150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (16th - 22nd MARCH 1870)
This week's stories include the madman in St. Anne's monastery, two women scrap like bulldogs in Pocket Nook, the depraved young girl from Napier Street, the scandalous slander charge by a Rainhill woman and the bare-knuckle prize fighter that brutally attacked a Prescot woman.
We begin in St Helens Police Court on the 17th when Margaret Dunn from Rainhill was charged with "uttering falsely and maliciously certain defamatory language affecting the character of Charles Robinson, cab proprietor, and Ellen Swift, beerseller". Slander, in other words. Robinson was a married man and Mrs Swift a widow, with both living in Warrington Road and aged about fifty, with seven and five children, respectively.
The prosecutor said on the previous Friday "the defendant circulated a statement, which spread like wildfire, and made of the complainants a complete town's talk." Sadly we were not told the specifics of the allegation, although it is reasonable to assume a claim of an affair. Margaret Hampson from Station Street in Rainhill gave evidence that Mrs Dean had come into her home and made a "scandalous charge" against the complainants, claiming to have witnessed their conduct herself.
After being confronted by Mr Robinson and Mrs Swift, Margaret Dunn said she would withdraw her allegation. However the couple appear to have decided to go to law to publicly restore their reputations. This was a criminal court and not a civil one. The magistrates could only rule on the case if they felt the slander could have led to a breach of the peace. They felt it had and Margaret Dunn was told to find sureties for her good behaviour in the future.
A shocking case of violence against a woman was outlined in the Police Court when James and John Ashton appeared in court – the latter being a renowned bareknuckle prize-fighter. The pair – described as relatives – were charged with assaulting Alice Preston in Prescot. The St Helens Newspaper described the 54-year-old woman as having a "pitiable appearance, being bruised and blackened all over, while her right jaw was fractured". However John Ashton had not got off lightly: "The prize-fighter carried two black eyes as souvenirs of the fray in which he had so gallantry distinguished himself".
The two sets of families had known each other all their lives and Alice had been brutally beaten and kicked at her own door after defending her son. This was as a result of a dispute that the young man had with a group of miners. Her other son Samuel stated in court that he had struck his mother's assailants, claiming to have knocked six or seven men down.
The two families wanted to settle out of court but the magistrates would not allow it due to the state of Alice's face. Instead James Ashton (who had a number of prior convictions) would have to pay a £2 fine and 26s costs or go to prison for two months. And John Ashton (who had previously been handed a court order to keep the peace for six months) was told to pay a £1 fine and 26s costs or go to prison for six weeks.
"A Depraved Young Girl" was the St Helens Newspaper's headline to their brief article on Ellen Looney, who also made an appearance in the court. The 17-year-old had stolen a pair of boots from a shop in Napier Street. She was yet another female who used her shawl to steal things. The manager, looking through a glass reflector, had seen Ellen put the shoes under her shawl and walk away. So he followed her outside and she threw down the boots and fled but Police Constable Robinson was able to arrest her.
As Ellen had previously been convicted for coal stealing, she was committed to the Quarter Sessions in Liverpool where longer sentences could be passed, with bail refused. On the 19th April Ellen Looney was sent to Kirkdale Gaol for three months with hard labour.
Also in court was a boy called Thomas Judge who was charged with stealing a box of blacking that was worth just one shilling. Blacking ink or paste was used to clean and polish shoes, floors and doorsteps. The 11-year-old had taken it from a grocer in the Market Place and had been caught by an assistant. Thomas had a previous conviction to his name for which he had been whipped and so he was also committed to the Sessions. On the 20th April the boy was sent to prison for a month followed by a five-year residency in a reformatory.
Women were highly dependent upon their husbands and they were placed in a difficult position if their spouse assaulted them. If they did nothing the attack might well be repeated but taking their husbands to court would not do much for their marriage. Any fine would also affect them as much as their husband.
When Robert Sharrock from Parr appeared in the Police Court to face a charge of assaulting his wife, he told the Bench that he pleaded guilty. However the young woman begged permission from the magistrates to withdraw the charge offering to vouch for the future good conduct of her husband. The St Helens Newspaper called her a "forgiving wife" – a pragmatic wife would probably have been more accurate.
