150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (29th NOV. - 5th DEC. 1871)
This week's stories include a complaint about disgusting exhibitions at Rainford, the high death-rate in St Helens, Young Juba the negro comic performs at the Theatre Royal, another serious fire takes place at Newton, the fight at the Junction Hotel in Rainford and the gipsy fortune tellers who could not find their own horses.
We begin on the 29th when this letter was published in the Liverpool Mercury from a Rainford man using the pseudonym Nemo: "Gentlemen. – On a former occasion I called attention, through the medium of your columns, to the disgusting exhibition at Rainford commonly known as the election of lord mayor. I would now bring before you another phase of rural life equally as revolting as the previous one. For the last month or so, various rumours have been spread about a foot race, and the large amount of money that was staked on the event.
"Yesterday the race came off (at Manchester, I believe); the Rainford champion won; consequently last night the people were jubilant, the grog trade flourishing, and the whole place little better then a “rural pandemonium.” Now, this is my complaint. Ought a man to be allowed to hold a license – who gets up these obnoxious exhibitions for the sole purpose of selling his liquors? For in all these races a publican is invariably the prime mover, and the real object is to benefit his house.
"It was lamentable last night to see boys, girls, and even babies, who could barely lisp, discussing about the odds, the amount won by their fathers, and in one case a promising youth of seven regretting that his father had not enough upon the event. I cannot close this letter without asking – Where are the police? What are their duties? And if they do not put down nocturnal rows, what redress have the respectable inhabitants? Yours, &c., NEMO."
That letter does generate curious mental images of babies in their prams discussing betting odds! Exactly what Mr Nemo meant about the election of a lord mayor at Rainford (which has never had one) I am not quite sure – but clearly he was against the drinking that went on at such events.
On the same day a newspaper called The Sportsman was published and fills in some of the gaps in Nemo's complaint. An article tells us that Thomas Haslam of the Black Bull in Church Street in St Helens was the man in the Rainford correspondent's line of fire. Although the piece, perhaps, suggests that the attendance and gambling at the athletics match in Manchester was not as great as claimed:
"Royal Oak Park. Two interesting events were decided at this arena on Monday afternoon, but failed to attract a numerous company. The first brought to an issue was a match between R. Sefton, of Rainford, and W. Woodcock, of St. Helens, two youths unknown to fame, who had signed articles to run 150 yards, for £25, a-side. On the men appearing slight odds were laid on Sefton, which rapidly rose until 5 to 2 was freely offered, with few takers.
"At the first attempt a start was effected by mutual consent, Woodcock, who was quickest on his legs, poaching nearly a yard; Sefton, however, rapidly made up his lost ground, and, passing his opponent when half the distance had been covered, gradually came away, and won easily by two yards and a half. Mr. T. Haslam, of the Black Bull Inn, St. Helens, who held the stakes, officiated as referee."
On December 1st the St Helens Health Committee met and were told that cases of smallpox in the borough were on the decline, with only one death having occurred in the past week. The council surveyor told the committee members that he had identified two possible sites in the borough that would be suitable as smallpox isolation hospitals. However, the committee decided not to proceed with either of them for the time being.
It wouldn't be until 1881 that the St Helens Borough Sanatorium – also known as the Fever or Infectious Diseases Hospital – would be built in Peasley Cross where sufferers of smallpox and other diseases could be isolated. For the time being small fever sheds at Whiston had to suffice.
Rainford is featured quite a lot in the papers this week – with the Wigan Observer publishing a debt repudiation story from St Helens County Court on the 1st that involved two of the village's residents. Debt repudiation happened quite a lot and entailed someone casually borrowing cash off a friend or family member. When they asked for their money back, the debtor either completely denied borrowing the money in the first place or claimed it had been a gift. Under the headline "A Keen Dodge", the Observer wrote:
"Melling v. Roughley – Both parties reside at Rainford. Some time ago the defendant went to the plaintiff in the fields and asked [for] a loan of £5; and as the latter had not the money with him, he gave the defendant the keys of his box which was in the house of defendant's half-brother (with whom he lodged), and told him to go to his relative and ask him to get that much out of his box. When Melling sought repayment, his debtor repudiated him, and carried his repudiation into court, relying upon having received the money from another's hands; and the half-brother, who was a witness claimed to be the creditor and the only person entitled to sue. His honour gave a verdict for the plaintiff."
There was a brief report in the Manchester Evening News on the 1st that stated that a money order office and savings bank had now been opened at Peasley Cross.
