150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (27 NOV - 3 DEC 1873)
This week's many stories include the constable that spotted a fugitive tailor on a train at Newton, the young Feigh brothers are back in trouble, the Rainford hare poaching case, the carters' squabble that led to a court case and the thief in St Helens Market that was sent to prison for stealing a tunic worth only a tanner.
Denis Feigh was one of the most notorious characters in St Helens during the 1870s, although his crimes were mainly drunkenness and minor theft. Denis's notoriety meant his three sons John, James and Patrick had no chance in life and they'd often be brought to court charged with begging or stealing. In September Patrick was sentenced to be whipped (i.e. birched) and to spend a month in prison after being convicted of stealing from a market stall.
In St Helens Petty Sessions on the 29th Patrick and his brother John were charged with stealing a tin of preserved meat from Alfred Foote's grocer's in Westfield Street. Foote had a pyramid of tins displayed outside his shop and some boys had seen the Feigh brothers take two tins off the top and walk off. They alerted a shop assistant who pursued the young thieves and a police constable arrested 15-year-old Patrick and 14-year-old John some time later, although without being in possession of the tins.
In court the Feighs were committed for trial at the next assizes where they were sentenced to receive 15 strokes of the birch rod and a year in prison. According to court records this was the fourth time that Patrick Feigh had been sentenced to a whipping by a court. Neither he – nor the authorities – seemed able to grasp the futility of it all.
There was an announcement in the St Helens Newspaper on the 29th that a sale would be taking place soon near the Cotham Arms on Moorflat. That, essentially, was the area adjacent to Baldwin Street. Vineries, cucumber houses, a slaughterhouse and a stable owned by Thomas Houlton were going to be auctioned off, as the site was needed in connection with the building of the new Town Hall.
Also up for sale was Parr Mill Dam, or more accurately the land it had occupied, as the dam had run dry. It was described as a good place to erect a works, as it was in close proximity to the St Helens / Sankey Canal and not far away from the railway.
The Newspaper described the apprehension of Thomas Green. Four years ago the tailor had suddenly left St Helens for pastures unknown, leaving his wife and family penniless. They needed assistance from the Relieving Officer, the man who provided cash to paupers within the community. But such desperate ones did not receive much help. In four years Mrs Green had received a total of just £24 – that's an average of only two to three shillings each week. And James Fowler, the Relieving Officer, wanted his money back from her absent husband.
He'd been tipped off that Thomas Green had moved to Wolverhampton and so despatched an arrest warrant to the local police. But before they could execute it, Green was found to have disappeared but was eventually captured by St Helens police in an unusual fashion. PC Robinson had been retrieving some stolen goods from the Newton-le-Willows district. At what was then called Newton Bridge station, the constable boarded a train for St Helens. As he glanced into one carriage he recognised Thomas Green sat inside and so got into the same compartment.
Upon the train's arrival at St Helens station, PC Robinson surprised Green by arresting him and on the following day he appeared in court. There Green was ordered to repay the Relieving Officer the £24 that had been expended on his wife – or go to prison for three months. For most runaway husbands that were brought to book, prison was their only choice. But Green had, it seems, been doing quite nicely at his tailoring job in Wolverhampton and was able to pay off most of his debt, leading to his immediate release from police custody.
Whether he returned to his wife and family was not stated in the report – but there was an embarrassing sequel to his arrest. When placing Green into custody at the railway station, PC Robinson had given the stolen goods that he had in his possession to a porter. Upon depositing his prisoner at the police station the officer returned to the train station and found to his horror that the stolen items had once again been stolen.
That was despite the porter having supposedly stored them in a safe place. And so PC Robinson was probably commended for his sharpness in spotting the fugitive Green in the railway carriage – but criticised for losing the goods for which he'd been travelling on the railway in the first place!
The busy market place in St Helens (pictured above in the 1880s) provided good cover for thieves – but it was not good enough in the case of Rebecca Spratt. She was also in court charged with stealing a tunic valued at 6d. A constable told the court that there had been a great crowd gathered around the stall of Caroline Freelander and amongst them was Mrs Spratt. He said he had watched her ask the stallholder the price of a tunic – but not actually buy one. Eventually, he said the woman placed the tunic in her basket and walked away in the direction of Bridge Street. The officer said he followed her and then took Mrs Spratt into custody.
