150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 18 - 24 AUGUST 1875
This week's many stories include the stringent cuts planned in poor relief, the butcher who bought sheep infected with foot and mouth disease, the engineering apprentice who wanted to go to sea, the brutal attack on an old woman in Whiston and Thomas Beecham seeks compensation from the railway company for damage to a consignment of pills.
The St Helens County Court met once a week in East Street and did an extraordinary amount of business. On the 18th there were a total of 305 cases to be heard. Admittedly the court did encompass the Widnes district as well as St Helens and Prescot, but it is still amazing how so many cases took place there each week. Although some of them would have been adjourned to another hearing, such as the action from pill maker Thomas Beecham.
He was seeking £1 4 shillings 1d compensation from the London and North Western Railway Company for damage done to his goods while in transit. His claim comprised three alleged failures by the railway. A parcel of pills that Beecham had despatched to a London firm had two boxes pinched from it while in transit.
Another parcel had been sent to a Sheffield firm and two-dozen boxes of pills that were contained within it had been spoiled by wet weather. There was also a claim for repairs to an empty case that had been broken while in transit to Norwich. But Mr Beecham had not brought any witnesses to court to prove his case and the judge decided to adjourn the hearing until October for their attendance.
On the 19th a meeting of the Prescot Board of Guardians was held in the boardroom of Whiston Workhouse. As well as administering the workhouse, the Guardians were also responsible for what was known as out-relief – outdoor payments to the extreme poor in their own homes within St Helens and district.
Their General Purposes Committee submitted a report concerning the cost of out-relief with eleven recommendations for the Guardians to consider. The St Helens Newspaper said many were of a "very stringent character" and I'll be detailing them next week. The average claimant only received two or three shillings a week. However, the money for this "relief" came from the Poor Rate that the town's ratepayers had to fork out and so there was pressure on the Guardians to keep the amount handed out to a low level.
Apparently, the driving of cattle and sheep on foot through the streets of St Helens ended in November 1951 when a cattle market off the East Lancashire Road at Carr Mill was opened. I'd quite liked to have seen such beasts being driven along St Helens' streets, although I expect that is more of a romantic notion than a practical one. Think of all the droppings you'd have to circumvent if walking behind them! And if pedestrians having to jostle through other people isn't bad enough, imagine if the pavements had to be shared with cows, bulls, pigs and sheep!
I mention the drives because butcher William Turner of Exchange Street in St Helens was summoned to court in Liverpool this week for driving sheep affected with foot and mouth disease on the public highway. They had not been driven on the St Helens' streets but at Stanley, after apparently being bought at the market there. No doubt they would have ended up at the butchers in St Helens after their long march – but the authorities on their journey had intercepted them.
A veterinary surgeon told the court that a dozen of the sheep had been suffering from foot and mouth and they had been infected with the disease for some days. For some reason the butcher sent his wife to the court in his place and she said her husband did not know that the animals were infected when he purchased them and he had paid 57 shillings for each one. But despite the circumstances, the Bench said they considered it a serious case and fined William Turner £5 and costs.
It is said that beer in the past used to be a lot stronger than today. Certainly, quite a few people died from what was called excessive drinking or alcohol poisoning. Last week a cellar man in the Lamb Inn in College Street had died after liberally helping himself to stock. And this week at an inquest held at the Black Horse Inn in Park Road in Parr, excessive drinking was blamed for the death of Richard Johnson.
The 58-year-old miner had been found in a dying state in Hall Street on the previous day with froth oozing from his mouth and nostrils. Johnson had gone out drinking between six and seven in the morning and was found in a paralytic state lying in the street at 10:30 am.
In the Kirkdale Quarter Sessions this week James Molyneux was charged with "having at Whiston feloniously assaulted Mary Roberts, and with violence stolen from her the sum of 2s 6d." Mary was described as an old woman living near Prescot and the court heard that Molyneux had met her in a lonely place near Whiston where he had knocked her down and assaulted her in a "brutal and indecent manner." The 31-year-old labourer had denied the charge but he was found guilty and sent to prison for seven years and was also ordered to receive "twenty-five lashes with the ‘cat’."
