150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 1 - 7 JUNE 1876
This week's many stories include the opening of the new St Helens Town Hall, the telescope stealing on Cowley Hill, the violence in a Pocket Nook beerhouse caused by the playing of dominoes and why the Ragged School pupils needed to go at the rear of the procession celebrating the new Town Hall.
We begin on the 3rd with an advertisement in the St Helens Newspaper from the Catholic Association for the Suppression of Drunkenness. They wrote that they would be participating in the Grand Demonstration and Procession in connection with the opening of the new Town Hall on the 5th. Afterwards they would march in order to Mrs Littler's Field in Dentons Green (pictured above) where sports would be held.
That was a popular place for events and at one point Saints played their home games there. The contests included flat, hurdle and steeplechase races, with prices valued at £20 available. Admission to the sports cost 6d, with children paying 3d and the Brass Band of the Association and the Band of Holy Cross Boys Guild would play at intervals.
There was also a report in the Newspaper on the latest meeting of the organising committee that was arranging the details concerning the opening of the Town Hall. There were several sub-committees and the Procession Committee reported that they had decided that the pupils of the Ragged School should be last in line during the walk. No reason was given in the report but the children would not be in their best clothes – because they would not have had any.
And so with the prospect of these children wearing little more than rags marching along the streets on a very important day in the history of St Helens, placing them at the rear of a very long procession would have been seen as the best solution. The Ragged School in Arthur Street, which used to be near Westfield Street, had opened in 1861 to provide free schooling for some of the destitute street children of St Helens. Although the children of Whiston Workhouse would not be walking, their band was due to play and it was decided that they should be placed in front of the Ragged School kids.
North Road was then very open and had been chosen as the place where all those participating in the procession should assemble. The meeting decided to form another sub-committee to visit the area and create a plan as to how the assembling should take place. Two members were also appointed as a deputation to, as the Newspaper put it, "wait upon the tradesmen of the town with the view of inducing them to decorate their premises in the line of the route of the procession."
In St Helens Petty Sessions this week Ann Clarke summoned Mary Fox, accusing the woman of assault. Mrs Clarke was the wife of a beerseller in Pocket Nook and on the previous Saturday evening two men had entered their house and had begun playing dominoes. Shortly afterwards Mary Fox came in and one of the men paid for a bottle of ginger beer for her.
It was then suggested that a game of dominoes should be played for money and one of them put a two-shilling piece down on the table. However, betting in licensed premises was illegal and the Clarkes could have lost their licence. And so the landlord refused to allow them to play the game and that led Mary Fox to become very abusive, which led to Mr Clarke ordering the woman to leave. The Newspaper wrote:
"This exasperated her that she threw a glass at him, which, however, missed him but struck Mrs Clarke, and afterwards broke against the wall. Mr Clarke then approached her for the purpose of putting her out, when she also threw the gingerbeer bottle at him. She was at length got outside the house, when she struck Mrs Clarke twice in the face, and also threw half a brick at her."
The magistrates fined the violent Mary Fox 10 shillings and costs but only for the assault committed inside the house. Curiously, they felt that Ann Clarke had brought on the trouble outside when she was twice struck in the face and had half a brick chucked at her. They felt she should have remained inside the house instead of following Mary to the door.
People in the 1870s had precious few possessions and so for someone to own a telescope was most unusual and suggested they were well off. A Christian name of Barclay was also uncommon but Barclay Lewis was not the victim of a telescope theft but was in the dock in the Petty Sessions this week. Along with Samuel Airey, Lewis was charged with stealing a telescope belonging to John Brown, who was described as a rate collector living on Cowley Hill.
Both men had been employed to whitewash the ceiling of the house and after undertaking some work went out to get some eggs and cement for the ceiling. Just what they used eggs for on the ceiling, I can't say! But soon after their return, John Brown's wife found the telescope was missing. It was yet another brainless theft in which it was obvious who was responsible. And as stealing inevitably led to a prison sentence, it was a very risky game to play.
Although they denied stealing the telescope and suggested that someone else could have stolen it while they were outside the house, witnesses stated that the men had on that day been in the Running Horses pub. There, Barclay Lewis had offered to sell the stolen telescope but had failed to get a buyer. Both men were found guilty and sentenced to 6 weeks in prison with hard labour, although the telescope had yet to be found.