Despite the recent decline in smallpox cases, the St Helens Newspaper stated on the 2nd that the mortality rate in the town during the previous month had been particularly high: "The death-rate of St. Helens has reached an alarming figure. We find that during the past month there has been 177 deaths in the borough – 98 males and 79 females – a death-rate of 40.68 per 1000. Probably this is the highest average ever reached here. The death toll included 41 from measles and 26 from smallpox with 119 of the deaths being children under five years of age."
Anyone on the look out for pantomime costumes could find a bargain in St Helens this week. On the 3rd the London newspaper called 'The Era' – which featured many provincial music hall listings – carried this classified ad: "TO BE SOLD, PANTOMIME DRESSES, Clowns', Harlequins', Pantaloons', Columbines'; and a lot more suitable for Pantomimes. All nearly new. Left for debt last Christmas. The lot to be sold for 35s. Address, F. LANGSHAW, Market-street, St. Helens".
These were the artists that The Era said were performing at the Theatre Royal Concert Hall (which became The Citadel) in St Helens this week: "We have Professor Hotine, in his feats of strength; Madame Gartute, with her performing dogs; Mons. Trevanion, ceiling walker; Mr Edward Feilding and Fanny Johnson, good duettists; Young Juba, Negro; and Miss Stella De Vere, serio-comic." I’d like to have seen the French ceiling walker – perhaps the performing dogs could have been trained to undertake high-rise walkies with him!
As for Young Juba, sadly being a "negro" then was an act in itself; a comic representation of how black people were perceived by many – with a song and dance routine thrown into the comedy mix. At a few other places around this time, Juba was being billed as "the eccentric performing monkey" – and so "negro" is probably an improvement. A couple of reviews in The Era from performances elsewhere said: "Here also is Young Juba, who has not hitherto, we are told, performed in or near London, and who claims our admiration for his very clever Ni**er business." And: "Young Juba (Negroist) sings well and displays considerable ability as a dancer."
On the 4th Alfred Lee, the proprietor of the Junction Hotel in Rainford (pictured above), was charged in St Helens Petty Sessions with keeping a disorderly house by permitting fighting. PC Wilding gave evidence that he'd heard the sound of quarrelling coming from inside the pub and upon looking through a window, heard the landlord's voice. The constable claimed that Lee was telling his customers to "stand back and give the men fair play".
Upon going inside, the officer found two men stripped and bearing traces of having fought. It was claimed that the landlord had only been concerned with preventing his glasses from getting smashed and had made no attempt to stop the disturbance. However, the magistrates felt the case had not been sufficiently proved and dismissed the charge.
The next two reported cases in the Sessions underlined the general tolerance of violence at that time. William Marsh was sent to prison for a week after being found sleeping inside the premises of the Sutton Alkali Works. Homeless men (and women) would try to escape the cold by spending the odd night in such places but their reward was invariably prison. Marsh would have received a similar fate if caught begging. However, Edward Neville, who'd punched Henry Ball – the landlord of the Eagle and Child in Rainford – only received a five-shilling fine.
In the early morning of the 5th, a serious fire broke out in John Knight's paper dealer's business in Newton. The fire was first discovered shortly after 3am and by that time the roof of the warehouse had fallen in. There was the usual delay in informing the authorities coupled with the time needed for horse-driven fire appliances to arrive on the scene.
It took half-an-hour for the engines to make their way from Newton and Earlestown but by then the building had been gutted and the warehouse and its contents entirely destroyed. All the firemen could do was prevent the adjoining buildings from being burned down as well. Although the owner of the rented property had the building insured, the stock had no cover.
And finally, the clairvoyant having to cancel a fortune-telling event through "unforeseen circumstances" is, of course, an old joke. But it seems to go back 150 years, as this letter published in the Liverpool Mercury this week shows: "Gentlemen, – I would recommend all your readers who are the least credulous with respect to fortune-telling to reflect upon the contents of the following advertisement, which appeared in the Mercury, Nov. 21st:–
"“Lost or strayed, from a field on Sleeper's-hill, Everton, on Saturday night last, two mares – one a cart mare, with white face and white hind legs, and the other a dark iron-grey nag mare. Any one finding the said two mares, and restoring them to the gipsy encampment at Sleeper's-hill, will be rewarded for their trouble.”
"Now, the above very clearly proves that the gipsies' fortune-telling powers could not divine where the lost mares had gone, or they would not have paid for an advertisement. So my advice to all persons having any belief in fortune tellers is not to employ them to recover lost property, but rather follow the example of the gipsies, and advertise it; for we may be sure that if they cannot tell where their own property is by supernatural means, it is also impossible for them to discover other people's. F.G."
