150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (22nd - 28th FEBRUARY 1871)
This week's stories include St Helens Fire Brigade's handcart and hose, the new urinals planned for the town, the Prescot ghost and the Eccleston woman who was prosecuted for making a noise after being chased out of her home by her husband carrying a poker.
There were not all that many fires in St Helens in the 1870s, with electrical fires not yet a possibility. However the people of the town knew when a report of a blaze had been made through hearing the ringing of the fire bell at the Town Hall. This was to alert the members of the fire brigade – who were also police officers – and they'd come dashing from their homes nearby.
During the evening of the 22nd the fire bell rang because it was believed that a house had caught fire in Greenbank – the predominantly Irish district around Liverpool Road. These days, of course, a large red fire engine would leave the fire station bearing all the latest fire-fighting equipment and highly trained personnel. It was a bit different on the 22nd, when the brigade hastened to the house supposedly on fire in Bold Street. All they had was a handcart and a hose!
Not exactly state-of-the-art and it turned out the fire had already been extinguished before their arrival – something that happened a lot. A sheet drying in front of a house fire had ignited and the residents had panicked and sounded the alarm before managing to put out the fire on their own.
The Prescot Board of Guardians met on the 23rd and heard that a salary increase for the porter and "porteress" at Whiston Workhouse had been confirmed. They would now be receiving £18 and £12 per year, respectively. They did receive free board and lodging but the pay was still very low.
A Government Inspector of Vaccination called Dr Beard told the Guardians that the number of inoculation defaulters in St Helens was very high. Vaccination was then compulsory and Dr Beard said 110 children had apparently not been vaccinated against smallpox – which was very worrying considering the epidemic that was taking place in Liverpool. Around 200 people per week in the city were currently dying from the disease and Dr Beard called for the parents of those not vaccinating their children in St Helens to be prosecuted.
Many men were fined in the town for "committing a nuisance" – the euphemism for urinating in public. Recently Major Pilkington on the Bench had criticised the lack of public conveniences in St Helens and on the 25th the St Helens Newspaper reported that action was finally being taken. There had been proposals to install urinals on the footpath in Hall Street and near the Globe Inn in Barrow Street. However residents in both places had objected to having toilets near to their homes.
So it was decided that urinals would only be placed for the time being in the Market Place and over the brook in Bridgewater Street, which was just south of Bridge Street. Of course the form of these urinals was not detailed in the Newspaper – that would be rude! Although I expect they would be more like modern-day portaloos than the traditional toilet blocks that we know – or should I say remember!
Here's some 1870s humour: "A young doctor is sure to get on if he has plenty of patients." That joke was printed in the Newspaper this week, although I think it works better verbally than in print.
The 25th was also the day of the funeral of John Harrison who had died suddenly at his home in York Street in St Helens earlier in the week. Harrison was a member of the 2nd Lancashire Engineer Volunteers and even part-time soldiers received funerals with military honours. About 120 of his comrades received Harrison's body from outside his home and accompanied him to the cemetery with the regiment's military band playing the 'Dead March' throughout. After the coffin had been lowered into the grave, a rifle party fired volleys in the air and then the detachment returned to their HQ in Croppers Hill, "to the measure of a lively quick-step", said the Newspaper.
The Newton Petty Sessions took place on the 25th and George Fawcett – described as a "gentleman residing at Winwick" – was charged with riding on the footpath. PC McGuiness gave evidence of being on duty in Crow Lane when he saw the defendant trotting his horse along the pavement. He asked him if he knew he was doing wrong and Mr Fawcett replied that the road was very slippery, too slippery for his horse to walk on in safety. The man continued riding on the footpath and the officer said he warned him if he did not get off, he would "pull him off his horse and lock him up".
In giving his evidence Mr Fawcett essentially corroborated the officer’s evidence – which was a rare event in court – but complained of the way he had been spoken to. As I’ve said previously there were different standards of justice depending on your class. The Chairman of the Bench not only dismissed the case but also told the police superintendent that his officer was wrong to have used such language and should have exercised more discretion if the road was unsafe. Superintendent Jackson replied that he would caution the constable involved.
