150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (28th MARCH - 3rd APRIL 1872)
This week's stories include an update on the rape of a 16-year-old girl in Eccleston, the Spring snowfalls in St Helens, the fatal fight between lodgers in Parr Street, the busted Water Street temperance hotel, the St Helens anti-vaccinator who accused the authorities of Herodian despotism and the drunken Frenchman who got his wish to meet a Pilks' boss – but in a most unusual way.
We begin on the 29th, which was Good Friday, and traditionally the day that the Victoria Pleasure Gardens in Thatto Heath opened for the season. A military band played and admission was 6d. Charles Whittle owned the gardens as well as the adjacent Engine Inn, which changed its name to the Victoria Gardens during the early 1870s. The gardens' location was close to present day Whittle Street, which appears to have been named after Charles Whittle.
In the St Helens Newspaper of March 30th this ad appeared: "NOTICE – The Town Hall having been destroyed by fire, the Public Hall, may now be hired for meetings, exhibitions, classes, &c." The Public Hall was a multi-purpose building in Hardshaw Street. It was owned by Bernard Dromgoole and served as a shop, a hall that could be hired for events and it was where the St Helens Newspaper was produced. They were a bit slow off the mark in capitalising on the fire, as the Town Hall in New Market Place had been partially burned down last May.
There were clearly many differences between life today and 150 years ago. However, one constant theme is the talking and grumbling about the weather! This report was published in the Newspaper this week: "As the month gets older the cold seems to increase, and March, which came in like a lamb, threatens to go out like a lion. During the last few days snow has fallen each day at intervals, but melted almost as it fell. Early on Sunday morning a considerable fall took place, followed by another about five o’clock, the effect of which was that the streets and roofs of the houses presented a mantle of snow when day broke, which was, however, soon dissipated by the rays of the sun.
"In the afternoon another smart shower of snow fell, but it was of short duration. In the interval between the showers early in the morning, about three o’clock, a display of aurora borealis was seen towards the north west. The lights were observed, as it were, to emanate from above the moon, which was then within two hours of setting, and to extend nearly to the zenith. They were of a white colour, and did not present the shooting appearances of those of greater brilliancy, but remained stationary for a few minutes, when they gradually disappeared, and sometimes appeared again. The display lasted about half an hour. Since Sunday the weather has continued its wintry character. Rain, snow, and biting cold have visited us alternately, making the outer aspect of things anything but pleasant or agreeable."
If someone offered to make me a "hot cup of tea", I would say "ta very much, milk and two sweeteners please"! However, in the 1870s, the phrase appears to have had another meaning. I wrote a couple of weeks ago how Charles Rudd had been on the receiving end of a police raid after selling beer from his unlicensed temperance hotel. The house in Water Street had had its beer licence removed in 1869 after claims that the place was a brothel.
In describing the subsequent court case after the recent police raid, the St Helens Newspaper explained that the hot cup of tea remark was a threat made by a customer against Charles Rudd's wife, after a row had taken place. The man promised to get the woman and her husband into trouble and was good to his word. He conveyed some beer in a jug to the police station and made a complaint of an illegal sale – and that led to the police raiding the premises. As a result Charles Rudd was fined the hefty sum of £5 in the St Helens Petty Sessions.
The Newspaper also reported on the 30th how a Frenchman had been charged with being drunk in the streets of St Helens. Jules Camanski said he came from Boulogne and that an Englishman had given him two glasses of beer, which "took great effect" upon him. He added that he had fought in the late war between France and Prussia and had suffered a severe wound to his head.
Amusingly, he said he'd come to St Helens to see "Monsieur Pilkington" at the glassworks (pictured above in 1879) to try and get a job. And who was the sole magistrate on the bench? Only William Pilkington! The Newspaper wrote: "His Worship consulted with the principal gendarme, and then gave monsieur his liberty." The French were renowned for their prowess in glassmaking and hopefully William Pilkington was able to give the man a job, despite meeting him in such an unorthodox way.
I've read some highly critical letters from anti-vaccinators in various papers over the years – but the one published in the Newspaper this week by "M. F." attacking the compulsory smallpox jab uses the harshest language of all. It began:
"Sir – I am informed, on authority which I cannot well doubt, that we are having a kind of medical inquisition established in St. Helens which is as secret, as complicated and unique an organisation as any secret association of men could well make it. Its spies and private police – its star chamber – its racks and cruel laws – are now in full working order in this town, ready with an Herodian despotism and rapacity to stab with filthy and blood-poisoned lances every child, male or female, from one month old up to 14 years; and all parents who refuse to submit their children to the dictates of these medicos are subject to fines and imprisonments, to degradation, the felon cell, and the treadmill."
