150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 11 - 17 MARCH 1874
This week's many stories include the Pilkington boys strike, Parr miners call for arbitration in their pay dispute, the dog stealing in the market, St Helens police's annual government inspection, the heavy fines for two absconding apprentices and the St Helens Newspaper wonders why there were restrictions on the shipping of sulphuric acid but none when it was pumped into the town's atmosphere.
Mid-morning on March 12th must have been a very good time to commit a crime in St Helens. That was because there were only two policemen on duty in the whole town. The rest of the force was receiving its annual government inspection, with Captain Elgee, the inspector for the northern counties, undertaking the task. Superintendent James Ludlam was in charge of St Helens Police and with him on parade in the Volunteer Hall were an inspector, seven sergeants and thirty-one constables.
With three bobbies on sick leave and the two on duty, the force's total strength was only 45, seven short of what was considered sufficient. However, the inspection was deemed satisfactory with Captain Elgee finding no fault with the books, accommodation and the police guns that were kept for emergencies.
Last month street contractor Michael Moran was prosecuted in the St Helens Petty Sessions for leaving an uncovered sewer in Worsley Brow in Sutton without any lights. His novel defence was that it had been a full moon and so he didn't see the need for any extra illumination, although the police felt the open sewer still presented a serious danger to road users. Moran was treated leniently and only fined 1 shilling and costs. However, on the 16th he returned to court charged with committing the same offence in Peckers Hill.
The sewer had been left uncovered for thirty yards and open to the depth of six feet. Moran said he had left a watchman at the spot but he must have gone away. To that claim the police said that if that was true, he should prosecute the watchman for neglecting his duty. It was Moran's third prosecution for the same offence in the space of a few weeks and this time he was fined 40 shillings and costs, which may have been a couple of weeks wages.
Sixteen-year-old Martha Barlow and seventeen-year-old Margaret Gilligan were harshly treated for stealing some coal from a copper works. When they appeared before the magistrates they were both sent to Kirkdale Gaol for a fortnight.
Most workplaces in St Helens had regulations requiring their workers to give a week or two's notice before they could leave – and there were many prosecutions of those who simply quit. But at least they were in a position to leave, unlike apprentices who were committed to their employer until the age of 21, when they received their indentures.
Those who chose to walk out of their jobs – often through ill-treatment – were usually prosecuted and their punishments ranged from a warning upon promising to go back to work to imprisonment for repeat offenders. Thomas Prescott and Jesse Pointon were apprenticed at Daglish's huge iron foundry in St Helens and had both "absconded" from their work. At their hearing in the Petty Sessions they were fined £2 and costs each, which was a hefty amount for such poorly paid lads.
As well as apprentices employed at Pilkingtons (pictured above in 1879), there were also many other boys working long hours for little pay. The court also heard that a strike of boys had briefly taken place at the glassworks, leading to Patrick Toohey, Abraham Costello, William Herne and Samuel Phillips charged with absenting themselves while under a contract of service.
Herne and Toohey were also charged with threatening Richard Thompson, so as to coerce him and others to "forsake their employment". They had, in fact, called the lad a "knobstick" and threatened to chuck him in the canal for refusing to join their strike for more pay! PC Foster also told the court that the boys had defied and threatened him. Each of the lads was fined 10 shillings and Herne and Toohey also received three days imprisonment on the intimidation charge.
It could be a very hard life for women at the best of times – but if their husband was out of work and bringing in no income making ends meet was virtually impossible. The only way to survive for many wives was to take in washing or do cleaning jobs. When John Mooney appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions this week accused of playing pitch and toss in Traverse Street his mother appealed for her boy to be let off.
Mrs Mooney told the court that her husband had only worked seven weeks out of the past 12 months. As a result she had not only to support her family of nine out of her own meagre earnings but also pay off £5 10 shillings in fines that her husband had received for unspecified acts. Having to pay off a fine for her son would, Mrs Mooney explained, be too much of a burden. As a result of his mother's appeal, the magistrates chose not to fine John Mooney but instead let the boy off with a caution.
