150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (2nd - 8th MARCH 1870)
This week's stories include the Irish Fenians that met in a Parr Street beerhouse, the Eccleston man that tried to shoot his wife, a 3-year-old Sutton boy is summoned to court for smashing a window, the St Helens' works that made candles for coal mines, the fees for lunatics in Rainhill Asylum and a setback for plans to widen Church Street.
We begin on the 2nd with an accident to a Whiston carter. Thomas Travers was returning from Liverpool with a load of potatoes when somehow his horse knocked him down and one of the cartwheels passed over his head. The man was taken to his home and a doctor summoned but there was little hope of a recovery.
St Helens Town Council held their monthly meeting on the 2nd in which it was revealed that their plans to widen Church Street had suffered a setback. Gilbert Greenall was a member of the brewery family and a businessman. The Corporation wanted to knock down some of his property in order to widen the street. They had offered him £100 and an equal area of ground in exchange. However Greenall had rejected the offer.
There was some discussion as to why different gas lamps in St Helens were consuming different amounts of gas when they were supposed to be lit for the same amount of time. However the council's Surveyor partly explained the irregularities by stating that mischievous lads frequently lit some of the lamps during the daytime and turned others off at night.
Many offenders did not have the cash to pay court fines and so had to accept the alternative sentence of prison. On the 2nd Thomas Walker could not afford a fine of 15 shillings and costs for being drunk and assaulting a policeman and so went to prison for three weeks. The man had been found disorderly in George Street by PC McLaren and while being taken to the station had severely kicked the officer.
Also in the Police Court was Edward Stanley from Eccleston Lane Ends who was charged with assaulting his wife. Mrs Stanley told the Bench that on February 20th her husband had "greatly illused her". One of her sons came to her assistance and Edward then got a gun and tried to fire it at his wife but it failed to go off. For doing this Stanley was only fined ten shillings and costs.
An Irish lecture and concert was given in the Town Hall on the 7th. The St Helens Newspaper's review of the event referred to the "troubled sea of Irish politics". And there was certainly plenty of trouble about. From 1918 to 1931 James Sexton was the MP for St Helens but in 1870 his family were gunrunners in Tontine Street and members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. They were known as Fenians who were essentially the forerunners of the IRA and in 1867 they'd staged an unsuccessful revolt in Ireland.
On the same day that the Irish event took place at the Town Hall, a young man called Peter Powell applied for a licence for a beerhouse in Pocket Nook. The man had previously kept a beerhouse in Parr Street and had testimonials from two persons, including a Catholic priest. However Constable Sewell gave evidence to the court that Fenians of the "highest grade" had regularly met in his drinking house in Parr Street.
Asked by Peter Powell's counsel whether all Irishmen in St Helens were Fenians, PC Sewell replied "very nearly". That did not mean that they were all involved in illegal activities but that they supported the Fenian cause. Upon hearing this evidence the Bench decided to refuse the licence.
Also in court on that day was John Carey who was charged with neglecting his family. Last May the man had walked out on his four children in Parr and departed St Helens. The children were taken to Whiston Workhouse (pictured above) where they still remained "at the expense of the parish". Having to pay for the keep of a man's family appeared to annoy the authorities more than the act of a family being left penniless. John Carey tried to justify what he did by saying he had been unable to get work in St Helens and so had been forced to leave the town. That excuse did not impress the magistrates who sent him to prison for three weeks.
Betsy Lockhart summoned a little boy called Joseph Worrall from Sutton to the court for breaking her window. The little chap was only about three-years-old and when the age of the child became evident, the magistrates dismissed the case. They were more than happy to jail older children for minor offences but there were limits!
It was illegal for a pub or beerhouse to open on Sundays before 12:30pm but many did. The police made great efforts to catch offenders and the licensees did what they could to come up with excuses and destroy evidence. Peter Smith was the licensee of the Bowl and Skittles in Parr Street and was summoned to the Petty Sessions for opening his house at an illegal hour on a Sunday. PC Geddies gave evidence of seeing a woman leaving the pub by the back way and upon stopping her found a can of beer in her basket.
This was not, of course, the type of beer can that we are familiar with. It was, instead, a receptacle that the ale was poured into, with its main purpose likely to have been to store milk. In his defence Peter Smith said his son had given the woman the beer after she'd said it was for a man who'd come out of a chemical works with his throat full of gas. That was probably true and although water would have sufficed just as well, the largely unprotected chemical workers drank huge quantities of beer to make their dreadful lives a bit easier.
