150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 10 - 16 NOVEMBER 1875
This week's many stories include the curious tract-selling character who said he had a weak mind through suffering sunstroke, Greenall's rent dinner for their licensees takes place in the Fleece Hotel, the clog attack and kicking of a woman in Liverpool Street that brought on premature labour and the two men who were brought to book after deserting their wives but had different outcomes in court.
We begin with Joseph McDermott who appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions this week with what was described as a bundle of tracts in his hand. These were usually pamphlets arguing for a particular viewpoint that were sold on the streets or handed out free. McDermott was charged with being drunk and disorderly in Arthur Street and he appeared to be a rather odd character.
PC Carter stated that at 10 o’clock on the previous Sunday night he saw the prisoner very drunk and with a crowd of people gathered around him. Mr McDermott in his defence stated that he had been a soldier and had suffered from sunstroke, which might make his mind "a little more weak than the spirits did".
Superintendent Ludlam, who was in charge of St Helens Police, told the magistrates that McDermott had been before the court three years before and had been sent to the workhouse for his own safety. He had been discharged from Whiston and had ever since been tramping about selling his tracts.
"I do not think him a fit person to be at large", added the superintendent. To that Joseph McDermott replied: "Saturday, sir was a very severe day, sir, a very severe day, and my duty to the British Empire is to do my duty satisfactorily. I should be very sorry, sir, if the crowd of people for their own amusement came round me. They're all my subjects and they get together, which I cannot hinder them from."
After being informed that he was being fined 5 shillings and costs or must serve 7 days in prison, the man replied to laughter from the public benches: "Thank you, sir, that's very comfortable and satisfactory."
Violent men often used their clogs on other men while their feet were still inside of them. But women often took them off and used their clog as a hand-held weapon. That is what Nancy McCormick was accused of doing to Elizabeth White in Liverpool Street in St Helens. Elizabeth had approached the woman's husband, James McCormick, to complain that the 15s 7d that she had lent him to get married had not been repaid.
Mrs McCormick overheard what was said and she was accused in court of using "most abusive and filthy language" to Elizabeth and then the woman took off one of her clogs and used it to strike her on an eye, which was cut open. It was then stated that Elizabeth was held down while the woman's husband and some other men beat her, which was done so severely as to bring on premature labour. It all sounds quite horrendous but Nancy McCormick was only fined 10 shillings and costs.
If elderly persons were receiving poor law relief or were in Whiston Workhouse and had family who were working, the latter were expected to contribute to their relatives' maintenance. Thomas Callon was summoned to the St Helens Petty Sessions to show cause why he should not contribute to the support of his 83-year-old mother.
The man did not turn up to the court and so could not refute the claim that he was earning 35 shillings a week and had a son earning five shillings. £2 per week was a decent income for a household and the court ordered Callon in his absence to make a weekly payment of 2s 6d.
It was a tradition for Greenall's licensees to pay the rent on their houses every six months and in return the brewery gave them a dinner. That was always held in the Fleece Hotel in Church Street in St Helens (pictured above in later years) and 200 guests enjoyed a sumptuous meal there this week. Afterwards, there were many toasts, including the usual one to "The Town and Trade of St Helens".
The event's chairman, John Whitley, commented how trade in St Helens was improving, with glass and chemical works presently being built and extended and new coalfields being opened up. "I see no reason why the future of St Helens should not be a prosperous one", added Mr Whitley. Of course, the more new firms there were in St Helens, the more thirsty workers would want to sup Greenall's beer!
And Mr Whitley felt there was also no reason to be concerned about the new temperance movement that was now operating in St Helens and the fact that the police and magistrates were becoming stricter in enforcing the law concerning licensed premises. These mainly concerned serving beer on Sunday mornings before pubs were legally allowed to open and also the serving of drunken customers.