Next week's stories will include the contagious diseases that were raging in St Helens, the Pocket Nook railway accident, the curious controversy over school boards, the curling match at Rainhill and more on the Whiston water well problem.
We begin on the 29th when this letter was published in the Liverpool Mercury from a Rainford man using the pseudonym Nemo: "Gentlemen. – On a former occasion I called attention, through the medium of your columns, to the disgusting exhibition at Rainford commonly known as the election of lord mayor. I would now bring before you another phase of rural life equally as revolting as the previous one. For the last month or so, various rumours have been spread about a foot race, and the large amount of money that was staked on the event.
"Yesterday the race came off (at Manchester, I believe); the Rainford champion won; consequently last night the people were jubilant, the grog trade flourishing, and the whole place little better then a “rural pandemonium.” Now, this is my complaint. Ought a man to be allowed to hold a license – who gets up these obnoxious exhibitions for the sole purpose of selling his liquors? For in all these races a publican is invariably the prime mover, and the real object is to benefit his house.
"It was lamentable last night to see boys, girls, and even babies, who could barely lisp, discussing about the odds, the amount won by their fathers, and in one case a promising youth of seven regretting that his father had not enough upon the event. I cannot close this letter without asking – Where are the police? What are their duties? And if they do not put down nocturnal rows, what redress have the respectable inhabitants? Yours, &c., NEMO."
That letter does generate curious mental images of babies in their prams discussing betting odds! Exactly what Mr Nemo meant about the election of a lord mayor at Rainford (which has never had one) I am not quite sure – but clearly he was against the drinking that went on at such events.
On the same day a newspaper called The Sportsman was published and fills in some of the gaps in Nemo's complaint. An article tells us that Thomas Haslam of the Black Bull in Church Street in St Helens was the man in the Rainford correspondent's line of fire. Although the piece, perhaps, suggests that the attendance and gambling at the athletics match in Manchester was not as great as claimed:
"Royal Oak Park. Two interesting events were decided at this arena on Monday afternoon, but failed to attract a numerous company. The first brought to an issue was a match between R. Sefton, of Rainford, and W. Woodcock, of St. Helens, two youths unknown to fame, who had signed articles to run 150 yards, for £25, a-side. On the men appearing slight odds were laid on Sefton, which rapidly rose until 5 to 2 was freely offered, with few takers.
"At the first attempt a start was effected by mutual consent, Woodcock, who was quickest on his legs, poaching nearly a yard; Sefton, however, rapidly made up his lost ground, and, passing his opponent when half the distance had been covered, gradually came away, and won easily by two yards and a half. Mr. T. Haslam, of the Black Bull Inn, St. Helens, who held the stakes, officiated as referee."
On December 1st the St Helens Health Committee met and were told that cases of smallpox in the borough were on the decline, with only one death having occurred in the past week. The council surveyor told the committee members that he had identified two possible sites in the borough that would be suitable as smallpox isolation hospitals. However, the committee decided not to proceed with either of them for the time being.
It wouldn't be until 1881 that the St Helens Borough Sanatorium – also known as the Fever or Infectious Diseases Hospital – would be built in Peasley Cross where sufferers of smallpox and other diseases could be isolated. For the time being small fever sheds at Whiston had to suffice.
Rainford is featured quite a lot in the papers this week – with the Wigan Observer publishing a debt repudiation story from St Helens County Court on the 1st that involved two of the village's residents. Debt repudiation happened quite a lot and entailed someone casually borrowing cash off a friend or family member. When they asked for their money back, the debtor either completely denied borrowing the money in the first place or claimed it had been a gift. Under the headline "A Keen Dodge", the Observer wrote:
"Melling v. Roughley – Both parties reside at Rainford. Some time ago the defendant went to the plaintiff in the fields and asked [for] a loan of £5; and as the latter had not the money with him, he gave the defendant the keys of his box which was in the house of defendant's half-brother (with whom he lodged), and told him to go to his relative and ask him to get that much out of his box. When Melling sought repayment, his debtor repudiated him, and carried his repudiation into court, relying upon having received the money from another's hands; and the half-brother, who was a witness claimed to be the creditor and the only person entitled to sue. His honour gave a verdict for the plaintiff."
There was a brief report in the Manchester Evening News on the 1st that stated that a money order office and savings bank had now been opened at Peasley Cross.
