150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 1 - 7 DECEMBER 1875
This week's many stories include the inefficiency of the town's fire brigade, the contagious fever epidemics in St Helens, the child burning in Sutton, the conscientious anti-vaccinators that appeared in court and the woman who used her shawl to steal children's boots.
The St Helens Fire Brigade did not have a great reputation. With electrical fires and hoax telephone calls yet to be an issue, they did not have many call-outs. And so the brigade was only a part-time affair, composed mainly of police officers who did not acquire much experience of fire-fighting and their training sessions were limited.
In May 1875 the St Helens Newspaper had written: "We have, nominally, a Fire Brigade, which generally manages to damage more with misapplied water, when it succeeds in applying it at all, than is done by the devouring element [the flames]; perhaps Water Brigade would be a more appropriate cognomen."
Councillor Fidler was a particularly harsh critic and in December 1874 had said he had recently been down to the fire station and found what he called a "gross want of discipline". He complained of its complete inefficiency to the needs of the town and added: "It is necessary there should be a reorganisation, with a man capable of commanding the brigade."
At the Town Council meeting that was held on December 1st of this week, it was revealed that Fidler had got his wish – at least in that the present superintendent of the brigade having left his job. But Fidler denied having stated that the official had "thrown up his situation because of incompetence" and said his remarks had not been intended to criticise the superintendent. However, the councillor did admit stating that the members of the Brigade were not of the class needed to perform firefighting duties in a town like St Helens and he repeated his call for a reorganisation.
Concern was also expressed at the meeting over the ongoing epidemics of "fever". That was the generic term for typhoid, measles, scarlet fever etc. Cllr Thomason said there had been a somewhat serious outbreak of fever in various parts of the borough and he wanted to know what their Medical Officer was doing about the situation.
He said: "I think it is a pity that a better understanding does not prevail in our borough regarding epidemics." The councillor stated that he had been informed that fever was prevalent in Bold Street, Campbell Street, Wilson Street and Claughton Street.
Infectious diseases did not become notifiable until 1889 and Councillor Thomason felt that if persons that were aware of a fever outbreak communicated the details to the medical officer, then it could be stamped out. He quoted a case of typhoid in Bold Street in Greenbank which had started at a house in Garden Street belonging to a man called Lawrenson.
He lost his wife to the contagious disease but, instead of isolating his children immediately, he took them instead to live with a widowed sister. Within a fortnight, both sets of families were down with typhoid fever. "I am sorry that such a bad understanding exists between the medical men and the inhabitants with regard to contagious disease", added Cllr Thomason.
On the 2nd Thomas Roughley was working down Peasley Cross Colliery when fully-laden coal boxes that were being hauled along the mine struck him down. The 61-year-old was so severely injured that he died about ninety minutes later.
The inquest on Maria Beaumont of Edward Street was also held on that day in the Prince of Wales Inn in Sutton. Two days before the 2½-year-old had been left alone in the house with her 4-year-old sister while their mother briefly went outside. Upon her return she found her daughter enveloped in flames and although they were quickly extinguished, Maria died on the following morning.
For around 20 years in the late 19th century from c. 1877, the Salisbury Music Hall operated within the Salisbury Hotel. The building in Salisbury Street in St Helens would later become a large lodging house where many dubious characters would lay down their heads and then the Salvation Army ran it as a hostel.
What appeared to be the start of the Salisbury Hotel's musical venture was briefly advertised in the St Helens Newspaper on the 4th: "Free And Easy. Free And Easy. A new piano and a good pianist at the Salisbury Hotel." A Mrs Baldwin was the pianist who was performing on most evenings for five hours at a time. On Saturdays the woman was putting in a 7-hour shift but had Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays off to rest her weary fingers.
Female thieves had an advantage over men, as their shawls were quite handy for hiding all sorts of stolen goods. Boots were often concealed under shawls, although, of course, you had to be careful that you were not seen when committing the act. When Mary McGurk appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions this week it was stated that she had stolen a pair of children's boots valued at 2s 4d from Mr Munsey's shop in Naylor Street.
The theft had taken place at 7:30pm on a Saturday evening. That was not unusual as shops stayed open until late at night on Saturdays to take advantage of people getting paid on that day. And so Munsey's boot and shoe shop would likely have been open for a further two or three hours.