John Cox of Pottery Street (which used to be near Canal Street) was charged with the same offence. This time PC Geddies gave evidence of seeing two men go to the back door of the man's beerhouse and upon following them he found several men inside. The landlady was carrying a jug of beer, which, upon seeing the constable, she threw into a slopstone. That was a stone slab located under a tap and the woman immediately ran the tap to wash away the beer.
However the officer dashed to the spot and managed to put his finger in some of the ale before it could be washed off and then tasted it to confirm it was beer. John Cox's counsel claimed there was no intention to sell and the men had been refused the beer. The magistrates had long experience of hearing such excuses and fined Cox 20 shillings. It wasn't just the fine that was the concern for these beerhouse keepers. Every year their licences were reviewed and fines could lead to them losing their licence.
Fresh air was free in 1870 but not much else. You were even expected to pay for your care if you were unfortunate enough to be admitted into Rainhill Lunatic Asylum. Fees for the very poor would be paid by the Prescot Union on behalf of the ratepayers but if you were able to pay, you – or your family – were expected to cough up. Richard Mills was summoned to the court for owing £3 for the maintenance of his lunatic wife. The prosecutor stated that the man had given a great deal of trouble and had gone to prison four times for not paying his wife's fees.
Mills told the court that his wife had been back home with him for the last fortnight – which was irrelevant. He still had the £3 care costs to pay. The procedure was for the magistrates to make a court order demanding that the money be paid. If the defendant failed to do so then they would be brought back into court and probably jailed. So another order was made against Richard Mills who could look forward to his fifth spell in Kirkdale Gaol if he didn't find the money.
Candles were still used extensively down coalmines despite the obvious dangers of explosions. On the 8th Blinkhorn and Cook were advertising their Patent Star Coal Pit Candles on the front page of the St Helens Newspaper: "The best candles for pit use. Don't get soft in a warm atmosphere. Give a steady, brilliant light. Require no snuffing." The firm operated from the Lancashire Patent Candle Works in St Helens, near to Pilkington's works in Grove Street.
And finally the Newspaper gave a warning to the town’s residents about burglars: "At the present time the town is infested with thieves. "Periodically it would appear that there is an influx of these gentry from other places, and for a time it behoves householders to be careful not to give a ready means of ingress to some midnight burglar."
Next week's stories will include the dirty, ragged children who were causing pandemonium in Prescot, the "undaycent" name-calling in Parr, the Moss Bank poaching case, the brainless lodger in Rainford and the excitable woman in the St Helens County Court.
We begin on the 2nd with an accident to a Whiston carter. Thomas Travers was returning from Liverpool with a load of potatoes when somehow his horse knocked him down and one of the cartwheels passed over his head. The man was taken to his home and a doctor summoned but there was little hope of a recovery.
St Helens Town Council held their monthly meeting on the 2nd in which it was revealed that their plans to widen Church Street had suffered a setback. Gilbert Greenall was a member of the brewery family and a businessman. The Corporation wanted to knock down some of his property in order to widen the street. They had offered him £100 and an equal area of ground in exchange. However Greenall had rejected the offer.
There was some discussion as to why different gas lamps in St Helens were consuming different amounts of gas when they were supposed to be lit for the same amount of time. However the council's Surveyor partly explained the irregularities by stating that mischievous lads frequently lit some of the lamps during the daytime and turned others off at night.
Many offenders did not have the cash to pay court fines and so had to accept the alternative sentence of prison. On the 2nd Thomas Walker could not afford a fine of 15 shillings and costs for being drunk and assaulting a policeman and so went to prison for three weeks. The man had been found disorderly in George Street by PC McLaren and while being taken to the station had severely kicked the officer.
Also in the Police Court was Edward Stanley from Eccleston Lane Ends who was charged with assaulting his wife. Mrs Stanley told the Bench that on February 20th her husband had "greatly illused her". One of her sons came to her assistance and Edward then got a gun and tried to fire it at his wife but it failed to go off. For doing this Stanley was only fined ten shillings and costs.
An Irish lecture and concert was given in the Town Hall on the 7th. The St Helens Newspaper's review of the event referred to the "troubled sea of Irish politics". And there was certainly plenty of trouble about. From 1918 to 1931 James Sexton was the MP for St Helens but in 1870 his family were gunrunners in Tontine Street and members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. They were known as Fenians who were essentially the forerunners of the IRA and in 1867 they'd staged an unsuccessful revolt in Ireland.
