150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (1st - 7th AUGUST 1872)
This week's stories include the shocking condition of an ex-soldier in Prescot, the death of a child in an old clay pit in Marshalls Cross, the holy hand at Garswood, the foundry chimney in St Mary's Street demolished by lightning and the mystery of the woman who drowned in the canal at 3am.
A circus had been on the fairground off Salisbury Street in St Helens and Owen Malvin had been to see it. However, instead of paying the admission charge like everybody else, Malvin had cut a hole in the canvas and attempted to sneak in – but had been caught. On August 2nd he appeared in the St Helens Petty Sessions charged with causing malicious damage and was fined 9s 6d – which would have been a lot more than the admission price!
Although ex-military personnel can feel unsupported today after leaving the forces, the situation was far worse in the past. The veterans were fobbed off with meagre pensions and expected to make the best of things if they'd been wounded. On the 3rd the St Helens Newspaper described the shocking state of a man who'd fought in the Crimean War twenty years earlier:
"On Monday night last a pensioner named Joseph Kelly called at the Prescot police office in a lamentable condition. He had been engaged in the Crimean war, and had received an injury to his head, necessitating the insertion of a silver plate, and had received a ball in his foot. At the time of his calling at the office, the latter wound, having opened out again, was bleeding freely, and the blood forcing its way through his shoe. He was at once conveyed by cab to the workhouse hospital where he remains. The bone in his foot is found to be diseased, and will probably have to be cut away. He has been in receipt of 8d. per day pension."
The Newspaper also described how a 7-year-old boy called James Grayson from Clock Face had drowned at Marshalls Cross through, what they called, "the very common imprudence of bathing in a deep pool without knowing how to swim". Along with others, the lad had gone into an old and very deep clay pit and ventured into a part that was 36 feet in depth, before sinking into the water and drowning. A miner called Sampson Heyes who lived close to the old pit had heard of the incident when leaving for work and dived into the water fully clothed – but was unable to locate the boy.
There had been a number of protests in parts of Lancashire in recent days over the high price of meat. On the 3rd the Leigh Chronicle described how the trouble had spread to Earlestown: "At Earlestown intense excitement prevailed amongst the women on Friday and Saturday. Those who entered a butcher's shop were loudly hooted, and it is reported that in one case a piece of meat was forcibly taken from a woman and trampled under foot by a number of enthusiastic agitators, while the poor woman herself was severely handled." Hooting was the traditional means of demonstrating disapproval, often accompanied by the beating of pots and pans.
In Prescot Petty Sessions on the 6th, James Owen, described as "a boy" was sent to prison for three days for stealing money from his employer. How much had been his cash heist? It was a penny.
The numerous drownings that took place in St Helens Canal always seemed to have some element of mystery attached to them as to how exactly they had occurred, with many (usually) unanswered questions. Had the deceased entered the water accidentally or deliberately? Had they simply stumbled in from the unfenced canal bank because it was pitch black? Was alcohol involved? Many victims were elderly. Had they become tired of life being in poor health with little hope for the future and so decided to end it all? Or being older and less agile had they simply fallen in the water and been unable to extricate themselves?
Suicide seemed unlikely in the case of 60-year-old Winifred Golding, who the Newspaper described as an "old woman". Her screams were heard at 3 am on the morning of the 6th by a policeman on duty near to F. W. Tinker's soap works on the banks of the canal. The officer dashed to the scene but before he was able to render any assistance, Winifred sank into the water and drowned. The woman had left her house at Smithy Brow at 11 pm during the previous evening to get some drink but had never returned home. So the mystery in this case was what had happened to Winifred during the intervening four hours that led to her walking into the water.
The summer of severe thunderstorms in St Helens continued during the evenings of the 6th and 7th, with the latter being the worst day. The Newspaper wrote: "On Wednesday evening …between six and seven o’clock the air suddenly grew dark, as if the daylight were dying, and the gloom was lit up by flashes of the most vivid lightning, accompanied by claps of thunder which broke and rolled with dreadful distinctness."