George Lucas placed a notice on the front page of the Prescot Reporter on the 19th to squash rumours that he'd received a £200 insurance payout. The man was a wholesale confectioner in Eccleston Street in Prescot and had suffered a recent fire. However he said the amount received from the insurance company had only been £17 10 shillings and out of that he'd had to pay the fire brigade £2 12 shillings. Presumably the rumours were suggesting that Lucas had set the blaze himself for the insurance cash.
An editorial in the Prescot Reporter said: "Rainhill has been quite jubilant during the past week. Cannons have been fired, flags have been displayed, a beam of (gas) light has irradiated every countenance, and hands have been shaken until the fingers have ached." The gas reference to the lighting up of people's faces was a clue as to why the people were so happy.
It was because a Lords Committee had given their approval to the Rainhill Gas and Water Company to provide both utilities to the residents of the township. In doing so they had seen off a rival bid from the St Helens Gas Company, who were not offering to provide water. However not everyone was happy. A letter was published in the Reporter from someone signing him or herself "A Lover of Pure Water" that criticised the Rainhill water supply.
The correspondent claimed that it was very hard and pumped from a well in close proximity to sewage and cesspools that were: "…capable of yielding their vile qualities to the water supplied to the inhabitants. Now, can you conceive anything more thoroughly disgusting than such a state of things, and yet this supply is to be made the permanent source of water for Rainhill, when abundance of soft and pure water can be obtained from other points. Will the good people arouse themselves from their sleep to learn what they have been drinking and using."
The 19th was a good day to commit a crime in St Helens as all but two of their police officers underwent their annual inspection in the Volunteer Hall. The total strength of the St Helens force was then 42 but one man was off sick and another was manning the fort in the police station. No doubt he was hoping that there wouldn't be a crime wave!
On the 21st under the headline "A Madman in a Monastery", the Liverpool Mercury rather unkindly dubbed John Carroll a "maniac", "madman" and "lunatic". Two days earlier the labourer from Ditch Hillock in Sutton had visited St. Anne's Retreat (pictured above) and taken a large quantity of the monastery's books and effects. Carroll had a wild notion that Father Austin owed him £2,000 and as he refused to pay up, he decided to take it in kind. The police searched John Carroll's home on the Saturday evening, where they found much monastery property.
Believing that he had the right to possess these goods, Carroll become violent when the police seized them. So the boys in blue tied his legs, handcuffed him and placed Carroll inside a cart. This created quite a scene and a large crowd of Suttoners gathered to watch. Many of them walked behind the horse and cart as Carroll was conveyed to St Helens Police Station at the Town Hall. At the cop shop John Carroll was said to be "dangerously violent" and so was removed to the Whiston Workhouse as a lunatic where the story ends.
Victims did bring odd things into court as supposed evidence of wrongdoing against them. At the St Helens Petty Sessions on the 21st Mary Fleming's solicitor displayed a large clump of hair, which he claimed had been yanked out of his client's scalp by Ellen Bowe. This was as a result of a fight in Davis Street in Pocket Nook in which the pair had fought "like bulldogs", as one witness put it.
Mary Fleming did not appear very popular in her neighbourhood. A woman called Mary McKeegan had tried to rouse a crowd of 100 people to drive the Flemings out of the country and one threw a stone 20lb in weight through one of her windows. In the end the magistrates decided to bind over all four people involved in the melee, including Mary Fleming.
Next week's stories will include the Waterloo Street cannon explosion, the Park Road woman who claimed a policeman made her return to her abusive husband, the Fingerpost baby that died after catching a cold, a Rainhill love letter and the noxious fumes from the Sutton Copper Works that caused damage to the Bold Hall estate.
We begin in St Helens Police Court on the 17th when Margaret Dunn from Rainhill was charged with "uttering falsely and maliciously certain defamatory language affecting the character of Charles Robinson, cab proprietor, and Ellen Swift, beerseller". Slander, in other words. Robinson was a married man and Mrs Swift a widow, with both living in Warrington Road and aged about fifty, with seven and five children, respectively.
The prosecutor said on the previous Friday "the defendant circulated a statement, which spread like wildfire, and made of the complainants a complete town's talk." Sadly we were not told the specifics of the allegation, although it is reasonable to assume a claim of an affair. Margaret Hampson from Station Street in Rainhill gave evidence that Mrs Dean had come into her home and made a "scandalous charge" against the complainants, claiming to have witnessed their conduct herself.