Mary McGurk had been seen sticking the boots under her shawl and the shop assistant (who were generally men then) went to the police station for a constable. Any form of clothes stealing, as I've often written, was then taken extremely seriously and the woman was sent to prison for a month.
In the 1870s vaccination was compulsory, which made it even more controversial than today. The ultimate sanction for fathers that refused to vaccinate their child against smallpox was prison. However, the courts tended to repeatedly fine offenders, as they weren't keen on making martyrs to the anti-vaccination movement.
The joiner John Hunt was a committed anti-vaccinator. In 1870 he had a furious letter published in a Wigan newspaper in which he wrote: "I could quote the names of large numbers of medical men who after twenty or thirty years' experience have come to the conclusion that vaccination is a delusion, and ought to be abandoned from the statute books as compulsory."
This week John Hunt, along with four other fathers, all pleaded guilty in court to having neglected to have their children vaccinated against smallpox. All like Hunt had – as the Newspaper put it – "having conscientious scruples" against having their children inoculated and were repeat offenders.
In 1898 an Act of Parliament would entitle parents to apply to a magistrate for a certificate of conscientious objection that would exempt their child from vaccination. But in the 1870s there were no exemptions and the defendants were each fined 5 shillings, plus costs.
It was very common for two women that were related to one another to take out a court summons alleging assault or that defamatory language had been used against them. Then, before the magistrates, only a partial, one-sided tale was told in which the complainant was seen as the innocent victim who would not say boo to a goose. But when the defendant took the stand, she and her witnesses would state that the complainant had done a lot more than just say boo!
Such a case occurred this week when Margaret Reynolds was summoned for assaulting her sister-in-law, Mary Henicon. Both women lived in Bold Street in Greenbank and Mary claimed that Margaret had followed her into her house and grabbed hold of her by the hair of her head. But one of her own witnesses claimed that Mary had, in fact, been the aggressor and she had first got hold of Margaret by her hair and used bad language towards her. And so the magistrates dismissed the case.
And finally, on the 6th the Liverpool Blind Glee Company of the Liverpool School for the Blind performed a Grand Miscellaneous Concert in the Volunteer Hall in St Helens.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the robbery from a canal boat, the scandal of playing billiards for money in the Liberal Club, most of the town's firemen hand in their resignation and the drunken fall down the stairs in New Cross Street.
In May 1875 the St Helens Newspaper had written: "We have, nominally, a Fire Brigade, which generally manages to damage more with misapplied water, when it succeeds in applying it at all, than is done by the devouring element [the flames]; perhaps Water Brigade would be a more appropriate cognomen."
Councillor Fidler was a particularly harsh critic and in December 1874 had said he had recently been down to the fire station and found what he called a "gross want of discipline". He complained of its complete inefficiency to the needs of the town and added: "It is necessary there should be a reorganisation, with a man capable of commanding the brigade."
At the Town Council meeting that was held on December 1st of this week, it was revealed that Fidler had got his wish – at least in that the present superintendent of the brigade having left his job. But Fidler denied having stated that the official had "thrown up his situation because of incompetence" and said his remarks had not been intended to criticise the superintendent. However, the councillor did admit stating that the members of the Brigade were not of the class needed to perform firefighting duties in a town like St Helens and he repeated his call for a reorganisation.
Concern was also expressed at the meeting over the ongoing epidemics of "fever". That was the generic term for typhoid, measles, scarlet fever etc. Cllr Thomason said there had been a somewhat serious outbreak of fever in various parts of the borough and he wanted to know what their Medical Officer was doing about the situation.
He said: "I think it is a pity that a better understanding does not prevail in our borough regarding epidemics." The councillor stated that he had been informed that fever was prevalent in Bold Street, Campbell Street, Wilson Street and Claughton Street.
Infectious diseases did not become notifiable until 1889 and Councillor Thomason felt that if persons that were aware of a fever outbreak communicated the details to the medical officer, then it could be stamped out. He quoted a case of typhoid in Bold Street in Greenbank which had started at a house in Garden Street belonging to a man called Lawrenson.
He lost his wife to the contagious disease but, instead of isolating his children immediately, he took them instead to live with a widowed sister. Within a fortnight, both sets of families were down with typhoid fever. "I am sorry that such a bad understanding exists between the medical men and the inhabitants with regard to contagious disease", added Cllr Thomason.