On the same day that the Irish event took place at the Town Hall, a young man called Peter Powell applied for a licence for a beerhouse in Pocket Nook. The man had previously kept a beerhouse in Parr Street and had testimonials from two persons, including a Catholic priest. However Constable Sewell gave evidence to the court that Fenians of the "highest grade" had regularly met in his drinking house in Parr Street.
Asked by Peter Powell's counsel whether all Irishmen in St Helens were Fenians, PC Sewell replied "very nearly". That did not mean that they were all involved in illegal activities but that they supported the Fenian cause. Upon hearing this evidence the Bench decided to refuse the licence.
Betsy Lockhart summoned a little boy called Joseph Worrall from Sutton to the court for breaking her window. The little chap was only about three-years-old and when the age of the child became evident, the magistrates dismissed the case. They were more than happy to jail older children for minor offences but there were limits!
It was illegal for a pub or beerhouse to open on Sundays before 12:30pm but many did. The police made great efforts to catch offenders and the licensees did what they could to come up with excuses and destroy evidence. Peter Smith was the licensee of the Bowl and Skittles in Parr Street and was summoned to the Petty Sessions for opening his house at an illegal hour on a Sunday. PC Geddies gave evidence of seeing a woman leaving the pub by the back way and upon stopping her found a can of beer in her basket.
This was not, of course, the type of beer can that we are familiar with. It was, instead, a receptacle that the ale was poured into, with its main purpose likely to have been to store milk. In his defence Peter Smith said his son had given the woman the beer after she'd said it was for a man who'd come out of a chemical works with his throat full of gas. That was probably true and although water would have sufficed just as well, the largely unprotected chemical workers drank huge quantities of beer to make their dreadful lives a bit easier.
John Cox of Pottery Street (which used to be near Canal Street) was charged with the same offence. This time PC Geddies gave evidence of seeing two men go to the back door of the man's beerhouse and upon following them he found several men inside. The landlady was carrying a jug of beer, which, upon seeing the constable, she threw into a slopstone. That was a stone slab located under a tap and the woman immediately ran the tap to wash away the beer.
However the officer dashed to the spot and managed to put his finger in some of the ale before it could be washed off and then tasted it to confirm it was beer. John Cox's counsel claimed there was no intention to sell and the men had been refused the beer. The magistrates had long experience of hearing such excuses and fined Cox 20 shillings. It wasn't just the fine that was the concern for these beerhouse keepers. Every year their licences were reviewed and fines could lead to them losing their licence.
Fresh air was free in 1870 but not much else. You were even expected to pay for your care if you were unfortunate enough to be admitted into Rainhill Lunatic Asylum. Fees for the very poor would be paid by the Prescot Union on behalf of the ratepayers but if you were able to pay, you – or your family – were expected to cough up. Richard Mills was summoned to the court for owing £3 for the maintenance of his lunatic wife. The prosecutor stated that the man had given a great deal of trouble and had gone to prison four times for not paying his wife's fees.
Mills told the court that his wife had been back home with him for the last fortnight – which was irrelevant. He still had the £3 care costs to pay. The procedure was for the magistrates to make a court order demanding that the money be paid. If the defendant failed to do so then they would be brought back into court and probably jailed. So another order was made against Richard Mills who could look forward to his fifth spell in Kirkdale Gaol if he didn't find the money.
Candles were still used extensively down coalmines despite the obvious dangers of explosions. On the 8th Blinkhorn and Cook were advertising their Patent Star Coal Pit Candles on the front page of the St Helens Newspaper: "The best candles for pit use. Don't get soft in a warm atmosphere. Give a steady, brilliant light. Require no snuffing." The firm operated from the Lancashire Patent Candle Works in St Helens, near to Pilkington's works in Grove Street.
And finally the Newspaper gave a warning to the town’s residents about burglars: "At the present time the town is infested with thieves. "Periodically it would appear that there is an influx of these gentry from other places, and for a time it behoves householders to be careful not to give a ready means of ingress to some midnight burglar."
Next week's stories will include the dirty, ragged children who were causing pandemonium in Prescot, the "undaycent" name-calling in Parr, the Moss Bank poaching case, the brainless lodger in Rainford and the excitable woman in the St Helens County Court.
This week's stories include the Irish Fenians that met in a Parr Street beerhouse, the Eccleston man that tried to shoot his wife, a 3-year-old Sutton boy is summoned to court for smashing a window, the St Helens' works that made candles for coal mines, the fees for lunatics in Rainhill Asylum and a setback for plans to widen Church Street.