Despite the recent decline in smallpox cases, the St Helens Newspaper stated on the 2nd that the mortality rate in the town during the previous month had been particularly high: "The death-rate of St. Helens has reached an alarming figure. We find that during the past month there has been 177 deaths in the borough – 98 males and 79 females – a death-rate of 40.68 per 1000. Probably this is the highest average ever reached here. The death toll included 41 from measles and 26 from smallpox with 119 of the deaths being children under five years of age."
Anyone on the look out for pantomime costumes could find a bargain in St Helens this week. On the 3rd the London newspaper called 'The Era' – which featured many provincial music hall listings – carried this classified ad: "TO BE SOLD, PANTOMIME DRESSES, Clowns', Harlequins', Pantaloons', Columbines'; and a lot more suitable for Pantomimes. All nearly new. Left for debt last Christmas. The lot to be sold for 35s. Address, F. LANGSHAW, Market-street, St. Helens".
These were the artists that The Era said were performing at the Theatre Royal Concert Hall (which became The Citadel) in St Helens this week: "We have Professor Hotine, in his feats of strength; Madame Gartute, with her performing dogs; Mons. Trevanion, ceiling walker; Mr Edward Feilding and Fanny Johnson, good duettists; Young Juba, Negro; and Miss Stella De Vere, serio-comic." I’d like to have seen the French ceiling walker – perhaps the performing dogs could have been trained to undertake high-rise walkies with him!
As for Young Juba, sadly being a "negro" then was an act in itself; a comic representation of how black people were perceived by many – with a song and dance routine thrown into the comedy mix. At a few other places around this time, Juba was being billed as "the eccentric performing monkey" – and so "negro" is probably an improvement. A couple of reviews in The Era from performances elsewhere said: "Here also is Young Juba, who has not hitherto, we are told, performed in or near London, and who claims our admiration for his very clever Ni**er business." And: "Young Juba (Negroist) sings well and displays considerable ability as a dancer."
Upon going inside, the officer found two men stripped and bearing traces of having fought. It was claimed that the landlord had only been concerned with preventing his glasses from getting smashed and had made no attempt to stop the disturbance. However, the magistrates felt the case had not been sufficiently proved and dismissed the charge.
The next two reported cases in the Sessions underlined the general tolerance of violence at that time. William Marsh was sent to prison for a week after being found sleeping inside the premises of the Sutton Alkali Works. Homeless men (and women) would try to escape the cold by spending the odd night in such places but their reward was invariably prison. Marsh would have received a similar fate if caught begging. However, Edward Neville, who'd punched Henry Ball – the landlord of the Eagle and Child in Rainford – only received a five-shilling fine.
In the early morning of the 5th, a serious fire broke out in John Knight's paper dealer's business in Newton. The fire was first discovered shortly after 3am and by that time the roof of the warehouse had fallen in. There was the usual delay in informing the authorities coupled with the time needed for horse-driven fire appliances to arrive on the scene.
It took half-an-hour for the engines to make their way from Newton and Earlestown but by then the building had been gutted and the warehouse and its contents entirely destroyed. All the firemen could do was prevent the adjoining buildings from being burned down as well. Although the owner of the rented property had the building insured, the stock had no cover.
And finally, the clairvoyant having to cancel a fortune-telling event through "unforeseen circumstances" is, of course, an old joke. But it seems to go back 150 years, as this letter published in the Liverpool Mercury this week shows: "Gentlemen, – I would recommend all your readers who are the least credulous with respect to fortune-telling to reflect upon the contents of the following advertisement, which appeared in the Mercury, Nov. 21st:–
"“Lost or strayed, from a field on Sleeper's-hill, Everton, on Saturday night last, two mares – one a cart mare, with white face and white hind legs, and the other a dark iron-grey nag mare. Any one finding the said two mares, and restoring them to the gipsy encampment at Sleeper's-hill, will be rewarded for their trouble.”
"Now, the above very clearly proves that the gipsies' fortune-telling powers could not divine where the lost mares had gone, or they would not have paid for an advertisement. So my advice to all persons having any belief in fortune tellers is not to employ them to recover lost property, but rather follow the example of the gipsies, and advertise it; for we may be sure that if they cannot tell where their own property is by supernatural means, it is also impossible for them to discover other people's. F.G."
Next week's stories will include the contagious diseases that were raging in St Helens, the Pocket Nook railway accident, the curious controversy over school boards, the curling match at Rainhill and more on the Whiston water well problem.
This week's stories include a complaint about disgusting exhibitions at Rainford, the high death-rate in St Helens, Young Juba the negro comic performs at the Theatre Royal, another serious fire takes place at Newton, the fight at the Junction Hotel in Rainford and the gipsy fortune tellers who could not find their own horses.