On the 2nd Thomas Roughley was working down Peasley Cross Colliery when fully-laden coal boxes that were being hauled along the mine struck him down. The 61-year-old was so severely injured that he died about ninety minutes later.
The inquest on Maria Beaumont of Edward Street was also held on that day in the Prince of Wales Inn in Sutton. Two days before the 2½-year-old had been left alone in the house with her 4-year-old sister while their mother briefly went outside. Upon her return she found her daughter enveloped in flames and although they were quickly extinguished, Maria died on the following morning.
For around 20 years in the late 19th century from c. 1877, the Salisbury Music Hall operated within the Salisbury Hotel. The building in Salisbury Street in St Helens would later become a large lodging house where many dubious characters would lay down their heads and then the Salvation Army ran it as a hostel.
What appeared to be the start of the Salisbury Hotel's musical venture was briefly advertised in the St Helens Newspaper on the 4th: "Free And Easy. Free And Easy. A new piano and a good pianist at the Salisbury Hotel." A Mrs Baldwin was the pianist who was performing on most evenings for five hours at a time. On Saturdays the woman was putting in a 7-hour shift but had Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays off to rest her weary fingers.
Female thieves had an advantage over men, as their shawls were quite handy for hiding all sorts of stolen goods. Boots were often concealed under shawls, although, of course, you had to be careful that you were not seen when committing the act. When Mary McGurk appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions this week it was stated that she had stolen a pair of children's boots valued at 2s 4d from Mr Munsey's shop in Naylor Street.
The theft had taken place at 7:30pm on a Saturday evening. That was not unusual as shops stayed open until late at night on Saturdays to take advantage of people getting paid on that day. And so Munsey's boot and shoe shop would likely have been open for a further two or three hours.
Mary McGurk had been seen sticking the boots under her shawl and the shop assistant (who were generally men then) went to the police station for a constable. Any form of clothes stealing, as I've often written, was then taken extremely seriously and the woman was sent to prison for a month.
In the 1870s vaccination was compulsory, which made it even more controversial than today. The ultimate sanction for fathers that refused to vaccinate their child against smallpox was prison. However, the courts tended to repeatedly fine offenders, as they weren't keen on making martyrs to the anti-vaccination movement.
The joiner John Hunt was a committed anti-vaccinator. In 1870 he had a furious letter published in a Wigan newspaper in which he wrote: "I could quote the names of large numbers of medical men who after twenty or thirty years' experience have come to the conclusion that vaccination is a delusion, and ought to be abandoned from the statute books as compulsory."
This week John Hunt, along with four other fathers, all pleaded guilty in court to having neglected to have their children vaccinated against smallpox. All like Hunt had – as the Newspaper put it – "having conscientious scruples" against having their children inoculated and were repeat offenders.
In 1898 an Act of Parliament would entitle parents to apply to a magistrate for a certificate of conscientious objection that would exempt their child from vaccination. But in the 1870s there were no exemptions and the defendants were each fined 5 shillings, plus costs.
It was very common for two women that were related to one another to take out a court summons alleging assault or that defamatory language had been used against them. Then, before the magistrates, only a partial, one-sided tale was told in which the complainant was seen as the innocent victim who would not say boo to a goose. But when the defendant took the stand, she and her witnesses would state that the complainant had done a lot more than just say boo!
Such a case occurred this week when Margaret Reynolds was summoned for assaulting her sister-in-law, Mary Henicon. Both women lived in Bold Street in Greenbank and Mary claimed that Margaret had followed her into her house and grabbed hold of her by the hair of her head. But one of her own witnesses claimed that Mary had, in fact, been the aggressor and she had first got hold of Margaret by her hair and used bad language towards her. And so the magistrates dismissed the case.
And finally, on the 6th the Liverpool Blind Glee Company of the Liverpool School for the Blind performed a Grand Miscellaneous Concert in the Volunteer Hall in St Helens.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the robbery from a canal boat, the scandal of playing billiards for money in the Liberal Club, most of the town's firemen hand in their resignation and the drunken fall down the stairs in New Cross Street.
This week's many stories include the inefficiency of the town's fire brigade, the contagious fever epidemics in St Helens, the child burning in Sutton, the conscientious anti-vaccinators that appeared in court and the woman who used her shawl to steal children's boots.