On the 5th the new St Helens Town Hall was opened. Later in the week the St Helens Newspaper wrote: "Whit Monday, 1876, will be looked upon as quite a “Red Letter Day” in the history of St Helens, as on that day was completed and formally opened the New Town Hall and corporation offices which had long been wanted in the town." That, they said, was because of the huge growth of St Helens, with its four townships in 1800 only numbering about 7,500 but now as a borough comprising 50,500.
The Wigan Observer described how the huge procession that had preceded the opening of the new municipal building had numbered between 10 and 15,000 persons and had been a "grand display" that was "worthy of a Royal visit". The procession included police, the 2nd Lancashire Engineer Volunteers, the 47th Lancashire Rifle Volunteers and the mayors of Manchester, Salford, Warrington, Bootle, Southport, Bolton and Blackburn, as well as the MP for Warrington.
The scholars of every school in the district took part in the procession, which was so long it took nearly 90 minutes to completely pass a given point. The Mayor of St Helens, James Radley, was presented with a silver key, which he used to ceremonially open the main door of the hall. As it swung open, a band played "God Save the Queen" and the cheering was renewed. The mayor then formally declared the hall open. Later that day a banquet took place and two days later a celebratory ball was held.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the measures to deter vagrants from Whiston Workhouse, a claim that St Helens children are sallow and pale, a new purveyor of false teeth comes to town and the St Helens Bicycle Club's captaincy race.
That was a popular place for events and at one point Saints played their home games there. The contests included flat, hurdle and steeplechase races, with prices valued at £20 available. Admission to the sports cost 6d, with children paying 3d and the Brass Band of the Association and the Band of Holy Cross Boys Guild would play at intervals.
There was also a report in the Newspaper on the latest meeting of the organising committee that was arranging the details concerning the opening of the Town Hall. There were several sub-committees and the Procession Committee reported that they had decided that the pupils of the Ragged School should be last in line during the walk. No reason was given in the report but the children would not be in their best clothes – because they would not have had any.
And so with the prospect of these children wearing little more than rags marching along the streets on a very important day in the history of St Helens, placing them at the rear of a very long procession would have been seen as the best solution. The Ragged School in Arthur Street, which used to be near Westfield Street, had opened in 1861 to provide free schooling for some of the destitute street children of St Helens. Although the children of Whiston Workhouse would not be walking, their band was due to play and it was decided that they should be placed in front of the Ragged School kids.
North Road was then very open and had been chosen as the place where all those participating in the procession should assemble. The meeting decided to form another sub-committee to visit the area and create a plan as to how the assembling should take place. Two members were also appointed as a deputation to, as the Newspaper put it, "wait upon the tradesmen of the town with the view of inducing them to decorate their premises in the line of the route of the procession."
In St Helens Petty Sessions this week Ann Clarke summoned Mary Fox, accusing the woman of assault. Mrs Clarke was the wife of a beerseller in Pocket Nook and on the previous Saturday evening two men had entered their house and had begun playing dominoes. Shortly afterwards Mary Fox came in and one of the men paid for a bottle of ginger beer for her.
It was then suggested that a game of dominoes should be played for money and one of them put a two-shilling piece down on the table. However, betting in licensed premises was illegal and the Clarkes could have lost their licence. And so the landlord refused to allow them to play the game and that led Mary Fox to become very abusive, which led to Mr Clarke ordering the woman to leave. The Newspaper wrote:
"This exasperated her that she threw a glass at him, which, however, missed him but struck Mrs Clarke, and afterwards broke against the wall. Mr Clarke then approached her for the purpose of putting her out, when she also threw the gingerbeer bottle at him. She was at length got outside the house, when she struck Mrs Clarke twice in the face, and also threw half a brick at her."
The magistrates fined the violent Mary Fox 10 shillings and costs but only for the assault committed inside the house. Curiously, they felt that Ann Clarke had brought on the trouble outside when she was twice struck in the face and had half a brick chucked at her. They felt she should have remained inside the house instead of following Mary to the door.
People in the 1870s had precious few possessions and so for someone to own a telescope was most unusual and suggested they were well off. A Christian name of Barclay was also uncommon but Barclay Lewis was not the victim of a telescope theft but was in the dock in the Petty Sessions this week. Along with Samuel Airey, Lewis was charged with stealing a telescope belonging to John Brown, who was described as a rate collector living on Cowley Hill.