Also on the 30th, Richard Wright appeared in the Liverpool Spring Assizes at Kirkdale charged with the attempted rape of a 16-year-old girl at Eccleston – and Joseph Mawdsley was charged with aiding and abetting. I described in January how, late at night, two Liverpool girls had decided to walk to Bolton, via St Helens, in order to visit a relative. They must have thought there was safety in numbers – but Mary Grogan was only sixteen and her friend Elizabeth Mulhardy just fourteen. The roads were also largely unlit but at Kensington they accepted a lift in a cart to Eccleston Lane Ends.
The girls disembarked at the Wellington Hotel and began walking towards St Helens – but were soon attacked by the men who had brought them from Liverpool. As Richard Wright raped or attempted to rape Mary, it was alleged that Joseph Mawdsley held on to Elizabeth to prevent the younger girl stopping the attack. The St Helens magistrates had committed the two men for trial at the assizes and after being found guilty by the jury, the 27-year-old Wright was sent to prison for 12 months with hard labour. However, Mawdsley was cleared of being his accomplice.
In August 1870 the St Helens Newspaper had written: "One of the most delightful dioramas ever presented to the public is the one now exhibiting in the Volunteer Hall. Ireland, its beautiful scenery, music, and antiquities, are most faithfully represented. We would advise our readers who desire to spend an agreeable and instructive evening to visit it without delay."
Audiences were astounded by dioramas. Light was manipulated in a manner that made landscape paintings appear to change their appearance. This week at the New Concert Hall – as the Theatre Royal in St Helens was now being called – Professor Jourdain presented a diorama of the recent Franco-Prussian war. A review from a performance elsewhere said: "The scene of Paris in Flames, as caused by the Communists, is certainly the most sensational we ever witnessed."
Also on the bill were Mr and Mrs John Whittingham ("Negro artists and skate dancers – the celebrated American comedians, instrumentalists, vocalists, and skate, boot, and pump dancers"); Fred Lissington ("The great comic vocalist"); Miss Julia Temple ("Serio-comic and dancer") and Sillo and Mons. E. Trevanion ("Gymnasts and ceiling walker").
Sillo was only a child and the ceiling walker. I suppose that’s better than being sent up chimneys! In fact the act had this curious advert published in The Era newspaper on the 31st: "SILLO (Five Years Old) and TREVANION have concluded to-night their fourth engagement in fifteen weeks at Theatre Royal, St. Helen's. Always got our Money. Note that."
That suggests that some acts were claiming they weren't being paid. A review of their performance in Hanley in June said: "Trevanion and Sillo (gymnasts), who go through a daring entertainment, all danger being obviated by a strong net placed underneath." 25-year-old Edward Trevanion came from Bolton and it seems was unrelated to Sillo, who he described as his pupil. However the age of the child had increased in this Middlesborough review from July 1872:
"Little Sillo, a tiny gymnast, only seven years old, engaged the lion's share of popularity during the evening by his clever feat of ceiling walking, followed by his trapeze exercises, and finishing his wonderful performance with a double somersault, alighting on his feet in the net. A perfect ovation rewarded his astonishing performance, and it was not until after he had been recalled four times that the audience returned to the other attractions."
On April 1st an inquest was held at the Fleece Hotel on John Keefe, who had been fatally stabbed during a quarrel on Good Friday. The fight had been with Matthew Reynolds, a fellow lodger at their house in Parr Street, and witnesses gave evidence that the men had only exchanged a few blows before the deceased exclaimed: "I am stabbed". Medical testimony showed that a wound, 1½ inch long and 3 inches deep, had been inflicted on the inner and upper part of the deceased's right thigh and that the man had died from loss of blood.
Reynolds denied that he had inflicted the wound, telling the coroner: "We were too good mates to use a knife to each other". Supporting that statement, no knife or similar instrument was found upon Reynolds, nor was he seen to use one by those that were present in the house. The jury returned a verdict of "manslaughter" against Reynolds, and he was later committed for trial at the next assizes hearing.