We begin on the 2nd with an accident to a Whiston carter.
Thomas Travers was returning from Liverpool with a load of potatoes when somehow his horse knocked him down and one of the cartwheels passed over his head.
The man was taken to his home and a doctor summoned but there was little hope of a recovery.
St Helens Town Council held their monthly meeting on the 2nd in which it was revealed that their plans to widen Church Street had suffered a setback.
Gilbert Greenall was a member of the brewery family and a businessman. The Corporation wanted to knock down some of his property in order to widen the street.
They had offered him £100 and an equal area of ground in exchange. However Greenall had rejected the offer.
There was some discussion as to why different gas lamps in St Helens were consuming different amounts of gas when they were supposed to be lit for the same amount of time.
However the council's Surveyor partly explained the irregularities by stating that mischievous lads frequently lit some of the lamps during the daytime and turned others off at night.
Many offenders did not have the cash to pay court fines and so had to accept the alternative sentence of prison.
On the 2nd Thomas Walker could not afford a fine of 15 shillings and costs for being drunk and assaulting a policeman and so went to prison for three weeks.
The man had been found disorderly in George Street by PC McLaren and while being taken to the station had severely kicked the officer.
Also in the Police Court was Edward Stanley from Eccleston Lane Ends who was charged with assaulting his wife.
Mrs Stanley told the Bench that on February 20th her husband had "greatly illused her".
One of her sons came to her assistance and Edward then got a gun and tried to fire it at his wife but it failed to go off.
For doing this Stanley was only fined ten shillings and costs.
An Irish lecture and concert was given in the Town Hall on the 7th.
The St Helens Newspaper's review of the event referred to the "troubled sea of Irish politics". And there was certainly plenty of trouble about.
From 1918 to 1931 James Sexton was the MP for St Helens but in 1870 his family were gunrunners in Tontine Street and members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood.
They were known as Fenians who were essentially the forerunners of the IRA and in 1867 they'd staged an unsuccessful revolt in Ireland.
On the same day that the Irish event took place at the Town Hall, a young man called Peter Powell applied for a licence for a beerhouse in Pocket Nook.
The man had previously kept a beerhouse in Parr Street and had testimonials from two persons, including a Catholic priest.
However Constable Sewell gave evidence to the court that Fenians of the "highest grade" had regularly met in his drinking house in Parr Street.
Asked by Peter Powell's counsel whether all Irishmen in St Helens were Fenians, PC Sewell replied "very nearly".
That did not mean that they were all involved in illegal activities but that they supported the Fenian cause.
Upon hearing this evidence the Bench decided to refuse the licence.
Also in court on that day was John Carey who was charged with neglecting his family.
Last May the man had walked out on his four children in Parr and departed St Helens.
The children were taken to Whiston Workhouse (pictured above) where they still remained "at the expense of the parish".
Having to pay for the keep of a man's family appeared to annoy the authorities more than the act of a family being left penniless.
John Carey tried to justify what he did by saying he had been unable to get work in St Helens and so had been forced to leave the town.
That excuse did not impress the magistrates who sent him to prison for three weeks.
Betsy Lockhart summoned a little boy called Joseph Worrall from Sutton to the court for breaking her window.
The little chap was only about three-years-old and when the age of the child became evident, the magistrates dismissed the case.
They were more than happy to jail older children for minor offences but there were limits!
It was illegal for a pub or beerhouse to open on Sundays before 12:30pm but many did.
The police made great efforts to catch offenders and the licensees did what they could to come up with excuses and destroy evidence.
Peter Smith was the licensee of the Bowl and Skittles in Parr Street and was summoned to the Petty Sessions for opening his house at an illegal hour on a Sunday.
PC Geddies gave evidence of seeing a woman leaving the pub by the back way and upon stopping her found a can of beer in her basket.
This was not, of course, the type of beer can that we are familiar with.
It was, instead, a receptacle that the ale was poured into, with its main purpose likely to have been to store milk.
In his defence Peter Smith said his son had given the woman the beer after she'd said it was for a man who'd come out of a chemical works with his throat full of gas.
That was probably true and although water would have sufficed just as well, the largely unprotected chemical workers drank huge quantities of beer to make their dreadful lives a bit easier.
John Cox of Pottery Street (which used to be near Canal Street) was charged with the same offence.
This time PC Geddies gave evidence of seeing two men go to the back door of the man's beerhouse and upon following them he found several men inside.