The St Helens Fire Brigade did not have a great reputation. With electrical fires and hoax telephone calls yet to be an issue, they did not have many call-outs.
And so the brigade was only a part-time affair, composed mainly of police officers who did not acquire much experience of fire-fighting and their training sessions were limited.
In May 1875 the St Helens Newspaper had written: "We have, nominally, a Fire Brigade, which generally manages to damage more with misapplied water, when it succeeds in applying it at all, than is done by the devouring element [the flames]; perhaps Water Brigade would be a more appropriate cognomen."
Councillor Fidler was a particularly harsh critic and in December 1874 had said he had recently been down to the fire station and found what he called a "gross want of discipline".
He complained of its complete inefficiency to the needs of the town and added: "It is necessary there should be a reorganisation, with a man capable of commanding the brigade."
At the Town Council meeting that was held on December 1st of this week, it was revealed that Fidler had got his wish – at least in that the present superintendent of the brigade having left his job.
But Fidler denied having stated that the official had "thrown up his situation because of incompetence" and said his remarks had not been intended to criticise the superintendent.
However, the councillor did admit stating that the members of the Brigade were not of the class needed to perform firefighting duties in a town like St Helens and he repeated his call for a reorganisation.
Concern was also expressed at the meeting over the ongoing epidemics of "fever". That was the generic term for typhoid, measles, scarlet fever etc.
Cllr Thomason said there had been a somewhat serious outbreak of fever in various parts of the borough and he wanted to know what their Medical Officer was doing about the situation.
He said: "I think it is a pity that a better understanding does not prevail in our borough regarding epidemics."
The councillor stated that he had been informed that fever was prevalent in Bold Street, Campbell Street, Wilson Street and Claughton Street.
Infectious diseases did not become notifiable until 1889 and Councillor Thomason felt that if persons that were aware of a fever outbreak communicated the details to the medical officer, then it could be stamped out.
He quoted a case of typhoid in Bold Street in Greenbank which had started at a house in Garden Street belonging to a man called Lawrenson.
He lost his wife to the contagious disease but, instead of isolating his children immediately, he took them instead to live with a widowed sister.
Within a fortnight, both sets of families were down with typhoid fever.
"I am sorry that such a bad understanding exists between the medical men and the inhabitants with regard to contagious disease", added Cllr Thomason.
On the 2nd Thomas Roughley was working down Peasley Cross Colliery when fully-laden coal boxes that were being hauled along the mine struck him down.
The 61-year-old was so severely injured that he died about ninety minutes later.
The inquest on Maria Beaumont of Edward Street was also held on that day in the Prince of Wales Inn in Sutton.
Two days before the 2½-year-old had been left alone in the house with her 4-year-old sister while their mother briefly went outside.
Upon her return she found her daughter enveloped in flames and although they were quickly extinguished, Maria died on the following morning.
For around 20 years in the late 19th century from c. 1877, the Salisbury Music Hall operated within the Salisbury Hotel.
The building in Salisbury Street in St Helens would later become a large lodging house where many dubious characters would lay down their heads and then the Salvation Army ran it as a hostel.
What appeared to be the start of the Salisbury Hotel's musical venture was briefly advertised in the St Helens Newspaper on the 4th:
"Free And Easy. Free And Easy. A new piano and a good pianist at the Salisbury Hotel."
A Mrs Baldwin was the pianist who was performing on most evenings for five hours at a time.
On Saturdays the woman was putting in a 7-hour shift but had Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays off to rest her weary fingers.
Female thieves had an advantage over men, as their shawls were quite handy for hiding all sorts of stolen goods.
Boots were often concealed under shawls, although, of course, you had to be careful that you were not seen when committing the act.
When Mary McGurk appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions this week it was stated that she had stolen a pair of children's boots valued at 2s 4d from Mr Munsey's shop in Naylor Street.
The theft had taken place at 7:30pm on a Saturday evening. That was not unusual as shops stayed open until late at night on Saturdays to take advantage of people getting paid on that day.
And so Munsey's boot and shoe shop would likely have been open for a further two or three hours.
Mary McGurk had been seen sticking the boots under her shawl and the shop assistant (who were generally men then) went to the police station for a constable.