Both men had been employed to whitewash the ceiling of the house and after undertaking some work went out to get some eggs and cement for the ceiling. Just what they used eggs for on the ceiling, I can't say! But soon after their return, John Brown's wife found the telescope was missing. It was yet another brainless theft in which it was obvious who was responsible. And as stealing inevitably led to a prison sentence, it was a very risky game to play.
Although they denied stealing the telescope and suggested that someone else could have stolen it while they were outside the house, witnesses stated that the men had on that day been in the Running Horses pub. There, Barclay Lewis had offered to sell the stolen telescope but had failed to get a buyer. Both men were found guilty and sentenced to 6 weeks in prison with hard labour, although the telescope had yet to be found.
On the 5th the new St Helens Town Hall was opened. Later in the week the St Helens Newspaper wrote: "Whit Monday, 1876, will be looked upon as quite a “Red Letter Day” in the history of St Helens, as on that day was completed and formally opened the New Town Hall and corporation offices which had long been wanted in the town." That, they said, was because of the huge growth of St Helens, with its four townships in 1800 only numbering about 7,500 but now as a borough comprising 50,500.
The Wigan Observer described how the huge procession that had preceded the opening of the new municipal building had numbered between 10 and 15,000 persons and had been a "grand display" that was "worthy of a Royal visit". The procession included police, the 2nd Lancashire Engineer Volunteers, the 47th Lancashire Rifle Volunteers and the mayors of Manchester, Salford, Warrington, Bootle, Southport, Bolton and Blackburn, as well as the MP for Warrington.
The scholars of every school in the district took part in the procession, which was so long it took nearly 90 minutes to completely pass a given point. The Mayor of St Helens, James Radley, was presented with a silver key, which he used to ceremonially open the main door of the hall. As it swung open, a band played "God Save the Queen" and the cheering was renewed. The mayor then formally declared the hall open. Later that day a banquet took place and two days later a celebratory ball was held.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the measures to deter vagrants from Whiston Workhouse, a claim that St Helens children are sallow and pale, a new purveyor of false teeth comes to town and the St Helens Bicycle Club's captaincy race.
This week's many stories include the opening of the new St Helens Town Hall, the telescope stealing on Cowley Hill, the violence in a Pocket Nook beerhouse caused by the playing of dominoes and why the Ragged School pupils needed to go at the rear of the procession celebrating the new Town Hall.
We begin on the 3rd with an advertisement in the St Helens Newspaper from the Catholic Association for the Suppression of Drunkenness.
They wrote that they would be participating in the Grand Demonstration and Procession in connection with the opening of the new Town Hall on the 5th.
Afterwards they would march in order to Mrs Littler's Field in Dentons Green (pictured above) where sports would be held.
That was a popular place for events and at one point Saints played their home games there.
The contests included flat, hurdle and steeplechase races, with prices valued at £20 available.
Admission to the sports cost 6d, with children paying 3d and the Brass Band of the Association and the Band of Holy Cross Boys Guild would play at intervals.
There was also a report in the Newspaper on the latest meeting of the organising committee that was arranging the details concerning the opening of the Town Hall.
There were several sub-committees and the Procession Committee reported that they had decided that the pupils of the Ragged School should be last in line during the walk.
No reason was given in the report but the children would not be in their best clothes – because they would not have had any.
And so with the prospect of these children wearing little more than rags marching along the streets on a very important day in the history of St Helens, placing them at the rear of a very long procession would have been seen as the best solution.
The Ragged School in Arthur Street, which used to be near Westfield Street, had opened in 1861 to provide free schooling for some of the destitute street children of St Helens.
Although the children of Whiston Workhouse would not be walking, their band was due to play and it was decided that they should be placed in front of the Ragged School kids.
North Road was then very open and had been chosen as the place where all those participating in the procession should assemble.
The meeting decided to form another sub-committee to visit the area and create a plan as to how the assembling should take place.
Two members were also appointed as a deputation to, as the Newspaper put it, "wait upon the tradesmen of the town with the view of inducing them to decorate their premises in the line of the route of the procession."
In St Helens Petty Sessions this week Ann Clarke summoned Mary Fox, accusing the woman of assault.
Mrs Clarke was the wife of a beerseller in Pocket Nook and on the previous Saturday evening two men had entered their house and had begun playing dominoes.
Shortly afterwards Mary Fox came in and one of the men paid for a bottle of ginger beer for her.
It was then suggested that a game of dominoes should be played for money and one of them put a two-shilling piece down on the table.