On April 2nd a concert was held in the Volunteer Hall in St Helens. Although the event was not called a concert, it was instead styled as: "A Grand Soiree and Dramatic and Miscellaneous Entertainment and Ball in Aid of The Sutton and Peasley Cross Catholic Poor Schools". What a mouthful! The orphans of St George's Girls' School of Liverpool provided the entertainment, followed by dancing. Tickets cost 1s 6d and the St Helens Newspaper called the event a "real treat".
Next week's stories will include concern over too much clippety-clop in Cotham Street, the lightning strike at St Bartholomew's Church in Rainhill, the married couple's joint attack on a policeman and the miner who was purred to death at Wigan.
We begin on the 29th, which was Good Friday, and traditionally the day that the Victoria Pleasure Gardens in Thatto Heath opened for the season. A military band played and admission was 6d. Charles Whittle owned the gardens as well as the adjacent Engine Inn, which changed its name to the Victoria Gardens during the early 1870s. The gardens' location was close to present day Whittle Street, which appears to have been named after Charles Whittle.
There were clearly many differences between life today and 150 years ago. However, one constant theme is the talking and grumbling about the weather! This report was published in the Newspaper this week: "As the month gets older the cold seems to increase, and March, which came in like a lamb, threatens to go out like a lion. During the last few days snow has fallen each day at intervals, but melted almost as it fell. Early on Sunday morning a considerable fall took place, followed by another about five o’clock, the effect of which was that the streets and roofs of the houses presented a mantle of snow when day broke, which was, however, soon dissipated by the rays of the sun.
"In the afternoon another smart shower of snow fell, but it was of short duration. In the interval between the showers early in the morning, about three o’clock, a display of aurora borealis was seen towards the north west. The lights were observed, as it were, to emanate from above the moon, which was then within two hours of setting, and to extend nearly to the zenith. They were of a white colour, and did not present the shooting appearances of those of greater brilliancy, but remained stationary for a few minutes, when they gradually disappeared, and sometimes appeared again. The display lasted about half an hour. Since Sunday the weather has continued its wintry character. Rain, snow, and biting cold have visited us alternately, making the outer aspect of things anything but pleasant or agreeable."
If someone offered to make me a "hot cup of tea", I would say "ta very much, milk and two sweeteners please"! However, in the 1870s, the phrase appears to have had another meaning. I wrote a couple of weeks ago how Charles Rudd had been on the receiving end of a police raid after selling beer from his unlicensed temperance hotel. The house in Water Street had had its beer licence removed in 1869 after claims that the place was a brothel.
In describing the subsequent court case after the recent police raid, the St Helens Newspaper explained that the hot cup of tea remark was a threat made by a customer against Charles Rudd's wife, after a row had taken place. The man promised to get the woman and her husband into trouble and was good to his word. He conveyed some beer in a jug to the police station and made a complaint of an illegal sale – and that led to the police raiding the premises. As a result Charles Rudd was fined the hefty sum of £5 in the St Helens Petty Sessions.
Amusingly, he said he'd come to St Helens to see "Monsieur Pilkington" at the glassworks (pictured above in 1879) to try and get a job. And who was the sole magistrate on the bench? Only William Pilkington! The Newspaper wrote: "His Worship consulted with the principal gendarme, and then gave monsieur his liberty." The French were renowned for their prowess in glassmaking and hopefully William Pilkington was able to give the man a job, despite meeting him in such an unorthodox way.
I've read some highly critical letters from anti-vaccinators in various papers over the years – but the one published in the Newspaper this week by "M. F." attacking the compulsory smallpox jab uses the harshest language of all. It began:
"Sir – I am informed, on authority which I cannot well doubt, that we are having a kind of medical inquisition established in St. Helens which is as secret, as complicated and unique an organisation as any secret association of men could well make it. Its spies and private police – its star chamber – its racks and cruel laws – are now in full working order in this town, ready with an Herodian despotism and rapacity to stab with filthy and blood-poisoned lances every child, male or female, from one month old up to 14 years; and all parents who refuse to submit their children to the dictates of these medicos are subject to fines and imprisonments, to degradation, the felon cell, and the treadmill."
Also on the 30th, Richard Wright appeared in the Liverpool Spring Assizes at Kirkdale charged with the attempted rape of a 16-year-old girl at Eccleston – and Joseph Mawdsley was charged with aiding and abetting. I described in January how, late at night, two Liverpool girls had decided to walk to Bolton, via St Helens, in order to visit a relative. They must have thought there was safety in numbers – but Mary Grogan was only sixteen and her friend Elizabeth Mulhardy just fourteen. The roads were also largely unlit but at Kensington they accepted a lift in a cart to Eccleston Lane Ends.