She insisted when charged that she had paid for the item. However, the stallholder said that was not true and described how Mrs Spratt had later visited her at her home in Liverpool to plead with her to drop the prosecution. The reason that she gave was that both she and her husband were in delicate health. But the case still went ahead and Rebecca Spratt was sent to prison for seven days.
It was not often that the St Helens magistrates told a policeman that they didn't believe his story and that he essentially was a liar. But that was the case with Robert Bricewell who was stationed at Thatto Heath. The constable had been summoned to court "to show cause why he should not contribute to the support of the illegitimate child of Jane Harris".
PC Bricewell offered the simple reason that he was not the father, swearing positively that was the case. But the magistrates thought the evidence against him was strong and made an order for him to pay Jane 2 shillings 6d a week, and remarked that it was a great pity that the defendant should have found himself in court in that position.
Cases of trespassing in pursuit of game were very common and Nicholas Jackson was in the Petty Sessions charged with committing such an offence on land in Rainford that belonged to Sir Robert Gerard. A gamekeeper called Henry Unsworth said he saw Jackson's dog catch a hare in a field, kill it, and then take it to his master.
Three other men were with Jackson and after the gamekeeper had spoken to them about what he'd seen, he claimed they'd threatened to knock his brains out. However, Unsworth got help from two other men and they apprehended Jackson, with the other poachers managing to escape. Nicholas Jackson was fined 20 shillings and costs.
Pressure groups for all sorts of things such as temperance and keeping an eye on council spending were becoming more common. On December 1st a meeting was held in the Star Inn in Liverpool Road in St Helens with the purpose of forming a ratepayers association for Eccleston. That would be similar to the East Sutton Ratepayers Association that had existed for a couple of years.
It was common for those bringing a court action to only tell half a story, with anything that might incriminate them excluded from their evidence. In the Petty Sessions on the 1st Thomas Connor accused James Pilkington of assault, saying he'd met the man on the road while driving a horse and cart and claiming that Pilkington had immediately attacked him. Connor insisted that he had received several blows and hadn't responded in any way.
However, while being examined by the defendant's solicitor, the man was forced to explain the full circumstances of what had occurred. Connor described how he had been carting manure for Pilkington's father and somehow the machinery of his cart had got out of order. Upon seeing James Pilkington on the road, he had asked for his help and they started arguing over what was wrong. A witness called John Johnson also said that the assault only consisted of Connor being thrown to his knees. As a result the case was dismissed without any defence being offered.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the new St Helens Football Club's first training session, the St Helens Newspaper claims persecution, the new men-only Newsroom for newspaper readers and the railway row in Rainford over an open window.
Denis Feigh was one of the most notorious characters in St Helens during the 1870s, although his crimes were mainly drunkenness and minor theft. Denis's notoriety meant his three sons John, James and Patrick had no chance in life and they'd often be brought to court charged with begging or stealing. In September Patrick was sentenced to be whipped (i.e. birched) and to spend a month in prison after being convicted of stealing from a market stall.
In St Helens Petty Sessions on the 29th Patrick and his brother John were charged with stealing a tin of preserved meat from Alfred Foote's grocer's in Westfield Street. Foote had a pyramid of tins displayed outside his shop and some boys had seen the Feigh brothers take two tins off the top and walk off. They alerted a shop assistant who pursued the young thieves and a police constable arrested 15-year-old Patrick and 14-year-old John some time later, although without being in possession of the tins.
In court the Feighs were committed for trial at the next assizes where they were sentenced to receive 15 strokes of the birch rod and a year in prison. According to court records this was the fourth time that Patrick Feigh had been sentenced to a whipping by a court. Neither he – nor the authorities – seemed able to grasp the futility of it all.
There was an announcement in the St Helens Newspaper on the 29th that a sale would be taking place soon near the Cotham Arms on Moorflat. That, essentially, was the area adjacent to Baldwin Street. Vineries, cucumber houses, a slaughterhouse and a stable owned by Thomas Houlton were going to be auctioned off, as the site was needed in connection with the building of the new Town Hall.
Also up for sale was Parr Mill Dam, or more accurately the land it had occupied, as the dam had run dry. It was described as a good place to erect a works, as it was in close proximity to the St Helens / Sankey Canal and not far away from the railway.
The Newspaper described the apprehension of Thomas Green. Four years ago the tailor had suddenly left St Helens for pastures unknown, leaving his wife and family penniless. They needed assistance from the Relieving Officer, the man who provided cash to paupers within the community. But such desperate ones did not receive much help. In four years Mrs Green had received a total of just £24 – that's an average of only two to three shillings each week. And James Fowler, the Relieving Officer, wanted his money back from her absent husband.