Inquests were usually held in pubs, as there were very few other public places available to hold them – particularly in the outlying areas. This week the inquest on George Latham was held at the Red Lion Hotel in Robins Lane in Sutton. The 11-year-old had been with other boys who had gone to bathe in a pond near Leach Hall. George had been the first to strip and jump into the water but no sooner had he done so than he sank and drowned.
One might not have thought that preaching sermons was a good fundraiser but every year Lowe House Church (pictured above) held a day of sermons in aid of their choir fund. That, I believe, paid for its members to have a day out and, perhaps, also paid for their vestments. This year's sermons took place on Sunday 22nd and large congregations attended the church.
The Newspaper wrote: "The Rev. Father made an earnest appeal to his hearers in support of the music of the sanctuary where it was their privilege to worship." There was much music and vocals, as well as sermons, and the organist was praised for his accompaniments, "many of which were of a very florid character".
Bound apprentices were contracted to work for their employer for seven years or so until they turned 21. The youths could be sent to prison if they repeatedly failed to turn up to their jobs. But occasionally pragmatism set in and the boy was released early from his contract.
On the 23rd James Slatter appeared in the Police Court charged with absenting himself from the employment of Daglish's engineering firm in St Helens, which made iron bridges, boilers and colliery winding engines. During the two years that the lad had been their apprentice, he had on several occasions not gone to work and been subsequently summoned to court for his absences.
James had long stated that he wanted to go to sea and Daglish's solicitor told the Bench that his client had decided that as an apprentice the boy would "never do any good" and the best thing for both parties was for the indentures to be cancelled, which the magistrates agreed to do.
There was no such thing then, of course, as trading standards with Superintendent James Ludlam – the head of St Helens Police – undertaking that role as inspector of weights and measures. He was a busy man as he was also in charge of the fire brigade! Ludlam had to personally visit food shops in the town and check their scales and this week he had been in Parr Street.
His visits led to butchers John Wainwright and John Leyland being summoned to court for having light weights in their shops. As usual with such prosecutions the deficiencies in their scales were minor but still sufficient for the butchers to be fined 20 shillings and costs.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the violent women's quarrel in a Water Street inn, the clothes stealing in Liverpool Street, the married couple that were brutally kicked in Greenbank and the Phythian Street bother that led to a charge of assault against a bobby.
The St Helens County Court met once a week in East Street and did an extraordinary amount of business. On the 18th there were a total of 305 cases to be heard. Admittedly the court did encompass the Widnes district as well as St Helens and Prescot, but it is still amazing how so many cases took place there each week. Although some of them would have been adjourned to another hearing, such as the action from pill maker Thomas Beecham.
He was seeking £1 4 shillings 1d compensation from the London and North Western Railway Company for damage done to his goods while in transit. His claim comprised three alleged failures by the railway. A parcel of pills that Beecham had despatched to a London firm had two boxes pinched from it while in transit.
Another parcel had been sent to a Sheffield firm and two-dozen boxes of pills that were contained within it had been spoiled by wet weather. There was also a claim for repairs to an empty case that had been broken while in transit to Norwich. But Mr Beecham had not brought any witnesses to court to prove his case and the judge decided to adjourn the hearing until October for their attendance.
On the 19th a meeting of the Prescot Board of Guardians was held in the boardroom of Whiston Workhouse. As well as administering the workhouse, the Guardians were also responsible for what was known as out-relief – outdoor payments to the extreme poor in their own homes within St Helens and district.
Their General Purposes Committee submitted a report concerning the cost of out-relief with eleven recommendations for the Guardians to consider. The St Helens Newspaper said many were of a "very stringent character" and I'll be detailing them next week. The average claimant only received two or three shillings a week. However, the money for this "relief" came from the Poor Rate that the town's ratepayers had to fork out and so there was pressure on the Guardians to keep the amount handed out to a low level.
Apparently, the driving of cattle and sheep on foot through the streets of St Helens ended in November 1951 when a cattle market off the East Lancashire Road at Carr Mill was opened. I'd quite liked to have seen such beasts being driven along St Helens' streets, although I expect that is more of a romantic notion than a practical one. Think of all the droppings you'd have to circumvent if walking behind them! And if pedestrians having to jostle through other people isn't bad enough, imagine if the pavements had to be shared with cows, bulls, pigs and sheep!