The girls disembarked at the Wellington Hotel and began walking towards St Helens – but were soon attacked by the men who had brought them from Liverpool. As Richard Wright raped or attempted to rape Mary, it was alleged that Joseph Mawdsley held on to Elizabeth to prevent the younger girl stopping the attack. The St Helens magistrates had committed the two men for trial at the assizes and after being found guilty by the jury, the 27-year-old Wright was sent to prison for 12 months with hard labour. However, Mawdsley was cleared of being his accomplice.
In August 1870 the St Helens Newspaper had written: "One of the most delightful dioramas ever presented to the public is the one now exhibiting in the Volunteer Hall. Ireland, its beautiful scenery, music, and antiquities, are most faithfully represented. We would advise our readers who desire to spend an agreeable and instructive evening to visit it without delay."
Audiences were astounded by dioramas. Light was manipulated in a manner that made landscape paintings appear to change their appearance. This week at the New Concert Hall – as the Theatre Royal in St Helens was now being called – Professor Jourdain presented a diorama of the recent Franco-Prussian war. A review from a performance elsewhere said: "The scene of Paris in Flames, as caused by the Communists, is certainly the most sensational we ever witnessed."
Also on the bill were Mr and Mrs John Whittingham ("Negro artists and skate dancers – the celebrated American comedians, instrumentalists, vocalists, and skate, boot, and pump dancers"); Fred Lissington ("The great comic vocalist"); Miss Julia Temple ("Serio-comic and dancer") and Sillo and Mons. E. Trevanion ("Gymnasts and ceiling walker").
Sillo was only a child and the ceiling walker. I suppose that’s better than being sent up chimneys! In fact the act had this curious advert published in The Era newspaper on the 31st: "SILLO (Five Years Old) and TREVANION have concluded to-night their fourth engagement in fifteen weeks at Theatre Royal, St. Helen's. Always got our Money. Note that."
That suggests that some acts were claiming they weren't being paid. A review of their performance in Hanley in June said: "Trevanion and Sillo (gymnasts), who go through a daring entertainment, all danger being obviated by a strong net placed underneath." 25-year-old Edward Trevanion came from Bolton and it seems was unrelated to Sillo, who he described as his pupil. However the age of the child had increased in this Middlesborough review from July 1872:
"Little Sillo, a tiny gymnast, only seven years old, engaged the lion's share of popularity during the evening by his clever feat of ceiling walking, followed by his trapeze exercises, and finishing his wonderful performance with a double somersault, alighting on his feet in the net. A perfect ovation rewarded his astonishing performance, and it was not until after he had been recalled four times that the audience returned to the other attractions."
On April 1st an inquest was held at the Fleece Hotel on John Keefe, who had been fatally stabbed during a quarrel on Good Friday. The fight had been with Matthew Reynolds, a fellow lodger at their house in Parr Street, and witnesses gave evidence that the men had only exchanged a few blows before the deceased exclaimed: "I am stabbed". Medical testimony showed that a wound, 1½ inch long and 3 inches deep, had been inflicted on the inner and upper part of the deceased's right thigh and that the man had died from loss of blood.
Reynolds denied that he had inflicted the wound, telling the coroner: "We were too good mates to use a knife to each other". Supporting that statement, no knife or similar instrument was found upon Reynolds, nor was he seen to use one by those that were present in the house. The jury returned a verdict of "manslaughter" against Reynolds, and he was later committed for trial at the next assizes hearing.
On April 2nd a concert was held in the Volunteer Hall in St Helens. Although the event was not called a concert, it was instead styled as: "A Grand Soiree and Dramatic and Miscellaneous Entertainment and Ball in Aid of The Sutton and Peasley Cross Catholic Poor Schools". What a mouthful! The orphans of St George's Girls' School of Liverpool provided the entertainment, followed by dancing. Tickets cost 1s 6d and the St Helens Newspaper called the event a "real treat".
Next week's stories will include concern over too much clippety-clop in Cotham Street, the lightning strike at St Bartholomew's Church in Rainhill, the married couple's joint attack on a policeman and the miner who was purred to death at Wigan.
This week's stories include an update on the rape of a 16-year-old girl in Eccleston, the Spring snowfalls in St Helens, the fatal fight between lodgers in Parr Street, the busted Water Street temperance hotel, the St Helens anti-vaccinator who accused the authorities of Herodian despotism and the drunken Frenchman who got his wish to meet a Pilks' boss – but in a most unusual way.