After being confronted by Mr Robinson and Mrs Swift, Margaret Dunn said she would withdraw her allegation. However the couple appear to have decided to go to law to publicly restore their reputations. This was a criminal court and not a civil one. The magistrates could only rule on the case if they felt the slander could have led to a breach of the peace. They felt it had and Margaret Dunn was told to find sureties for her good behaviour in the future.
A shocking case of violence against a woman was outlined in the Police Court when James and John Ashton appeared in court – the latter being a renowned bareknuckle prize-fighter. The pair – described as relatives – were charged with assaulting Alice Preston in Prescot. The St Helens Newspaper described the 54-year-old woman as having a "pitiable appearance, being bruised and blackened all over, while her right jaw was fractured". However John Ashton had not got off lightly: "The prize-fighter carried two black eyes as souvenirs of the fray in which he had so gallantry distinguished himself".
The two sets of families had known each other all their lives and Alice had been brutally beaten and kicked at her own door after defending her son. This was as a result of a dispute that the young man had with a group of miners. Her other son Samuel stated in court that he had struck his mother's assailants, claiming to have knocked six or seven men down.
The two families wanted to settle out of court but the magistrates would not allow it due to the state of Alice's face. Instead James Ashton (who had a number of prior convictions) would have to pay a £2 fine and 26s costs or go to prison for two months. And John Ashton (who had previously been handed a court order to keep the peace for six months) was told to pay a £1 fine and 26s costs or go to prison for six weeks.
"A Depraved Young Girl" was the St Helens Newspaper's headline to their brief article on Ellen Looney, who also made an appearance in the court. The 17-year-old had stolen a pair of boots from a shop in Napier Street. She was yet another female who used her shawl to steal things. The manager, looking through a glass reflector, had seen Ellen put the shoes under her shawl and walk away. So he followed her outside and she threw down the boots and fled but Police Constable Robinson was able to arrest her.
As Ellen had previously been convicted for coal stealing, she was committed to the Quarter Sessions in Liverpool where longer sentences could be passed, with bail refused. On the 19th April Ellen Looney was sent to Kirkdale Gaol for three months with hard labour.
Also in court was a boy called Thomas Judge who was charged with stealing a box of blacking that was worth just one shilling. Blacking ink or paste was used to clean and polish shoes, floors and doorsteps. The 11-year-old had taken it from a grocer in the Market Place and had been caught by an assistant. Thomas had a previous conviction to his name for which he had been whipped and so he was also committed to the Sessions. On the 20th April the boy was sent to prison for a month followed by a five-year residency in a reformatory.
Women were highly dependent upon their husbands and they were placed in a difficult position if their spouse assaulted them. If they did nothing the attack might well be repeated but taking their husbands to court would not do much for their marriage. Any fine would also affect them as much as their husband.
When Robert Sharrock from Parr appeared in the Police Court to face a charge of assaulting his wife, he told the Bench that he pleaded guilty. However the young woman begged permission from the magistrates to withdraw the charge offering to vouch for the future good conduct of her husband. The St Helens Newspaper called her a "forgiving wife" – a pragmatic wife would probably have been more accurate.
George Lucas placed a notice on the front page of the Prescot Reporter on the 19th to squash rumours that he'd received a £200 insurance payout. The man was a wholesale confectioner in Eccleston Street in Prescot and had suffered a recent fire. However he said the amount received from the insurance company had only been £17 10 shillings and out of that he'd had to pay the fire brigade £2 12 shillings. Presumably the rumours were suggesting that Lucas had set the blaze himself for the insurance cash.
An editorial in the Prescot Reporter said: "Rainhill has been quite jubilant during the past week. Cannons have been fired, flags have been displayed, a beam of (gas) light has irradiated every countenance, and hands have been shaken until the fingers have ached." The gas reference to the lighting up of people's faces was a clue as to why the people were so happy.
It was because a Lords Committee had given their approval to the Rainhill Gas and Water Company to provide both utilities to the residents of the township. In doing so they had seen off a rival bid from the St Helens Gas Company, who were not offering to provide water. However not everyone was happy. A letter was published in the Reporter from someone signing him or herself "A Lover of Pure Water" that criticised the Rainhill water supply.
