150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (26th August - 1st Sept. 1869)
This week's stories include the dreadful state of Thatto Heath, the lunatics in Whiston Workhouse, more neighbours battle it out in Parr, a schoolmistress is forced to quit her job, the troublesome Maid of Erin of Tontine Street and a Prescot woman is jailed for simply shouting in the street.
We begin on the 26th at Prescot Court House with the annual licensing sessions where it was stated that Sutton had as many as 56 beer and public houses. Charles Rudd kept a beerhouse in Water Street but the magistrates rescinded his licence upon advice from the police. They claimed the house was a brothel and a public nuisance and Rudd had sixteen convictions to his name. The beerhouse of John Woodcock in Westfield Street was also alleged to be a common brothel and his licence was also not renewed.
The Prescot Board of Guardians met on the same day and the Master of Whiston Workhouse informed them that 315 paupers had been living in the house during the past week with 129 of them children. During the same period 1,133 very poor people had been "relieved" – as it was called – in their homes within the St Helens' district. In other words they'd been given some cash but not very much. Only £65 in total in fact, which was an average of a shilling each.
As well as accommodating paupers, the workhouse had a special ward for about forty "lunatics" or "imbeciles" and its Medical Officer told the meeting that they were not well cared for. Dr Rayner said the men appointed to watch over them "show fear of the lunatics, who are sharp enough to find it out."
The doctor gave as an example a man called Jacques who had recently been allowed to escape through a window and then went on the run for half an hour. Dr Rayner said the lunatics were a danger to other patients and he called for their room to be padded and a "man nurse" appointed that understood the work. Although violent lunatics were always sent to Rainhill Asylum, there was some difficulty in assessing which were dangerous when they first entered the workhouse.
A letter was read at the meeting from the Poor Law Board regarding Miss Tinning, the schoolmistress in the workhouse. The teacher had recently failed an examination set by their inspector and the Guardians had requested that she be given another opportunity to take the exam. However the Poor Law Board said the woman had already had two opportunities and her knowledge of arithmetic was "exceedingly deficient".
They did not consider Miss Tinning competent to perform her duties and called for her to leave. Upon being informed of the letter, the schoolmistress immediately wrote out her resignation. One of the Guardians said he wished to know what use a girl would be as a domestic servant, with a thorough knowledge of arithmetic but no industrial training.
Also on the 26th a boy called Platt was killed by a cart in Thatto Heath while playing in the street near to his parent's home. The child was aged about three and died almost instantaneously after a cartwheel went over his head. The roads in Thatto Heath were dangerous for children to play in as most were unpaved and there was much traffic to and from collieries and other works in the district.
The St Helens Newspaper was published on the 28th and wrote in uncomplimentary terms about the state of Thatto Heath: "We cannot help saying that it is about one of the most neglected and unprotected place in the borough of St. Helens, to say nothing about the police arrangements, of which the least said is best at present. We wish, most heartily, that our Town Council could spare their surveyor, if only for a day, to look over the condition of the people's necessities on the heath. There is scarcely a house that has a supply of water fit for domestic purposes. Thatto Heath is worse provided for in this essential of domestic life, health, and cleanliness, than any other part of the borough, and there is no reason why this should continue any longer."
In July the Newspaper had described how hundreds of women in Thatto Heath would each evening walk almost half a mile with large cans on their heads to obtain a water supply for the following day. The paper also called for the laying of gas pipes in Thatto Heath and improvements to sewage and said an abandoned coal pit by the Vine Tavern should be sealed off. They said only the other day a couple of children had had a narrow escape after falling down the pit.
The Newspaper also wrote that over 150 local vocalists had offered to perform in a concert in aid of the Haydock Explosion Fund. Not only would the event have a charitable object but it would also be a "great musical festival, on a scale hitherto unknown in St. Helens." The concert would be held in September with the proceeds going to the families of the 60 men and boys killed in July by a gas explosion down Queen Pit.
'The Maid of Erin' in Tontine Street must be one of the nicest names for a pub that St Helens has ever had – named, I believe, after the female figure on the original Irish flag. However it was a troublesome beerhouse with the police stating in the St Helens Petty Sessions on the 30th that its neighbours regularly complained of disorder. The landlord of The Maid, Michael O’Feely, was charged with selling beer during prohibited hours on a Sunday morning and was fined the not inconsiderable sum of £5. Recently a Prescot beerhouse keeper had gone to prison after being fined £5 for permitting drunkenness but hadn't been able to find the cash.
The magistrates in the Sessions also heard of more neighbours in Parr beating each other up. Edward Johnson and William Kay were charged with assaulting Maryann Eden and her father James, and the latter gave evidence first. He claimed that Johnson and Kay had knocked him down and then beat his daughter Maryann unconscious. She gave evidence next and insisted that there had been no provocation for the assaults – other than her asking Johnson not to throw something at a pigeon. A witness corroborated her account, however, as usual, the defence had quite a different tale to tell!
