,” he managed to get out of the house."
Samuel France was defended in court by John Cobb who gave Francis Pettitt a very hard time in court. The solicitor said what had happened had been consensual and accused the young man of being an "impudent scoundrel" for trying to extort cash from his client. Several letters were read out in court in which Pettitt had asked France to make a large payment to charity in order to keep the matter out of court. In one he wrote:
"I am fully convinced that you deserve fifteen years' imprisonment, and if you do not come to terms I will prosecute you, even if my name is everlastingly tainted." The magistrate decided there was sufficient evidence to justify committing France to the next Quarter Sessions at Liverpool on June 27th. He was granted bail but had to pay the huge sum of £500 and his brother paid the same amount as a surety.
Shop assistants worked very long hours in 1870, with some expected to work until around 10pm – or even midnight – on Fridays and Saturdays. Holidays (usually unpaid) were few and far between but some staff would be getting a day off soon, as the St Helens Newspaper explained on the 4th:
"We understand that a number of tradesmen in St. Helens intend closing their shops on Whit-Monday, to afford the inhabitants in their employment a holiday. The Grand Fancy Fair, Bazaar, and Fetes, at Stanley Park, Liverpool, will afford an excellent opportunity for a day's recreation and amusement; while New Brighton and Southport are near enough to tempt those who love to ramble over the sands in the fresh sea breeze, to pay a visit to one or other of those places. Of course, Belle Vue will have its cheap trips and usual Whitsuntide attractions."
Multiple people sleeping in the same bed was commonplace. But as well as being an uncomfortable and unsanitary arrangement, it could prove dangerous. On the 5th a ganger [foreman of labourers] called Dane Cooper, who was working on the new railway at Farnworth, went to bed drunk. His wife decided to sleep in another bed in which two of their children were sleeping.
With her was their one-month old baby and she fell asleep with the child resting on her right arm. At 3am she awoke to find that one of her children had been lying on top of the baby and as a consequence the poor mite had been suffocated. An inquest was held at The Horns public house in Farnworth and a verdict of accidental death was returned.
The sitting of the St Helens Petty Sessions on Mondays always had a long list of weekend drunks to deal with. The St Helens Newspaper's report on the cases heard on the 6th bore the headline "The Drunk and Disorderly Roll". The unusual excuse given by a young woman called Jane Rose for committing a breach of the peace in Liverpool Road was that she was only defending herself after being attacked by a "banjo man". Jane was bound over to keep the peace for a month. That was probably sensible, as the banjo fraternity seemed a peculiar lot with some not being too fussy about where their strings came from. In September the Liverpool Courier would ask: "What punishment can said to be adequate for a miscreant caught in the act of skinning a live cat to make a banjo?" The answer was seemingly three months, as that was the maximum penalty, much to the disgust of the Courier as they reported on a recent case.
Back to the St Helens Newspaper, and this week’s word of the week, which is "sweethearting". Under the heading "A Gay Deceiver", they wrote about an application for maintenance in a so-called "bastardy" case: "Samuel Fillingham, who did not appear, was charged by Ann Wright with being the father of her illegitimate child. The applicant said Fillingham had been her sweetheart for a considerable time and had promised her marriage.
"She called another young woman, who stated that the parties had been sweethearting for a long time, and she had seen them often together at dancing rooms and other places. Fillingham was now sweethearting another young woman, who, was in the family way by him. Had heard Fillingham say, when he saw the child, “Come to your daddy.” – The bench made an order for 2s 6d. per week."
Samuel Fillingham does not appear to have made an honest woman of either of the females that he was sweethearting and made pregnant. In the 1871 census the 23-year-old coal miner was living with his widowed mother and siblings in Liverpool Road.
It was a week for abominable acts as Owen Cook was charged with committing an act of bestiality on a donkey. The Newspaper said the evidence was quite unfit for publication but they did report that the 21-year-old had been caught "in the act" by Dominic Leehey of The Crescent in Eccleston. He was a marine store dealer who kept his donkey at a stable owned by a man called Ripley and Leehey had found the young man interfering with his animal.
PC Geddes arrested Owen Cook on the same night and told the court that the prisoner was under the influence of drink "but he knew what he was about". Cook was committed for trial in Liverpool in July but was found not guilty. That must have been a massive relief to the man, as another defendant charged with a similar offence was sentenced to ten years in prison. Newspapers wrote that Cook was "acquitted on the charge of having committed an abominable crime". Checking court records again, he had been accused of "attempting to commit buggery with an ass".