However, betting in licensed premises was illegal and the Clarkes could have lost their licence.
And so the landlord refused to allow them to play the game and that led Mary Fox to become very abusive, which led to Mr Clarke ordering the woman to leave. The Newspaper wrote:
"This exasperated her that she threw a glass at him, which, however, missed him but struck Mrs Clarke, and afterwards broke against the wall.
"Mr Clarke then approached her for the purpose of putting her out, when she also threw the gingerbeer bottle at him.
"She was at length got outside the house, when she struck Mrs Clarke twice in the face, and also threw half a brick at her."
The magistrates fined the violent Mary Fox 10 shillings and costs but only for the assault committed inside the house.
Curiously, they felt that Ann Clarke had brought on the trouble outside when she was twice struck in the face and had half a brick chucked at her.
They felt she should have remained inside the house instead of following Mary to the door.
People in the 1870s had precious few possessions and so for someone to own a telescope was most unusual and suggested they were well off.
A Christian name of Barclay was also uncommon but Barclay Lewis was not the victim of a telescope theft but was in the dock in the Petty Sessions this week.
Along with Samuel Airey, Lewis was charged with stealing a telescope belonging to John Brown, who was described as a rate collector living on Cowley Hill.
Both men had been employed to whitewash the ceiling of the house and after undertaking some work went out to get some eggs and cement for the ceiling.
Just what they used eggs for on the ceiling, I can't say! But soon after their return, John Brown's wife found the telescope was missing.
It was yet another brainless theft in which it was obvious who was responsible. And as stealing inevitably led to a prison sentence, it was a very risky game to play.
Although they denied stealing the telescope and suggested that someone else could have stolen it while they were outside the house, witnesses stated that the men had on that day been in the Running Horses pub.
There, Barclay Lewis had offered to sell the stolen telescope but had failed to get a buyer.
Both men were found guilty and sentenced to 6 weeks in prison with hard labour, although the telescope had yet to be found.
On the 5th the new St Helens Town Hall was opened. Later in the week the St Helens Newspaper wrote:
"Whit Monday, 1876, will be looked upon as quite a “Red Letter Day” in the history of St Helens, as on that day was completed and formally opened the New Town Hall and corporation offices which had long been wanted in the town."
That, they said, was because of the huge growth of St Helens, with its four townships in 1800 only numbering about 7,500 but now as a borough comprising 50,500.
The Wigan Observer described how the huge procession that had preceded the opening of the new municipal building had numbered between 10 and 15,000 persons and had been a "grand display" that was "worthy of a Royal visit".
The procession included police, the 2nd Lancashire Engineer Volunteers, the 47th Lancashire Rifle Volunteers and the mayors of Manchester, Salford, Warrington, Bootle, Southport, Bolton and Blackburn, as well as the MP for Warrington.
The scholars of every school in the district took part in the procession, which was so long it took nearly 90 minutes to completely pass a given point.
The Mayor of St Helens, James Radley, was presented with a silver key, which he used to ceremonially open the main door of the hall.
As it swung open, a band played "God Save the Queen" and the cheering was renewed. The mayor then formally declared the hall open.
Later that day a banquet took place and two days later a celebratory ball was held.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the measures to deter vagrants from Whiston Workhouse, a claim that St Helens children are sallow and pale, a new purveyor of false teeth comes to town and the St Helens Bicycle Club's captaincy race.
We begin on the 3rd with an advertisement in the St Helens Newspaper from the Catholic Association for the Suppression of Drunkenness.
They wrote that they would be participating in the Grand Demonstration and Procession in connection with the opening of the new Town Hall on the 5th.
That was a popular place for events and at one point Saints played their home games there.
The contests included flat, hurdle and steeplechase races, with prices valued at £20 available.
Admission to the sports cost 6d, with children paying 3d and the Brass Band of the Association and the Band of Holy Cross Boys Guild would play at intervals.
There was also a report in the Newspaper on the latest meeting of the organising committee that was arranging the details concerning the opening of the Town Hall.
There were several sub-committees and the Procession Committee reported that they had decided that the pupils of the Ragged School should be last in line during the walk.
No reason was given in the report but the children would not be in their best clothes – because they would not have had any.
And so with the prospect of these children wearing little more than rags marching along the streets on a very important day in the history of St Helens, placing them at the rear of a very long procession would have been seen as the best solution.