The correspondent claimed that it was very hard and pumped from a well in close proximity to sewage and cesspools that were: "…capable of yielding their vile qualities to the water supplied to the inhabitants. Now, can you conceive anything more thoroughly disgusting than such a state of things, and yet this supply is to be made the permanent source of water for Rainhill, when abundance of soft and pure water can be obtained from other points. Will the good people arouse themselves from their sleep to learn what they have been drinking and using."
The 19th was a good day to commit a crime in St Helens as all but two of their police officers underwent their annual inspection in the Volunteer Hall. The total strength of the St Helens force was then 42 but one man was off sick and another was manning the fort in the police station. No doubt he was hoping that there wouldn't be a crime wave!
Believing that he had the right to possess these goods, Carroll become violent when the police seized them. So the boys in blue tied his legs, handcuffed him and placed Carroll inside a cart. This created quite a scene and a large crowd of Suttoners gathered to watch. Many of them walked behind the horse and cart as Carroll was conveyed to St Helens Police Station at the Town Hall. At the cop shop John Carroll was said to be "dangerously violent" and so was removed to the Whiston Workhouse as a lunatic where the story ends.
Victims did bring odd things into court as supposed evidence of wrongdoing against them. At the St Helens Petty Sessions on the 21st Mary Fleming's solicitor displayed a large clump of hair, which he claimed had been yanked out of his client's scalp by Ellen Bowe. This was as a result of a fight in Davis Street in Pocket Nook in which the pair had fought "like bulldogs", as one witness put it.
Mary Fleming did not appear very popular in her neighbourhood. A woman called Mary McKeegan had tried to rouse a crowd of 100 people to drive the Flemings out of the country and one threw a stone 20lb in weight through one of her windows. In the end the magistrates decided to bind over all four people involved in the melee, including Mary Fleming.
Next week's stories will include the Waterloo Street cannon explosion, the Park Road woman who claimed a policeman made her return to her abusive husband, the Fingerpost baby that died after catching a cold, a Rainhill love letter and the noxious fumes from the Sutton Copper Works that caused damage to the Bold Hall estate.
This week's stories include the madman in St. Anne's monastery, two women scrap like bulldogs in Pocket Nook, the depraved young girl from Napier Street, the scandalous slander charge by a Rainhill woman and the bare-knuckle prize fighter that brutally attacked a Prescot woman.
We begin in St Helens Police Court on the 17th when Margaret Dunn from Rainhill was charged with:
“Uttering falsely and maliciously certain defamatory language affecting the character of Charles Robinson, cab proprietor, and Ellen Swift, beerseller". Slander, in other words.
Robinson was a married man and Mrs Swift a widow, with both living in Warrington Road and aged about fifty, with seven and five children, respectively.
The prosecutor said on the previous Friday "the defendant circulated a statement, which spread like wildfire, and made of the complainants a complete town's talk."
Sadly we were not told the specifics of the allegation, although it is reasonable to assume a claim of an affair.
Margaret Hampson from Station Street in Rainhill gave evidence that Mrs Dean had come into her home and made a "scandalous charge" against the complainants, claiming to have witnessed their conduct herself.
After being confronted by Mr Robinson and Mrs Swift, Margaret Dunn said she would withdraw her allegation.
However the couple appear to have decided to go to law to publicly restore their reputations.
This was a criminal court and not a civil one. The magistrates could only rule on the case if they felt the slander could have led to a breach of the peace.
They felt it had and Margaret Dunn was told to find sureties for her good behaviour in the future.
A shocking case of violence against a woman was outlined in the Police Court when James and John Ashton appeared in court – the latter being a renowned bareknuckle prize-fighter.
The pair – described as relatives – were charged with assaulting Alice Preston in Prescot.
The St Helens Newspaper described the 54-year-old woman as having a "pitiable appearance, being bruised and blackened all over, while her right jaw was fractured".
However John Ashton had not got off lightly: "The prize-fighter carried two black eyes as souvenirs of the fray in which he had so gallantry distinguished himself".
The two sets of families had known each other all their lives and Alice had been brutally beaten and kicked at her own door after defending her son.
This was as a result of a dispute that the young man had with a group of miners.
Her other son Samuel stated in court that he had struck his mother's assailants, claiming to have knocked six or seven men down.
The two families wanted to settle out of court but the magistrates would not allow it due to the state of Alice's face.
Instead James Ashton (who had a number of prior convictions) would have to pay a £2 fine and 26s costs or go to prison for two months.