The landlady was carrying a jug of beer, which, upon seeing the constable, she threw into a slopstone.
That was a stone slab located under a tap and the woman immediately ran the tap to wash away the beer.
However the officer dashed to the spot and managed to put his finger in some of the ale before it could be washed off and then tasted it to confirm it was beer.
John Cox's counsel claimed there was no intention to sell and the men had been refused the beer.
The magistrates had long experience of hearing such excuses and fined Cox 20 shillings.
It wasn't just the fine that was the concern for these beerhouse keepers. Every year their licences were reviewed and fines could lead to them losing their licence.
Fresh air was free in 1870 but not much else. You were even expected to pay for your care if you were unfortunate enough to be admitted into Rainhill Lunatic Asylum.
Fees for the very poor would be paid by the Prescot Union on behalf of the ratepayers but if you were able to pay, you – or your family – were expected to cough up.
Richard Mills was summoned to the court for owing £3 for the maintenance of his lunatic wife.
The prosecutor stated that the man had given a great deal of trouble and had gone to prison four times for not paying his wife's fees.
Mills told the court that his wife had been back home with him for the last fortnight – which was irrelevant. He still had the £3 care costs to pay.
The procedure was for the magistrates to make a court order demanding that the money be paid.
If the defendant failed to do so then they would be brought back into court and probably jailed.
So another order was made against Richard Mills who could look forward to his fifth spell in Kirkdale Gaol if he didn't find the money.
Candles were still used extensively down coal mines despite the obvious dangers of explosions.
On the 8th Blinkhorn and Cook were advertising their Patent Star Coal Pit Candles on the front page of the St Helens Newspaper:
"The best candles for pit use. Don't get soft in a warm atmosphere. Give a steady, brilliant light. Require no snuffing."
The firm operated from the Lancashire Patent Candle Works in St Helens, near to Pilkington's works in Grove Street.
And finally the Newspaper gave a warning to the town’s residents about burglars:
"At the present time the town is infested with thieves. Periodically it would appear that there is an influx of these gentry from other places, and for a time it behoves householders to be careful not to give a ready means of ingress to some midnight burglar."
Next week's stories will include the dirty, ragged children who were causing pandemonium in Prescot, the "undaycent" name-calling in Parr, the Moss Bank poaching case, the brainless lodger in Rainford and the excitable woman in the St Helens County Court.
We begin on the 2nd with an accident to a Whiston carter.
Thomas Travers was returning from Liverpool with a load of potatoes when somehow his horse knocked him down and one of the cartwheels passed over his head.
The man was taken to his home and a doctor summoned but there was little hope of a recovery.
St Helens Town Council held their monthly meeting on the 2nd in which it was revealed that their plans to widen Church Street had suffered a setback.
Gilbert Greenall was a member of the brewery family and a businessman. The Corporation wanted to knock down some of his property in order to widen the street.
They had offered him £100 and an equal area of ground in exchange. However Greenall had rejected the offer.
There was some discussion as to why different gas lamps in St Helens were consuming different amounts of gas when they were supposed to be lit for the same amount of time.
However the council's Surveyor partly explained the irregularities by stating that mischievous lads frequently lit some of the lamps during the daytime and turned others off at night.
Many offenders did not have the cash to pay court fines and so had to accept the alternative sentence of prison.
On the 2nd Thomas Walker could not afford a fine of 15 shillings and costs for being drunk and assaulting a policeman and so went to prison for three weeks.
The man had been found disorderly in George Street by PC McLaren and while being taken to the station had severely kicked the officer.
Also in the Police Court was Edward Stanley from Eccleston Lane Ends who was charged with assaulting his wife.
Mrs Stanley told the Bench that on February 20th her husband had "greatly illused her".
One of her sons came to her assistance and Edward then got a gun and tried to fire it at his wife but it failed to go off.
For doing this Stanley was only fined ten shillings and costs.
An Irish lecture and concert was given in the Town Hall on the 7th.
The St Helens Newspaper's review of the event referred to the "troubled sea of Irish politics". And there was certainly plenty of trouble about.
From 1918 to 1931 James Sexton was the MP for St Helens but in 1870 his family were gunrunners in Tontine Street and members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood.
They were known as Fenians who were essentially the forerunners of the IRA and in 1867 they'd staged an unsuccessful revolt in Ireland.
On the same day that the Irish event took place at the Town Hall, a young man called Peter Powell applied for a licence for a beerhouse in Pocket Nook.
The man had previously kept a beerhouse in Parr Street and had testimonials from two persons, including a Catholic priest.