"You all know what the law is and I feel confident that none of you would sell an extra glass of beer or two out of hours, or to a drunken man, because neither of them is worth the profit," stated Mr Whitley. He also said that the licensed trade ought to promote temperance as much as possible, as drunkenness was of no benefit to them.
It was illegal for a husband to desert his family and leave them chargeable to the Prescot Union. That meant his wife and children either having to be kept in Whiston Workhouse or be dependent upon relief payments while living in their own home. If after being brought to court, the runaway husband acted reasonably and offered to repay the money that the Prescot Union had expended on his family, then he was likely to escape prison. But if not, he would likely find himself in Kirkdale Gaol.
There were two examples in court this week of how the magistrates would treat such men that displayed different attitudes to their situation. Michael Roberts was charged with leaving his wife and two children chargeable to the Prescot Union after deserting his family in September 1874. As a result of his departure from the marital home, his wife, young child and new-born baby had to be admitted to Whiston Workhouse.
Subsequently, the relieving officer heard that Roberts was working in Melton Mowbray and so he had the local police arrest the man and return him to Lancashire. Currently, Roberts owed £28 to the Prescot Union and he made an offer to the court to pay £3 down and instalments of £1 a week. That was immediately accepted and checks would be made to see that the man kept up his payments or he would be returned to court.
In the second case Thomas Walsh had also deserted his family in September 1874, although his wife and five children did not go into the workhouse. They were able to stay in their own home and live off the meagre relief payments that came from the Prescot Union.
Initially, Mrs Walsh received five shillings a week to feed and clothe her 5 kids and herself. But after ten weeks the hand-out was reduced to 3 shillings. Perhaps, the reduction was through Mrs Walsh earning a little cash by taking in washing, or something similar.
The relieving officer had recently heard that Thomas Walsh had returned to the neighbourhood and so he had the police arrest him. Walsh was asked to repay the total amount of relief cash given to his wife, which amounted to £9 1 shilling. But Walsh refused to make any arrangement to pay the money, declaring that he would rather go to prison. As a result of his stubbornness, Thomas Walsh was sent to Kirkdale Gaol for two months.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the efforts to deter tramps from workhouses, the master of Whiston Workhouse is accused of fathering a child, James Brockbank's new boot and shoe manufactory and the pit sinking deaths at Collins Green.
We begin with Joseph McDermott who appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions this week with what was described as a bundle of tracts in his hand. These were usually pamphlets arguing for a particular viewpoint that were sold on the streets or handed out free. McDermott was charged with being drunk and disorderly in Arthur Street and he appeared to be a rather odd character.
PC Carter stated that at 10 o’clock on the previous Sunday night he saw the prisoner very drunk and with a crowd of people gathered around him. Mr McDermott in his defence stated that he had been a soldier and had suffered from sunstroke, which might make his mind "a little more weak than the spirits did".
Superintendent Ludlam, who was in charge of St Helens Police, told the magistrates that McDermott had been before the court three years before and had been sent to the workhouse for his own safety. He had been discharged from Whiston and had ever since been tramping about selling his tracts.
"I do not think him a fit person to be at large", added the superintendent. To that Joseph McDermott replied: "Saturday, sir was a very severe day, sir, a very severe day, and my duty to the British Empire is to do my duty satisfactorily. I should be very sorry, sir, if the crowd of people for their own amusement came round me. They're all my subjects and they get together, which I cannot hinder them from."
After being informed that he was being fined 5 shillings and costs or must serve 7 days in prison, the man replied to laughter from the public benches: "Thank you, sir, that's very comfortable and satisfactory."
Violent men often used their clogs on other men while their feet were still inside of them. But women often took them off and used their clog as a hand-held weapon. That is what Nancy McCormick was accused of doing to Elizabeth White in Liverpool Street in St Helens. Elizabeth had approached the woman's husband, James McCormick, to complain that the 15s 7d that she had lent him to get married had not been repaid.