Another charge of indecency was levelled at John Kean – although he had simply been skinny dipping in Pennington's lake in Sutton. The young man was accused of exposing himself in the public highway after being observed by Thomas Beasley. He was a solicitor who lived at Sutton House in the Peasley Cross area and had five servants tending to his family's needs.
Beasley accused the lad of being naked with the exception of his clogs and said he seemed to be jumping up and down. John Kean denied being nude, saying he was wearing a pair of calico drawers. The young man was only fined sixpence but told to pay 7 shillings costs and cautioned by the Bench as to his future conduct.
Pilkington Glassworks St Helens shown around 1870 – previously known as the St Helens Crown Works founded in 1826
Pilkington Glassworks in St Helens shown around 1870
Pilkington Glassworks around 1870
The Newspaper reported that the strike committee had sent representatives to towns throughout the country seeking financial help and their appeals were being "liberally responded to". The brief report was concluded with the statement: "A settlement of the dispute, we regret to say, seems as remote as ever."
Next week's stories will include the Sutton miner who committed bigamy because his wife made him unhappy, the miniature yacht race on Carr Mill Dam, Pilkington strikers denounce claims of coercion, the death of Charles Dickens and the 13-year-old girls who stole for their mothers.
This week's stories include the Liverpool Road miner who got his sweethearts in the family way, the "Prescot Scandal" comes to court, an "abominable" crime with a donkey is suspected at Eccleston and the Whit Monday recreations and amusements.
We begin on the morning of June 2nd when the Prescot Board of Guardians met in the boardroom of Whiston Workhouse.
The elected members who implemented the Poor Law within the St Helens district considered a report from their Visiting Committee.
They stated that their medical officer had complained that a dangerous lunatic was staying in the workhouse.
Such persons were supposed to be cared for in Rainhill Asylum, however the Guardians' Clerk argued that the man was only dangerous "at intervals".
However the doctor refused to change his mind and seemingly wanted him transferred.
It must have been pretty dreary in the workhouse, although the Guardians decided to give the place a lick of paint to brighten it up.
A painter would be employed with some of the inmates assisting him when needed.
On the 4th the St Helens Newspaper described Samuel France's most recent appearance in Prescot Police Court.
As stated in last week's article, France was a well-known wine and spirit merchant in Prescot. Court records bluntly describe the charge against him as "attempting to commit buggery".
However the newspapers of the day would never use such language, instead confusing their readers by referring to such offences as an "abominable", "nameless" or "unmentionable" crime.
The St Helens Newspaper's own account described the charge against Samuel France as "attempting to commit an unnatural offence upon a young man called Francis William Pettitt".
The crime was considered so distasteful that the magistrates cleared the courtroom, with only witnesses, lawyers and journalists allowed to remain.
Pettitt from Phythian Street in Liverpool told the court that he had known France since last year.
The 21-year-old was then in business as a stationer and the wine and spirit merchant had been one of his customers.
France had invited the young man to his home in Prescot and at one point Pettit said he had indecently assaulted him.
However they later visited several pubs together and upon returning to the house, a more serious assault occurred. This is how the St Helens Newspaper reported it:
"The witness then described the conduct of the defendant, which is quite unfit for publication, and said when he had dressed himself again he opened his penknife and said “Show me out of this infernal hole, for, by the gods, one of us will be in kingdom come in less than five minutes.” After considerable difficulty, and after threatening to “raise Prescot,” he managed to get out of the house."
Samuel France was defended in court by John Cobb who gave Francis Pettitt a very hard time in court.
The solicitor said what had happened had been consensual and accused the young man of being an "impudent scoundrel" for trying to extort cash from his client.
Several letters were read out in court in which Pettitt had asked France to make a large payment to charity in order to keep the matter out of court. In one he wrote:
"I am fully convinced that you deserve fifteen years' imprisonment, and if you do not come to terms I will prosecute you, even if my name is everlastingly tainted."
The magistrate decided there was sufficient evidence to justify committing France to the next Quarter Sessions at Liverpool on June 27th.
He was granted bail but had to pay the huge sum of £500 and his brother paid the same amount as a surety.
Shop assistants worked very long hours in 1870, with some expected to work until around 10pm – or even midnight – on Fridays and Saturdays.