We begin on the 29th, which was Good Friday, and traditionally the day that the Victoria Pleasure Gardens in Thatto Heath opened for the season.
A military band played and admission was 6d. Charles Whittle owned the gardens as well as the adjacent Engine Inn, which changed its name to the Victoria Gardens during the early 1870s.
The gardens' location was close to present day Whittle Street, which appears to have been named after Charles Whittle.
In the St Helens Newspaper of March 30th this ad appeared: "NOTICE – The Town Hall having been destroyed by fire, the Public Hall, may now be hired for meetings, exhibitions, classes, &c."
The Public Hall was a multi-purpose building in Hardshaw Street. It was owned by Bernard Dromgoole and served as a shop, a hall that could be hired for events and it was where the St Helens Newspaper was produced.
They were a bit slow off the mark in capitalising on the fire, as the Town Hall in New Market Place had been partially burned down last May.
There were clearly many differences between life today and 150 years ago. However, one constant theme is the talking and grumbling about the weather!
This report was published in the Newspaper this week:
"As the month gets older the cold seems to increase, and March, which came in like a lamb, threatens to go out like a lion.
"During the last few days snow has fallen each day at intervals, but melted almost as it fell.
"Early on Sunday morning a considerable fall took place, followed by another about five o’clock, the effect of which was that the streets and roofs of the houses presented a mantle of snow when day broke, which was, however, soon dissipated by the rays of the sun.
"In the afternoon another smart shower of snow fell, but it was of short duration.
"In the interval between the showers early in the morning, about three o’clock, a display of aurora borealis was seen towards the north west.
"The lights were observed, as it were, to emanate from above the moon, which was then within two hours of setting, and to extend nearly to the zenith.
"They were of a white colour, and did not present the shooting appearances of those of greater brilliancy, but remained stationary for a few minutes, when they gradually disappeared, and sometimes appeared again.
"The display lasted about half an hour. Since Sunday the weather has continued its wintry character.
"Rain, snow, and biting cold have visited us alternately, making the outer aspect of things anything but pleasant or agreeable."
If someone offered to make me a "hot cup of tea", I would say "ta very much, milk and two sweeteners please"!
However, in the 1870s, the phrase appears to have had another meaning.
I wrote a couple of weeks ago how Charles Rudd had been on the receiving end of a police raid after selling beer from his unlicensed temperance hotel.
The house in Water Street had had its beer licence removed in 1869 after claims that the place was a brothel.
In describing the subsequent court case after the recent police raid, the St Helens Newspaper explained that the hot cup of tea remark was a threat made by a customer against Charles Rudd's wife, after a row had taken place.
The man promised to get the woman and her husband into trouble and was good to his word.
He conveyed some beer in a jug to the police station and made a complaint of an illegal sale – and that led to the police raiding the premises. As a result Charles Rudd was fined the hefty sum of £5 in the St Helens Petty Sessions.
The Newspaper also reported on the 30th how a Frenchman had been charged with being drunk in the streets of St Helens.
Jules Camanski said he came from Boulogne and that an Englishman had given him two glasses of beer, which "took great effect" upon him.
He added that he had fought in the late war between France and Prussia and had suffered a severe wound to his head.
Amusingly, he said he'd come to St Helens to see "Monsieur Pilkington" at the glassworks (pictured above in 1879) to try and get a job.
And who was the sole magistrate on the bench? Only William Pilkington!
The Newspaper wrote: "His Worship consulted with the principal gendarme, and then gave monsieur his liberty."
The French were renowned for their prowess in glassmaking and hopefully William Pilkington was able to give the man a job, despite meeting him in such an unorthodox way.
I've read some highly critical letters from anti-vaccinators in various papers over the years – but the one published in the Newspaper this week by "M. F." attacking the compulsory smallpox jab uses the harshest language of all. It began:
"Sir – I am informed, on authority which I cannot well doubt, that we are having a kind of medical inquisition established in St. Helens which is as secret, as complicated and unique an organisation as any secret association of men could well make it.
"Its spies and private police – its star chamber – its racks and cruel laws – are now in full working order in this town, ready with an Herodian despotism and rapacity to stab with filthy and blood-poisoned lances every child, male or female, from one month old up to 14 years; and all parents who refuse to submit their children to the dictates of these medicos are subject to fines and imprisonments, to degradation, the felon cell, and the treadmill."