He'd been tipped off that Thomas Green had moved to Wolverhampton and so despatched an arrest warrant to the local police. But before they could execute it, Green was found to have disappeared but was eventually captured by St Helens police in an unusual fashion. PC Robinson had been retrieving some stolen goods from the Newton-le-Willows district. At what was then called Newton Bridge station, the constable boarded a train for St Helens. As he glanced into one carriage he recognised Thomas Green sat inside and so got into the same compartment.
Upon the train's arrival at St Helens station, PC Robinson surprised Green by arresting him and on the following day he appeared in court. There Green was ordered to repay the Relieving Officer the £24 that had been expended on his wife – or go to prison for three months. For most runaway husbands that were brought to book, prison was their only choice. But Green had, it seems, been doing quite nicely at his tailoring job in Wolverhampton and was able to pay off most of his debt, leading to his immediate release from police custody.
Whether he returned to his wife and family was not stated in the report – but there was an embarrassing sequel to his arrest. When placing Green into custody at the railway station, PC Robinson had given the stolen goods that he had in his possession to a porter. Upon depositing his prisoner at the police station the officer returned to the train station and found to his horror that the stolen items had once again been stolen.
That was despite the porter having supposedly stored them in a safe place. And so PC Robinson was probably commended for his sharpness in spotting the fugitive Green in the railway carriage – but criticised for losing the goods for which he'd been travelling on the railway in the first place!
She insisted when charged that she had paid for the item. However, the stallholder said that was not true and described how Mrs Spratt had later visited her at her home in Liverpool to plead with her to drop the prosecution. The reason that she gave was that both she and her husband were in delicate health. But the case still went ahead and Rebecca Spratt was sent to prison for seven days.
It was not often that the St Helens magistrates told a policeman that they didn't believe his story and that he essentially was a liar. But that was the case with Robert Bricewell who was stationed at Thatto Heath. The constable had been summoned to court "to show cause why he should not contribute to the support of the illegitimate child of Jane Harris".
PC Bricewell offered the simple reason that he was not the father, swearing positively that was the case. But the magistrates thought the evidence against him was strong and made an order for him to pay Jane 2 shillings 6d a week, and remarked that it was a great pity that the defendant should have found himself in court in that position.
Cases of trespassing in pursuit of game were very common and Nicholas Jackson was in the Petty Sessions charged with committing such an offence on land in Rainford that belonged to Sir Robert Gerard. A gamekeeper called Henry Unsworth said he saw Jackson's dog catch a hare in a field, kill it, and then take it to his master.
Three other men were with Jackson and after the gamekeeper had spoken to them about what he'd seen, he claimed they'd threatened to knock his brains out. However, Unsworth got help from two other men and they apprehended Jackson, with the other poachers managing to escape. Nicholas Jackson was fined 20 shillings and costs.
Pressure groups for all sorts of things such as temperance and keeping an eye on council spending were becoming more common. On December 1st a meeting was held in the Star Inn in Liverpool Road in St Helens with the purpose of forming a ratepayers association for Eccleston. That would be similar to the East Sutton Ratepayers Association that had existed for a couple of years.
It was common for those bringing a court action to only tell half a story, with anything that might incriminate them excluded from their evidence. In the Petty Sessions on the 1st Thomas Connor accused James Pilkington of assault, saying he'd met the man on the road while driving a horse and cart and claiming that Pilkington had immediately attacked him. Connor insisted that he had received several blows and hadn't responded in any way.
However, while being examined by the defendant's solicitor, the man was forced to explain the full circumstances of what had occurred. Connor described how he had been carting manure for Pilkington's father and somehow the machinery of his cart had got out of order. Upon seeing James Pilkington on the road, he had asked for his help and they started arguing over what was wrong. A witness called John Johnson also said that the assault only consisted of Connor being thrown to his knees. As a result the case was dismissed without any defence being offered.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the new St Helens Football Club's first training session, the St Helens Newspaper claims persecution, the new men-only Newsroom for newspaper readers and the railway row in Rainford over an open window.
This week's many stories include the constable that spotted a fugitive tailor on a train at Newton, the young Feigh brothers are back in trouble, the Rainford hare poaching case, the carters' squabble that led to a court case and the thief in St Helens Market that was sent to prison for stealing a tunic worth only a tanner.