Holidays (usually unpaid) were few and far between but some staff would be getting a day off soon, as the St Helens Newspaper explained on the 4th:
"We understand that a number of tradesmen in St. Helens intend closing their shops on Whit-Monday, to afford the inhabitants in their employment a holiday. The Grand Fancy Fair, Bazaar, and Fetes, at Stanley Park, Liverpool, will afford an excellent opportunity for a day's recreation and amusement; while New Brighton and Southport are near enough to tempt those who love to ramble over the sands in the fresh sea breeze, to pay a visit to one or other of those places. Of course, Belle Vue will have its cheap trips and usual Whitsuntide attractions."
Stanley Park had only opened three weeks earlier but the Belle Vue Zoological Gardens in Manchester (pictured above) had been in business since 1836.
They had two bands playing during Whit Week and were advertising "boats, steamers, museum, maze, and all the other attractions." Admission to the gardens was 6d.
Multiple people sleeping in the same bed was commonplace. But as well as being an uncomfortable and unsanitary arrangement, it could prove dangerous.
On the 5th a ganger [foreman of labourers] called Dane Cooper, who was working on the new railway at Farnworth, went to bed drunk.
His wife decided to sleep in another bed in which two of their children were sleeping.
With her was their one-month old baby and she fell asleep with the child resting on her right arm.
At 3am she awoke to find that one of her children had been lying on top of the baby and as a consequence the poor mite had been suffocated.
An inquest was held at The Horns public house in Farnworth and a verdict of accidental death was returned.
The sitting of the St Helens Petty Sessions on Mondays always had a long list of weekend drunks to deal with.
The St Helens Newspaper's report on the cases heard on the 6th bore the headline "The Drunk and Disorderly Roll".
The unusual excuse given by a young woman called Jane Rose for committing a breach of the peace in Liverpool Road was that she was only defending herself after being attacked by a "banjo man".
Jane was bound over to keep the peace for a month and no doubt kept her distance from banjo men in the future.
That was probably sensible, as the banjo fraternity seemed a peculiar lot with some not being too fussy about where their strings came from.
In September the Liverpool Courier would ask: "What punishment can said to be adequate for a miscreant caught in the act of skinning a live cat to make a banjo?"
The answer was seemingly three months, as that was the maximum penalty, much to the disgust of the Courier as they reported on a recent case.
Back to the St Helens Newspaper, and this week’s word of the week, which is "sweethearting”.
Under the heading "A Gay Deceiver", they wrote about an application for maintenance in a so-called "bastardy" case:
"Samuel Fillingham, who did not appear, was charged by Ann Wright with being the father of her illegitimate child. The applicant said Fillingham had been her sweetheart for a considerable time and had promised her marriage.
"She called another young woman, who stated that the parties had been sweethearting for a long time, and she had seen them often together at dancing rooms and other places.
"Fillingham was now sweethearting another young woman, who, was in the family way by him. Had heard Fillingham say, when he saw the child, “Come to your daddy.” – The bench made an order for 2s 6d. per week."
Samuel Fillingham does not appear to have made an honest woman of either of the females that he was sweethearting and made pregnant.
In the 1871 census the 23-year-old coal miner was living with his widowed mother and siblings in Liverpool Road.
It was a week for abominable acts as Owen Cook was charged with committing an act of bestiality on a donkey.
The Newspaper said the evidence was quite unfit for publication but they did report that the 21-year-old had been caught "in the act" by Dominic Leehey of The Crescent in Eccleston.
He was a marine store dealer who kept his donkey at a stable owned by a man called Ripley and Leehey had found the young man interfering with his animal.
PC Geddes arrested Owen Cook on the same night and told the court that the prisoner was under the influence of drink "but he knew what he was about".
Cook was committed for trial in Liverpool in July but was found not guilty.
That must have been a massive relief to the man, as another defendant charged with a similar offence was sentenced to ten years in prison.
Newspapers wrote that Cook was "acquitted on the charge of having committed an abominable crime".
Checking court records again, he had been accused of "attempting to commit buggery with an ass".
Another charge of indecency was levelled at John Kean – although he had simply been skinny dipping in Pennington's lake in Sutton.
The young man was accused of exposing himself in the public highway after being observed by Thomas Beasley.
He was a solicitor who lived at Sutton House in the Peasley Cross area and had five servants tending to his family's needs.
Beasley accused the lad of being naked with the exception of his clogs and said he seemed to be jumping up and down.
John Kean denied being nude, saying he was wearing a pair of calico drawers.
The young man was only fined sixpence but told to pay 7 shillings costs and cautioned by the Bench as to his future conduct.
The Pilkington glass strike of 1970 lasted for seven weeks and created massive publicity in newspapers nationwide.