I mention the drives because butcher William Turner of Exchange Street in St Helens was summoned to court in Liverpool this week for driving sheep affected with foot and mouth disease on the public highway. They had not been driven on the St Helens' streets but at Stanley, after apparently being bought at the market there. No doubt they would have ended up at the butchers in St Helens after their long march – but the authorities on their journey had intercepted them.
A veterinary surgeon told the court that a dozen of the sheep had been suffering from foot and mouth and they had been infected with the disease for some days. For some reason the butcher sent his wife to the court in his place and she said her husband did not know that the animals were infected when he purchased them and he had paid 57 shillings for each one. But despite the circumstances, the Bench said they considered it a serious case and fined William Turner £5 and costs.
It is said that beer in the past used to be a lot stronger than today. Certainly, quite a few people died from what was called excessive drinking or alcohol poisoning. Last week a cellar man in the Lamb Inn in College Street had died after liberally helping himself to stock. And this week at an inquest held at the Black Horse Inn in Park Road in Parr, excessive drinking was blamed for the death of Richard Johnson.
The 58-year-old miner had been found in a dying state in Hall Street on the previous day with froth oozing from his mouth and nostrils. Johnson had gone out drinking between six and seven in the morning and was found in a paralytic state lying in the street at 10:30 am.
In the Kirkdale Quarter Sessions this week James Molyneux was charged with "having at Whiston feloniously assaulted Mary Roberts, and with violence stolen from her the sum of 2s 6d." Mary was described as an old woman living near Prescot and the court heard that Molyneux had met her in a lonely place near Whiston where he had knocked her down and assaulted her in a "brutal and indecent manner." The 31-year-old labourer had denied the charge but he was found guilty and sent to prison for seven years and was also ordered to receive "twenty-five lashes with the ‘cat’."
Inquests were usually held in pubs, as there were very few other public places available to hold them – particularly in the outlying areas. This week the inquest on George Latham was held at the Red Lion Hotel in Robins Lane in Sutton. The 11-year-old had been with other boys who had gone to bathe in a pond near Leach Hall. George had been the first to strip and jump into the water but no sooner had he done so than he sank and drowned.
The Newspaper wrote: "The Rev. Father made an earnest appeal to his hearers in support of the music of the sanctuary where it was their privilege to worship." There was much music and vocals, as well as sermons, and the organist was praised for his accompaniments, "many of which were of a very florid character".
Bound apprentices were contracted to work for their employer for seven years or so until they turned 21. The youths could be sent to prison if they repeatedly failed to turn up to their jobs. But occasionally pragmatism set in and the boy was released early from his contract.
On the 23rd James Slatter appeared in the Police Court charged with absenting himself from the employment of Daglish's engineering firm in St Helens, which made iron bridges, boilers and colliery winding engines. During the two years that the lad had been their apprentice, he had on several occasions not gone to work and been subsequently summoned to court for his absences.
James had long stated that he wanted to go to sea and Daglish's solicitor told the Bench that his client had decided that as an apprentice the boy would "never do any good" and the best thing for both parties was for the indentures to be cancelled, which the magistrates agreed to do.
There was no such thing then, of course, as trading standards with Superintendent James Ludlam – the head of St Helens Police – undertaking that role as inspector of weights and measures. He was a busy man as he was also in charge of the fire brigade! Ludlam had to personally visit food shops in the town and check their scales and this week he had been in Parr Street.
His visits led to butchers John Wainwright and John Leyland being summoned to court for having light weights in their shops. As usual with such prosecutions the deficiencies in their scales were minor but still sufficient for the butchers to be fined 20 shillings and costs.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the violent women's quarrel in a Water Street inn, the clothes stealing in Liverpool Street, the married couple that were brutally kicked in Greenbank and the Phythian Street bother that led to a charge of assault against a bobby.