The rain poured down in torrents and late at night a 56-ft high foundry chimney in St Mary's Street was completely destroyed by a lightning strike. The Newspaper said: "The chimney was struck by the electric fluid and shattered to pieces. It fell bodily with a tremendous crash, and, strange to say, right out into the yard through the only opening left by the surrounding buildings. It is a most fortunate circumstance that it took this direction in its fall, or one of the sheds must have been destroyed."
And this is how the Liverpool Daily Post described the storm in St Helens: "The thunder rolled with dreadful reverberations, and the lightning was blinding in its brilliancy. Heavy showers of rain fell at intervals from the commencement to the close."
This week at a meeting of the Wigan Board of Guardians (the elected body that looked after the destitute in the workhouse and in the community), a case was brought forward relating to the superstition known as the "Holy Hand" (pictured above). I'll let the Manchester Evening News describe what was said:
"The assistant-overseer of Ashton in-Mackerfield had sent to the Wigan workhouse a woman who gave the name of Catherine Collins, and who had been sitting all day on a doorstep, and was wholly destitute. She stated that she had come out of Salford Workhouse on leave, to have the “holy hand” applied to her paralysed side. Mr. Clarke, one of the guardians for Ashton, stated to the board that hundreds of persons visited the township for similar purposes.
"The “holy hand” is kept by the Roman Catholic priest at Garswood, in Ashton township, and is preserved with great care in a white silk bag. Many wonderful cures are said to have been wrought by this saintly relic, which is alleged to be the hand of Father Arrowsmith, a priest, who is said to have been put to death for his religion at Lancaster.
"When about to suffer, he desired his spiritual attendant to cut off his right hand, which should then have power to work miraculous cures on those who had faith to believe in its efficacy. The hand was formerly kept at Bryn Hall, now demolished, the ancient seat of the Gerard family, the present representative of which (Sir Robert Gerard) resides at Garswood."
Next week's stories will include the Good Friday fight in Parr Street in which a man bled to death, the boys who could work up to 54 hours a week down a coal mine, a shocking story of wife beating is told in court and the Baldwin Street butcher theft.
A circus had been on the fairground off Salisbury Street in St Helens and Owen Malvin had been to see it. However, instead of paying the admission charge like everybody else, Malvin had cut a hole in the canvas and attempted to sneak in – but had been caught. On August 2nd he appeared in the St Helens Petty Sessions charged with causing malicious damage and was fined 9s 6d – which would have been a lot more than the admission price!
Although ex-military personnel can feel unsupported today after leaving the forces, the situation was far worse in the past. The veterans were fobbed off with meagre pensions and expected to make the best of things if they'd been wounded. On the 3rd the St Helens Newspaper described the shocking state of a man who'd fought in the Crimean War twenty years earlier:
"On Monday night last a pensioner named Joseph Kelly called at the Prescot police office in a lamentable condition. He had been engaged in the Crimean war, and had received an injury to his head, necessitating the insertion of a silver plate, and had received a ball in his foot. At the time of his calling at the office, the latter wound, having opened out again, was bleeding freely, and the blood forcing its way through his shoe. He was at once conveyed by cab to the workhouse hospital where he remains. The bone in his foot is found to be diseased, and will probably have to be cut away. He has been in receipt of 8d. per day pension."
The Newspaper also described how a 7-year-old boy called James Grayson from Clock Face had drowned at Marshalls Cross through, what they called, "the very common imprudence of bathing in a deep pool without knowing how to swim". Along with others, the lad had gone into an old and very deep clay pit and ventured into a part that was 36 feet in depth, before sinking into the water and drowning. A miner called Sampson Heyes who lived close to the old pit had heard of the incident when leaving for work and dived into the water fully clothed – but was unable to locate the boy.