However the strike of 1870 lasted far longer and received far less coverage in the papers.
The St Helens Newspaper of June 7th devoted just eight lines to the dispute that had begun on April 18th when Pilkingtons announced plans to cut the wages of their glassblowers by at least 20%.
The Newspaper reported that the strike committee had sent representatives to towns throughout the country seeking financial help and their appeals were being "liberally responded to".
The brief report was concluded with the statement: "A settlement of the dispute, we regret to say, seems as remote as ever."
Next week's stories will include the Sutton miner who committed bigamy because his wife made him unhappy, the miniature yacht race on Carr Mill Dam, Pilkington strikers denounce claims of coercion, the death of Charles Dickens and the 13-year-old girls who stole for their mothers.
We begin on the morning of June 2nd when the Prescot Board of Guardians met in the boardroom of Whiston Workhouse.
The elected members who implemented the Poor Law within the St Helens district considered a report from their Visiting Committee.
They stated that their medical officer had complained that a dangerous lunatic was staying in the workhouse.
Such persons were supposed to be cared for in Rainhill Asylum, however the Guardians' Clerk argued that the man was only dangerous "at intervals".
However the doctor refused to change his mind and seemingly wanted him transferred.
It must have been pretty dreary in the workhouse, although the Guardians decided to give the place a lick of paint to brighten it up.
A painter would be employed with some of the inmates assisting him when needed.
On the 4th the St Helens Newspaper described Samuel France's most recent appearance in Prescot Police Court.
As stated in last week's article, France was a well-known wine and spirit merchant in Prescot. Court records bluntly describe the charge against him as "attempting to commit buggery".
However the newspapers of the day would never use such language, instead confusing their readers by referring to such offences as an "abominable", "nameless" or "unmentionable" crime.
The St Helens Newspaper's own account described the charge against Samuel France as "attempting to commit an unnatural offence upon a young man called Francis William Pettitt".
The crime was considered so distasteful that the magistrates cleared the courtroom, with only witnesses, lawyers and journalists allowed to remain.
Pettitt from Phythian Street in Liverpool told the court that he had known France since last year.
The 21-year-old was then in business as a stationer and the wine and spirit merchant had been one of his customers.
France had invited the young man to his home in Prescot and at one point Pettit said he had indecently assaulted him.
However they later visited several pubs together and upon returning to the house, a more serious assault occurred. This is how the St Helens Newspaper reported it:
"The witness then described the conduct of the defendant, which is quite unfit for publication, and said when he had dressed himself again he opened his penknife and said “Show me out of this infernal hole, for, by the gods, one of us will be in kingdom come in less than five minutes.” After considerable difficulty, and after threatening to “raise Prescot,” he managed to get out of the house."
Samuel France was defended in court by John Cobb who gave Francis Pettitt a very hard time in court.
The solicitor said what had happened had been consensual and accused the young man of being an "impudent scoundrel" for trying to extort cash from his client.
Several letters were read out in court in which Pettitt had asked France to make a large payment to charity in order to keep the matter out of court. In one he wrote:
"I am fully convinced that you deserve fifteen years' imprisonment, and if you do not come to terms I will prosecute you, even if my name is everlastingly tainted."
The magistrate decided there was sufficient evidence to justify committing France to the next Quarter Sessions at Liverpool on June 27th.
He was granted bail but had to pay the huge sum of £500 and his brother paid the same amount as a surety.
Shop assistants worked very long hours in 1870, with some expected to work until around 10pm – or even midnight – on Fridays and Saturdays.
Holidays (usually unpaid) were few and far between but some staff would be getting a day off soon, as the St Helens Newspaper explained on the 4th:
"We understand that a number of tradesmen in St. Helens intend closing their shops on Whit-Monday, to afford the inhabitants in their employment a holiday. The Grand Fancy Fair, Bazaar, and Fetes, at Stanley Park, Liverpool, will afford an excellent opportunity for a day's recreation and amusement; while New Brighton and Southport are near enough to tempt those who love to ramble over the sands in the fresh sea breeze, to pay a visit to one or other of those places. Of course, Belle Vue will have its cheap trips and usual Whitsuntide attractions."
They had two bands playing during Whit Week and were advertising "boats, steamers, museum, maze, and all the other attractions." Admission to the gardens was 6d.
Multiple people sleeping in the same bed was commonplace. But as well as being an uncomfortable and unsanitary arrangement, it could prove dangerous.
