150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (13th - 19th FEBRUARY 1873)
This week's many stories include an attempted rape in Sutton, the American man who joined in a Fleet Lane fight over a debt, a child dies while coal stealing in Gerards Bridge, the little girls' burglary in Eccleston and the harsh sentences for stealing clothes off a Parr clothes-line.
The dangers of coal stealing from industrial premises in St Helens were illustrated on the 14th. That was when an 8-year-old child named Mary Doyle from Victoria Street, near North Road, was run over by two wagons that were being shunted at Gamble's chemical works. During shunting operations coal would often fall off and so Mary was picking bits up as they fell. The Liverpool Mercury wrote: "The unfortunate girl was carried home, and continued in great suffering until next morning, when she expired."
The major court case this week concerned Joseph Critchley, who was summoned by his neighbour Cicely Butterworth for assault. However, I think today the 25-year-old would have been prosecuted for attempted rape and conspiring to pervert the course of justice. The incident had taken place in Sutton on the previous Saturday night. As most workers got paid on that day, many shops would open late in order to cash in. Mrs Butterworth lived in Peckers Hill Road and about 11pm had walked to a nearby grocer's shop. As she did so she saw Joseph Critchley standing against the wall and he briefly spoke to her.
Upon finding that the shop had closed, Mrs Butterworth turned back to go home but Critchley then grabbed hold of her, threw her down and, as it was reported, "attempted to violate her". She said she struggled very much and shouted for help and a woman named Ann Conroy rushed to the scene. At that point Critchley got up and ran off. However, Mrs Conroy now refused to come to court to testify, seemingly after being persuaded not to attend by the defendant.
Mrs Butterworth also told the court that Critchley had offered her money to say it had been his brother who had attacked her and not him. One witness who did turn up to court was Ann Lewis, who said that on the night in question, Mrs Butterworth had come screaming to her door and when she came inside "appeared to be under very strong excitement". The Chairman said the Bench considered the case to be a very aggravated one, and their decision was that Joseph Critchley be sent to prison for three months with hard labour.
The stealing of wearing apparel – as clothing was usually called – was treated very seriously and almost always led to a prison sentence. However, many people were still prepared to take the risk of being caught and would even steal items that were hanging out to dry in back yards. Usually the clothes were not taken to wear but to pawn or sell, as in the case of Hannah Berry and Ann Ramsden. They had removed shirts and other items of clothing off a clothes-line belonging to Julia Farrell in Parr.
Then the two women went to Elizabeth Billinge's home in Park Road where they sold them. It was common for stolen items to be sold in the vicinity of where they had been taken, and the two thieves had also pinched wearing apparel from inside the York Hotel in Park Road while enjoying a glass of ale. Despite the fact that PC Fleetwood had found the pub's clothing in Hannah Berry's possession, both women pleaded not guilty and were sent for trial at the Kirkdale Quarter Sessions. In April they were each sentenced to six months hard labour. And so a tougher punishment for stealing shirts and bits and bobs than attempting to rape a woman and intimidating witnesses.
Bridget Doherty from Raglan Street (pictured above) appeared in the St Helens court charged with stealing 36 pounds of coal from Ravenhead Colliery. Despite explaining that her husband had been sick for a long time and that poverty had driven her to take just a few pieces of coal, she was still sent to prison for a week. The magistrates themselves were mostly industrialists and it was important to them to send a message that such stealing would not be tolerated.
Mary Tickle and Ellen Craymour were described as two small children and were charged with breaking into the house of William Morris in Eccleston. The man was a herbalist and said that he had seen the girls near Portico Chapel when on his way to Nutgrove. Upon returning home in the evening, Mr Morris said he found his house had been entered and some old clothes and clogs stolen.
However, the girls' swag amounted to very little and Ellen Taylor – who ran a so-called marine store – admitted buying the whole stock off the kids for just eight pence. The girls had a lucky escape from prison. Although the magistrates ordered them to be kept in a cell for 24 hours as punishment, they would then be released. However, the Chairman of the Bench warned Mary and Ellen that if they appeared in court again, they would be sent to a reformatory.