What was described as a "handsome little dog" belonging to James Burchall appeared in court as an exhibit in another case in which John Gramley was accused of theft. Mary Pye gave evidence of seeing Gramley pick up the dog from Mr Birchall's door in the Market Place and take it away under his coat.
A policeman apprehended Gramley in Bridge Street while he was carrying the animal, as he was suspicious of the man's behaviour. The defendant claimed the dog had simply followed him but was ordered to pay 34 shillings as a fine, or alternatively serve a month in prison.
In an editorial on the 14th the St Helens Newspaper commented on a court case in Liverpool. A shipping firm had been fined for despatching a case of sulphuric acid without clearly marking on the container what its contents were. The paper wrote:
"It is rather a curious circumstance that while so much supervision is exercised against shippers of dangerous products, the manufacturers can send them adrift on the air we breathe without the slightest restriction. Our Medical Officer has demonstrated positively enough that sulphuric acid forms a very fair proportion of the atmosphere breathed by the inhabitants of St. Helens, and exercises a very injurious effect on the lungs of the whole community; but there is no law under which the authors of the evil can be indicted and brought to punishment."
The recent announcement by the West Lancashire Coal Association that they planned to reduce wages in mines within the St Helens, Wigan and Leigh districts by 15% had, as expected, gone down badly with the miners. The bosses' decision had been blamed on a drop in the price of coal, something the mineworkers could not ignore.
But they could contest the 15% figure and on the 17th a meeting of men in Parr decided not to agree to the reduction unless the matter went to arbitration – a decision that Wigan miners had already reached. Arbitration was something the "masters" were unlikely to agree to, as they did not like others telling them what to do – and so a strike or lockout was looming.
If anyone drove a cow through the streets of St Helens today it would, I think, create quite a stir! But it was a common event in the past and would not normally attract any interest. But the authorities did pay attention to Joseph Hatton's beast, although not, it seems, until it arrived at Prescot Cattle Fair.
The cow was found to have been infected with foot and mouth disease and in the Prescot Petty Sessions on the 17th the St Helens butcher was fined £3 and costs for allowing it to be driven on the highway in such a state.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the plans to enlarge the St Helens Market, the bricklayers' strike at St Helens Town Hall, the boys illegally employed at the Eccleston Flint Glassworks and the strange story of the dead duck and the pub singer.
Mid-morning on March 12th must have been a very good time to commit a crime in St Helens. That was because there were only two policemen on duty in the whole town. The rest of the force was receiving its annual government inspection, with Captain Elgee, the inspector for the northern counties, undertaking the task. Superintendent James Ludlam was in charge of St Helens Police and with him on parade in the Volunteer Hall were an inspector, seven sergeants and thirty-one constables.
With three bobbies on sick leave and the two on duty, the force's total strength was only 45, seven short of what was considered sufficient. However, the inspection was deemed satisfactory with Captain Elgee finding no fault with the books, accommodation and the police guns that were kept for emergencies.
Last month street contractor Michael Moran was prosecuted in the St Helens Petty Sessions for leaving an uncovered sewer in Worsley Brow in Sutton without any lights. His novel defence was that it had been a full moon and so he didn't see the need for any extra illumination, although the police felt the open sewer still presented a serious danger to road users. Moran was treated leniently and only fined 1 shilling and costs. However, on the 16th he returned to court charged with committing the same offence in Peckers Hill.
The sewer had been left uncovered for thirty yards and open to the depth of six feet. Moran said he had left a watchman at the spot but he must have gone away. To that claim the police said that if that was true, he should prosecute the watchman for neglecting his duty. It was Moran's third prosecution for the same offence in the space of a few weeks and this time he was fined 40 shillings and costs, which may have been a couple of weeks wages.
Sixteen-year-old Martha Barlow and seventeen-year-old Margaret Gilligan were harshly treated for stealing some coal from a copper works. When they appeared before the magistrates they were both sent to Kirkdale Gaol for a fortnight.
Most workplaces in St Helens had regulations requiring their workers to give a week or two's notice before they could leave – and there were many prosecutions of those who simply quit. But at least they were in a position to leave, unlike apprentices who were committed to their employer until the age of 21, when they received their indentures.