This week's many stories include the stringent cuts planned in poor relief, the butcher who bought sheep infected with foot and mouth disease, the engineering apprentice who wanted to go to sea, the brutal attack on an old woman in Whiston and Thomas Beecham seeks compensation from the railway company for damage to a consignment of his pills.
The St Helens County Court met once a week in East Street and did an extraordinary amount of business.
On the 18th there were a total of 305 cases to be heard. Admittedly the court did encompass the Widnes district as well as St Helens and Prescot, but it is still amazing how so many cases took place there each week.
Although some of them would have been adjourned to another hearing, such as the action from pill maker Thomas Beecham.
He was seeking £1 4 shillings 1d compensation from the London and North Western Railway Company for damage done to his goods while in transit.
His claim comprised three alleged failures by the railway. A parcel of pills that Beecham had despatched to a London firm had two boxes pinched from it while in transit.
Another parcel had been sent to a Sheffield firm and two-dozen boxes of pills that were contained within it had been spoiled by wet weather.
There was also a claim for repairs to an empty case that had been broken while in transit to Norwich.
But Mr Beecham had not brought any witnesses to court to prove his case and the judge decided to adjourn the hearing until October for their attendance.
On the 19th a meeting of the Prescot Board of Guardians was held in the boardroom of Whiston Workhouse.
As well as administering the workhouse, the Guardians were also responsible for what was known as out-relief – outdoor payments to the extreme poor in their own homes within St Helens and district.
Their General Purposes Committee submitted a report concerning the cost of out-relief with eleven recommendations for the Guardians to consider.
The St Helens Newspaper said many were of a "very stringent character" and I'll be detailing them next week.
The average claimant only received two or three shillings a week. However, the money for this "relief" came from the Poor Rate that the town's ratepayers had to fork out and so there was pressure on the Guardians to keep the amount handed out to a low level.
Apparently, the driving of cattle and sheep on foot through the streets of St Helens ended in November 1951 when a cattle market off the East Lancashire Road at Carr Mill was opened.
I'd quite liked to have seen such beasts being driven along St Helens' streets, although I expect that is more of a romantic notion than a practical one. Think of all the droppings you'd have to circumvent if walking behind them!
And if pedestrians having to jostle through other people isn't bad enough, imagine if the pavements had to be shared with cows, bulls, pigs and sheep!
I mention the drives because butcher William Turner of Exchange Street in St Helens was summoned to court in Liverpool this week for driving sheep affected with foot and mouth disease on the public highway.
They had not been driven on the St Helens' streets but at Stanley, after apparently being bought at the market there.
No doubt they would have ended up at the butchers in St Helens after their long march – but the authorities on their journey had intercepted them.
A veterinary surgeon told the court that a dozen of the sheep had been suffering from foot and mouth and they had been infected with the disease for some days.
For some reason the butcher sent his wife to the court in his place and she said her husband did not know that the animals were infected when he purchased them and he had paid 57 shillings for each one.
But despite the circumstances, the Bench said they considered it a serious case and fined William Turner £5 and costs.
It is said that beer in the past used to be a lot stronger than today. Certainly, quite a few people died from what was called excessive drinking or alcohol poisoning.
Last week a cellar man in the Lamb Inn in College Street had died after liberally helping himself to stock.
And this week at an inquest held at the Black Horse Inn in Park Road in Parr, excessive drinking was blamed for the death of Richard Johnson.
The 58-year-old miner had been found in a dying state in Hall Street on the previous day with froth oozing from his mouth and nostrils.
Johnson had gone out drinking between six and seven in the morning and was found in a paralytic state lying in the street at 10:30 am.
In the Kirkdale Quarter Sessions this week James Molyneux was charged with "having at Whiston feloniously assaulted Mary Roberts, and with violence stolen from her the sum of 2s 6d."
Mary was described as an old woman living near Prescot and the court heard that Molyneux had met her in a lonely place near Whiston where he had knocked her down and assaulted her in a "brutal and indecent manner."
The 31-year-old labourer had denied the charge but he was found guilty and sent to prison for seven years and was also ordered to receive "twenty-five lashes with the ‘cat’."
Inquests were usually held in pubs, as there were very few other public places available to hold them – particularly in the outlying areas.