We begin on the the 29th when this letter was published in the Liverpool Mercury from a Rainford man using the pseudonym Nemo:
"Gentlemen. – On a former occasion I called attention, through the medium of your columns, to the disgusting exhibition at Rainford commonly known as the election of lord mayor.
"I would now bring before you another phase of rural life equally as revolting as the previous one.
"For the last month or so, various rumours have been spread about a foot race, and the large amount of money that was staked on the event.
"Yesterday the race came off (at Manchester, I believe); the Rainford champion won; consequently last night the people were jubilant, the grog trade flourishing, and the whole place little better then a “rural pandemonium.”
"Now, this is my complaint. Ought a man to be allowed to hold a license – who gets up these obnoxious exhibitions for the sole purpose of selling his liquors?
"For in all these races a publican is invariably the prime mover, and the real object is to benefit his house.
"It was lamentable last night to see boys, girls, and even babies, who could barely lisp, discussing about the odds, the amount won by their fathers, and in one case a promising youth of seven regretting that his father had not enough upon the event.
"I cannot close this letter without asking – Where are the police? What are their duties? And if they do not put down nocturnal rows, what redress have the respectable inhabitants? Yours, &c., NEMO."
That letter does generate curious mental images of babies in their prams discussing betting odds!
Exactly what Mr Nemo meant about the election of a lord mayor at Rainford (which has never had one) I am not quite sure – but clearly he was against the drinking that went on at such events.
On the same day a newspaper called The Sportsman was published and fills in some of the gaps in Nemo's complaint.
An article tells us that Thomas Haslam of the Black Bull in Church Street in St Helens was the man in the Rainford correspondent's line of fire.
Although the piece, perhaps, suggests that the attendance and gambling at the athletics match in Manchester was not as great as claimed:
"Royal Oak Park. Two interesting events were decided at this arena on Monday afternoon, but failed to attract a numerous company.
"The first brought to an issue was a match between R. Sefton, of Rainford, and W. Woodcock, of St. Helens, two youths unknown to fame, who had signed articles to run 150 yards, for £25, a-side.
"On the men appearing slight odds were laid on Sefton, which rapidly rose until 5 to 2 was freely offered, with few takers.
"At the first attempt a start was effected by mutual consent, Woodcock, who was quickest on his legs, poaching nearly a yard; Sefton, however, rapidly made up his lost ground, and, passing his opponent when half the distance had been covered, gradually came away, and won easily by two yards and a half.
"Mr. T. Haslam, of the Black Bull Inn, St. Helens, who held the stakes, officiated as referee."
On December 1st the St Helens Health Committee met and were told that cases of smallpox in the borough were on the decline, with only one death having occurred in the past week.
The council surveyor told the committee members that he had identified two possible sites in the borough that would be suitable as smallpox isolation hospitals.
However, the committee decided not to proceed with either of them for the time being.
It wouldn't be until 1881 that the St Helens Borough Sanatorium – also known as the Fever or Infectious Diseases Hospital – would be built in Peasley Cross where sufferers of smallpox and other diseases could be isolated.
For the time being small fever sheds at Whiston had to suffice.
Rainford is featured quite a lot in the papers this week – with the Wigan Observer publishing a debt repudiation story from St Helens County Court on the 1st that involved two of the village's residents.
Debt repudiation happened quite a lot and entailed someone casually borrowing cash off a friend or family member.
When they asked for their money back, the debtor either completely denied borrowing the money in the first place or claimed it had been a gift. Under the headline "A Keen Dodge", the Observer wrote:
"Melling v. Roughley – Both parties reside at Rainford. Some time ago the defendant went to the plaintiff in the fields and asked [for] a loan of £5; and as the latter had not the money with him, he gave the defendant the keys of his box which was in the house of defendant's half-brother (with whom he lodged), and told him to go to his relative and ask him to get that much out of his box.
"When Melling sought repayment, his debtor repudiated him, and carried his repudiation into court, relying upon having received the money from another's hands; and the half-brother, who was a witness claimed to be the creditor and the only person entitled to sue. His honour gave a verdict for the plaintiff."
There was a brief report in the Manchester Evening News on the 1st that stated that a money order office and savings bank had now been opened at Peasley Cross.
Despite the recent decline in smallpox cases, the St Helens Newspaper stated on the 2nd that the mortality rate in the town during the previous month had been particularly high:
"The death-rate of St. Helens has reached an alarming figure. We find that during the past month there has been 177 deaths in the borough – 98 males and 79 females – a death-rate of 40.68 per 1000. Probably this is the highest average ever reached here.