The Monday sitting of the St Helens Petty Sessions always had a few beggars to deal with after they'd had their collars felt over the weekend. There were three cases in the hearing that took place on the 27th. Elizabeth Tunstall was charged with begging in Liverpool Road (pictured above) and was sent to prison for seven days.
Bridget Boland said her husband was a poor blind man who had been "dark" for 13 years. She claimed that she had been searching for her husband when taken into custody. The police asked for a remand, no doubt to confirm her story. John Walker was described as a "veteran tramp" and he had also been in Liverpool Road asking for money in the pubs. He told what was described as a "rambling tale" and was sent to prison for fourteen days.
Most, but not all, the magistrates on the St Helens Bench could be sympathetic to defendants with disabilities. John Turner was described by the St Helens Newspaper as an "aged man who walked by the aid of a stick, and even thus with some difficulty". He was charged with sleeping in the open air without any visible means of support.
The Newspaper wrote: "A police constable deposed that he found him lying under a cart in Exchange-street wooing sleep under very adverse circumstances. Having made an humble appeal for forgiveness, and promised to return to Radcliffe, from whence he came, he was let off with a caution."
It was also hard being a woman during the 1870s. Mary Naylor claimed that her husband had chased her out of her home carrying a poker – and the police had prosecuted her! This is how the Newspaper described the case:
"Mary Naylor was charged with drunkenness at Eccleston, on the 18th February. When Mrs. Naylor was called forward and arraigned, she whispered confidentially to Mr. Spencely [solicitor] that she had “just made a little noise.” Mr. Spencely took her rather equivocal statement as a plea in denial of the charge, and a police constable was then sworn. His evidence went to show that she had acted in a very disorderly manner in the neighbourhood where she resides.
"In defence of herself, Mrs. Naylor said that she was obliged to fly from her husband who had made an attack upon her with a poker. He and his brother were drinking in the kitchen, into which they refused to admit her, and when she sought to enforce a privilege she possessed as a wife, her partner ejected her from the house, and pursued her to the street with a poker. She was ordered to pay 10s. 6d., or to go to prison for a week."
The Newspaper on the 28th also published this article about the ghost of Fall Lane, which was then a major street in Prescot, situated near modern-day Derby Street: "The venerable town of Prescot is grievously exercised just now regarding a ghost which is supposed to walk abroad through Fall-lane sometimes on the ground, like decent folk, and at other times along the roofs of the houses, like the cats.
"There is a very general popular belief in the existence of something “unco-fearsome,” and crowds gather nightly to catch a sight of the unearthly thing should it dare the light of the moon; but no-one appears to have any definite idea of what has given rise to the curious mixture of fright and curiosity which at present keeps Prescot from its normal state of slumber."
And finally a ploughing match took place for the first time in Eccleston. There were sixteen entries with the event held on Holme Farm in Eccleston Road and afterwards a dinner was held in the Griffin Inn.
Next week's stories will include the Parr mother of six who wanted a separation from her cruel husband, the violent row between neighbours in Glover Street and the man arrested at the station for suspiciously wearing an army uniform.
There were not all that many fires in St Helens in the 1870s, with electrical fires not yet a possibility. However the people of the town knew when a report of a blaze had been made through hearing the ringing of the fire bell at the Town Hall. This was to alert the members of the fire brigade – who were also police officers – and they'd come dashing from their homes nearby.
During the evening of the 22nd the fire bell rang because it was believed that a house had caught fire in Greenbank – the predominantly Irish district around Liverpool Road. These days, of course, a large red fire engine would leave the fire station bearing all the latest fire-fighting equipment and highly trained personnel. It was a bit different on the 22nd, when the brigade hastened to the house supposedly on fire in Bold Street. All they had was a handcart and a hose!
Not exactly state-of-the-art and it turned out the fire had already been extinguished before their arrival – something that happened a lot. A sheet drying in front of a house fire had ignited and the residents had panicked and sounded the alarm before managing to put out the fire on their own.