The Ragged School in Arthur Street, which used to be near Westfield Street, had opened in 1861 to provide free schooling for some of the destitute street children of St Helens.
Although the children of Whiston Workhouse would not be walking, their band was due to play and it was decided that they should be placed in front of the Ragged School kids.
North Road was then very open and had been chosen as the place where all those participating in the procession should assemble.
The meeting decided to form another sub-committee to visit the area and create a plan as to how the assembling should take place.
Two members were also appointed as a deputation to, as the Newspaper put it, "wait upon the tradesmen of the town with the view of inducing them to decorate their premises in the line of the route of the procession."
In St Helens Petty Sessions this week Ann Clarke summoned Mary Fox, accusing the woman of assault.
Mrs Clarke was the wife of a beerseller in Pocket Nook and on the previous Saturday evening two men had entered their house and had begun playing dominoes.
Shortly afterwards Mary Fox came in and one of the men paid for a bottle of ginger beer for her.
It was then suggested that a game of dominoes should be played for money and one of them put a two-shilling piece down on the table.
However, betting in licensed premises was illegal and the Clarkes could have lost their licence.
And so the landlord refused to allow them to play the game and that led Mary Fox to become very abusive, which led to Mr Clarke ordering the woman to leave. The Newspaper wrote:
"This exasperated her that she threw a glass at him, which, however, missed him but struck Mrs Clarke, and afterwards broke against the wall.
"Mr Clarke then approached her for the purpose of putting her out, when she also threw the gingerbeer bottle at him.
"She was at length got outside the house, when she struck Mrs Clarke twice in the face, and also threw half a brick at her."
The magistrates fined the violent Mary Fox 10 shillings and costs but only for the assault committed inside the house.
Curiously, they felt that Ann Clarke had brought on the trouble outside when she was twice struck in the face and had half a brick chucked at her.
They felt she should have remained inside the house instead of following Mary to the door.
People in the 1870s had precious few possessions and so for someone to own a telescope was most unusual and suggested they were well off.
A Christian name of Barclay was also uncommon but Barclay Lewis was not the victim of a telescope theft but was in the dock in the Petty Sessions this week.
Along with Samuel Airey, Lewis was charged with stealing a telescope belonging to John Brown, who was described as a rate collector living on Cowley Hill.
Both men had been employed to whitewash the ceiling of the house and after undertaking some work went out to get some eggs and cement for the ceiling.
Just what they used eggs for on the ceiling, I can't say! But soon after their return, John Brown's wife found the telescope was missing.
It was yet another brainless theft in which it was obvious who was responsible. And as stealing inevitably led to a prison sentence, it was a very risky game to play.
Although they denied stealing the telescope and suggested that someone else could have stolen it while they were outside the house, witnesses stated that the men had on that day been in the Running Horses pub.
There, Barclay Lewis had offered to sell the stolen telescope but had failed to get a buyer.
Both men were found guilty and sentenced to 6 weeks in prison with hard labour, although the telescope had yet to be found.
On the 5th the new St Helens Town Hall was opened. Later in the week the St Helens Newspaper wrote:
"Whit Monday, 1876, will be looked upon as quite a “Red Letter Day” in the history of St Helens, as on that day was completed and formally opened the New Town Hall and corporation offices which had long been wanted in the town."
That, they said, was because of the huge growth of St Helens, with its four townships in 1800 only numbering about 7,500 but now as a borough comprising 50,500.
The Wigan Observer described how the huge procession that had preceded the opening of the new municipal building had numbered between 10 and 15,000 persons and had been a "grand display" that was "worthy of a Royal visit".
The procession included police, the 2nd Lancashire Engineer Volunteers, the 47th Lancashire Rifle Volunteers and the mayors of Manchester, Salford, Warrington, Bootle, Southport, Bolton and Blackburn, as well as the MP for Warrington.
The scholars of every school in the district took part in the procession, which was so long it took nearly 90 minutes to completely pass a given point.
The Mayor of St Helens, James Radley, was presented with a silver key, which he used to ceremonially open the main door of the hall.
As it swung open, a band played "God Save the Queen" and the cheering was renewed. The mayor then formally declared the hall open.
Later that day a banquet took place and two days later a celebratory ball was held.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the measures to deter vagrants from Whiston Workhouse, a claim that St Helens children are sallow and pale, a new purveyor of false teeth comes to town and the St Helens Bicycle Club's captaincy race.