Also on the 30th, Richard Wright appeared in the Liverpool Spring Assizes at Kirkdale charged with the attempted rape of a 16-year-old girl at Eccleston – and Joseph Mawdsley was charged with aiding and abetting.
I described in January how, late at night, two Liverpool girls had decided to walk to Bolton, via St Helens, in order to visit a relative.
They must have thought there was safety in numbers – but Mary Grogan was only sixteen and her friend Elizabeth Mulhardy just fourteen.
The roads were also largely unlit but at Kensington they accepted a lift in a cart to Eccleston Lane Ends.
The girls disembarked at the Wellington Hotel and began walking towards St Helens – but were soon attacked by the men who had brought them from Liverpool.
As Richard Wright raped or attempted to rape Mary, it was alleged that Joseph Mawdsley held on to Elizabeth to prevent the younger girl stopping the attack.
The St Helens magistrates had committed the two men for trial at the assizes and after being found guilty by the jury, the 27-year-old Wright was sent to prison for 12 months with hard labour. However, Mawdsley was cleared of being his accomplice.
In August 1870 the St Helens Newspaper had written: "One of the most delightful dioramas ever presented to the public is the one now exhibiting in the Volunteer Hall. Ireland, its beautiful scenery, music, and antiquities, are most faithfully represented. We would advise our readers who desire to spend an agreeable and instructive evening to visit it without delay."
Audiences were astounded by dioramas. Light was manipulated in a manner that made landscape paintings appear to change their appearance.
This week at the New Concert Hall – as the Theatre Royal in St Helens was now being called – Professor Jourdain presented a diorama of the recent Franco-Prussian war.
A review from a performance elsewhere said: "The scene of Paris in Flames, as caused by the Communists, is certainly the most sensational we ever witnessed."
Also on the bill were Mr and Mrs John Whittingham ("Negro artists and skate dancers – the celebrated American comedians, instrumentalists, vocalists, and skate, boot, and pump dancers"); Fred Lissington ("The great comic vocalist"); Miss Julia Temple ("Serio-comic and dancer") and Sillo and Mons. E. Trevanion ("Gymnasts and ceiling walker").
Sillo was only a child and the ceiling walker. I suppose that’s better than being sent up chimneys! In fact the act had this curious advert published in The Era newspaper on the 31st:
"SILLO (Five Years Old) and TREVANION have concluded to-night their fourth engagement in fifteen weeks at Theatre Royal, St. Helen's. Always got our Money. Note that."
That suggests that some acts were claiming they weren't being paid. A review of their performance in Hanley in June said:
"Trevanion and Sillo (gymnasts), who go through a daring entertainment, all danger being obviated by a strong net placed underneath."
25-year-old Edward Trevanion came from Bolton and it seems was unrelated to Sillo, who he described as his pupil.
However the age of the child had increased in this Middlesborough review from July 1872:
"Little Sillo, a tiny gymnast, only seven years old, engaged the lion's share of popularity during the evening by his clever feat of ceiling walking, followed by his trapeze exercises, and finishing his wonderful performance with a double somersault, alighting on his feet in the net.
"A perfect ovation rewarded his astonishing performance, and it was not until after he had been recalled four times that the audience returned to the other attractions."
On April 1st an inquest was held at the Fleece Hotel on John Keefe, who had been fatally stabbed during a quarrel on Good Friday.
The fight had been with Matthew Reynolds, a fellow lodger at their house in Parr Street, and witnesses gave evidence that the men had only exchanged a few blows before the deceased exclaimed: "I am stabbed".
Medical testimony showed that a wound, 1½ inch long and 3 inches deep, had been inflicted on the inner and upper part of the deceased's right thigh and that the man had died from loss of blood.
Reynolds denied that he had inflicted the wound, telling the coroner: "We were too good mates to use a knife to each other".
Supporting that statement, no knife or similar instrument was found upon Reynolds, nor was he seen to use one by those that were present in the house.
The jury returned a verdict of "manslaughter" against Reynolds, and he was later committed for trial at the next assizes hearing.
On April 2nd a concert was held in the Volunteer Hall in St Helens. Although the event was not called a concert, it was instead styled as:
"A Grand Soiree and Dramatic and Miscellaneous Entertainment and Ball in Aid of The Sutton and Peasley Cross Catholic Poor Schools". What a mouthful!
The orphans of St George's Girls' School of Liverpool provided the entertainment, followed by dancing. Tickets cost 1s 6d and the St Helens Newspaper called the event a "real treat".