"The death toll included 41 from measles and 26 from smallpox with 119 of the deaths being children under five years of age."
Anyone on the look out for pantomime costumes could find a bargain in St Helens this week.
On the 3rd the London newspaper called 'The Era' – which featured many provincial music hall listings – carried this classified ad:
"TO BE SOLD, PANTOMIME DRESSES, Clowns', Harlequins', Pantaloons', Columbines'; and a lot more suitable for Pantomimes. All nearly new. Left for debt last Christmas. The lot to be sold for 35s. Address, F. LANGSHAW, Market-street, St. Helens".
These were the artists that The Era said were performing at the Theatre Royal Concert Hall (which became The Citadel) in St Helens this week:
"We have Professor Hotine, in his feats of strength; Madame Gartute, with her performing dogs; Mons. Trevanion, ceiling walker; Mr Edward Feilding and Fanny Johnson, good duettists; Young Juba, Negro; and Miss Stella De Vere, serio-comic."
I’d like to have seen the French ceiling walker – perhaps the performing dogs could have been trained to undertake high-rise walkies with him!
As for Young Juba, sadly being a "negro" then was an act in itself; a comic representation of how black people were perceived by many – with a song and dance routine thrown into the comedy mix.
At a few other places around this time, Juba was being billed as "the eccentric performing monkey" – and so "negro" is probably an improvement.
A couple of reviews in The Era from performances elsewhere said:
"Here also is Young Juba, who has not hitherto, we are told, performed in or near London, and who claims our admiration for his very clever Ni**er business."
"Young Juba (Negroist) sings well and displays considerable ability as a dancer."
On the 4th Alfred Lee, the proprietor of the Junction Hotel in Rainford (pictured above), was charged in St Helens Petty Sessions with keeping a disorderly house by permitting fighting.
PC Wilding gave evidence that he'd heard the sound of quarrelling coming from inside the pub and upon looking through a window, heard the landlord's voice.
The constable claimed that Lee was telling his customers to "stand back and give the men fair play".
Upon going inside, the officer found two men stripped and bearing traces of having fought.
It was claimed that the landlord had only been concerned with preventing his glasses from getting smashed and had made no attempt to stop the disturbance.
However, the magistrates felt the case had not been sufficiently proved and dismissed the charge.
The next two reported cases in the Sessions underlined the general tolerance of violence at that time.
William Marsh was sent to prison for a week after being found sleeping inside the premises of the Sutton Alkali Works.
Homeless men (and women) would try to escape the cold by spending the odd night in such places but their reward was invariably prison. Marsh would have received a similar fate if caught begging.
However, Edward Neville, who'd punched Henry Ball – the landlord of the Eagle and Child in Rainford – only received a five-shilling fine.
In the early morning of the 5th, a serious fire broke out in John Knight's paper dealer's business in Newton.
The fire was first discovered shortly after 3am and by that time the roof of the warehouse had fallen in.
There was the usual delay in informing the authorities coupled with the time needed for horse-driven fire appliances to arrive on the scene.
It took half-an-hour for the engines to make their way from Newton and Earlestown but by then the building had been gutted and the warehouse and its contents entirely destroyed.
All the firemen could do was prevent the adjoining buildings from being burned down as well.
Although the owner of the rented property had the building insured, the stock had no cover.
And finally, the clairvoyant having to cancel a fortune-telling event through "unforeseen circumstances" is, of course, an old joke.
But it seems to go back 150 years, as this letter published in the Liverpool Mercury this week shows:
"Gentlemen, – I would recommend all your readers who are the least credulous with respect to fortune-telling to reflect upon the contents of the following advertisement, which appeared in the Mercury, Nov. 21st:–
"“Lost or strayed, from a field on Sleeper's-hill, Everton, on Saturday night last, two mares – one a cart mare, with white face and white hind legs, and the other a dark iron-grey nag mare. Any one finding the said two mares, and restoring them to the gipsy encampment at Sleeper's-hill, will be rewarded for their trouble.”
"Now, the above very clearly proves that the gipsies' fortune-telling powers could not divine where the lost mares had gone, or they would not have paid for an advertisement.
"So my advice to all persons having any belief in fortune tellers is not to employ them to recover lost property, but rather follow the example of the gipsies, and advertise it; for we may be sure that if they cannot tell where their own property is by supernatural means, it is also impossible for them to discover other people's. F.G."