However Constable Sewell gave evidence to the court that Fenians of the "highest grade" had regularly met in his drinking house in Parr Street.
Asked by Peter Powell's counsel whether all Irishmen in St Helens were Fenians, PC Sewell replied "very nearly".
That did not mean that they were all involved in illegal activities but that they supported the Fenian cause.
Upon hearing this evidence the Bench decided to refuse the licence.
Also in court on that day was John Carey who was charged with neglecting his family.
Last May the man had walked out on his four children in Parr and departed St Helens.
Having to pay for the keep of a man's family appeared to annoy the authorities more than the act of a family being left penniless.
John Carey tried to justify what he did by saying he had been unable to get work in St Helens and so had been forced to leave the town.
That excuse did not impress the magistrates who sent him to prison for three weeks.
Betsy Lockhart summoned a little boy called Joseph Worrall from Sutton to the court for breaking her window.
The little chap was only about three-years-old and when the age of the child became evident, the magistrates dismissed the case.
They were more than happy to jail older children for minor offences but there were limits!
It was illegal for a pub or beerhouse to open on Sundays before 12:30pm but many did.
The police made great efforts to catch offenders and the licensees did what they could to come up with excuses and destroy evidence.
Peter Smith was the licensee of the Bowl and Skittles in Parr Street and was summoned to the Petty Sessions for opening his house at an illegal hour on a Sunday.
PC Geddies gave evidence of seeing a woman leaving the pub by the back way and upon stopping her found a can of beer in her basket.
This was not, of course, the type of beer can that we are familiar with.
It was, instead, a receptacle that the ale was poured into, with its main purpose likely to have been to store milk.
In his defence Peter Smith said his son had given the woman the beer after she'd said it was for a man who'd come out of a chemical works with his throat full of gas.
That was probably true and although water would have sufficed just as well, the largely unprotected chemical workers drank huge quantities of beer to make their dreadful lives a bit easier.
John Cox of Pottery Street (which used to be near Canal Street) was charged with the same offence.
This time PC Geddies gave evidence of seeing two men go to the back door of the man's beerhouse and upon following them he found several men inside.
The landlady was carrying a jug of beer, which, upon seeing the constable, she threw into a slopstone.
That was a stone slab located under a tap and the woman immediately ran the tap to wash away the beer.
However the officer dashed to the spot and managed to put his finger in some of the ale before it could be washed off and then tasted it to confirm it was beer.
John Cox's counsel claimed there was no intention to sell and the men had been refused the beer.
The magistrates had long experience of hearing such excuses and fined Cox 20 shillings.
It wasn't just the fine that was the concern for these beerhouse keepers. Every year their licences were reviewed and fines could lead to them losing their licence.
Fresh air was free in 1870 but not much else. You were even expected to pay for your care if you were unfortunate enough to be admitted into Rainhill Lunatic Asylum.
Fees for the very poor would be paid by the Prescot Union on behalf of the ratepayers but if you were able to pay, you – or your family – were expected to cough up.
Richard Mills was summoned to the court for owing £3 for the maintenance of his lunatic wife.
The prosecutor stated that the man had given a great deal of trouble and had gone to prison four times for not paying his wife's fees.
Mills told the court that his wife had been back home with him for the last fortnight – which was irrelevant. He still had the £3 care costs to pay.
The procedure was for the magistrates to make a court order demanding that the money be paid.
If the defendant failed to do so then they would be brought back into court and probably jailed.
So another order was made against Richard Mills who could look forward to his fifth spell in Kirkdale Gaol if he didn't find the money.
Candles were still used extensively down coal mines despite the obvious dangers of explosions.
On the 8th Blinkhorn and Cook were advertising their Patent Star Coal Pit Candles on the front page of the St Helens Newspaper:
"The best candles for pit use. Don't get soft in a warm atmosphere. Give a steady, brilliant light. Require no snuffing."
The firm operated from the Lancashire Patent Candle Works in St Helens, near to Pilkington's works in Grove Street.
And finally the Newspaper gave a warning to the town’s residents about burglars:
"At the present time the town is infested with thieves. Periodically it would appear that there is an influx of these gentry from other places, and for a time it behoves householders to be careful not to give a ready means of ingress to some midnight burglar."
Next week's stories will include the dirty, ragged children who were causing pandemonium in Prescot, the "undaycent" name-calling in Parr, the Moss Bank poaching case, the brainless lodger in Rainford and the excitable woman in the St Helens County Court.