Next week's stories will include concern over too much clippety-clop in Cotham Street, the lightning strike at St Bartholomew's Church in Rainhill, the married couple's joint attack on a policeman and the miner who was purred to death at Wigan.
We begin on the 29th, which was Good Friday, and traditionally the day that the Victoria Pleasure Gardens in Thatto Heath opened for the season.
A military band played and admission was 6d. Charles Whittle owned the gardens as well as the adjacent Engine Inn, which changed its name to the Victoria Gardens during the early 1870s.
The gardens' location was close to present day Whittle Street, which appears to have been named after Charles Whittle.
The Public Hall was a multi-purpose building in Hardshaw Street. It was owned by Bernard Dromgoole and served as a shop, a hall that could be hired for events and it was where the St Helens Newspaper was produced.
They were a bit slow off the mark in capitalising on the fire, as the Town Hall in New Market Place had been partially burned down last May.
There were clearly many differences between life today and 150 years ago. However, one constant theme is the talking and grumbling about the weather!
This report was published in the Newspaper this week:
"As the month gets older the cold seems to increase, and March, which came in like a lamb, threatens to go out like a lion.
"During the last few days snow has fallen each day at intervals, but melted almost as it fell.
"Early on Sunday morning a considerable fall took place, followed by another about five o’clock, the effect of which was that the streets and roofs of the houses presented a mantle of snow when day broke, which was, however, soon dissipated by the rays of the sun.
"In the afternoon another smart shower of snow fell, but it was of short duration.
"In the interval between the showers early in the morning, about three o’clock, a display of aurora borealis was seen towards the north west.
"The lights were observed, as it were, to emanate from above the moon, which was then within two hours of setting, and to extend nearly to the zenith.
"They were of a white colour, and did not present the shooting appearances of those of greater brilliancy, but remained stationary for a few minutes, when they gradually disappeared, and sometimes appeared again.
"The display lasted about half an hour. Since Sunday the weather has continued its wintry character.
"Rain, snow, and biting cold have visited us alternately, making the outer aspect of things anything but pleasant or agreeable."
If someone offered to make me a "hot cup of tea", I would say "ta very much, milk and two sweeteners please"!
However, in the 1870s, the phrase appears to have had another meaning.
I wrote a couple of weeks ago how Charles Rudd had been on the receiving end of a police raid after selling beer from his unlicensed temperance hotel.
The house in Water Street had had its beer licence removed in 1869 after claims that the place was a brothel.
In describing the subsequent court case after the recent police raid, the St Helens Newspaper explained that the hot cup of tea remark was a threat made by a customer against Charles Rudd's wife, after a row had taken place.
The man promised to get the woman and her husband into trouble and was good to his word.
He conveyed some beer in a jug to the police station and made a complaint of an illegal sale – and that led to the police raiding the premises. As a result Charles Rudd was fined the hefty sum of £5 in the St Helens Petty Sessions.
The Newspaper also reported on the 30th how a Frenchman had been charged with being drunk in the streets of St Helens.
Jules Camanski said he came from Boulogne and that an Englishman had given him two glasses of beer, which "took great effect" upon him.
He added that he had fought in the late war between France and Prussia and had suffered a severe wound to his head.
And who was the sole magistrate on the bench? Only William Pilkington!
The Newspaper wrote: "His Worship consulted with the principal gendarme, and then gave monsieur his liberty."
The French were renowned for their prowess in glassmaking and hopefully William Pilkington was able to give the man a job, despite meeting him in such an unorthodox way.
I've read some highly critical letters from anti-vaccinators in various papers over the years – but the one published in the Newspaper this week by "M. F." attacking the compulsory smallpox jab uses the harshest language of all. It began:
"Sir – I am informed, on authority which I cannot well doubt, that we are having a kind of medical inquisition established in St. Helens which is as secret, as complicated and unique an organisation as any secret association of men could well make it.
"Its spies and private police – its star chamber – its racks and cruel laws – are now in full working order in this town, ready with an Herodian despotism and rapacity to stab with filthy and blood-poisoned lances every child, male or female, from one month old up to 14 years; and all parents who refuse to submit their children to the dictates of these medicos are subject to fines and imprisonments, to degradation, the felon cell, and the treadmill."
Also on the 30th, Richard Wright appeared in the Liverpool Spring Assizes at Kirkdale charged with the attempted rape of a 16-year-old girl at Eccleston – and Joseph Mawdsley was charged with aiding and abetting.