They had their own witness called Mary Heyes, who gave evidence that the trouble had begun when a stray pigeon had alighted upon her house. This was worth money as it could be sold to those involved in organised pigeon shoots or perhaps make a nice pie! So the Edens and their children got involved in a "lively chase" after the pigeon. This – according to Mrs Heyes – caused an argument, the Edens started throwing stones and a fight took place. Johnson and Kay then got involved and a "general scrimmage" occurred in which "various weapons were used, and various injuries inflicted".
She added that only herself and her daughter were in the yard, along with the combatants, and anyone else claiming they were also there was not telling the truth. This enraged Maryann Eden who shouted out: "You're no better, for shame o’ thee". This created uproar in the court and led to the woman being removed. The St Helens Newspaper continued the story:
"The witness was cross-examined, as soon as Mrs Eden was got out of the court. She asserted, with terrible energy, that she had come voluntarily to give evidence, because it was her duty after seeing people nearly murdered in her yard." The Bench said the assault had been proved and fined both of the defendants ten shillings. I do wonder how they all got with each other back in Parr afterwards!
Finding people prepared to stump up money as a surety for their good behaviour after being bound over in court was a problem for poor folk. Some didn't even attempt to obtain the cash and immediately chose the alternative punishment of a prison sentence, as in the case of Mary Mooney.
She appeared in the Prescot Petty Sessions on the 30th charged with committing a breach of the peace by making a great noise in Hillock Street at half-past one in the morning. This was Mary's third appearance before the Bench and she was ordered to find sureties for her good behaviour. There was no chance of anyone coming to her rescue and so for simply shouting in the street, Mary Mooney was sent to prison for two months.
The sixth annual St Helens Flower Show was held on September 1st at the Victoria Gardens in Thatto Heath, close to present day Whittle Street. The St Helens Newspaper wrote that the "influx of visitors was immense, embracing not only residents of St. Helens, but of Prescot and Liverpool as well." The band of the Prescot Volunteers performed on the bowling green during the afternoon and later moved indoors to play for visitors who danced "with great spirit" until midnight.
All new inmates of Whiston Workhouse were given very basic clothing to wear – equivalent to a prison uniform. The comparison with a custodial regime is an accurate one, as you were not allowed to step outside of the door without permission. If you returned late after working outside of the workhouse – perhaps on a farm – you would be punished. The same applied if you were a Catholic and had been allowed to worship on a Sunday at Portico and were tardy coming back to "the House".
However absconding from the workhouse wearing the institution's clothes was considered to be far more serious and would invoke a prosecution and likely prison sentence. Jane Forber discovered this in Prescot Police Court on the 1st when she was sent to prison for a month with hard labour after absconding from Whiston. The woman aged about twenty had walked out of the workhouse almost a month earlier with a bed gown, two skirts, chemise, shoes and stockings that were valued at £1. Nothing further was heard of Jane until she was arrested in St Helens earlier that day and taken to the courtroom at Prescot.
Next week's stories will include the man who was thrown off a moving train near Clock Face, the "mad drunk" Robins Lane beerhouse keeper who beat his wife, a Rainhill pony trotting match, the Market Place singing room, the Haydock witness that fled to France and the young Whiston Workhouse potato thieves.
We begin on the 26th at Prescot Court House with the annual licensing sessions where it was stated that Sutton had as many as 56 beer and public houses. Charles Rudd kept a beerhouse in Water Street but the magistrates rescinded his licence upon advice from the police. They claimed the house was a brothel and a public nuisance and Rudd had sixteen convictions to his name. The beerhouse of John Woodcock in Westfield Street was also alleged to be a common brothel and his licence was also not renewed.
The Prescot Board of Guardians met on the same day and the Master of Whiston Workhouse informed them that 315 paupers had been living in the house during the past week with 129 of them children. During the same period 1,133 very poor people had been "relieved" – as it was called – in their homes within the St Helens' district. In other words they'd been given some cash but not very much. Only £65 in total in fact, which was an average of a shilling each.
As well as accommodating paupers, the workhouse had a special ward for about forty "lunatics" or "imbeciles" and its Medical Officer told the meeting that they were not well cared for. Dr Rayner said the men appointed to watch over them "show fear of the lunatics, who are sharp enough to find it out."
The doctor gave as an example a man called Jacques who had recently been allowed to escape through a window and then went on the run for half an hour. Dr Rayner said the lunatics were a danger to other patients and he called for their room to be padded and a "man nurse" appointed that understood the work. Although violent lunatics were always sent to Rainhill Asylum, there was some difficulty in assessing which were dangerous when they first entered the workhouse.
A letter was read at the meeting from the Poor Law Board regarding Miss Tinning, the schoolmistress in the workhouse. The teacher had recently failed an examination set by their inspector and the Guardians had requested that she be given another opportunity to take the exam. However the Poor Law Board said the woman had already had two opportunities and her knowledge of arithmetic was "exceedingly deficient".
They did not consider Miss Tinning competent to perform her duties and called for her to leave. Upon being informed of the letter, the schoolmistress immediately wrote out her resignation. One of the Guardians said he wished to know what use a girl would be as a domestic servant, with a thorough knowledge of arithmetic but no industrial training.