And John Ashton (who had previously been handed a court order to keep the peace for six months) was told to pay a £1 fine and 26s costs or go to prison for six weeks.
"A Depraved Young Girl" was the St Helens Newspaper's headline to their brief article on Ellen Looney, who also made an appearance in the court.
The 17-year-old had stolen a pair of boots from a shop in Napier Street. She was yet another female who used her shawl to steal things.
The manager, looking through a glass reflector, had seen Ellen put the shoes under her shawl and walk away.
So he followed her outside and she threw down the boots and fled but Police Constable Robinson was able to arrest her.
As Ellen had previously been convicted for coal stealing, she was committed to the Quarter Sessions in Liverpool where longer sentences could be passed, with bail refused.
On the 19th April Ellen Looney was sent to Kirkdale Gaol for three months with hard labour.
Also in court was a boy called Thomas Judge who was charged with stealing what was described as a box of blacking that was worth just one shilling.
The 11-year-old had taken it from a grocer in the Market Place and had been caught by an assistant.
Thomas had a previous conviction to his name for which he had been whipped and so he was also committed to the Sessions.
On the 20th April the boy was sent to prison for a month followed by a five-year residency in a reformatory.
Women were highly dependent upon their husbands and they were placed in a difficult position if their spouse assaulted them.
If they did nothing the attack might well be repeated but taking their husbands to court would not do much for their marriage. Any fine would also affect them as much as their husband.
When Robert Sharrock from Parr appeared in the Police Court to face a charge of assaulting his wife, he told the Bench that he pleaded guilty.
However the young woman begged permission from the magistrates to withdraw the charge offering to vouch for the future good conduct of her husband.
The St Helens Newspaper called her a "forgiving wife" – a pragmatic wife would probably have been more accurate.
George Lucas placed a notice on the front page of the Prescot Reporter on the 19th to squash rumours that he'd received a £200 insurance payout.
The man was a wholesale confectioner in Eccleston Street and had suffered a recent fire.
However he said the amount received from the insurance company had only been £17 10 shillings and out of that he'd had to pay the fire brigade £2 12 shillings.
Presumably the rumours were suggesting that Lucas had set the blaze himself for the insurance cash.
An editorial in the Prescot Reporter said:
"Rainhill has been quite jubilant during the past week. Cannons have been fired, flags have been displayed, a beam of (gas) light has irradiated every countenance, and hands have been shaken until the fingers have ached."
The gas reference to the lighting up of people's faces was a clue as to why the people were so happy.
It was because a Lords Committee had given their approval to the Rainhill Gas and Water Company to provide both utilities to the residents of the township.
In doing so they had seen off a rival bid from the St Helens Gas Company, who were not offering to provide water. However not everyone was happy.
A letter was published in the Reporter from someone signing him or herself "A Lover of Pure Water" that criticised the Rainhill water supply.
The correspondent claimed that it was very hard and pumped from a well in close proximity to sewage and cesspools that were:
"…capable of yielding their vile qualities to the water supplied to the inhabitants. Now, can you conceive anything more thoroughly disgusting than such a state of things, and yet this supply is to be made the permanent source of water for Rainhill, when abundance of soft and pure water can be obtained from other points.
"Will the good people arouse themselves from their sleep to learn what they have been drinking and using."
The 19th was a good day to commit a crime in St Helens as all but two of their police officers underwent their annual inspection in the Volunteer Hall.
The total strength of the St Helens force was then 42 but one man was off sick and another was manning the fort in the police station.
No doubt he was hoping that there wouldn't be a crime wave!
On the 21st under the headline "A Madman in a Monastery", the Liverpool Mercury rather unkindly dubbed John Carroll a "maniac", "madman" and "lunatic".
Two days earlier the labourer from Ditch Hillock in Sutton had visited St. Anne's Retreat (pictured above) and taken a large quantity of the monastery's books and effects.
Carroll had a wild notion that Father Austin owed him £2,000 and as he refused to pay up, he decided to take it in kind.
The police searched John Carroll's home on the Saturday evening, where they found much monastery property.
Believing that he had the right to possess these goods, Carroll become violent when the police seized them.
So the boys in blue tied his legs, handcuffed him and placed Carroll inside a cart.
This created quite a scene and a large crowd of Suttoners gathered to watch.