When the headline to the court report in the St Helens Newspaper read "An Exemplary Daughter", you knew that was not intended as a compliment! Catherine Walsh (who appeared to be a widow from Parr) had taken out a summons against her own daughter, accusing her of making threats of bodily harm. The Newspaper regularly passed comment on working class people in court, often mocking them for some aspect of their behaviour. This is what they had to say about Mrs Walsh:
"The complainant, who was manifestly Irish, used the phraseology of uneducated Lancashire, which she had picked up very well, but not being able to get rid of her brogue, her speech was a combination of the most incongruous elements, anything but natural or pleasant to the ear. She fancied, evidently, that the possession of the local dialect was a refinement, and so acquired it without a thought of how uneasily it sits on a basis of mellow brogue."
The woman explained that she had brought her daughter to court more to frighten than to punish her – "to administer a cheek", as she put it. However, there was one problem. The daughter hadn't turned up to court and so a warrant for her arrest was issued. Just whether getting your child arrested would stop her from calling her mother "bad names" and threatening to beat her up is, of course, another matter!
Thomas Clubb ran a beerhouse in Fleet Lane in Parr and he appeared in court charged with assaulting John Jones. He was a pit sinker employed by the Sankey Brook Colliery Company who owed money to Clubb for what he termed "meat and drink". On that day when he got paid from the mine, Jones said he sent Clubb 17s 6d to pay off part of the debt.
Later in the day when he passed the beerhouse, the landlord came out and told him he wanted more cash. Jones said he replied that he could not afford to pay him any more at that time. To that the Newspaper said Clubb remarked that he "would take the balance out in pugilism" – although I doubt they were the actual words used! The 36-year-old then knocked Jones down and kicked him in the nose and, as he rose to get up, knocked him down again. Both his eyes, he said, were cut and blackened.
An American man called Crawford Addison Todd was watching the fight and gave evidence of seeing Jones getting "worsted" in the battle. So he said he decided to strip off and join in, telling the court: "It is the custom in my country to back the weaker man". Typically, the landlord claimed that Jones had started the fight and he even had witnesses to back his claim up. But the magistrates reckoned the assault by the landlord was "of the most wanton character" and said if such a thing occurred again, the punishment would be very severe. Clubb was told to pay a fine of 32s 6d or go to gaol for a month.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the big increase in the sending of Valentine cards, the pitiful woman sent to prison for attempting a sixpenny fraud and the Pilks' bonus scheme for its management staff – but not its workers.
The dangers of coal stealing from industrial premises in St Helens were illustrated on the 14th. That was when an 8-year-old child named Mary Doyle from Victoria Street, near North Road, was run over by two wagons that were being shunted at Gamble's chemical works. During shunting operations coal would often fall off and so Mary was picking bits up as they fell. The Liverpool Mercury wrote: "The unfortunate girl was carried home, and continued in great suffering until next morning, when she expired."
The major court case this week concerned Joseph Critchley, who was summoned by his neighbour Cicely Butterworth for assault. However, I think today the 25-year-old would have been prosecuted for attempted rape and conspiring to pervert the course of justice. The incident had taken place in Sutton on the previous Saturday night. As most workers got paid on that day, many shops would open late in order to cash in. Mrs Butterworth lived in Peckers Hill Road and about 11pm had walked to a nearby grocer's shop. As she did so she saw Joseph Critchley standing against the wall and he briefly spoke to her.
Upon finding that the shop had closed, Mrs Butterworth turned back to go home but Critchley then grabbed hold of her, threw her down and, as it was reported, "attempted to violate her". She said she struggled very much and shouted for help and a woman named Ann Conroy rushed to the scene. At that point Critchley got up and ran off. However, Mrs Conroy now refused to come to court to testify, seemingly after being persuaded not to attend by the defendant.
Mrs Butterworth also told the court that Critchley had offered her money to say it had been his brother who had attacked her and not him. One witness who did turn up to court was Ann Lewis, who said that on the night in question, Mrs Butterworth had come screaming to her door and when she came inside "appeared to be under very strong excitement". The Chairman said the Bench considered the case to be a very aggravated one, and their decision was that Joseph Critchley be sent to prison for three months with hard labour.