Also on the 26th a boy called Platt was killed by a cart in Thatto Heath while playing in the street near to his parent's home. The child was aged about three and died almost instantaneously after a cartwheel went over his head. The roads in Thatto Heath were dangerous for children to play in as most were unpaved and there was much traffic to and from collieries and other works in the district.
The St Helens Newspaper was published on the 28th and wrote in uncomplimentary terms about the state of Thatto Heath: "We cannot help saying that it is about one of the most neglected and unprotected place in the borough of St. Helens, to say nothing about the police arrangements, of which the least said is best at present. We wish, most heartily, that our Town Council could spare their surveyor, if only for a day, to look over the condition of the people's necessities on the heath. There is scarcely a house that has a supply of water fit for domestic purposes. Thatto Heath is worse provided for in this essential of domestic life, health, and cleanliness, than any other part of the borough, and there is no reason why this should continue any longer."
In July the Newspaper had described how hundreds of women in Thatto Heath would each evening walk almost half a mile with large cans on their heads to obtain a water supply for the following day. The paper also called for the laying of gas pipes in Thatto Heath and improvements to sewage and said an abandoned coal pit by the Vine Tavern should be sealed off. They said only the other day a couple of children had had a narrow escape after falling down the pit.
The Newspaper also wrote that over 150 local vocalists had offered to perform in a concert in aid of the Haydock Explosion Fund. Not only would the event have a charitable object but it would also be a "great musical festival, on a scale hitherto unknown in St. Helens." The concert would be held in September with the proceeds going to the families of the 60 men and boys killed in July by a gas explosion down Queen Pit.
The magistrates in the Sessions also heard of more neighbours in Parr beating each other up. Edward Johnson and William Kay were charged with assaulting Maryann Eden and her father James, and the latter gave evidence first. He claimed that Johnson and Kay had knocked him down and then beat his daughter Maryann unconscious. She gave evidence next and insisted that there had been no provocation for the assaults – other than her asking Johnson not to throw something at a pigeon. A witness corroborated her account, however, as usual, the defence had quite a different tale to tell!
They had their own witness called Mary Heyes, who gave evidence that the trouble had begun when a stray pigeon had alighted upon her house. This was worth money as it could be sold to those involved in organised pigeon shoots or perhaps make a nice pie! So the Edens and their children got involved in a "lively chase" after the pigeon. This – according to Mrs Heyes – caused an argument, the Edens started throwing stones and a fight took place. Johnson and Kay then got involved and a "general scrimmage" occurred in which "various weapons were used, and various injuries inflicted".
She added that only herself and her daughter were in the yard, along with the combatants, and anyone else claiming they were also there was not telling the truth. This enraged Maryann Eden who shouted out: "You're no better, for shame o’ thee". This created uproar in the court and led to the woman being removed. The St Helens Newspaper continued the story:
"The witness was cross-examined, as soon as Mrs Eden was got out of the court. She asserted, with terrible energy, that she had come voluntarily to give evidence, because it was her duty after seeing people nearly murdered in her yard." The Bench said the assault had been proved and fined both of the defendants ten shillings. I do wonder how they all got with each other back in Parr afterwards!
Finding people prepared to stump up money as a surety for their good behaviour after being bound over in court was a problem for poor folk. Some didn't even attempt to obtain the cash and immediately chose the alternative punishment of a prison sentence, as in the case of Mary Mooney.
She appeared in the Prescot Petty Sessions on the 30th charged with committing a breach of the peace by making a great noise in Hillock Street at half-past one in the morning. This was Mary's third appearance before the Bench and she was ordered to find sureties for her good behaviour. There was no chance of anyone coming to her rescue and so for simply shouting in the street, Mary Mooney was sent to prison for two months.
The sixth annual St Helens Flower Show was held on September 1st at the Victoria Gardens in Thatto Heath, close to present day Whittle Street. The St Helens Newspaper wrote that the "influx of visitors was immense, embracing not only residents of St. Helens, but of Prescot and Liverpool as well." The band of the Prescot Volunteers performed on the bowling green during the afternoon and later moved indoors to play for visitors who danced "with great spirit" until midnight.
However absconding from the workhouse wearing the institution's clothes was considered to be far more serious and would invoke a prosecution and likely prison sentence. Jane Forber discovered this in Prescot Police Court on the 1st when she was sent to prison for a month with hard labour after absconding from Whiston. The woman aged about twenty had walked out of the workhouse almost a month earlier with a bed gown, two skirts, chemise, shoes and stockings that were valued at £1. Nothing further was heard of Jane until she was arrested in St Helens earlier that day and taken to the courtroom at Prescot.
Next week's stories will include the man who was thrown off a moving train near Clock Face, the "mad drunk" Robins Lane beerhouse keeper who beat his wife, a Rainhill pony trotting match, the Market Place singing room, the Haydock witness that fled to France and the young Whiston Workhouse potato thieves.