This week the inquest on George Latham was held at the Red Lion Hotel in Robins Lane in Sutton.
The 11-year-old had been with other boys who had gone to bathe in a pond near Leach Hall.
George had been the first to strip and jump into the water but no sooner had he done so than he sank and drowned.
One might not have thought that preaching sermons was a good fundraiser but every year Lowe House Church (pictured above) held a day of sermons in aid of their choir fund.
That, I believe, paid for its members to have a day out and, perhaps, also paid for their vestments.
This year's sermons took place on Sunday 22nd and large congregations attended the church.
The Newspaper wrote: "The Rev. Father made an earnest appeal to his hearers in support of the music of the sanctuary where it was their privilege to worship."
There was much music and vocals, as well as sermons, and the organist was praised for his accompaniments, "many of which were of a very florid character".
Bound apprentices were contracted to work for their employer for seven years or so until they turned 21.
The youths could be sent to prison if they repeatedly failed to turn up to their jobs.
But occasionally pragmatism set in and the boy was released early from his contract.
On the 23rd James Slatter appeared in the Police Court charged with absenting himself from the employment of Daglish's engineering firm in St Helens, which made iron bridges, boilers and colliery winding engines.
During the two years that the lad had been their apprentice, he had on several occasions not gone to work and been subsequently summoned to court for his absences.
James had long stated that he wanted to go to sea and Daglish's solicitor told the Bench that his client had decided that as an apprentice the boy would "never do any good" and the best thing for both parties was for the indentures to be cancelled, which the magistrates agreed to do.
There was no such thing then, of course, as trading standards with Superintendent James Ludlam – the head of St Helens Police – undertaking that role as inspector of weights and measures. He was a busy man as he was also in charge of the fire brigade!
Ludlam had to personally visit food shops in the town and check their scales and this week he had been in Parr Street.
His visits led to butchers John Wainwright and John Leyland being summoned to court for having light weights in their shops.
As usual with such prosecutions the deficiencies in their scales were minor but still sufficient for the butchers to be fined 20 shillings and costs.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the violent women's quarrel in a Water Street inn, the clothes stealing in Liverpool Street, the married couple that were brutally kicked in Greenbank and the Phythian Street bother that led to a charge of assault against a bobby.
The St Helens County Court met once a week in East Street and did an extraordinary amount of business.
On the 18th there were a total of 305 cases to be heard. Admittedly the court did encompass the Widnes district as well as St Helens and Prescot, but it is still amazing how so many cases took place there each week.
Although some of them would have been adjourned to another hearing, such as the action from pill maker Thomas Beecham.
He was seeking £1 4 shillings 1d compensation from the London and North Western Railway Company for damage done to his goods while in transit.
His claim comprised three alleged failures by the railway. A parcel of pills that Beecham had despatched to a London firm had two boxes pinched from it while in transit.
Another parcel had been sent to a Sheffield firm and two-dozen boxes of pills that were contained within it had been spoiled by wet weather.
There was also a claim for repairs to an empty case that had been broken while in transit to Norwich.
But Mr Beecham had not brought any witnesses to court to prove his case and the judge decided to adjourn the hearing until October for their attendance.
On the 19th a meeting of the Prescot Board of Guardians was held in the boardroom of Whiston Workhouse.
As well as administering the workhouse, the Guardians were also responsible for what was known as out-relief – outdoor payments to the extreme poor in their own homes within St Helens and district.
Their General Purposes Committee submitted a report concerning the cost of out-relief with eleven recommendations for the Guardians to consider.
The St Helens Newspaper said many were of a "very stringent character" and I'll be detailing them next week.
The average claimant only received two or three shillings a week. However, the money for this "relief" came from the Poor Rate that the town's ratepayers had to fork out and so there was pressure on the Guardians to keep the amount handed out to a low level.
Apparently, the driving of cattle and sheep on foot through the streets of St Helens ended in November 1951 when a cattle market off the East Lancashire Road at Carr Mill was opened.
I'd quite liked to have seen such beasts being driven along St Helens' streets, although I expect that is more of a romantic notion than a practical one. Think of all the droppings you'd have to circumvent if walking behind them!