The Prescot Board of Guardians met on the 23rd and heard that a salary increase for the porter and "porteress" at Whiston Workhouse had been confirmed. They would now be receiving £18 and £12 per year, respectively. They did receive free board and lodging but the pay was still very low.
A Government Inspector of Vaccination called Dr Beard told the Guardians that the number of inoculation defaulters in St Helens was very high. Vaccination was then compulsory and Dr Beard said 110 children had apparently not been vaccinated against smallpox – which was very worrying considering the epidemic that was taking place in Liverpool. Around 200 people per week in the city were currently dying from the disease and Dr Beard called for the parents of those not vaccinating their children in St Helens to be prosecuted.
Many men were fined in the town for "committing a nuisance" – the euphemism for urinating in public. Recently Major Pilkington on the Bench had criticised the lack of public conveniences in St Helens and on the 25th the St Helens Newspaper reported that action was finally being taken. There had been proposals to install urinals on the footpath in Hall Street and near the Globe Inn in Barrow Street. However residents in both places had objected to having toilets near to their homes.
So it was decided that urinals would only be placed for the time being in the Market Place and over the brook in Bridgewater Street, which was just south of Bridge Street. Of course the form of these urinals was not detailed in the Newspaper – that would be rude! Although I expect they would be more like modern-day portaloos than the traditional toilet blocks that we know – or should I say remember!
Here's some 1870s humour: "A young doctor is sure to get on if he has plenty of patients." That joke was printed in the Newspaper this week, although I think it works better verbally than in print.
The 25th was also the day of the funeral of John Harrison who had died suddenly at his home in York Street in St Helens earlier in the week. Harrison was a member of the 2nd Lancashire Engineer Volunteers and even part-time soldiers received funerals with military honours. About 120 of his comrades received Harrison's body from outside his home and accompanied him to the cemetery with the regiment's military band playing the 'Dead March' throughout. After the coffin had been lowered into the grave, a rifle party fired volleys in the air and then the detachment returned to their HQ in Croppers Hill, "to the measure of a lively quick-step", said the Newspaper.
The Newton Petty Sessions took place on the 25th and George Fawcett – described as a "gentleman residing at Winwick" – was charged with riding on the footpath. PC McGuiness gave evidence of being on duty in Crow Lane when he saw the defendant trotting his horse along the pavement. He asked him if he knew he was doing wrong and Mr Fawcett replied that the road was very slippery, too slippery for his horse to walk on in safety. The man continued riding on the footpath and the officer said he warned him if he did not get off, he would "pull him off his horse and lock him up".
In giving his evidence Mr Fawcett essentially corroborated the officer’s evidence – which was a rare event in court – but complained of the way he had been spoken to. As I’ve said previously there were different standards of justice depending on your class. The Chairman of the Bench not only dismissed the case but also told the police superintendent that his officer was wrong to have used such language and should have exercised more discretion if the road was unsafe. Superintendent Jackson replied that he would caution the constable involved.
Bridget Boland said her husband was a poor blind man who had been "dark" for 13 years. She claimed that she had been searching for her husband when taken into custody. The police asked for a remand, no doubt to confirm her story. John Walker was described as a "veteran tramp" and he had also been in Liverpool Road asking for money in the pubs. He told what was described as a "rambling tale" and was sent to prison for fourteen days.
Most, but not all, the magistrates on the St Helens Bench could be sympathetic to defendants with disabilities. John Turner was described by the St Helens Newspaper as an "aged man who walked by the aid of a stick, and even thus with some difficulty". He was charged with sleeping in the open air without any visible means of support.
The Newspaper wrote: "A police constable deposed that he found him lying under a cart in Exchange-street wooing sleep under very adverse circumstances. Having made an humble appeal for forgiveness, and promised to return to Radcliffe, from whence he came, he was let off with a caution."