The stealing of wearing apparel – as clothing was usually called – was treated very seriously and almost always led to a prison sentence. However, many people were still prepared to take the risk of being caught and would even steal items that were hanging out to dry in back yards. Usually the clothes were not taken to wear but to pawn or sell, as in the case of Hannah Berry and Ann Ramsden. They had removed shirts and other items of clothing off a clothes-line belonging to Julia Farrell in Parr.
Then the two women went to Elizabeth Billinge's home in Park Road where they sold them. It was common for stolen items to be sold in the vicinity of where they had been taken, and the two thieves had also pinched wearing apparel from inside the York Hotel in Park Road while enjoying a glass of ale. Despite the fact that PC Fleetwood had found the pub's clothing in Hannah Berry's possession, both women pleaded not guilty and were sent for trial at the Kirkdale Quarter Sessions. In April they were each sentenced to six months hard labour. And so a tougher punishment for stealing shirts and bits and bobs than attempting to rape a woman and intimidating witnesses.
Mary Tickle and Ellen Craymour were described as two small children and were charged with breaking into the house of William Morris in Eccleston. The man was a herbalist and said that he had seen the girls near Portico Chapel when on his way to Nutgrove. Upon returning home in the evening, Mr Morris said he found his house had been entered and some old clothes and clogs stolen.
However, the girls' swag amounted to very little and Ellen Taylor – who ran a so-called marine store – admitted buying the whole stock off the kids for just eight pence. The girls had a lucky escape from prison. Although the magistrates ordered them to be kept in a cell for 24 hours as punishment, they would then be released. However, the Chairman of the Bench warned Mary and Ellen that if they appeared in court again, they would be sent to a reformatory.
When the headline to the court report in the St Helens Newspaper read "An Exemplary Daughter", you knew that was not intended as a compliment! Catherine Walsh (who appeared to be a widow from Parr) had taken out a summons against her own daughter, accusing her of making threats of bodily harm. The Newspaper regularly passed comment on working class people in court, often mocking them for some aspect of their behaviour. This is what they had to say about Mrs Walsh:
"The complainant, who was manifestly Irish, used the phraseology of uneducated Lancashire, which she had picked up very well, but not being able to get rid of her brogue, her speech was a combination of the most incongruous elements, anything but natural or pleasant to the ear. She fancied, evidently, that the possession of the local dialect was a refinement, and so acquired it without a thought of how uneasily it sits on a basis of mellow brogue."
The woman explained that she had brought her daughter to court more to frighten than to punish her – "to administer a cheek", as she put it. However, there was one problem. The daughter hadn't turned up to court and so a warrant for her arrest was issued. Just whether getting your child arrested would stop her from calling her mother "bad names" and threatening to beat her up is, of course, another matter!
Thomas Clubb ran a beerhouse in Fleet Lane in Parr and he appeared in court charged with assaulting John Jones. He was a pit sinker employed by the Sankey Brook Colliery Company who owed money to Clubb for what he termed "meat and drink". On that day when he got paid from the mine, Jones said he sent Clubb 17s 6d to pay off part of the debt.
Later in the day when he passed the beerhouse, the landlord came out and told him he wanted more cash. Jones said he replied that he could not afford to pay him any more at that time. To that the Newspaper said Clubb remarked that he "would take the balance out in pugilism" – although I doubt they were the actual words used! The 36-year-old then knocked Jones down and kicked him in the nose and, as he rose to get up, knocked him down again. Both his eyes, he said, were cut and blackened.
An American man called Crawford Addison Todd was watching the fight and gave evidence of seeing Jones getting "worsted" in the battle. So he said he decided to strip off and join in, telling the court: "It is the custom in my country to back the weaker man". Typically, the landlord claimed that Jones had started the fight and he even had witnesses to back his claim up. But the magistrates reckoned the assault by the landlord was "of the most wanton character" and said if such a thing occurred again, the punishment would be very severe. Clubb was told to pay a fine of 32s 6d or go to gaol for a month.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the big increase in the sending of Valentine cards, the pitiful woman sent to prison for attempting a sixpenny fraud and the Pilks' bonus scheme for its management staff – but not its workers.
This week's many stories include an attempted rape in Sutton, the American man who joined in a Fleet Lane fight over a debt, a child dies while coal stealing in Gerards Bridge, the little girls' burglary in Eccleston and the harsh sentences for stealing clothes off a Parr clothes-line.