Many of them walked behind the horse and cart as Carroll was conveyed to St Helens Police Station at the Town Hall.
At the cop shop John Carroll was said to be "dangerously violent" and so was removed to the Whiston workhouse as a lunatic where the story ends.
Victims did bring odd things into court as supposed evidence of wrongdoing against them.
At the St Helens Petty Sessions on the 21st Mary Fleming's solicitor displayed a large clump of hair, which he claimed had been yanked out of his client's scalp by Ellen Bowe.
This was as a result of a fight in Davis Street in Pocket Nook in which the pair had fought "like bulldogs", as one witness put it.
Mary Fleming did not appear very popular in her neighbourhood.
A woman called Mary McKeegan had tried to rouse a crowd of 100 people to drive the Flemings out of the country and one threw a stone 20lb in weight through one of her windows.
In the end the magistrates decided to bind over all four people involved in the melee, including Mary Fleming.
Next week's stories will include the Waterloo Street cannon explosion, the Park Road woman who claimed a policeman made her return to her abusive husband, the Fingerpost baby that died after catching a cold, a Rainhill love letter and the noxious fumes from the Sutton Copper Works that caused damage to the Bold Hall estate.
We begin in St Helens Police Court on the 17th when Margaret Dunn from Rainhill was charged with:
“Uttering falsely and maliciously certain defamatory language affecting the character of Charles Robinson, cab proprietor, and Ellen Swift, beerseller". Slander, in other words.
Robinson was a married man and Mrs Swift a widow, with both living in Warrington Road and aged about fifty, with seven and five children, respectively.
The prosecutor said on the previous Friday "the defendant circulated a statement, which spread like wildfire, and made of the complainants a complete town's talk."
Sadly we were not told the specifics of the allegation, although it is reasonable to assume a claim of an affair.
Margaret Hampson from Station Street in Rainhill gave evidence that Mrs Dean had come into her home and made a "scandalous charge" against the complainants, claiming to have witnessed their conduct herself.
After being confronted by Mr Robinson and Mrs Swift, Margaret Dunn said she would withdraw her allegation.
However the couple appear to have decided to go to law to publicly restore their reputations.
This was a criminal court and not a civil one. The magistrates could only rule on the case if they felt the slander could have led to a breach of the peace.
They felt it had and Margaret Dunn was told to find sureties for her good behaviour in the future.
A shocking case of violence against a woman was outlined in the Police Court when James and John Ashton appeared in court – the latter being a renowned bareknuckle prize-fighter.
The pair – described as relatives – were charged with assaulting Alice Preston in Prescot.
The St Helens Newspaper described the 54-year-old woman as having a "pitiable appearance, being bruised and blackened all over, while her right jaw was fractured".
However John Ashton had not got off lightly: "The prize-fighter carried two black eyes as souvenirs of the fray in which he had so gallantry distinguished himself".
The two sets of families had known each other all their lives and Alice had been brutally beaten and kicked at her own door after defending her son.
This was as a result of a dispute that the young man had with a group of miners.
Her other son Samuel stated in court that he had struck his mother's assailants, claiming to have knocked six or seven men down.
The two families wanted to settle out of court but the magistrates would not allow it due to the state of Alice's face.
Instead James Ashton (who had a number of prior convictions) would have to pay a £2 fine and 26s costs or go to prison for two months.
And John Ashton (who had previously been handed a court order to keep the peace for six months) was told to pay a £1 fine and 26s costs or go to prison for six weeks.
"A Depraved Young Girl" was the St Helens Newspaper's headline to their brief article on Ellen Looney, who also made an appearance in the court.
The 17-year-old had stolen a pair of boots from a shop in Napier Street. She was yet another female who used her shawl to steal things.
The manager, looking through a glass reflector, had seen Ellen put the shoes under her shawl and walk away.
So he followed her outside and she threw down the boots and fled but Police Constable Robinson was able to arrest her.
As Ellen had previously been convicted for coal stealing, she was committed to the Quarter Sessions in Liverpool where longer sentences could be passed, with bail refused.
On the 19th April Ellen Looney was sent to Kirkdale Gaol for three months with hard labour.
Also in court was a boy called Thomas Judge who was charged with stealing what was described as a box of blacking that was worth just one shilling.
The 11-year-old had taken it from a grocer in the Market Place and had been caught by an assistant.