Mrs McCormick overheard what was said and she was accused in court of using "most abusive and filthy language" to Elizabeth and then the woman took off one of her clogs and used it to strike her on an eye, which was cut open. It was then stated that Elizabeth was held down while the woman's husband and some other men beat her, which was done so severely as to bring on premature labour. It all sounds quite horrendous but Nancy McCormick was only fined 10 shillings and costs.
If elderly persons were receiving poor law relief or were in Whiston Workhouse and had family who were working, the latter were expected to contribute to their relatives' maintenance. Thomas Callon was summoned to the St Helens Petty Sessions to show cause why he should not contribute to the support of his 83-year-old mother.
The man did not turn up to the court and so could not refute the claim that he was earning 35 shillings a week and had a son earning five shillings. £2 per week was a decent income for a household and the court ordered Callon in his absence to make a weekly payment of 2s 6d.
The event's chairman, John Whitley, commented how trade in St Helens was improving, with glass and chemical works presently being built and extended and new coalfields being opened up. "I see no reason why the future of St Helens should not be a prosperous one", added Mr Whitley. Of course, the more new firms there were in St Helens, the more thirsty workers would want to sup Greenall's beer!
And Mr Whitley felt there was also no reason to be concerned about the new temperance movement that was now operating in St Helens and the fact that the police and magistrates were becoming stricter in enforcing the law concerning licensed premises. These mainly concerned serving beer on Sunday mornings before pubs were legally allowed to open and also the serving of drunken customers.
"You all know what the law is and I feel confident that none of you would sell an extra glass of beer or two out of hours, or to a drunken man, because neither of them is worth the profit," stated Mr Whitley. He also said that the licensed trade ought to promote temperance as much as possible, as drunkenness was of no benefit to them.
It was illegal for a husband to desert his family and leave them chargeable to the Prescot Union. That meant his wife and children either having to be kept in Whiston Workhouse or be dependent upon relief payments while living in their own home. If after being brought to court, the runaway husband acted reasonably and offered to repay the money that the Prescot Union had expended on his family, then he was likely to escape prison. But if not, he would likely find himself in Kirkdale Gaol.
There were two examples in court this week of how the magistrates would treat such men that displayed different attitudes to their situation. Michael Roberts was charged with leaving his wife and two children chargeable to the Prescot Union after deserting his family in September 1874. As a result of his departure from the marital home, his wife, young child and new-born baby had to be admitted to Whiston Workhouse.
Subsequently, the relieving officer heard that Roberts was working in Melton Mowbray and so he had the local police arrest the man and return him to Lancashire. Currently, Roberts owed £28 to the Prescot Union and he made an offer to the court to pay £3 down and instalments of £1 a week. That was immediately accepted and checks would be made to see that the man kept up his payments or he would be returned to court.
In the second case Thomas Walsh had also deserted his family in September 1874, although his wife and five children did not go into the workhouse. They were able to stay in their own home and live off the meagre relief payments that came from the Prescot Union.
Initially, Mrs Walsh received five shillings a week to feed and clothe her 5 kids and herself. But after ten weeks the hand-out was reduced to 3 shillings. Perhaps, the reduction was through Mrs Walsh earning a little cash by taking in washing, or something similar.
The relieving officer had recently heard that Thomas Walsh had returned to the neighbourhood and so he had the police arrest him. Walsh was asked to repay the total amount of relief cash given to his wife, which amounted to £9 1 shilling. But Walsh refused to make any arrangement to pay the money, declaring that he would rather go to prison. As a result of his stubbornness, Thomas Walsh was sent to Kirkdale Gaol for two months.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the efforts to deter tramps from workhouses, the master of Whiston Workhouse is accused of fathering a child, James Brockbank's new boot and shoe manufactory and the pit sinking deaths at Collins Green.
This week's many stories include the curious tract-selling character who said he had a weak mind through suffering sunstroke, Greenall's rent dinner for their licensees takes place in the Fleece Hotel, the clog attack and kicking of a woman in Liverpool Street that brought on premature labour and the two men who were brought to book after deserting their wives but had different outcomes in court.