The dangers of coal stealing from industrial premises in St Helens were illustrated on the 14th.
That was when an 8-year-old child named Mary Doyle from Victoria Street, near North Road, was run over by two wagons that were being shunted at Gamble's chemical works.
During shunting operations coal would often fall off and so Mary was picking bits up as they fell. The Liverpool Mercury wrote:
"The unfortunate girl was carried home, and continued in great suffering until next morning, when she expired."
The major court case this week concerned Joseph Critchley, who was summoned by his neighbour Cicely Butterworth for assault.
However, I think today the 25-year-old would have been prosecuted for attempted rape and conspiring to pervert the course of justice.
The incident had taken place in Sutton on the previous Saturday night. As most workers got paid on that day, many shops would open late in order to cash in.
Mrs Butterworth lived in Peckers Hill Road and about 11pm had walked to a nearby grocer's shop.
As she did so she saw Joseph Critchley standing against the wall and he briefly spoke to her.
Upon finding that the shop had closed, Mrs Butterworth turned back to go home but Critchley then grabbed hold of her, threw her down and, as it was reported, "attempted to violate her".
She said she struggled very much and shouted for help and a woman named Ann Conroy rushed to the scene. At that point Critchley got up and ran off.
However, Mrs Conroy now refused to come to court to testify, seemingly after being persuaded not to attend by the defendant.
Mrs Butterworth also told the court that Critchley had offered her money to say it had been his brother who had attacked her and not him.
One witness who did turn up to court was Ann Lewis, who said that on the night in question, Mrs Butterworth had come screaming to her door and when she came inside "appeared to be under very strong excitement".
The Chairman said the Bench considered the case to be a very aggravated one, and their decision was that Joseph Critchley be sent to prison for three months with hard labour.
The stealing of wearing apparel – as clothing was usually called – was treated very seriously and almost always led to a prison sentence.
However, many people were still prepared to take the risk of being caught and would even steal items that were hanging out to dry in back yards.
Usually the clothes were not taken to wear but to pawn or sell, as in the case of Hannah Berry and Ann Ramsden.
They had removed shirts and other items of clothing off a clothes-line belonging to Julia Farrell in Parr.
Then the two women went to Elizabeth Billinge's home in Park Road where they sold them.
It was common for stolen items to be sold in the vicinity of where they had been taken, and the two thieves had also pinched wearing apparel from inside the York Hotel in Park Road while enjoying a glass of ale.
Despite the fact that PC Fleetwood had found the pub's clothing in Hannah Berry's possession, both women pleaded not guilty and were sent for trial at the Kirkdale Quarter Sessions. In April they were each sentenced to six months hard labour.
And so a tougher punishment for stealing shirts and bits and bobs than attempting to rape a woman and intimidating witnesses.
Bridget Doherty from Raglan Street (pictured above) appeared in the St Helens court charged with stealing 36 pounds of coal from Ravenhead Colliery.
Despite explaining that her husband had been sick for a long time and that poverty had driven her to take just a few pieces of coal, she was still sent to prison for a week.
The magistrates themselves were mostly industrialists and it was important to them to send a message that such stealing would not be tolerated.
Mary Tickle and Ellen Craymour were described as two small children and were charged with breaking into the house of William Morris in Eccleston.
The man was a herbalist and said that he had seen the girls near Portico Chapel when on his way to Nutgrove.
Upon returning home in the evening, Mr Morris said he found his house had been entered and some old clothes and clogs stolen.
However, the girls' swag amounted to very little and Ellen Taylor – who ran a so-called marine store – admitted buying the whole stock off the kids for just eight pence.
The girls had a lucky escape from prison. Although the magistrates ordered them to be kept in a cell for 24 hours as punishment, they would then be released.
However, the Chairman of the Bench warned Mary and Ellen that if they appeared in court again, they would be sent to a reformatory.
When the headline to the court report in the St Helens Newspaper read "An Exemplary Daughter", you knew that was not intended as a compliment!
Catherine Walsh (who appeared to be a widow from Parr) had taken out a summons against her own daughter, accusing her of making threats of bodily harm.