And if pedestrians having to jostle through other people isn't bad enough, imagine if the pavements had to be shared with cows, bulls, pigs and sheep!
I mention the drives because butcher William Turner of Exchange Street in St Helens was summoned to court in Liverpool this week for driving sheep affected with foot and mouth disease on the public highway.
They had not been driven on the St Helens' streets but at Stanley, after apparently being bought at the market there.
No doubt they would have ended up at the butchers in St Helens after their long march – but the authorities on their journey had intercepted them.
A veterinary surgeon told the court that a dozen of the sheep had been suffering from foot and mouth and they had been infected with the disease for some days.
For some reason the butcher sent his wife to the court in his place and she said her husband did not know that the animals were infected when he purchased them and he had paid 57 shillings for each one.
But despite the circumstances, the Bench said they considered it a serious case and fined William Turner £5 and costs.
It is said that beer in the past used to be a lot stronger than today. Certainly, quite a few people died from what was called excessive drinking or alcohol poisoning.
Last week a cellar man in the Lamb Inn in College Street had died after liberally helping himself to stock.
And this week at an inquest held at the Black Horse Inn in Park Road in Parr, excessive drinking was blamed for the death of Richard Johnson.
The 58-year-old miner had been found in a dying state in Hall Street on the previous day with froth oozing from his mouth and nostrils.
Johnson had gone out drinking between six and seven in the morning and was found in a paralytic state lying in the street at 10:30 am.
In the Kirkdale Quarter Sessions this week James Molyneux was charged with "having at Whiston feloniously assaulted Mary Roberts, and with violence stolen from her the sum of 2s 6d."
Mary was described as an old woman living near Prescot and the court heard that Molyneux had met her in a lonely place near Whiston where he had knocked her down and assaulted her in a "brutal and indecent manner."
The 31-year-old labourer had denied the charge but he was found guilty and sent to prison for seven years and was also ordered to receive "twenty-five lashes with the ‘cat’."
Inquests were usually held in pubs, as there were very few other public places available to hold them – particularly in the outlying areas.
This week the inquest on George Latham was held at the Red Lion Hotel in Robins Lane in Sutton.
The 11-year-old had been with other boys who had gone to bathe in a pond near Leach Hall.
George had been the first to strip and jump into the water but no sooner had he done so than he sank and drowned.
That, I believe, paid for its members to have a day out and, perhaps, also paid for their vestments.
This year's sermons took place on Sunday 22nd and large congregations attended the church.
The Newspaper wrote: "The Rev. Father made an earnest appeal to his hearers in support of the music of the sanctuary where it was their privilege to worship."
There was much music and vocals, as well as sermons, and the organist was praised for his accompaniments, "many of which were of a very florid character".
Bound apprentices were contracted to work for their employer for seven years or so until they turned 21.
The youths could be sent to prison if they repeatedly failed to turn up to their jobs.
But occasionally pragmatism set in and the boy was released early from his contract.
On the 23rd James Slatter appeared in the Police Court charged with absenting himself from the employment of Daglish's engineering firm in St Helens, which made iron bridges, boilers and colliery winding engines.
During the two years that the lad had been their apprentice, he had on several occasions not gone to work and been subsequently summoned to court for his absences.
James had long stated that he wanted to go to sea and Daglish's solicitor told the Bench that his client had decided that as an apprentice the boy would "never do any good" and the best thing for both parties was for the indentures to be cancelled, which the magistrates agreed to do.
There was no such thing then, of course, as trading standards with Superintendent James Ludlam – the head of St Helens Police – undertaking that role as inspector of weights and measures. He was a busy man as he was also in charge of the fire brigade!
Ludlam had to personally visit food shops in the town and check their scales and this week he had been in Parr Street.
His visits led to butchers John Wainwright and John Leyland being summoned to court for having light weights in their shops.
As usual with such prosecutions the deficiencies in their scales were minor but still sufficient for the butchers to be fined 20 shillings and costs.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the violent women's quarrel in a Water Street inn, the clothes stealing in Liverpool Street, the married couple that were brutally kicked in Greenbank and the Phythian Street bother that led to a charge of assault against a bobby.