Those who chose to walk out of their jobs – often through ill-treatment – were usually prosecuted and their punishments ranged from a warning upon promising to go back to work to imprisonment for repeat offenders. Thomas Prescott and Jesse Pointon were apprenticed at Daglish's huge iron foundry in St Helens and had both "absconded" from their work. At their hearing in the Petty Sessions they were fined £2 and costs each, which was a hefty amount for such poorly paid lads.
Herne and Toohey were also charged with threatening Richard Thompson, so as to coerce him and others to "forsake their employment". They had, in fact, called the lad a "knobstick" and threatened to chuck him in the canal for refusing to join their strike for more pay! PC Foster also told the court that the boys had defied and threatened him. Each of the lads was fined 10 shillings and Herne and Toohey also received three days imprisonment on the intimidation charge.
It could be a very hard life for women at the best of times – but if their husband was out of work and bringing in no income making ends meet was virtually impossible. The only way to survive for many wives was to take in washing or do cleaning jobs. When John Mooney appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions this week accused of playing pitch and toss in Traverse Street his mother appealed for her boy to be let off.
Mrs Mooney told the court that her husband had only worked seven weeks out of the past 12 months. As a result she had not only to support her family of nine out of her own meagre earnings but also pay off £5 10 shillings in fines that her husband had received for unspecified acts. Having to pay off a fine for her son would, Mrs Mooney explained, be too much of a burden. As a result of his mother's appeal, the magistrates chose not to fine John Mooney but instead let the boy off with a caution.
What was described as a "handsome little dog" belonging to James Burchall appeared in court as an exhibit in another case in which John Gramley was accused of theft. Mary Pye gave evidence of seeing Gramley pick up the dog from Mr Birchall's door in the Market Place and take it away under his coat.
A policeman apprehended Gramley in Bridge Street while he was carrying the animal, as he was suspicious of the man's behaviour. The defendant claimed the dog had simply followed him but was ordered to pay 34 shillings as a fine, or alternatively serve a month in prison.
In an editorial on the 14th the St Helens Newspaper commented on a court case in Liverpool. A shipping firm had been fined for despatching a case of sulphuric acid without clearly marking on the container what its contents were. The paper wrote:
"It is rather a curious circumstance that while so much supervision is exercised against shippers of dangerous products, the manufacturers can send them adrift on the air we breathe without the slightest restriction. Our Medical Officer has demonstrated positively enough that sulphuric acid forms a very fair proportion of the atmosphere breathed by the inhabitants of St. Helens, and exercises a very injurious effect on the lungs of the whole community; but there is no law under which the authors of the evil can be indicted and brought to punishment."
The recent announcement by the West Lancashire Coal Association that they planned to reduce wages in mines within the St Helens, Wigan and Leigh districts by 15% had, as expected, gone down badly with the miners. The bosses' decision had been blamed on a drop in the price of coal, something the mineworkers could not ignore.
But they could contest the 15% figure and on the 17th a meeting of men in Parr decided not to agree to the reduction unless the matter went to arbitration – a decision that Wigan miners had already reached. Arbitration was something the "masters" were unlikely to agree to, as they did not like others telling them what to do – and so a strike or lockout was looming.
If anyone drove a cow through the streets of St Helens today it would, I think, create quite a stir! But it was a common event in the past and would not normally attract any interest. But the authorities did pay attention to Joseph Hatton's beast, although not, it seems, until it arrived at Prescot Cattle Fair.
The cow was found to have been infected with foot and mouth disease and in the Prescot Petty Sessions on the 17th the St Helens butcher was fined £3 and costs for allowing it to be driven on the highway in such a state.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the plans to enlarge the St Helens Market, the bricklayers' strike at St Helens Town Hall, the boys illegally employed at the Eccleston Flint Glassworks and the strange story of the dead duck and the pub singer.