Any form of clothes stealing, as I've often written, was then taken extremely seriously and the woman was sent to prison for a month.
In the 1870s vaccination was compulsory, which made it even more controversial than today.
The ultimate sanction for fathers that refused to vaccinate their child against smallpox was prison. However, the courts tended to repeatedly fine offenders, as they weren't keen on making martyrs to the anti-vaccination movement.
The joiner John Hunt was a committed anti-vaccinator. In 1870 he had a furious letter published in a Wigan newspaper in which he wrote:
"I could quote the names of large numbers of medical men who after twenty or thirty years' experience have come to the conclusion that vaccination is a delusion, and ought to be abandoned from the statute books as compulsory."
This week John Hunt, along with four other fathers, all pleaded guilty in court to having neglected to have their children vaccinated against smallpox.
All like Hunt had – as the Newspaper put it – "having conscientious scruples" against having their children inoculated and were repeat offenders.
In 1898 an Act of Parliament would entitle parents to apply to a magistrate for a certificate of conscientious objection that would exempt their child from vaccination.
But in the 1870s there were no exemptions and the defendants were each fined 5 shillings, plus costs.
It was very common for two women that were related to one another to take out a court summons alleging assault or that defamatory language had been used against them.
Then, before the magistrates, only a partial, one-sided tale was told in which the complainant was seen as the innocent victim who would not say boo to a goose.
But when the defendant took the stand, she and her witnesses would state that the complainant had done a lot more than just say boo!
Such a case occurred this week when Margaret Reynolds was summoned for assaulting her sister-in-law, Mary Henicon.
Both women lived in Bold Street in Greenbank and Mary claimed that Margaret had followed her into her house and grabbed hold of her by the hair of her head.
But one of her own witnesses claimed that Mary had, in fact, been the aggressor and she had first got hold of Margaret by her hair and used bad language towards her.
And so the magistrates dismissed the case.
And finally, on the 6th the Liverpool Blind Glee Company of the Liverpool School for the Blind performed a Grand Miscellaneous Concert in the Volunteer Hall in St Helens.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the robbery from a canal boat, the scandal of playing billiards for money in the Liberal Club, most of the town's firemen hand in their resignation and the drunken fall down the stairs in New Cross Street.
And so the brigade was only a part-time affair, composed mainly of police officers who did not acquire much experience of fire-fighting and their training sessions were limited.
In May 1875 the St Helens Newspaper had written: "We have, nominally, a Fire Brigade, which generally manages to damage more with misapplied water, when it succeeds in applying it at all, than is done by the devouring element [the flames]; perhaps Water Brigade would be a more appropriate cognomen."
Councillor Fidler was a particularly harsh critic and in December 1874 had said he had recently been down to the fire station and found what he called a "gross want of discipline".
He complained of its complete inefficiency to the needs of the town and added: "It is necessary there should be a reorganisation, with a man capable of commanding the brigade."
At the Town Council meeting that was held on December 1st of this week, it was revealed that Fidler had got his wish – at least in that the present superintendent of the brigade having left his job.
But Fidler denied having stated that the official had "thrown up his situation because of incompetence" and said his remarks had not been intended to criticise the superintendent.
However, the councillor did admit stating that the members of the Brigade were not of the class needed to perform firefighting duties in a town like St Helens and he repeated his call for a reorganisation.
Concern was also expressed at the meeting over the ongoing epidemics of "fever". That was the generic term for typhoid, measles, scarlet fever etc.
Cllr Thomason said there had been a somewhat serious outbreak of fever in various parts of the borough and he wanted to know what their Medical Officer was doing about the situation.
He said: "I think it is a pity that a better understanding does not prevail in our borough regarding epidemics."
The councillor stated that he had been informed that fever was prevalent in Bold Street, Campbell Street, Wilson Street and Claughton Street.
Infectious diseases did not become notifiable until 1889 and Councillor Thomason felt that if persons that were aware of a fever outbreak communicated the details to the medical officer, then it could be stamped out.
He quoted a case of typhoid in Bold Street in Greenbank which had started at a house in Garden Street belonging to a man called Lawrenson.
He lost his wife to the contagious disease but, instead of isolating his children immediately, he took them instead to live with a widowed sister.