There had been a number of protests in parts of Lancashire in recent days over the high price of meat. On the 3rd the Leigh Chronicle described how the trouble had spread to Earlestown: "At Earlestown intense excitement prevailed amongst the women on Friday and Saturday. Those who entered a butcher's shop were loudly hooted, and it is reported that in one case a piece of meat was forcibly taken from a woman and trampled under foot by a number of enthusiastic agitators, while the poor woman herself was severely handled." Hooting was the traditional means of demonstrating disapproval, often accompanied by the beating of pots and pans.
In Prescot Petty Sessions on the 6th, James Owen, described as "a boy" was sent to prison for three days for stealing money from his employer. How much had been his cash heist? It was a penny.
The numerous drownings that took place in St Helens Canal always seemed to have some element of mystery attached to them as to how exactly they had occurred, with many (usually) unanswered questions. Had the deceased entered the water accidentally or deliberately? Had they simply stumbled in from the unfenced canal bank because it was pitch black? Was alcohol involved? Many victims were elderly. Had they become tired of life being in poor health with little hope for the future and so decided to end it all? Or being older and less agile had they simply fallen in the water and been unable to extricate themselves?
Suicide seemed unlikely in the case of 60-year-old Winifred Golding, who the Newspaper described as an "old woman". Her screams were heard at 3 am on the morning of the 6th by a policeman on duty near to F. W. Tinker's soap works on the banks of the canal. The officer dashed to the scene but before he was able to render any assistance, Winifred sank into the water and drowned. The woman had left her house at Smithy Brow at 11 pm during the previous evening to get some drink but had never returned home. So the mystery in this case was what had happened to Winifred during the intervening four hours that led to her walking into the water.
The summer of severe thunderstorms in St Helens continued during the evenings of the 6th and 7th, with the latter being the worst day. The Newspaper wrote: "On Wednesday evening …between six and seven o’clock the air suddenly grew dark, as if the daylight were dying, and the gloom was lit up by flashes of the most vivid lightning, accompanied by claps of thunder which broke and rolled with dreadful distinctness."
The rain poured down in torrents and late at night a 56-ft high foundry chimney in St Mary's Street was completely destroyed by a lightning strike. The Newspaper said: "The chimney was struck by the electric fluid and shattered to pieces. It fell bodily with a tremendous crash, and, strange to say, right out into the yard through the only opening left by the surrounding buildings. It is a most fortunate circumstance that it took this direction in its fall, or one of the sheds must have been destroyed."
And this is how the Liverpool Daily Post described the storm in St Helens: "The thunder rolled with dreadful reverberations, and the lightning was blinding in its brilliancy. Heavy showers of rain fell at intervals from the commencement to the close."
"The assistant-overseer of Ashton in-Mackerfield had sent to the Wigan workhouse a woman who gave the name of Catherine Collins, and who had been sitting all day on a doorstep, and was wholly destitute. She stated that she had come out of Salford Workhouse on leave, to have the “holy hand” applied to her paralysed side. Mr. Clarke, one of the guardians for Ashton, stated to the board that hundreds of persons visited the township for similar purposes.
"The “holy hand” is kept by the Roman Catholic priest at Garswood, in Ashton township, and is preserved with great care in a white silk bag. Many wonderful cures are said to have been wrought by this saintly relic, which is alleged to be the hand of Father Arrowsmith, a priest, who is said to have been put to death for his religion at Lancaster.
"When about to suffer, he desired his spiritual attendant to cut off his right hand, which should then have power to work miraculous cures on those who had faith to believe in its efficacy. The hand was formerly kept at Bryn Hall, now demolished, the ancient seat of the Gerard family, the present representative of which (Sir Robert Gerard) resides at Garswood."
Next week's stories will include the Good Friday fight in Parr Street in which a man bled to death, the boys who could work up to 54 hours a week down a coal mine, a shocking story of wife beating is told in court and the Baldwin Street butcher theft.