This week's many stories include the Pilkington boys strike, Parr miners call for arbitration in their pay dispute, the dog stealing in the market, St Helens police's annual government inspection, the heavy fines for two absconding apprentices and the St Helens Newspaper wonders why there were restrictions on the shipping of sulphuric acid but none when it was pumped into the town's atmosphere.
Mid-morning on March 12th must have been a very good time to commit a crime in St Helens.
That was because there were only two policemen on duty in the whole town. The rest of the force was receiving its annual government inspection, with Captain Elgee, the inspector for the northern counties, undertaking the task.
Superintendent James Ludlam was in charge of St Helens Police and with him on parade in the Volunteer Hall were an inspector, seven sergeants and thirty-one constables.
With three bobbies on sick leave and the two on duty, the force's total strength was only 45, seven short of what was considered sufficient.
However, the inspection was deemed satisfactory with Captain Elgee finding no fault with the books, accommodation and the police guns that were kept for emergencies.
Last month street contractor Michael Moran was prosecuted in the St Helens Petty Sessions for leaving an uncovered sewer in Worsley Brow in Sutton without any lights.
His novel defence was that it had been a full moon and so he didn't see the need for any extra illumination, although the police felt the open sewer still presented a serious danger to road users.
Moran was treated leniently and only fined 1 shilling and costs. However, on the 16th he returned to court charged with committing the same offence in Peckers Hill.
The sewer had been left uncovered for thirty yards and open to the depth of six feet. Moran said he had left a watchman at the spot but he must have gone away.
To that claim the police said that if that was true, he should prosecute the watchman for neglecting his duty.
It was Moran's third prosecution for the same offence in the space of a few weeks and this time he was fined 40 shillings and costs, which may have been a couple of weeks wages.
Sixteen-year-old Martha Barlow and seventeen-year-old Margaret Gilligan were harshly treated for stealing some coal from a copper works.
When they appeared before the magistrates they were both sent to Kirkdale Gaol for a fortnight.
Most workplaces in St Helens had regulations requiring their workers to give a week or two's notice before they could leave – and there were many prosecutions of those who simply quit.
But at least they were in a position to leave, unlike apprentices who were committed to their employer until the age of 21, when they received their indentures.
Those who chose to walk out of their jobs – often through ill-treatment – were usually prosecuted and their punishments ranged from a warning upon promising to go back to work to imprisonment for repeat offenders.
Thomas Prescott and Jesse Pointon were apprenticed at Daglish's huge iron foundry in St Helens and had both "absconded" from their work.
At their hearing in the Petty Sessions they were fined £2 and costs each, which was a hefty amount for such poorly paid lads.
As well as apprentices employed at Pilkingtons (pictured above in 1879), there were also many other boys working long hours for little pay.
The court also heard that a strike of boys had briefly taken place at the glassworks, leading to Patrick Toohey, Abraham Costello, William Herne and Samuel Phillips charged with absenting themselves while under a contract of service.
Herne and Toohey were also charged with threatening Richard Thompson, so as to coerce him and others to "forsake their employment".
They had, in fact, called the lad a "knobstick" and threatened to chuck him in the canal for refusing to join their strike for more pay! PC Foster also told the court that the boys had defied and threatened him.
Each of the lads was fined 10 shillings and Herne and Toohey also received three days imprisonment on the intimidation charge.
It could be a very hard life for women at the best of times – but if their husband was out of work and bringing in no income making ends meet was virtually impossible.
The only way to survive for many wives was to take in washing or do cleaning jobs.
When John Mooney appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions this week accused of playing pitch and toss in Traverse Street his mother appealed for her boy to be let off.
Mrs Mooney told the court that her husband had only worked seven weeks out of the past 12 months.
As a result she had not only to support her family of nine out of her own meagre earnings but also pay off £5 10 shillings in fines that her husband had received for unspecified acts.
Having to pay off a fine for her son would, Mrs Mooney explained, be too much of a burden.
As a result of his mother's appeal, the magistrates chose not to fine John Mooney but instead let the boy off with a caution.
What was described as a "handsome little dog" belonging to James Burchall appeared in court as an exhibit in another case in which John Gramley was accused of theft.