The Newspaper regularly passed comment on working class people in court, often mocking them for some aspect of their behaviour. This is what they had to say about Mrs Walsh:
"The complainant, who was manifestly Irish, used the phraseology of uneducated Lancashire, which she had picked up very well, but not being able to get rid of her brogue, her speech was a combination of the most incongruous elements, anything but natural or pleasant to the ear.
"She fancied, evidently, that the possession of the local dialect was a refinement, and so acquired it without a thought of how uneasily it sits on a basis of mellow brogue."
The woman explained that she had brought her daughter to court more to frighten than to punish her – "to administer a cheek", as she put it.
However, there was one problem. The daughter hadn't turned up to court and so a warrant for her arrest was issued.
Just whether getting your child arrested would stop her from calling her mother "bad names" and threatening to beat her up is, of course, another matter!
Thomas Clubb ran a beerhouse in Fleet Lane in Parr and he appeared in court charged with assaulting John Jones.
He was a pit sinker employed by the Sankey Brook Colliery Company who owed money to Clubb for what he termed "meat and drink".
On that day when he got paid from the mine, Jones said he sent Clubb 17s 6d to pay off part of the debt.
Later in the day when he passed the beerhouse, the landlord came out and told him he wanted more cash. Jones said he replied that he could not afford to pay him any more at that time.
To that the Newspaper said Clubb remarked that he "would take the balance out in pugilism" – although I doubt they were the actual words used!
The 36-year-old then knocked Jones down and kicked him in the nose and, as he rose to get up, knocked him down again. Both his eyes, he said, were cut and blackened.
An American man called Crawford Addison Todd was watching the fight and gave evidence of seeing Jones getting "worsted" in the battle.
So he said he decided to strip off and join in, telling the court: "It is the custom in my country to back the weaker man".
Typically, the landlord claimed that Jones had started the fight and he even had witnesses to back his claim up.
But the magistrates reckoned the assault by the landlord was "of the most wanton character" and said if such a thing occurred again, the punishment would be very severe.
Clubb was told to pay a fine of 32s 6d or go to gaol for a month.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the big increase in the sending of Valentine cards, the pitiful woman sent to prison for attempting a sixpenny fraud and the Pilks' bonus scheme for its management staff – but not its workers.
The dangers of coal stealing from industrial premises in St Helens were illustrated on the 14th.
That was when an 8-year-old child named Mary Doyle from Victoria Street, near North Road, was run over by two wagons that were being shunted at Gamble's chemical works.
During shunting operations coal would often fall off and so Mary was picking bits up as they fell. The Liverpool Mercury wrote:
"The unfortunate girl was carried home, and continued in great suffering until next morning, when she expired."
The major court case this week concerned Joseph Critchley, who was summoned by his neighbour Cicely Butterworth for assault.
However, I think today the 25-year-old would have been prosecuted for attempted rape and conspiring to pervert the course of justice.
The incident had taken place in Sutton on the previous Saturday night. As most workers got paid on that day, many shops would open late in order to cash in.
Mrs Butterworth lived in Peckers Hill Road and about 11pm had walked to a nearby grocer's shop.
As she did so she saw Joseph Critchley standing against the wall and he briefly spoke to her.
Upon finding that the shop had closed, Mrs Butterworth turned back to go home but Critchley then grabbed hold of her, threw her down and, as it was reported, "attempted to violate her".
She said she struggled very much and shouted for help and a woman named Ann Conroy rushed to the scene. At that point Critchley got up and ran off.
However, Mrs Conroy now refused to come to court to testify, seemingly after being persuaded not to attend by the defendant.
Mrs Butterworth also told the court that Critchley had offered her money to say it had been his brother who had attacked her and not him.
One witness who did turn up to court was Ann Lewis, who said that on the night in question, Mrs Butterworth had come screaming to her door and when she came inside "appeared to be under very strong excitement".
The Chairman said the Bench considered the case to be a very aggravated one, and their decision was that Joseph Critchley be sent to prison for three months with hard labour.
The stealing of wearing apparel – as clothing was usually called – was treated very seriously and almost always led to a prison sentence.
However, many people were still prepared to take the risk of being caught and would even steal items that were hanging out to dry in back yards.