Denis Feigh was one of the most notorious characters in St Helens during the 1870s, although his crimes were mainly drunkenness and minor theft.
Denis's notoriety meant his three sons John, James and Patrick had no chance in life and they'd often be brought to court charged with begging or stealing.
In September Patrick was sentenced to be whipped (i.e. birched) and to spend a month in prison after being convicted of stealing from a market stall.
In St Helens Petty Sessions on the 29th Patrick and his brother John were charged with stealing a tin of preserved meat from Alfred Foote's grocer's in Westfield Street.
Foote had a pyramid of tins displayed outside his shop and some boys had seen the Feigh brothers take two tins off the top and walk off.
They alerted a shop assistant who pursued the young thieves and a police constable arrested 15-year-old Patrick and 14-year-old John some time later, although without being in possession of the tins.
In court the Feighs were committed for trial at the next assizes where they were sentenced to receive 15 strokes of the birch rod and a year in prison.
According to court records this was the fourth time that Patrick Feigh had been sentenced to a whipping by a court. Neither he – nor the authorities – seemed able to grasp the futility of it all.
There was an announcement in the St Helens Newspaper on the 29th that a sale would be taking place soon near the Cotham Arms on Moorflat. That, essentially, was the area adjacent to Baldwin Street.
Vineries, cucumber houses, a slaughterhouse and a stable owned by Thomas Houlton were going to be auctioned off, as the site was needed in connection with the building of the new Town Hall.
Also up for sale was Parr Mill Dam, or more accurately the land it had occupied, as the dam had run dry.
It was described as a good place to erect a works, as it was in close proximity to the St Helens / Sankey Canal and not far away from the railway.
The Newspaper described the apprehension of Thomas Green. Four years ago the tailor had suddenly left St Helens for pastures unknown, leaving his wife and family penniless.
They needed assistance from the Relieving Officer, the man who provided cash to paupers within the community. But such desperate ones did not receive much help.
In four years Mrs Green had received a total of just £24 – that's an average of only two to three shillings each week. And James Fowler, the Relieving Officer, wanted his money back from her absent husband.
He'd been tipped off that Thomas Green had moved to Wolverhampton and so despatched an arrest warrant to the local police.
But before they could execute it, Green was found to have disappeared but was eventually captured by St Helens police in an unusual fashion.
PC Robinson had been retrieving some stolen goods from the Newton-le-Willows district. At what was then called Newton Bridge station, the constable boarded a train for St Helens.
As he glanced into one carriage he recognised Thomas Green sat inside and so got into the same compartment.
Upon the train's arrival at St Helens station, PC Robinson surprised Green by arresting him and on the following day he appeared in court.
There Green was ordered to repay the Relieving Officer the £24 that had been expended on his wife – or go to prison for three months.
For most runaway husbands that were brought to book, prison was their only choice.
But Green had, it seems, been doing quite nicely at his tailoring job in Wolverhampton and was able to pay off most of his debt, leading to his immediate release from police custody.
Whether he returned to his wife and family was not stated in the report – but there was an embarrassing sequel to his arrest.
When placing Green into custody at the railway station, PC Robinson had given the stolen goods that he had in his possession to a porter.
Upon depositing his prisoner at the police station the officer returned to the train station and found to his horror that the stolen items had once again been stolen. That was despite the porter having supposedly stored them in a safe place.
And so PC Robinson was probably commended for his sharpness in spotting the fugitive Green in the railway carriage – but criticised for losing the goods for which he'd been travelling on the railway in the first place!
The busy market place in St Helens (pictured above in the 1880s) provided good cover for thieves – but it was not good enough in the case of Rebecca Spratt. She was also in court charged with stealing a tunic valued at 6d.
A constable told the court that there had been a great crowd gathered around the stall of Caroline Freelander and amongst them was Mrs Spratt.
He said he had watched her ask the stallholder the price of a tunic – but not actually buy one.
Eventually, he said the woman placed the tunic in her basket and walked away in the direction of Bridge Street. The officer said he followed her and then took Mrs Spratt into custody.
She insisted when charged that she had paid for the item. However, the stallholder said that was not true and described how Mrs Spratt had later visited her at her home in Liverpool to plead with her to drop the prosecution.
The reason that she gave was that both she and her husband were in delicate health. But the case still went ahead and Rebecca Spratt was sent to prison for seven days.