Next week's stories will include the contagious diseases that were raging in St Helens, the Pocket Nook railway accident, the curious controversy over school boards, the curling match at Rainhill and more on the Whiston water well problem.
We begin on the the 29th when this letter was published in the Liverpool Mercury from a Rainford man using the pseudonym Nemo:
"Gentlemen. – On a former occasion I called attention, through the medium of your columns, to the disgusting exhibition at Rainford commonly known as the election of lord mayor.
"I would now bring before you another phase of rural life equally as revolting as the previous one.
"For the last month or so, various rumours have been spread about a foot race, and the large amount of money that was staked on the event.
"Yesterday the race came off (at Manchester, I believe); the Rainford champion won; consequently last night the people were jubilant, the grog trade flourishing, and the whole place little better then a “rural pandemonium.”
"Now, this is my complaint. Ought a man to be allowed to hold a license – who gets up these obnoxious exhibitions for the sole purpose of selling his liquors?
"For in all these races a publican is invariably the prime mover, and the real object is to benefit his house.
"It was lamentable last night to see boys, girls, and even babies, who could barely lisp, discussing about the odds, the amount won by their fathers, and in one case a promising youth of seven regretting that his father had not enough upon the event.
"I cannot close this letter without asking – Where are the police? What are their duties? And if they do not put down nocturnal rows, what redress have the respectable inhabitants? Yours, &c., NEMO."
That letter does generate curious mental images of babies in their prams discussing betting odds!
Exactly what Mr Nemo meant about the election of a lord mayor at Rainford (which has never had one) I am not quite sure – but clearly he was against the drinking that went on at such events.
On the same day a newspaper called The Sportsman was published and fills in some of the gaps in Nemo's complaint.
An article tells us that Thomas Haslam of the Black Bull in Church Street in St Helens was the man in the Rainford correspondent's line of fire.
Although the piece, perhaps, suggests that the attendance and gambling at the athletics match in Manchester was not as great as claimed:
"Royal Oak Park. Two interesting events were decided at this arena on Monday afternoon, but failed to attract a numerous company.
"The first brought to an issue was a match between R. Sefton, of Rainford, and W. Woodcock, of St. Helens, two youths unknown to fame, who had signed articles to run 150 yards, for £25, a-side.
"On the men appearing slight odds were laid on Sefton, which rapidly rose until 5 to 2 was freely offered, with few takers.
"At the first attempt a start was effected by mutual consent, Woodcock, who was quickest on his legs, poaching nearly a yard; Sefton, however, rapidly made up his lost ground, and, passing his opponent when half the distance had been covered, gradually came away, and won easily by two yards and a half.
"Mr. T. Haslam, of the Black Bull Inn, St. Helens, who held the stakes, officiated as referee."
On December 1st the St Helens Health Committee met and were told that cases of smallpox in the borough were on the decline, with only one death having occurred in the past week.
The council surveyor told the committee members that he had identified two possible sites in the borough that would be suitable as smallpox isolation hospitals.
However, the committee decided not to proceed with either of them for the time being.
It wouldn't be until 1881 that the St Helens Borough Sanatorium – also known as the Fever or Infectious Diseases Hospital – would be built in Peasley Cross where sufferers of smallpox and other diseases could be isolated.
For the time being small fever sheds at Whiston had to suffice.
Rainford is featured quite a lot in the papers this week – with the Wigan Observer publishing a debt repudiation story from St Helens County Court on the 1st that involved two of the village's residents.
Debt repudiation happened quite a lot and entailed someone casually borrowing cash off a friend or family member.
When they asked for their money back, the debtor either completely denied borrowing the money in the first place or claimed it had been a gift. Under the headline "A Keen Dodge", the Observer wrote:
"Melling v. Roughley – Both parties reside at Rainford. Some time ago the defendant went to the plaintiff in the fields and asked [for] a loan of £5; and as the latter had not the money with him, he gave the defendant the keys of his box which was in the house of defendant's half-brother (with whom he lodged), and told him to go to his relative and ask him to get that much out of his box.
"When Melling sought repayment, his debtor repudiated him, and carried his repudiation into court, relying upon having received the money from another's hands; and the half-brother, who was a witness claimed to be the creditor and the only person entitled to sue. His honour gave a verdict for the plaintiff."
There was a brief report in the Manchester Evening News on the 1st that stated that a money order office and savings bank had now been opened at Peasley Cross.
Despite the recent decline in smallpox cases, the St Helens Newspaper stated on the 2nd that the mortality rate in the town during the previous month had been particularly high:
"The death-rate of St. Helens has reached an alarming figure. We find that during the past month there has been 177 deaths in the borough – 98 males and 79 females – a death-rate of 40.68 per 1000. Probably this is the highest average ever reached here.