It was also hard being a woman during the 1870s. Mary Naylor claimed that her husband had chased her out of her home carrying a poker – and the police had prosecuted her! This is how the Newspaper described the case:
"Mary Naylor was charged with drunkenness at Eccleston, on the 18th February. When Mrs. Naylor was called forward and arraigned, she whispered confidentially to Mr. Spencely [solicitor] that she had “just made a little noise.” Mr. Spencely took her rather equivocal statement as a plea in denial of the charge, and a police constable was then sworn. His evidence went to show that she had acted in a very disorderly manner in the neighbourhood where she resides.
"In defence of herself, Mrs. Naylor said that she was obliged to fly from her husband who had made an attack upon her with a poker. He and his brother were drinking in the kitchen, into which they refused to admit her, and when she sought to enforce a privilege she possessed as a wife, her partner ejected her from the house, and pursued her to the street with a poker. She was ordered to pay 10s. 6d., or to go to prison for a week."
The Newspaper on the 28th also published this article about the ghost of Fall Lane, which was then a major street in Prescot, situated near modern-day Derby Street: "The venerable town of Prescot is grievously exercised just now regarding a ghost which is supposed to walk abroad through Fall-lane sometimes on the ground, like decent folk, and at other times along the roofs of the houses, like the cats.
"There is a very general popular belief in the existence of something “unco-fearsome,” and crowds gather nightly to catch a sight of the unearthly thing should it dare the light of the moon; but no-one appears to have any definite idea of what has given rise to the curious mixture of fright and curiosity which at present keeps Prescot from its normal state of slumber."
And finally a ploughing match took place for the first time in Eccleston. There were sixteen entries with the event held on Holme Farm in Eccleston Road and afterwards a dinner was held in the Griffin Inn.
Next week's stories will include the Parr mother of six who wanted a separation from her cruel husband, the violent row between neighbours in Glover Street and the man arrested at the station for suspiciously wearing an army uniform.
This week's stories include St Helens Fire Brigade's handcart and hose, the new urinals planned for the town, the Prescot ghost and the Eccleston woman who was prosecuted for making a noise after being chased out of her home by her husband carrying a poker.
There were not all that many fires in St Helens in the 1870s, with electrical fires not yet a possibility.
However the people of the town knew when a report of a blaze had been made through hearing the ringing of the fire bell at the Town Hall.
This was to alert the members of the fire brigade – who were also police officers – and they'd come dashing from their homes nearby.
During the evening of the 22nd the fire bell rang because it was believed that a house had caught fire in Greenbank – the predominantly Irish district around Liverpool Road.
These days, of course, a large red fire engine would leave the fire station bearing all the latest fire-fighting equipment and highly trained personnel.
It was a bit different on the 22nd, when the brigade hastened to the house supposedly on fire in Bold Street. All they had was a handcart and a hose!
Not exactly state-of-the-art and it turned out the fire had already been extinguished before their arrival – something that happened a lot.
A sheet drying in front of a house fire had ignited and the residents had panicked and sounded the alarm before managing to put out the fire on their own.
The Prescot Board of Guardians met on the 23rd and heard that a salary increase for the porter and "porteress" at Whiston Workhouse had been confirmed.
They would now be receiving £18 and £12 per year, respectively. They did receive free board and lodging but the pay was still very low.
A Government Inspector of Vaccination called Dr Beard told the Guardians that the number of inoculation defaulters in St Helens was very high.
Vaccination was then compulsory and Dr Beard said 110 children had apparently not been vaccinated against smallpox – which was very worrying considering the epidemic that was taking place in Liverpool.
Around 200 people per week in the city were currently dying from the disease and Dr Beard called for the parents of those not vaccinating their children in St Helens to be prosecuted.
Many men were fined in the town for "committing a nuisance" – the euphemism for urinating in public.
Recently Major Pilkington on the Bench had criticised the lack of public conveniences in St Helens and on the 25th the St Helens Newspaper reported that action was finally being taken.
There had been proposals to install urinals on the footpath in Hall Street and near the Globe Inn in Barrow Street. However residents in both places had objected to having toilets near to their homes.