It was not often that the St Helens magistrates told a policeman that they didn't believe his story and that he essentially was a liar. But that was the case with Robert Bricewell who was stationed at Thatto Heath.
The constable had been summoned to court "to show cause why he should not contribute to the support of the illegitimate child of Jane Harris".
PC Bricewell offered the simple reason that he was not the father, swearing positively that was the case.
But the magistrates thought the evidence against him was strong and made an order for him to pay Jane 2 shillings 6d a week, and remarked that it was a great pity that the defendant should have found himself in court in that position.
Cases of trespassing in pursuit of game were very common and Nicholas Jackson was in the Petty Sessions charged with committing such an offence on land in Rainford that belonged to Sir Robert Gerard.
A gamekeeper called Henry Unsworth said he saw Jackson's dog catch a hare in a field, kill it, and then take it to his master.
Three other men were with Jackson and after the gamekeeper had spoken to them about what he'd seen, he claimed they'd threatened to knock his brains out.
However, Unsworth got help from two other men and they apprehended Jackson, with the other poachers managing to escape. Nicholas Jackson was fined 20 shillings and costs.
Pressure groups for all sorts of things such as temperance and keeping an eye on council spending were becoming more common.
On December 1st a meeting was held in the Star Inn in Liverpool Road in St Helens with the purpose of forming a ratepayers association for Eccleston.
That would be similar to the East Sutton Ratepayers Association that had existed for a couple of years.
It was common for those bringing a court action to only tell half a story, with anything that might incriminate them excluded from their evidence.
In the Petty Sessions on the 1st Thomas Connor accused James Pilkington of assault, saying he'd met the man on the road while driving a horse and cart and claiming that Pilkington had immediately attacked him.
Connor insisted that he had received several blows and hadn't responded in any way.
However, while being examined by the defendant's solicitor, the man was forced to explain the full circumstances of what had occurred.
Connor described how he had been carting manure for Pilkington's father and somehow the machinery of his cart had got out of order.
Upon seeing James Pilkington on the road, he had asked for his help and they started arguing over what was wrong.
A witness called John Johnson also said that the assault only consisted of Connor being thrown to his knees. As a result the case was dismissed without any defence being offered.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the new St Helens Football Club's first training session, the St Helens Newspaper claims persecution, the new men-only Newsroom for newspaper readers and the railway row in Rainford over an open window.
Denis Feigh was one of the most notorious characters in St Helens during the 1870s, although his crimes were mainly drunkenness and minor theft.
Denis's notoriety meant his three sons John, James and Patrick had no chance in life and they'd often be brought to court charged with begging or stealing.
In September Patrick was sentenced to be whipped (i.e. birched) and to spend a month in prison after being convicted of stealing from a market stall.
In St Helens Petty Sessions on the 29th Patrick and his brother John were charged with stealing a tin of preserved meat from Alfred Foote's grocer's in Westfield Street.
Foote had a pyramid of tins displayed outside his shop and some boys had seen the Feigh brothers take two tins off the top and walk off.
They alerted a shop assistant who pursued the young thieves and a police constable arrested 15-year-old Patrick and 14-year-old John some time later, although without being in possession of the tins.
In court the Feighs were committed for trial at the next assizes where they were sentenced to receive 15 strokes of the birch rod and a year in prison.
According to court records this was the fourth time that Patrick Feigh had been sentenced to a whipping by a court. Neither he – nor the authorities – seemed able to grasp the futility of it all.
There was an announcement in the St Helens Newspaper on the 29th that a sale would be taking place soon near the Cotham Arms on Moorflat. That, essentially, was the area adjacent to Baldwin Street.
Vineries, cucumber houses, a slaughterhouse and a stable owned by Thomas Houlton were going to be auctioned off, as the site was needed in connection with the building of the new Town Hall.
Also up for sale was Parr Mill Dam, or more accurately the land it had occupied, as the dam had run dry.
It was described as a good place to erect a works, as it was in close proximity to the St Helens / Sankey Canal and not far away from the railway.
The Newspaper described the apprehension of Thomas Green. Four years ago the tailor had suddenly left St Helens for pastures unknown, leaving his wife and family penniless.
They needed assistance from the Relieving Officer, the man who provided cash to paupers within the community. But such desperate ones did not receive much help.
In four years Mrs Green had received a total of just £24 – that's an average of only two to three shillings each week. And James Fowler, the Relieving Officer, wanted his money back from her absent husband.