Mary Pye gave evidence of seeing Gramley pick up the dog from Mr Birchall's door in the Market Place and take it away under his coat.
A policeman apprehended Gramley in Bridge Street while he was carrying the animal, as he was suspicious of the man's behaviour.
The defendant claimed the dog had simply followed him but was ordered to pay 34 shillings as a fine, or alternatively serve a month in prison.
In an editorial on the 14th the St Helens Newspaper commented on a court case in Liverpool.
A shipping firm had been fined for despatching a case of sulphuric acid without clearly marking on the container what its contents were. The paper wrote:
"It is rather a curious circumstance that while so much supervision is exercised against shippers of dangerous products, the manufacturers can send them adrift on the air we breathe without the slightest restriction.
"Our Medical Officer has demonstrated positively enough that sulphuric acid forms a very fair proportion of the atmosphere breathed by the inhabitants of St. Helens, and exercises a very injurious effect on the lungs of the whole community; but there is no law under which the authors of the evil can be indicted and brought to punishment."
The recent announcement by the West Lancashire Coal Association that they planned to reduce wages in mines within the St Helens, Wigan and Leigh districts by 15% had, as expected, gone down badly with the miners.
The bosses' decision had been blamed on a drop in the price of coal, something the mineworkers could not ignore.
But they could contest the 15% figure and on the 17th a meeting of men in Parr decided not to agree to the reduction unless the matter went to arbitration – a decision that Wigan miners had already reached.
Arbitration was something the "masters" were unlikely to agree to, as they did not like others telling them what to do – and so a strike or lockout was looming.
If anyone drove a cow through the streets of St Helens today it would, I think, create quite a stir!
But it was a common event in the past and would not normally attract any interest. But the authorities did pay attention to Joseph Hatton's beast, although not, it seems, until it arrived at Prescot Cattle Fair.
The cow was found to have been infected with foot and mouth disease and in the Prescot Petty Sessions on the 17th the St Helens butcher was fined £3 and costs for allowing it to be driven on the highway in such a state.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the plans to enlarge the St Helens Market, the bricklayers' strike at St Helens Town Hall, the boys illegally employed at the Eccleston Flint Glassworks and the strange story of the dead duck and the pub singer.
Mid-morning on March 12th must have been a very good time to commit a crime in St Helens.
That was because there were only two policemen on duty in the whole town. The rest of the force was receiving its annual government inspection, with Captain Elgee, the inspector for the northern counties, undertaking the task.
Superintendent James Ludlam was in charge of St Helens Police and with him on parade in the Volunteer Hall were an inspector, seven sergeants and thirty-one constables.
With three bobbies on sick leave and the two on duty, the force's total strength was only 45, seven short of what was considered sufficient.
However, the inspection was deemed satisfactory with Captain Elgee finding no fault with the books, accommodation and the police guns that were kept for emergencies.
Last month street contractor Michael Moran was prosecuted in the St Helens Petty Sessions for leaving an uncovered sewer in Worsley Brow in Sutton without any lights.
His novel defence was that it had been a full moon and so he didn't see the need for any extra illumination, although the police felt the open sewer still presented a serious danger to road users.
Moran was treated leniently and only fined 1 shilling and costs. However, on the 16th he returned to court charged with committing the same offence in Peckers Hill.
The sewer had been left uncovered for thirty yards and open to the depth of six feet. Moran said he had left a watchman at the spot but he must have gone away.
To that claim the police said that if that was true, he should prosecute the watchman for neglecting his duty.
It was Moran's third prosecution for the same offence in the space of a few weeks and this time he was fined 40 shillings and costs, which may have been a couple of weeks wages.
Sixteen-year-old Martha Barlow and seventeen-year-old Margaret Gilligan were harshly treated for stealing some coal from a copper works.
When they appeared before the magistrates they were both sent to Kirkdale Gaol for a fortnight.
Most workplaces in St Helens had regulations requiring their workers to give a week or two's notice before they could leave – and there were many prosecutions of those who simply quit.
But at least they were in a position to leave, unlike apprentices who were committed to their employer until the age of 21, when they received their indentures.