"The death toll included 41 from measles and 26 from smallpox with 119 of the deaths being children under five years of age."
Anyone on the look out for pantomime costumes could find a bargain in St Helens this week.
On the 3rd the London newspaper called 'The Era' – which featured many provincial music hall listings – carried this classified ad:
"TO BE SOLD, PANTOMIME DRESSES, Clowns', Harlequins', Pantaloons', Columbines'; and a lot more suitable for Pantomimes. All nearly new. Left for debt last Christmas. The lot to be sold for 35s. Address, F. LANGSHAW, Market-street, St. Helens".
These were the artists that The Era said were performing at the Theatre Royal Concert Hall (which became The Citadel) in St Helens this week:
"We have Professor Hotine, in his feats of strength; Madame Gartute, with her performing dogs; Mons. Trevanion, ceiling walker; Mr Edward Feilding and Fanny Johnson, good duettists; Young Juba, Negro; and Miss Stella De Vere, serio-comic."
I’d like to have seen the French ceiling walker – perhaps the performing dogs could have been trained to undertake high-rise walkies with him!
As for Young Juba, sadly being a "negro" then was an act in itself; a comic representation of how black people were perceived by many – with a song and dance routine thrown into the comedy mix.
At a few other places around this time, Juba was being billed as "the eccentric performing monkey" – and so "negro" is probably an improvement.
A couple of reviews in The Era from performances elsewhere said:
"Here also is Young Juba, who has not hitherto, we are told, performed in or near London, and who claims our admiration for his very clever Ni**er business."
"Young Juba (Negroist) sings well and displays considerable ability as a dancer."
PC Wilding gave evidence that he'd heard the sound of quarrelling coming from inside the pub and upon looking through a window, heard the landlord's voice.
The constable claimed that Lee was telling his customers to "stand back and give the men fair play".
Upon going inside, the officer found two men stripped and bearing traces of having fought.
It was claimed that the landlord had only been concerned with preventing his glasses from getting smashed and had made no attempt to stop the disturbance.
However, the magistrates felt the case had not been sufficiently proved and dismissed the charge.
The next two reported cases in the Sessions underlined the general tolerance of violence at that time.
William Marsh was sent to prison for a week after being found sleeping inside the premises of the Sutton Alkali Works.
Homeless men (and women) would try to escape the cold by spending the odd night in such places but their reward was invariably prison. Marsh would have received a similar fate if caught begging.
However, Edward Neville, who'd punched Henry Ball – the landlord of the Eagle and Child in Rainford – only received a five-shilling fine.
In the early morning of the 5th, a serious fire broke out in John Knight's paper dealer's business in Newton.
The fire was first discovered shortly after 3am and by that time the roof of the warehouse had fallen in.
There was the usual delay in informing the authorities coupled with the time needed for horse-driven fire appliances to arrive on the scene.
It took half-an-hour for the engines to make their way from Newton and Earlestown but by then the building had been gutted and the warehouse and its contents entirely destroyed.
All the firemen could do was prevent the adjoining buildings from being burned down as well.
Although the owner of the rented property had the building insured, the stock had no cover.
And finally, the clairvoyant having to cancel a fortune-telling event through "unforeseen circumstances" is, of course, an old joke.
But it seems to go back 150 years, as this letter published in the Liverpool Mercury this week shows:
"Gentlemen, – I would recommend all your readers who are the least credulous with respect to fortune-telling to reflect upon the contents of the following advertisement, which appeared in the Mercury, Nov. 21st:–
"“Lost or strayed, from a field on Sleeper's-hill, Everton, on Saturday night last, two mares – one a cart mare, with white face and white hind legs, and the other a dark iron-grey nag mare. Any one finding the said two mares, and restoring them to the gipsy encampment at Sleeper's-hill, will be rewarded for their trouble.”
"Now, the above very clearly proves that the gipsies' fortune-telling powers could not divine where the lost mares had gone, or they would not have paid for an advertisement.
"So my advice to all persons having any belief in fortune tellers is not to employ them to recover lost property, but rather follow the example of the gipsies, and advertise it; for we may be sure that if they cannot tell where their own property is by supernatural means, it is also impossible for them to discover other people's. F.G."
Next week's stories will include the contagious diseases that were raging in St Helens, the Pocket Nook railway accident, the curious controversy over school boards, the curling match at Rainhill and more on the Whiston water well problem.