We begin with Joseph McDermott who appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions this week with what was described as a bundle of tracts in his hand.
These were usually pamphlets arguing for a particular viewpoint that were sold on the streets or handed out free.
McDermott was charged with being drunk and disorderly in Arthur Street and he appeared to be a rather odd character.
PC Carter stated that at 10 o’clock on the previous Sunday night he saw the prisoner very drunk and with a crowd of people gathered around him.
Mr McDermott in his defence stated that he had been a soldier and had suffered from sunstroke, which might make his mind "a little more weak than the spirits did".
Superintendent Ludlam, who was in charge of St Helens Police, told the magistrates that McDermott had been before the court three years before and had been sent to the workhouse for his own safety.
He had been discharged from Whiston and had ever since been tramping about selling his tracts.
"I do not think him a fit person to be at large", added the superintendent. To that Joseph McDermott replied:
"Saturday, sir was a very severe day, sir, a very severe day, and my duty to the British Empire is to do my duty satisfactorily.
"I should be very sorry, sir, if the crowd of people for their own amusement came round me.
"They're all my subjects and they get together, which I cannot hinder them from."
After being informed that he was being fined 5 shillings and costs or must serve 7 days in prison, the man replied to laughter from the public benches:
"Thank you, sir, that's very comfortable and satisfactory."
Violent men often used their clogs on other men while their feet were still inside of them.
But women often took them off and used their clog as a hand-held weapon.
That is what Nancy McCormick was accused of doing to Elizabeth White in Liverpool Street in St Helens.
Elizabeth had approached the woman's husband, James McCormick, to complain that the 15s 7d that she had lent him to get married had not been repaid.
Mrs McCormick overheard what was said and she was accused in court of using "most abusive and filthy language" to Elizabeth and then the woman took off one of her clogs and used it to strike her on an eye, which was cut open.
It was then stated that Elizabeth was held down while the woman's husband and some other men beat her, which was done so severely as to bring on premature labour.
It all sounds quite horrendous but Nancy McCormick was only fined 10 shillings and costs.
If elderly persons were receiving poor law relief or were in Whiston Workhouse and had family who were working, the latter were expected to contribute to their relatives' maintenance.
Thomas Callon was summoned to the St Helens Petty Sessions to show cause why he should not contribute to the support of his 83-year-old mother.
The man did not turn up to the court and so could not refute the claim that he was earning 35 shillings a week and had a son earning five shillings.
£2 per week was a decent income for a household and the court ordered Callon in his absence to make a weekly payment of 2s 6d.
It was a tradition for Greenall's licensees to pay the rent on their houses every six months and in return the brewery gave them a dinner.
That was always held in the Fleece Hotel in Church Street in St Helens (pictured above in later years) and 200 guests enjoyed a sumptuous meal there this week.
Afterwards, there were many toasts, including the usual one to "The Town and Trade of St Helens".
The event's chairman, John Whitley, commented how trade in St Helens was improving, with glass and chemical works presently being built and extended and new coalfields being opened up.
"I see no reason why the future of St Helens should not be a prosperous one", added Mr Whitley.
Of course, the more new firms there were in St Helens, the more thirsty workers would want to sup Greenall's beer!
And Mr Whitley felt there was also no reason to be concerned about the new temperance movement that was now operating in St Helens and the fact that the police and magistrates were becoming stricter in enforcing the law concerning licensed premises.
These mainly concerned serving beer on Sunday mornings before pubs were legally allowed to open and also the serving of drunken customers.
"You all know what the law is and I feel confident that none of you would sell an extra glass of beer or two out of hours, or to a drunken man, because neither of them is worth the profit," stated Mr Whitley.
He also said that the licensed trade ought to promote temperance as much as possible, as drunkenness was of no benefit to them.