This week's stories include the shocking condition of an ex-soldier in Prescot, the death of a child in an old clay pit in Marshalls Cross, the holy hand at Garswood, the foundry chimney in St Mary's Street demolished by lightning and the mystery of the woman who drowned in the canal at 3am.
A circus had been on the fairground off Salisbury Street in St Helens and Owen Malvin had been to see it.
However, instead of paying the admission charge like everybody else, Malvin had cut a hole in the canvas and attempted to sneak in – but had been caught.
On August 2nd he appeared in the St Helens Petty Sessions charged with causing malicious damage and was fined 9s 6d – which would have been a lot more than the admission price!
Although ex-military personnel can feel unsupported today after leaving the forces, the situation was far worse in the past.
The veterans were fobbed off with meagre pensions and expected to make the best of things if they'd been wounded.
On the 3rd the St Helens Newspaper described the shocking state of a man who'd fought in the Crimean War twenty years earlier:
"On Monday night last a pensioner named Joseph Kelly called at the Prescot police office in a lamentable condition.
"He had been engaged in the Crimean war, and had received an injury to his head, necessitating the insertion of a silver plate, and had received a ball in his foot.
"At the time of his calling at the office, the latter wound, having opened out again, was bleeding freely, and the blood forcing its way through his shoe.
"He was at once conveyed by cab to the workhouse hospital where he remains. The bone in his foot is found to be diseased, and will probably have to be cut away. He has been in receipt of 8d. per day pension."
The Newspaper also described how a 7-year-old boy called James Grayson from Clock Face had drowned at Marshalls Cross through, what they called, "the very common imprudence of bathing in a deep pool without knowing how to swim".
Along with others, the lad had gone into an old and very deep clay pit and ventured into a part that was 36 feet in depth, before sinking into the water and drowning.
A miner called Sampson Heyes who lived close to the old pit had heard of the incident when leaving for work and dived into the water fully clothed – but was unable to locate the boy.
There had been a number of protests in parts of Lancashire in recent days over the high price of meat. On the 3rd the Leigh Chronicle described how the trouble had spread to Earlestown:
"At Earlestown intense excitement prevailed amongst the women on Friday and Saturday. Those who entered a butcher's shop were loudly hooted, and it is reported that in one case a piece of meat was forcibly taken from a woman and trampled under foot by a number of enthusiastic agitators, while the poor woman herself was severely handled."
Hooting was the traditional means of demonstrating disapproval, often accompanied by the beating of pots and pans.
In Prescot Petty Sessions on the 6th, James Owen, described as "a boy" was sent to prison for three days for stealing money from his employer. How much had been his cash heist? It was a penny.
The numerous drownings that took place in St Helens Canal always seemed to have some element of mystery attached to them as to how exactly they had occurred, with many (usually) unanswered questions.
Had the deceased entered the water accidentally or deliberately? Had they simply stumbled in from the unfenced canal bank because it was pitch black? Was alcohol involved?
Many victims were elderly. Had they become tired of life being in poor health with little hope for the future and so decided to end it all? Or being older and less agile had they simply fallen in the water and been unable to extricate themselves?
Suicide seemed unlikely in the case of 60-year-old Winifred Golding, who the Newspaper described as an "old woman".
Her screams were heard at 3 am on the morning of the 6th by a policeman on duty near to F. W. Tinker's soap works on the banks of the canal.
The officer dashed to the scene but before he was able to render any assistance, Winifred sank into the water and drowned.
The woman had left her house at Smithy Brow at 11 pm during the previous evening to get some drink but had never returned home.
So the mystery in this case was what had happened to Winifred during the intervening four hours that led to her walking into the water.
The summer of severe thunderstorms in St Helens continued during the evenings of the 6th and 7th, with the latter being the worst day. The Newspaper wrote:
"On Wednesday evening …between six and seven o’clock the air suddenly grew dark, as if the daylight were dying, and the gloom was lit up by flashes of the most vivid lightning, accompanied by claps of thunder which broke and rolled with dreadful distinctness."