So it was decided that urinals would only be placed for the time being in the Market Place and over the brook in Bridgewater Street, which was just south of Bridge Street.
Of course the form of these urinals was not detailed in the Newspaper – that would be rude!
Although I expect they would be more like modern-day portaloos than the traditional toilet blocks that we know – or should I say remember!
Here's some 1870s humour: "A young doctor is sure to get on if he has plenty of patients."
That joke was printed in the Newspaper this week, although I think it works better verbally than in print.
The 25th was also the day of the funeral of John Harrison who had died suddenly at his home in York Street in St Helens earlier in the week.
Harrison was a member of the 2nd Lancashire Engineer Volunteers and even part-time soldiers received funerals with military honours.
About 120 of his comrades received Harrison's body from outside his home and accompanied him to the cemetery with the regiment's military band playing the 'Dead March' throughout.
After the coffin had been lowered into the grave, a rifle party fired volleys in the air and then the detachment returned to their HQ in Croppers Hill, "to the measure of a lively quick-step", said the Newspaper.
The Newton Petty Sessions took place on the 25th and George Fawcett – described as a "gentleman residing at Winwick" – was charged with riding on the footpath.
PC McGuiness gave evidence of being on duty in Crow Lane when he saw the defendant trotting his horse along the footpath.
He asked him if he knew he was doing wrong and Mr Fawcett replied that the road was very slippery, too slippery for his horse to walk on in safety.
The man continued riding on the footpath and the officer said he warned him if he did not get off, he would "pull him off his horse and lock him up".
In giving his evidence Mr Fawcett essentially corroborated the officer’s evidence – which was a rare event in court – but complained of the way he had been spoken to.
As I’ve said previously there were different standards of justice depending on your class.
The Chairman of the Bench not only dismissed the case but also told the police superintendent that his officer was wrong to have used such language and should have exercised more discretion if the road was unsafe.
Superintendent Jackson replied that he would caution the constable involved.
The Monday sitting of the St Helens Petty Sessions always had a few beggars to deal with after they'd had their collars felt over the weekend.
There were three cases in the hearing that took place on the 27th. Elizabeth Tunstall was charged with begging in Liverpool Road (pictured above) and was sent to prison for seven days.
Bridget Boland said her husband was a poor blind man who had been "dark" for 13 years.
She claimed that she had been searching for her husband when taken into custody. The police asked for a remand, no doubt to confirm her story.
John Walker was described as a "veteran tramp" and he had also been in Liverpool Road asking for money in the pubs.
He told what was described as a "rambling tale" and was sent to prison for fourteen days.
Most, but not all, the magistrates on the St Helens Bench could be sympathetic to defendants with disabilities.
John Turner was described by the St Helens Newspaper as an "aged man who walked by the aid of a stick, and even thus with some difficulty".
He was charged with sleeping in the open air without any visible means of support. The Newspaper wrote:
"A police constable deposed that he found him lying under a cart in Exchange-street wooing sleep under very adverse circumstances. Having made an humble appeal for forgiveness, and promised to return to Radcliffe, from whence he came, he was let off with a caution."
It was also hard being a woman during the 1870s.
Mary Naylor claimed that her husband had chased her out of her home carrying a poker – and the police had prosecuted her! This is how the Newspaper described the case:
"Mary Naylor was charged with drunkenness at Eccleston, on the 18th February. When Mrs. Naylor was called forward and arraigned, she whispered confidentially to Mr. Spencely [solicitor] that she had “just made a little noise.”
"Mr. Spencely took her rather equivocal statement as a plea in denial of the charge, and a police constable was then sworn.
"His evidence went to show that she had acted in a very disorderly manner in the neighbourhood where she resides.
"In defence of herself, Mrs. Naylor said that she was obliged to fly from her husband who had made an attack upon her with a poker.
"He and his brother were drinking in the kitchen, into which they refused to admit her, and when she sought to enforce a privilege she possessed as a wife, her partner ejected her from the house, and pursued her to the street with a poker.