I described in January how, late at night, two Liverpool girls had decided to walk to Bolton, via St Helens, in order to visit a relative.
They must have thought there was safety in numbers – but Mary Grogan was only sixteen and her friend Elizabeth Mulhardy just fourteen.
The roads were also largely unlit but at Kensington they accepted a lift in a cart to Eccleston Lane Ends.
The girls disembarked at the Wellington Hotel and began walking towards St Helens – but were soon attacked by the men who had brought them from Liverpool.
As Richard Wright raped or attempted to rape Mary, it was alleged that Joseph Mawdsley held on to Elizabeth to prevent the younger girl stopping the attack.
The St Helens magistrates had committed the two men for trial at the assizes and after being found guilty by the jury, the 27-year-old Wright was sent to prison for 12 months with hard labour. However, Mawdsley was cleared of being his accomplice.
In August 1870 the St Helens Newspaper had written: "One of the most delightful dioramas ever presented to the public is the one now exhibiting in the Volunteer Hall. Ireland, its beautiful scenery, music, and antiquities, are most faithfully represented. We would advise our readers who desire to spend an agreeable and instructive evening to visit it without delay."
Audiences were astounded by dioramas. Light was manipulated in a manner that made landscape paintings appear to change their appearance.
This week at the New Concert Hall – as the Theatre Royal in St Helens was now being called – Professor Jourdain presented a diorama of the recent Franco-Prussian war.
A review from a performance elsewhere said: "The scene of Paris in Flames, as caused by the Communists, is certainly the most sensational we ever witnessed."
Also on the bill were Mr and Mrs John Whittingham ("Negro artists and skate dancers – the celebrated American comedians, instrumentalists, vocalists, and skate, boot, and pump dancers"); Fred Lissington ("The great comic vocalist"); Miss Julia Temple ("Serio-comic and dancer") and Sillo and Mons. E. Trevanion ("Gymnasts and ceiling walker").
Sillo was only a child and the ceiling walker. I suppose that’s better than being sent up chimneys! In fact the act had this curious advert published in The Era newspaper on the 31st:
"SILLO (Five Years Old) and TREVANION have concluded to-night their fourth engagement in fifteen weeks at Theatre Royal, St. Helen's. Always got our Money. Note that."
That suggests that some acts were claiming they weren't being paid. A review of their performance in Hanley in June said:
"Trevanion and Sillo (gymnasts), who go through a daring entertainment, all danger being obviated by a strong net placed underneath."
25-year-old Edward Trevanion came from Bolton and it seems was unrelated to Sillo, who he described as his pupil.
However the age of the child had increased in this Middlesborough review from July 1872:
"Little Sillo, a tiny gymnast, only seven years old, engaged the lion's share of popularity during the evening by his clever feat of ceiling walking, followed by his trapeze exercises, and finishing his wonderful performance with a double somersault, alighting on his feet in the net.
"A perfect ovation rewarded his astonishing performance, and it was not until after he had been recalled four times that the audience returned to the other attractions."
On April 1st an inquest was held at the Fleece Hotel on John Keefe, who had been fatally stabbed during a quarrel on Good Friday.
The fight had been with Matthew Reynolds, a fellow lodger at their house in Parr Street, and witnesses gave evidence that the men had only exchanged a few blows before the deceased exclaimed: "I am stabbed".
Medical testimony showed that a wound, 1½ inch long and 3 inches deep, had been inflicted on the inner and upper part of the deceased's right thigh and that the man had died from loss of blood.
Reynolds denied that he had inflicted the wound, telling the coroner: "We were too good mates to use a knife to each other".
Supporting that statement, no knife or similar instrument was found upon Reynolds, nor was he seen to use one by those that were present in the house.
The jury returned a verdict of "manslaughter" against Reynolds, and he was later committed for trial at the next assizes hearing.
On April 2nd a concert was held in the Volunteer Hall in St Helens. Although the event was not called a concert, it was instead styled as:
"A Grand Soiree and Dramatic and Miscellaneous Entertainment and Ball in Aid of The Sutton and Peasley Cross Catholic Poor Schools". What a mouthful!
The orphans of St George's Girls' School of Liverpool provided the entertainment, followed by dancing. Tickets cost 1s 6d and the St Helens Newspaper called the event a "real treat".
Next week's stories will include concern over too much clippety-clop in Cotham Street, the lightning strike at St Bartholomew's Church in Rainhill, the married couple's joint attack on a policeman and the miner who was purred to death at Wigan.