The rain poured down in torrents and late at night a 56-ft high foundry chimney in St Mary's Street was completely destroyed by a lightning strike. The Newspaper said:
"The chimney was struck by the electric fluid and shattered to pieces. It fell bodily with a tremendous crash, and, strange to say, right out into the yard through the only opening left by the surrounding buildings. It is a most fortunate circumstance that it took this direction in its fall, or one of the sheds must have been destroyed."
And this is how the Liverpool Daily Post described the storm in St Helens:
"The thunder rolled with dreadful reverberations, and the lightning was blinding in its brilliancy. Heavy showers of rain fell at intervals from the commencement to the close."
This week at a meeting of the Wigan Board of Guardians (the elected body that looked after the destitute in the workhouse and in the community), a case was brought forward relating to the superstition known as the "Holy Hand" (pictured above). I'll let the Manchester Evening News describe what was said:
"The assistant-overseer of Ashton in-Mackerfield had sent to the Wigan workhouse a woman who gave the name of Catherine Collins, and who had been sitting all day on a doorstep, and was wholly destitute.
"She stated that she had come out of Salford Workhouse on leave, to have the “holy hand” applied to her paralysed side. Mr. Clarke, one of the guardians for Ashton, stated to the board that hundreds of persons visited the township for similar purposes.
"The “holy hand” is kept by the Roman Catholic priest at Garswood, in Ashton township, and is preserved with great care in a white silk bag. Many wonderful cures are said to have been wrought by this saintly relic, which is alleged to be the hand of Father Arrowsmith, a priest, who is said to have been put to death for his religion at Lancaster.
"When about to suffer, he desired his spiritual attendant to cut off his right hand, which should then have power to work miraculous cures on those who had faith to believe in its efficacy.
"The hand was formerly kept at Bryn Hall, now demolished, the ancient seat of the Gerard family, the present representative of which (Sir Robert Gerard) resides at Garswood."
Next week's stories will include the Good Friday fight in Parr Street in which a man bled to death, the boys who could work up to 54 hours a week down a coal mine, a shocking story of wife beating is told in court and the Baldwin Street butcher theft.
A circus had been on the fairground off Salisbury Street in St Helens and Owen Malvin had been to see it.
However, instead of paying the admission charge like everybody else, Malvin had cut a hole in the canvas and attempted to sneak in – but had been caught.
On August 2nd he appeared in the St Helens Petty Sessions charged with causing malicious damage and was fined 9s 6d – which would have been a lot more than the admission price!
Although ex-military personnel can feel unsupported today after leaving the forces, the situation was far worse in the past.
The veterans were fobbed off with meagre pensions and expected to make the best of things if they'd been wounded.
On the 3rd the St Helens Newspaper described the shocking state of a man who'd fought in the Crimean War twenty years earlier:
"On Monday night last a pensioner named Joseph Kelly called at the Prescot police office in a lamentable condition.
"He had been engaged in the Crimean war, and had received an injury to his head, necessitating the insertion of a silver plate, and had received a ball in his foot.
"At the time of his calling at the office, the latter wound, having opened out again, was bleeding freely, and the blood forcing its way through his shoe.
"He was at once conveyed by cab to the workhouse hospital where he remains. The bone in his foot is found to be diseased, and will probably have to be cut away. He has been in receipt of 8d. per day pension."
The Newspaper also described how a 7-year-old boy called James Grayson from Clock Face had drowned at Marshalls Cross through, what they called, "the very common imprudence of bathing in a deep pool without knowing how to swim".
Along with others, the lad had gone into an old and very deep clay pit and ventured into a part that was 36 feet in depth, before sinking into the water and drowning.
A miner called Sampson Heyes who lived close to the old pit had heard of the incident when leaving for work and dived into the water fully clothed – but was unable to locate the boy.