It was illegal for a husband to desert his family and leave them chargeable to the Prescot Union.
That meant his wife and children either having to be kept in Whiston Workhouse or be dependent upon relief payments while living in their own home.
If after being brought to court, the runaway husband acted reasonably and offered to repay the money that the Prescot Union had expended on his family, then he was likely to escape prison.
But if not, he would likely find himself in Kirkdale Gaol.
There were two examples in court this week of how the magistrates would treat such men that displayed different attitudes to their situation.
Michael Roberts was charged with leaving his wife and two children chargeable to the Prescot Union after deserting his family in September 1874.
As a result of his departure from the marital home, his wife, young child and new-born baby had to be admitted to Whiston Workhouse.
Subsequently, the relieving officer heard that Roberts was working in Melton Mowbray and so he had the local police arrest the man and return him to Lancashire.
Currently, Roberts owed £28 to the Prescot Union and he made an offer to the court to pay £3 down and instalments of £1 a week.
That was immediately accepted and checks would be made to see that the man kept up his payments or he would be returned to court.
In the second case Thomas Walsh had also deserted his family in September 1874, although his wife and five children did not go into the workhouse.
They were able to stay in their own home and live off the meagre relief payments that came from the Prescot Union.
Initially, Mrs Walsh received five shillings a week to feed and clothe her 5 kids and herself. But after ten weeks the hand-out was reduced to 3 shillings.
Perhaps, the reduction was through Mrs Walsh earning a little cash by taking in washing, or something similar.
The relieving officer had recently heard that Thomas Walsh had returned to the neighbourhood and so he had the police arrest him.
Walsh was asked to repay the total amount of relief cash given to his wife, which amounted to £9 1 shilling.
But Walsh refused to make any arrangement to pay the money, declaring that he would rather go to prison.
As a result of his stubbornness, Thomas Walsh was sent to Kirkdale Gaol for two months.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the efforts to deter tramps from workhouses, the master of Whiston Workhouse is accused of fathering a child, James Brockbank's new boot and shoe manufactory and the pit sinking deaths at Collins Green.
We begin with Joseph McDermott who appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions this week with what was described as a bundle of tracts in his hand.
These were usually pamphlets arguing for a particular viewpoint that were sold on the streets or handed out free.
McDermott was charged with being drunk and disorderly in Arthur Street and he appeared to be a rather odd character.
PC Carter stated that at 10 o’clock on the previous Sunday night he saw the prisoner very drunk and with a crowd of people gathered around him.
Mr McDermott in his defence stated that he had been a soldier and had suffered from sunstroke, which might make his mind "a little more weak than the spirits did".
Superintendent Ludlam, who was in charge of St Helens Police, told the magistrates that McDermott had been before the court three years before and had been sent to the workhouse for his own safety.
He had been discharged from Whiston and had ever since been tramping about selling his tracts.
"I do not think him a fit person to be at large", added the superintendent. To that Joseph McDermott replied:
"Saturday, sir was a very severe day, sir, a very severe day, and my duty to the British Empire is to do my duty satisfactorily.
"I should be very sorry, sir, if the crowd of people for their own amusement came round me.
"They're all my subjects and they get together, which I cannot hinder them from."
After being informed that he was being fined 5 shillings and costs or must serve 7 days in prison, the man replied to laughter from the public benches:
"Thank you, sir, that's very comfortable and satisfactory."
Violent men often used their clogs on other men while their feet were still inside of them.
But women often took them off and used their clog as a hand-held weapon.
That is what Nancy McCormick was accused of doing to Elizabeth White in Liverpool Street in St Helens.
Elizabeth had approached the woman's husband, James McCormick, to complain that the 15s 7d that she had lent him to get married had not been repaid.
Mrs McCormick overheard what was said and she was accused in court of using "most abusive and filthy language" to Elizabeth and then the woman took off one of her clogs and used it to strike her on an eye, which was cut open.