"She was ordered to pay 10s. 6d., or to go to prison for a week."
The Newspaper on the 28th also published this article about the ghost of Fall Lane, which was then a major street in Prescot, situated near modern-day Derby Street:
"The venerable town of Prescot is grievously exercised just now regarding a ghost which is supposed to walk abroad through Fall-lane sometimes on the ground, like decent folk, and at other times along the roofs of the houses, like the cats.
"There is a very general popular belief in the existence of something “unco-fearsome,” and crowds gather nightly to catch a sight of the unearthly thing should it dare the light of the moon; but no-one appears to have any definite idea of what has given rise to the curious mixture of fright and curiosity which at present keeps Prescot from its normal state of slumber."
And finally a ploughing match took place for the first time in Eccleston. There were sixteen entries with the event held on Holme Farm in Eccleston Road and afterwards a dinner was held in the Griffin Inn.
Next week's stories will include the Parr mother of six who wanted a separation from her cruel husband, the violent row between neighbours in Glover Street and the man arrested at the station for suspiciously wearing an army uniform.
There were not all that many fires in St Helens in the 1870s, with electrical fires not yet a possibility.
However the people of the town knew when a report of a blaze had been made through hearing the ringing of the fire bell at the Town Hall.
This was to alert the members of the fire brigade – who were also police officers – and they'd come dashing from their homes nearby.
During the evening of the 22nd the fire bell rang because it was believed that a house had caught fire in Greenbank – the predominantly Irish district around Liverpool Road.
These days, of course, a large red fire engine would leave the fire station bearing all the latest fire-fighting equipment and highly trained personnel.
It was a bit different on the 22nd, when the brigade hastened to the house supposedly on fire in Bold Street. All they had was a handcart and a hose!
Not exactly state-of-the-art and it turned out the fire had already been extinguished before their arrival – something that happened a lot.
A sheet drying in front of a house fire had ignited and the residents had panicked and sounded the alarm before managing to put out the fire on their own.
The Prescot Board of Guardians met on the 23rd and heard that a salary increase for the porter and "porteress" at Whiston Workhouse had been confirmed.
They would now be receiving £18 and £12 per year, respectively. They did receive free board and lodging but the pay was still very low.
A Government Inspector of Vaccination called Dr Beard told the Guardians that the number of inoculation defaulters in St Helens was very high.
Vaccination was then compulsory and Dr Beard said 110 children had apparently not been vaccinated against smallpox – which was very worrying considering the epidemic that was taking place in Liverpool.
Around 200 people per week in the city were currently dying from the disease and Dr Beard called for the parents of those not vaccinating their children in St Helens to be prosecuted.
Many men were fined in the town for "committing a nuisance" – the euphemism for urinating in public.
Recently Major Pilkington on the Bench had criticised the lack of public conveniences in St Helens and on the 25th the St Helens Newspaper reported that action was finally being taken.
There had been proposals to install urinals on the footpath in Hall Street and near the Globe Inn in Barrow Street. However residents in both places had objected to having toilets near to their homes.
So it was decided that urinals would only be placed for the time being in the Market Place and over the brook in Bridgewater Street, which was just south of Bridge Street.
Of course the form of these urinals was not detailed in the Newspaper – that would be rude!
Although I expect they would be more like modern-day portaloos than the traditional toilet blocks that we know – or should I say remember!
Here's some 1870s humour: "A young doctor is sure to get on if he has plenty of patients."
That joke was printed in the Newspaper this week, although I think it works better verbally than in print.
The 25th was also the day of the funeral of John Harrison who had died suddenly at his home in York Street in St Helens earlier in the week.
Harrison was a member of the 2nd Lancashire Engineer Volunteers and even part-time soldiers received funerals with military honours.
About 120 of his comrades received Harrison's body from outside his home and accompanied him to the cemetery with the regiment's military band playing the 'Dead March' throughout.