On the 5th a ganger [foreman of labourers] called Dane Cooper, who was working on the new railway at Farnworth, went to bed drunk.
His wife decided to sleep in another bed in which two of their children were sleeping.
With her was their one-month old baby and she fell asleep with the child resting on her right arm.
At 3am she awoke to find that one of her children had been lying on top of the baby and as a consequence the poor mite had been suffocated.
An inquest was held at The Horns public house in Farnworth and a verdict of accidental death was returned.
The sitting of the St Helens Petty Sessions on Mondays always had a long list of weekend drunks to deal with.
The St Helens Newspaper's report on the cases heard on the 6th bore the headline "The Drunk and Disorderly Roll".
The unusual excuse given by a young woman called Jane Rose for committing a breach of the peace in Liverpool Road was that she was only defending herself after being attacked by a "banjo man".
Jane was bound over to keep the peace for a month and no doubt kept her distance from banjo men in the future.
That was probably sensible, as the banjo fraternity seemed a peculiar lot with some not being too fussy about where their strings came from.
In September the Liverpool Courier would ask: "What punishment can said to be adequate for a miscreant caught in the act of skinning a live cat to make a banjo?"
The answer was seemingly three months, as that was the maximum penalty, much to the disgust of the Courier as they reported on a recent case.
Back to the St Helens Newspaper, and this week’s word of the week, which is "sweethearting”.
Under the heading "A Gay Deceiver", they wrote about an application for maintenance in a so-called "bastardy" case:
"Samuel Fillingham, who did not appear, was charged by Ann Wright with being the father of her illegitimate child. The applicant said Fillingham had been her sweetheart for a considerable time and had promised her marriage.
"She called another young woman, who stated that the parties had been sweethearting for a long time, and she had seen them often together at dancing rooms and other places.
"Fillingham was now sweethearting another young woman, who, was in the family way by him. Had heard Fillingham say, when he saw the child, “Come to your daddy.” – The bench made an order for 2s 6d. per week."
Samuel Fillingham does not appear to have made an honest woman of either of the females that he was sweethearting and made pregnant.
In the 1871 census the 23-year-old coal miner was living with his widowed mother and siblings in Liverpool Road.
It was a week for abominable acts as Owen Cook was charged with committing an act of bestiality on a donkey.
The Newspaper said the evidence was quite unfit for publication but they did report that the 21-year-old had been caught "in the act" by Dominic Leehey of The Crescent in Eccleston.
He was a marine store dealer who kept his donkey at a stable owned by a man called Ripley and Leehey had found the young man interfering with his animal.
PC Geddes arrested Owen Cook on the same night and told the court that the prisoner was under the influence of drink "but he knew what he was about".
Cook was committed for trial in Liverpool in July but was found not guilty.
That must have been a massive relief to the man, as another defendant charged with a similar offence was sentenced to ten years in prison.
Newspapers wrote that Cook was "acquitted on the charge of having committed an abominable crime".
Checking court records again, he had been accused of "attempting to commit buggery with an ass".
Another charge of indecency was levelled at John Kean – although he had simply been skinny dipping in Pennington's lake in Sutton.
The young man was accused of exposing himself in the public highway after being observed by Thomas Beasley.
He was a solicitor who lived at Sutton House in the Peasley Cross area and had five servants tending to his family's needs.
Beasley accused the lad of being naked with the exception of his clogs and said he seemed to be jumping up and down.
John Kean denied being nude, saying he was wearing a pair of calico drawers.
The young man was only fined sixpence but told to pay 7 shillings costs and cautioned by the Bench as to his future conduct.
Pilkington Glassworks St Helens shown around 1870 – previously known as the St Helens Crown Works founded in 1826
Pilkington Glassworks in St Helens shown around 1870
Pilkington Glassworks around 1870
However the strike of 1870 lasted far longer and received far less coverage in the papers.
The St Helens Newspaper of June 7th devoted just eight lines to the dispute that had begun on April 18th when Pilkingtons announced plans to cut the wages of their glassblowers by at least 20%.
The Newspaper reported that the strike committee had sent representatives to towns throughout the country seeking financial help and their appeals were being "liberally responded to".
The brief report was concluded with the statement: "A settlement of the dispute, we regret to say, seems as remote as ever."
Next week's stories will include the Sutton miner who committed bigamy because his wife made him unhappy, the miniature yacht race on Carr Mill Dam, Pilkington strikers denounce claims of coercion, the death of Charles Dickens and the 13-year-old girls who stole for their mothers.