Within a fortnight, both sets of families were down with typhoid fever.
"I am sorry that such a bad understanding exists between the medical men and the inhabitants with regard to contagious disease", added Cllr Thomason.
On the 2nd Thomas Roughley was working down Peasley Cross Colliery when fully-laden coal boxes that were being hauled along the mine struck him down.
The 61-year-old was so severely injured that he died about ninety minutes later.
The inquest on Maria Beaumont of Edward Street was also held on that day in the Prince of Wales Inn in Sutton.
Two days before the 2½-year-old had been left alone in the house with her 4-year-old sister while their mother briefly went outside.
Upon her return she found her daughter enveloped in flames and although they were quickly extinguished, Maria died on the following morning.
For around 20 years in the late 19th century from c. 1877, the Salisbury Music Hall operated within the Salisbury Hotel.
The building in Salisbury Street in St Helens would later become a large lodging house where many dubious characters would lay down their heads and then the Salvation Army ran it as a hostel.
What appeared to be the start of the Salisbury Hotel's musical venture was briefly advertised in the St Helens Newspaper on the 4th:
"Free And Easy. Free And Easy. A new piano and a good pianist at the Salisbury Hotel."
A Mrs Baldwin was the pianist who was performing on most evenings for five hours at a time.
On Saturdays the woman was putting in a 7-hour shift but had Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays off to rest her weary fingers.
Female thieves had an advantage over men, as their shawls were quite handy for hiding all sorts of stolen goods.
Boots were often concealed under shawls, although, of course, you had to be careful that you were not seen when committing the act.
When Mary McGurk appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions this week it was stated that she had stolen a pair of children's boots valued at 2s 4d from Mr Munsey's shop in Naylor Street.
The theft had taken place at 7:30pm on a Saturday evening. That was not unusual as shops stayed open until late at night on Saturdays to take advantage of people getting paid on that day.
And so Munsey's boot and shoe shop would likely have been open for a further two or three hours.
Mary McGurk had been seen sticking the boots under her shawl and the shop assistant (who were generally men then) went to the police station for a constable.
Any form of clothes stealing, as I've often written, was then taken extremely seriously and the woman was sent to prison for a month.
In the 1870s vaccination was compulsory, which made it even more controversial than today.
The ultimate sanction for fathers that refused to vaccinate their child against smallpox was prison. However, the courts tended to repeatedly fine offenders, as they weren't keen on making martyrs to the anti-vaccination movement.
The joiner John Hunt was a committed anti-vaccinator. In 1870 he had a furious letter published in a Wigan newspaper in which he wrote:
"I could quote the names of large numbers of medical men who after twenty or thirty years' experience have come to the conclusion that vaccination is a delusion, and ought to be abandoned from the statute books as compulsory."
This week John Hunt, along with four other fathers, all pleaded guilty in court to having neglected to have their children vaccinated against smallpox.
All like Hunt had – as the Newspaper put it – "having conscientious scruples" against having their children inoculated and were repeat offenders.
In 1898 an Act of Parliament would entitle parents to apply to a magistrate for a certificate of conscientious objection that would exempt their child from vaccination.
But in the 1870s there were no exemptions and the defendants were each fined 5 shillings, plus costs.
It was very common for two women that were related to one another to take out a court summons alleging assault or that defamatory language had been used against them.
Then, before the magistrates, only a partial, one-sided tale was told in which the complainant was seen as the innocent victim who would not say boo to a goose.
But when the defendant took the stand, she and her witnesses would state that the complainant had done a lot more than just say boo!
Such a case occurred this week when Margaret Reynolds was summoned for assaulting her sister-in-law, Mary Henicon.
Both women lived in Bold Street in Greenbank and Mary claimed that Margaret had followed her into her house and grabbed hold of her by the hair of her head.
But one of her own witnesses claimed that Mary had, in fact, been the aggressor and she had first got hold of Margaret by her hair and used bad language towards her.
And so the magistrates dismissed the case.
And finally, on the 6th the Liverpool Blind Glee Company of the Liverpool School for the Blind performed a Grand Miscellaneous Concert in the Volunteer Hall in St Helens.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the robbery from a canal boat, the scandal of playing billiards for money in the Liberal Club, most of the town's firemen hand in their resignation and the drunken fall down the stairs in New Cross Street.