After the coffin had been lowered into the grave, a rifle party fired volleys in the air and then the detachment returned to their HQ in Croppers Hill, "to the measure of a lively quick-step", said the Newspaper.
The Newton Petty Sessions took place on the 25th and George Fawcett – described as a "gentleman residing at Winwick" – was charged with riding on the footpath.
PC McGuiness gave evidence of being on duty in Crow Lane when he saw the defendant trotting his horse along the footpath.
He asked him if he knew he was doing wrong and Mr Fawcett replied that the road was very slippery, too slippery for his horse to walk on in safety.
The man continued riding on the footpath and the officer said he warned him if he did not get off, he would "pull him off his horse and lock him up".
In giving his evidence Mr Fawcett essentially corroborated the officer’s evidence – which was a rare event in court – but complained of the way he had been spoken to.
As I’ve said previously there were different standards of justice depending on your class.
The Chairman of the Bench not only dismissed the case but also told the police superintendent that his officer was wrong to have used such language and should have exercised more discretion if the road was unsafe.
Superintendent Jackson replied that he would caution the constable involved.
The Monday sitting of the St Helens Petty Sessions always had a few beggars to deal with after they'd had their collars felt over the weekend.
Bridget Boland said her husband was a poor blind man who had been "dark" for 13 years.
She claimed that she had been searching for her husband when taken into custody. The police asked for a remand, no doubt to confirm her story.
John Walker was described as a "veteran tramp" and he had also been in Liverpool Road asking for money in the pubs.
He told what was described as a "rambling tale" and was sent to prison for fourteen days.
Most, but not all, the magistrates on the St Helens Bench could be sympathetic to defendants with disabilities.
John Turner was described by the St Helens Newspaper as an "aged man who walked by the aid of a stick, and even thus with some difficulty".
He was charged with sleeping in the open air without any visible means of support. The Newspaper wrote:
"A police constable deposed that he found him lying under a cart in Exchange-street wooing sleep under very adverse circumstances. Having made an humble appeal for forgiveness, and promised to return to Radcliffe, from whence he came, he was let off with a caution."
It was also hard being a woman during the 1870s.
Mary Naylor claimed that her husband had chased her out of her home carrying a poker – and the police had prosecuted her! This is how the Newspaper described the case:
"Mary Naylor was charged with drunkenness at Eccleston, on the 18th February. When Mrs. Naylor was called forward and arraigned, she whispered confidentially to Mr. Spencely [solicitor] that she had “just made a little noise.”
"Mr. Spencely took her rather equivocal statement as a plea in denial of the charge, and a police constable was then sworn.
"His evidence went to show that she had acted in a very disorderly manner in the neighbourhood where she resides.
"In defence of herself, Mrs. Naylor said that she was obliged to fly from her husband who had made an attack upon her with a poker.
"He and his brother were drinking in the kitchen, into which they refused to admit her, and when she sought to enforce a privilege she possessed as a wife, her partner ejected her from the house, and pursued her to the street with a poker.
"She was ordered to pay 10s. 6d., or to go to prison for a week."
The Newspaper on the 28th also published this article about the ghost of Fall Lane, which was then a major street in Prescot, situated near modern-day Derby Street:
"The venerable town of Prescot is grievously exercised just now regarding a ghost which is supposed to walk abroad through Fall-lane sometimes on the ground, like decent folk, and at other times along the roofs of the houses, like the cats.
"There is a very general popular belief in the existence of something “unco-fearsome,” and crowds gather nightly to catch a sight of the unearthly thing should it dare the light of the moon; but no-one appears to have any definite idea of what has given rise to the curious mixture of fright and curiosity which at present keeps Prescot from its normal state of slumber."
And finally a ploughing match took place for the first time in Eccleston. There were sixteen entries with the event held on Holme Farm in Eccleston Road and afterwards a dinner was held in the Griffin Inn.
Next week's stories will include the Parr mother of six who wanted a separation from her cruel husband, the violent row between neighbours in Glover Street and the man arrested at the station for suspiciously wearing an army uniform.