Thomas had a previous conviction to his name for which he had been whipped and so he was also committed to the Sessions.
On the 20th April the boy was sent to prison for a month followed by a five-year residency in a reformatory.
Women were highly dependent upon their husbands and they were placed in a difficult position if their spouse assaulted them.
If they did nothing the attack might well be repeated but taking their husbands to court would not do much for their marriage. Any fine would also affect them as much as their husband.
When Robert Sharrock from Parr appeared in the Police Court to face a charge of assaulting his wife, he told the Bench that he pleaded guilty.
However the young woman begged permission from the magistrates to withdraw the charge offering to vouch for the future good conduct of her husband.
The St Helens Newspaper called her a "forgiving wife" – a pragmatic wife would probably have been more accurate.
George Lucas placed a notice on the front page of the Prescot Reporter on the 19th to squash rumours that he'd received a £200 insurance payout.
The man was a wholesale confectioner in Eccleston Street and had suffered a recent fire.
However he said the amount received from the insurance company had only been £17 10 shillings and out of that he'd had to pay the fire brigade £2 12 shillings.
Presumably the rumours were suggesting that Lucas had set the blaze himself for the insurance cash.
An editorial in the Prescot Reporter said:
"Rainhill has been quite jubilant during the past week. Cannons have been fired, flags have been displayed, a beam of (gas) light has irradiated every countenance, and hands have been shaken until the fingers have ached."
The gas reference to the lighting up of people's faces was a clue as to why the people were so happy.
It was because a Lords Committee had given their approval to the Rainhill Gas and Water Company to provide both utilities to the residents of the township.
In doing so they had seen off a rival bid from the St Helens Gas Company, who were not offering to provide water. However not everyone was happy.
A letter was published in the Reporter from someone signing him or herself "A Lover of Pure Water" that criticised the Rainhill water supply.
The correspondent claimed that it was very hard and pumped from a well in close proximity to sewage and cesspools that were:
"…capable of yielding their vile qualities to the water supplied to the inhabitants. Now, can you conceive anything more thoroughly disgusting than such a state of things, and yet this supply is to be made the permanent source of water for Rainhill, when abundance of soft and pure water can be obtained from other points.
"Will the good people arouse themselves from their sleep to learn what they have been drinking and using."
The 19th was a good day to commit a crime in St Helens as all but two of their police officers underwent their annual inspection in the Volunteer Hall.
The total strength of the St Helens force was then 42 but one man was off sick and another was manning the fort in the police station.
No doubt he was hoping that there wouldn't be a crime wave!
Two days earlier the labourer from Ditch Hillock in Sutton had visited St. Anne's Retreat (pictured above) and taken a large quantity of the monastery's books and effects.
Carroll had a wild notion that Father Austin owed him £2,000 and as he refused to pay up, he decided to take it in kind.
The police searched John Carroll's home on the Saturday evening, where they found much monastery property.
Believing that he had the right to possess these goods, Carroll become violent when the police seized them.
So the boys in blue tied his legs, handcuffed him and placed Carroll inside a cart.
This created quite a scene and a large crowd of Suttoners gathered to watch.
Many of them walked behind the horse and cart as Carroll was conveyed to St Helens Police Station at the Town Hall.
At the cop shop John Carroll was said to be "dangerously violent" and so was removed to the Whiston workhouse as a lunatic where the story ends.
Victims did bring odd things into court as supposed evidence of wrongdoing against them.
At the St Helens Petty Sessions on the 21st Mary Fleming's solicitor displayed a large clump of hair, which he claimed had been yanked out of his client's scalp by Ellen Bowe.
This was as a result of a fight in Davis Street in Pocket Nook in which the pair had fought "like bulldogs", as one witness put it.
Mary Fleming did not appear very popular in her neighbourhood.
A woman called Mary McKeegan had tried to rouse a crowd of 100 people to drive the Flemings out of the country and one threw a stone 20lb in weight through one of her windows.
In the end the magistrates decided to bind over all four people involved in the melee, including Mary Fleming.
Next week's stories will include the Waterloo Street cannon explosion, the Park Road woman who claimed a policeman made her return to her abusive husband, the Fingerpost baby that died after catching a cold, a Rainhill love letter and the noxious fumes from the Sutton Copper Works that caused damage to the Bold Hall estate.