Those who chose to walk out of their jobs – often through ill-treatment – were usually prosecuted and their punishments ranged from a warning upon promising to go back to work to imprisonment for repeat offenders.
Thomas Prescott and Jesse Pointon were apprenticed at Daglish's huge iron foundry in St Helens and had both "absconded" from their work.
At their hearing in the Petty Sessions they were fined £2 and costs each, which was a hefty amount for such poorly paid lads.
The court also heard that a strike of boys had briefly taken place at the glassworks, leading to Patrick Toohey, Abraham Costello, William Herne and Samuel Phillips charged with absenting themselves while under a contract of service.
Herne and Toohey were also charged with threatening Richard Thompson, so as to coerce him and others to "forsake their employment".
They had, in fact, called the lad a "knobstick" and threatened to chuck him in the canal for refusing to join their strike for more pay! PC Foster also told the court that the boys had defied and threatened him.
Each of the lads was fined 10 shillings and Herne and Toohey also received three days imprisonment on the intimidation charge.
It could be a very hard life for women at the best of times – but if their husband was out of work and bringing in no income making ends meet was virtually impossible.
The only way to survive for many wives was to take in washing or do cleaning jobs.
When John Mooney appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions this week accused of playing pitch and toss in Traverse Street his mother appealed for her boy to be let off.
Mrs Mooney told the court that her husband had only worked seven weeks out of the past 12 months.
As a result she had not only to support her family of nine out of her own meagre earnings but also pay off £5 10 shillings in fines that her husband had received for unspecified acts.
Having to pay off a fine for her son would, Mrs Mooney explained, be too much of a burden.
As a result of his mother's appeal, the magistrates chose not to fine John Mooney but instead let the boy off with a caution.
What was described as a "handsome little dog" belonging to James Burchall appeared in court as an exhibit in another case in which John Gramley was accused of theft.
Mary Pye gave evidence of seeing Gramley pick up the dog from Mr Birchall's door in the Market Place and take it away under his coat.
A policeman apprehended Gramley in Bridge Street while he was carrying the animal, as he was suspicious of the man's behaviour.
The defendant claimed the dog had simply followed him but was ordered to pay 34 shillings as a fine, or alternatively serve a month in prison.
In an editorial on the 14th the St Helens Newspaper commented on a court case in Liverpool.
A shipping firm had been fined for despatching a case of sulphuric acid without clearly marking on the container what its contents were. The paper wrote:
"It is rather a curious circumstance that while so much supervision is exercised against shippers of dangerous products, the manufacturers can send them adrift on the air we breathe without the slightest restriction.
"Our Medical Officer has demonstrated positively enough that sulphuric acid forms a very fair proportion of the atmosphere breathed by the inhabitants of St. Helens, and exercises a very injurious effect on the lungs of the whole community; but there is no law under which the authors of the evil can be indicted and brought to punishment."
The recent announcement by the West Lancashire Coal Association that they planned to reduce wages in mines within the St Helens, Wigan and Leigh districts by 15% had, as expected, gone down badly with the miners.
The bosses' decision had been blamed on a drop in the price of coal, something the mineworkers could not ignore.
But they could contest the 15% figure and on the 17th a meeting of men in Parr decided not to agree to the reduction unless the matter went to arbitration – a decision that Wigan miners had already reached.
Arbitration was something the "masters" were unlikely to agree to, as they did not like others telling them what to do – and so a strike or lockout was looming.
If anyone drove a cow through the streets of St Helens today it would, I think, create quite a stir!
But it was a common event in the past and would not normally attract any interest. But the authorities did pay attention to Joseph Hatton's beast, although not, it seems, until it arrived at Prescot Cattle Fair.
The cow was found to have been infected with foot and mouth disease and in the Prescot Petty Sessions on the 17th the St Helens butcher was fined £3 and costs for allowing it to be driven on the highway in such a state.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the plans to enlarge the St Helens Market, the bricklayers' strike at St Helens Town Hall, the boys illegally employed at the Eccleston Flint Glassworks and the strange story of the dead duck and the pub singer.