It was then stated that Elizabeth was held down while the woman's husband and some other men beat her, which was done so severely as to bring on premature labour.
It all sounds quite horrendous but Nancy McCormick was only fined 10 shillings and costs.
If elderly persons were receiving poor law relief or were in Whiston Workhouse and had family who were working, the latter were expected to contribute to their relatives' maintenance.
Thomas Callon was summoned to the St Helens Petty Sessions to show cause why he should not contribute to the support of his 83-year-old mother.
The man did not turn up to the court and so could not refute the claim that he was earning 35 shillings a week and had a son earning five shillings.
£2 per week was a decent income for a household and the court ordered Callon in his absence to make a weekly payment of 2s 6d.
It was a tradition for Greenall's licensees to pay the rent on their houses every six months and in return the brewery gave them a dinner.
Afterwards, there were many toasts, including the usual one to "The Town and Trade of St Helens".
The event's chairman, John Whitley, commented how trade in St Helens was improving, with glass and chemical works presently being built and extended and new coalfields being opened up.
"I see no reason why the future of St Helens should not be a prosperous one", added Mr Whitley.
Of course, the more new firms there were in St Helens, the more thirsty workers would want to sup Greenall's beer!
And Mr Whitley felt there was also no reason to be concerned about the new temperance movement that was now operating in St Helens and the fact that the police and magistrates were becoming stricter in enforcing the law concerning licensed premises.
These mainly concerned serving beer on Sunday mornings before pubs were legally allowed to open and also the serving of drunken customers.
"You all know what the law is and I feel confident that none of you would sell an extra glass of beer or two out of hours, or to a drunken man, because neither of them is worth the profit," stated Mr Whitley.
He also said that the licensed trade ought to promote temperance as much as possible, as drunkenness was of no benefit to them.
It was illegal for a husband to desert his family and leave them chargeable to the Prescot Union.
That meant his wife and children either having to be kept in Whiston Workhouse or be dependent upon relief payments while living in their own home.
If after being brought to court, the runaway husband acted reasonably and offered to repay the money that the Prescot Union had expended on his family, then he was likely to escape prison.
But if not, he would likely find himself in Kirkdale Gaol.
There were two examples in court this week of how the magistrates would treat such men that displayed different attitudes to their situation.
Michael Roberts was charged with leaving his wife and two children chargeable to the Prescot Union after deserting his family in September 1874.
As a result of his departure from the marital home, his wife, young child and new-born baby had to be admitted to Whiston Workhouse.
Subsequently, the relieving officer heard that Roberts was working in Melton Mowbray and so he had the local police arrest the man and return him to Lancashire.
Currently, Roberts owed £28 to the Prescot Union and he made an offer to the court to pay £3 down and instalments of £1 a week.
That was immediately accepted and checks would be made to see that the man kept up his payments or he would be returned to court.
In the second case Thomas Walsh had also deserted his family in September 1874, although his wife and five children did not go into the workhouse.
They were able to stay in their own home and live off the meagre relief payments that came from the Prescot Union.
Initially, Mrs Walsh received five shillings a week to feed and clothe her 5 kids and herself. But after ten weeks the hand-out was reduced to 3 shillings.
Perhaps, the reduction was through Mrs Walsh earning a little cash by taking in washing, or something similar.
The relieving officer had recently heard that Thomas Walsh had returned to the neighbourhood and so he had the police arrest him.
Walsh was asked to repay the total amount of relief cash given to his wife, which amounted to £9 1 shilling.
But Walsh refused to make any arrangement to pay the money, declaring that he would rather go to prison.
As a result of his stubbornness, Thomas Walsh was sent to Kirkdale Gaol for two months.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the efforts to deter tramps from workhouses, the master of Whiston Workhouse is accused of fathering a child, James Brockbank's new boot and shoe manufactory and the pit sinking deaths at Collins Green.