There had been a number of protests in parts of Lancashire in recent days over the high price of meat. On the 3rd the Leigh Chronicle described how the trouble had spread to Earlestown:
"At Earlestown intense excitement prevailed amongst the women on Friday and Saturday. Those who entered a butcher's shop were loudly hooted, and it is reported that in one case a piece of meat was forcibly taken from a woman and trampled under foot by a number of enthusiastic agitators, while the poor woman herself was severely handled."
Hooting was the traditional means of demonstrating disapproval, often accompanied by the beating of pots and pans.
In Prescot Petty Sessions on the 6th, James Owen, described as "a boy" was sent to prison for three days for stealing money from his employer. How much had been his cash heist? It was a penny.
The numerous drownings that took place in St Helens Canal always seemed to have some element of mystery attached to them as to how exactly they had occurred, with many (usually) unanswered questions.
Had the deceased entered the water accidentally or deliberately? Had they simply stumbled in from the unfenced canal bank because it was pitch black? Was alcohol involved?
Many victims were elderly. Had they become tired of life being in poor health with little hope for the future and so decided to end it all? Or being older and less agile had they simply fallen in the water and been unable to extricate themselves?
Suicide seemed unlikely in the case of 60-year-old Winifred Golding, who the Newspaper described as an "old woman".
Her screams were heard at 3 am on the morning of the 6th by a policeman on duty near to F. W. Tinker's soap works on the banks of the canal.
The officer dashed to the scene but before he was able to render any assistance, Winifred sank into the water and drowned.
The woman had left her house at Smithy Brow at 11 pm during the previous evening to get some drink but had never returned home.
So the mystery in this case was what had happened to Winifred during the intervening four hours that led to her walking into the water.
The summer of severe thunderstorms in St Helens continued during the evenings of the 6th and 7th, with the latter being the worst day. The Newspaper wrote:
"On Wednesday evening …between six and seven o’clock the air suddenly grew dark, as if the daylight were dying, and the gloom was lit up by flashes of the most vivid lightning, accompanied by claps of thunder which broke and rolled with dreadful distinctness."
The rain poured down in torrents and late at night a 56-ft high foundry chimney in St Mary's Street was completely destroyed by a lightning strike. The Newspaper said:
"The chimney was struck by the electric fluid and shattered to pieces. It fell bodily with a tremendous crash, and, strange to say, right out into the yard through the only opening left by the surrounding buildings. It is a most fortunate circumstance that it took this direction in its fall, or one of the sheds must have been destroyed."
And this is how the Liverpool Daily Post described the storm in St Helens:
"The thunder rolled with dreadful reverberations, and the lightning was blinding in its brilliancy. Heavy showers of rain fell at intervals from the commencement to the close."
"The assistant-overseer of Ashton in-Mackerfield had sent to the Wigan workhouse a woman who gave the name of Catherine Collins, and who had been sitting all day on a doorstep, and was wholly destitute.
"She stated that she had come out of Salford Workhouse on leave, to have the “holy hand” applied to her paralysed side. Mr. Clarke, one of the guardians for Ashton, stated to the board that hundreds of persons visited the township for similar purposes.
"The “holy hand” is kept by the Roman Catholic priest at Garswood, in Ashton township, and is preserved with great care in a white silk bag. Many wonderful cures are said to have been wrought by this saintly relic, which is alleged to be the hand of Father Arrowsmith, a priest, who is said to have been put to death for his religion at Lancaster.
"When about to suffer, he desired his spiritual attendant to cut off his right hand, which should then have power to work miraculous cures on those who had faith to believe in its efficacy.
"The hand was formerly kept at Bryn Hall, now demolished, the ancient seat of the Gerard family, the present representative of which (Sir Robert Gerard) resides at Garswood."
Next week's stories will include the Good Friday fight in Parr Street in which a man bled to death, the boys who could work up to 54 hours a week down a coal mine, a shocking story of wife beating is told in court and the Baldwin Street butcher theft.