Usually the clothes were not taken to wear but to pawn or sell, as in the case of Hannah Berry and Ann Ramsden.
They had removed shirts and other items of clothing off a clothes-line belonging to Julia Farrell in Parr.
Then the two women went to Elizabeth Billinge's home in Park Road where they sold them.
It was common for stolen items to be sold in the vicinity of where they had been taken, and the two thieves had also pinched wearing apparel from inside the York Hotel in Park Road while enjoying a glass of ale.
Despite the fact that PC Fleetwood had found the pub's clothing in Hannah Berry's possession, both women pleaded not guilty and were sent for trial at the Kirkdale Quarter Sessions. In April they were each sentenced to six months hard labour.
And so a tougher punishment for stealing shirts and bits and bobs than attempting to rape a woman and intimidating witnesses.
Despite explaining that her husband had been sick for a long time and that poverty had driven her to take just a few pieces of coal, she was still sent to prison for a week.
The magistrates themselves were mostly industrialists and it was important to them to send a message that such stealing would not be tolerated.
Mary Tickle and Ellen Craymour were described as two small children and were charged with breaking into the house of William Morris in Eccleston.
The man was a herbalist and said that he had seen the girls near Portico Chapel when on his way to Nutgrove.
Upon returning home in the evening, Mr Morris said he found his house had been entered and some old clothes and clogs stolen.
However, the girls' swag amounted to very little and Ellen Taylor – who ran a so-called marine store – admitted buying the whole stock off the kids for just eight pence.
The girls had a lucky escape from prison. Although the magistrates ordered them to be kept in a cell for 24 hours as punishment, they would then be released.
However, the Chairman of the Bench warned Mary and Ellen that if they appeared in court again, they would be sent to a reformatory.
When the headline to the court report in the St Helens Newspaper read "An Exemplary Daughter", you knew that was not intended as a compliment!
Catherine Walsh (who appeared to be a widow from Parr) had taken out a summons against her own daughter, accusing her of making threats of bodily harm.
The Newspaper regularly passed comment on working class people in court, often mocking them for some aspect of their behaviour. This is what they had to say about Mrs Walsh:
"The complainant, who was manifestly Irish, used the phraseology of uneducated Lancashire, which she had picked up very well, but not being able to get rid of her brogue, her speech was a combination of the most incongruous elements, anything but natural or pleasant to the ear.
"She fancied, evidently, that the possession of the local dialect was a refinement, and so acquired it without a thought of how uneasily it sits on a basis of mellow brogue."
The woman explained that she had brought her daughter to court more to frighten than to punish her – "to administer a cheek", as she put it.
However, there was one problem. The daughter hadn't turned up to court and so a warrant for her arrest was issued.
Just whether getting your child arrested would stop her from calling her mother "bad names" and threatening to beat her up is, of course, another matter!
Thomas Clubb ran a beerhouse in Fleet Lane in Parr and he appeared in court charged with assaulting John Jones.
He was a pit sinker employed by the Sankey Brook Colliery Company who owed money to Clubb for what he termed "meat and drink".
On that day when he got paid from the mine, Jones said he sent Clubb 17s 6d to pay off part of the debt.
Later in the day when he passed the beerhouse, the landlord came out and told him he wanted more cash. Jones said he replied that he could not afford to pay him any more at that time.
To that the Newspaper said Clubb remarked that he "would take the balance out in pugilism" – although I doubt they were the actual words used!
The 36-year-old then knocked Jones down and kicked him in the nose and, as he rose to get up, knocked him down again. Both his eyes, he said, were cut and blackened.
An American man called Crawford Addison Todd was watching the fight and gave evidence of seeing Jones getting "worsted" in the battle.
So he said he decided to strip off and join in, telling the court: "It is the custom in my country to back the weaker man".
Typically, the landlord claimed that Jones had started the fight and he even had witnesses to back his claim up.
But the magistrates reckoned the assault by the landlord was "of the most wanton character" and said if such a thing occurred again, the punishment would be very severe.
Clubb was told to pay a fine of 32s 6d or go to gaol for a month.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the big increase in the sending of Valentine cards, the pitiful woman sent to prison for attempting a sixpenny fraud and the Pilks' bonus scheme for its management staff – but not its workers.