He'd been tipped off that Thomas Green had moved to Wolverhampton and so despatched an arrest warrant to the local police.
But before they could execute it, Green was found to have disappeared but was eventually captured by St Helens police in an unusual fashion.
PC Robinson had been retrieving some stolen goods from the Newton-le-Willows district. At what was then called Newton Bridge station, the constable boarded a train for St Helens.
As he glanced into one carriage he recognised Thomas Green sat inside and so got into the same compartment.
Upon the train's arrival at St Helens station, PC Robinson surprised Green by arresting him and on the following day he appeared in court.
There Green was ordered to repay the Relieving Officer the £24 that had been expended on his wife – or go to prison for three months.
For most runaway husbands that were brought to book, prison was their only choice.
But Green had, it seems, been doing quite nicely at his tailoring job in Wolverhampton and was able to pay off most of his debt, leading to his immediate release from police custody.
Whether he returned to his wife and family was not stated in the report – but there was an embarrassing sequel to his arrest.
When placing Green into custody at the railway station, PC Robinson had given the stolen goods that he had in his possession to a porter.
Upon depositing his prisoner at the police station the officer returned to the train station and found to his horror that the stolen items had once again been stolen. That was despite the porter having supposedly stored them in a safe place.
And so PC Robinson was probably commended for his sharpness in spotting the fugitive Green in the railway carriage – but criticised for losing the goods for which he'd been travelling on the railway in the first place!
A constable told the court that there had been a great crowd gathered around the stall of Caroline Freelander and amongst them was Mrs Spratt.
He said he had watched her ask the stallholder the price of a tunic – but not actually buy one.
Eventually, he said the woman placed the tunic in her basket and walked away in the direction of Bridge Street. The officer said he followed her and then took Mrs Spratt into custody.
She insisted when charged that she had paid for the item. However, the stallholder said that was not true and described how Mrs Spratt had later visited her at her home in Liverpool to plead with her to drop the prosecution.
The reason that she gave was that both she and her husband were in delicate health. But the case still went ahead and Rebecca Spratt was sent to prison for seven days.
It was not often that the St Helens magistrates told a policeman that they didn't believe his story and that he essentially was a liar. But that was the case with Robert Bricewell who was stationed at Thatto Heath.
The constable had been summoned to court "to show cause why he should not contribute to the support of the illegitimate child of Jane Harris".
PC Bricewell offered the simple reason that he was not the father, swearing positively that was the case.
But the magistrates thought the evidence against him was strong and made an order for him to pay Jane 2 shillings 6d a week, and remarked that it was a great pity that the defendant should have found himself in court in that position.
Cases of trespassing in pursuit of game were very common and Nicholas Jackson was in the Petty Sessions charged with committing such an offence on land in Rainford that belonged to Sir Robert Gerard.
A gamekeeper called Henry Unsworth said he saw Jackson's dog catch a hare in a field, kill it, and then take it to his master.
Three other men were with Jackson and after the gamekeeper had spoken to them about what he'd seen, he claimed they'd threatened to knock his brains out.
However, Unsworth got help from two other men and they apprehended Jackson, with the other poachers managing to escape. Nicholas Jackson was fined 20 shillings and costs.
Pressure groups for all sorts of things such as temperance and keeping an eye on council spending were becoming more common.
On December 1st a meeting was held in the Star Inn in Liverpool Road in St Helens with the purpose of forming a ratepayers association for Eccleston.
That would be similar to the East Sutton Ratepayers Association that had existed for a couple of years.
It was common for those bringing a court action to only tell half a story, with anything that might incriminate them excluded from their evidence.
In the Petty Sessions on the 1st Thomas Connor accused James Pilkington of assault, saying he'd met the man on the road while driving a horse and cart and claiming that Pilkington had immediately attacked him.
Connor insisted that he had received several blows and hadn't responded in any way.
However, while being examined by the defendant's solicitor, the man was forced to explain the full circumstances of what had occurred.
Connor described how he had been carting manure for Pilkington's father and somehow the machinery of his cart had got out of order.
Upon seeing James Pilkington on the road, he had asked for his help and they started arguing over what was wrong.
A witness called John Johnson also said that the assault only consisted of Connor being thrown to his knees. As a result the case was dismissed without any defence being offered.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the new St Helens Football Club's first training session, the St Helens Newspaper claims persecution, the new men-only Newsroom for newspaper readers and the railway row in Rainford over an open window.