150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 2 - 8 DECEMBER 1874
This week's many stories include the fire-damaged stock for sale in Church Street, the colossal Scottish diorama in the Volunteer Hall, the fire in a Market Street toy shop, criticism by councillors of the town's fire brigade and the man that battered a policeman in Cross Street who only received a fine of half-a-crown.
We begin on the 2nd at a St Helens Council meeting when Councillor Green called attention to the lack of gas lamps in Albert Street, near North Road on Cowley Hill. And then Alderman Johnson called attention to there being no light on a new road in Sutton that led to Church Street and ran by the railway.
That area came to be known as Pudding Bag and the dark, new street appears to be a reference to Railway Terrace. In 1902 Church Street was renamed Woodcock Street to prevent confusion with the main road of the same name in the town centre.
Not long ago there had been a fire at the Sutton Engine Sheds and at the council meeting Councillor Grace criticised the performance of the St Helens Fire Brigade. Mr Grace said Sutton folk had complained of considerable inefficiency in tackling the blaze. He claimed that the firemen did not bring sufficient hose and so great had been the delay in obtaining more hose that their engine had proved practically useless.
Councillor Fidler added that he had recently been down to the fire station and found what he called a "gross want of discipline". He complained of its complete inefficiency to the needs of the town and added: "It is necessary there should be a reorganisation, with a man capable of commanding the brigade."
The diorama was quite a theatrical experience and is said to have astounded audiences. Light was manipulated in a manner that made landscape paintings appear to change their appearance. However, a silent presentation of the visuals did not help to engage the audience and so musicians and singers would often perform. This week in the Volunteer Hall in St Helens a "Diorama of Scotland" was presented featuring its cities, lakes and mountains. The show's advert said:
"A Trip Through Bonnie Scotland. This magnificent series of colossal paintings has recently been exhibited with unprecedented success, in the principal towns of England and Scotland. This gigantic work of art covers upwards of 30,000 square feet of canvas, introducing mechanical and dioramic effects never before attempted. To render the Diorama a thoroughly National entertainment, the Original Scottish Minstrels, will introduce appropriate songs, duetts [sic], choruses, dances, and instrumental music, together with an historical and descriptive lecture."
Last week I described a fire in the premises of ironmongers Booth and Jordan on the corner of Church Street and Hardshaw Street. There had been concern that the blaze might ignite gunpowder and paraffin stored in the building but the fire was extinguished before they could be reached. In the St Helens Newspaper on the 5th, Booth and Jordan had a notice published thanking all those involved in dealing with the fire.
In particular they thanked their neighbour Joseph Hewitt who kept a watch shop and had raised the alarm at 4 am and also the fire brigade for their "promptitude, energy, and tact displayed in extinguishing what threatened to be a truly disastrous fire." Their praise would have been well received by Superintendent Leigh, who was in charge of the brigade, bearing in mind the critical comments that the councillors had made earlier in the week.
Then working on the principle that every dark cloud has a silver lining, Booth and Jordan ran a separate advert for a whole load of supposedly fire-damaged ironmongery stock at reduced prices. There were 19 categories of goods on offer, including cutlery, baths, bedsteads, perambulators, lamps, tea and coffee pots, ranges and wringing machines. As many of these were made of metal, I would not have thought that they would have been that much damaged by the fire but it was a very good excuse for a sale and you can't blame them!
The Newspaper also described how a blaze had broken out in a toy and smallware shop in Market Street that was owned by James Williams. Despite the outbreak being after 9 pm on a Saturday night, the majority of shops in St Helens were still open as most workers received their wages on that day and so had money to burn. As a result the flames creeping along the shelves in Mr Williams' premises were soon seen and the alarm was given.
The blaze being located in the town centre meant that the Fire Brigade did not have far to travel. But it would still take some minutes for the fire bell to be rung and for the men to get to the shop and during that period the fire could take hold. While today many shops have their own fire extinguishers, in the 1870s they had their own more basic version.
These were in the form of buckets of water that were kept filled in case such an emergency arose. Once neighbouring tradesmen heard of the fire they rushed in to lend their assistance and the Newspaper wrote that they used the buckets "industriously". No doubt the traders had a generous spirit in wanting to help Mr Williams out. But they probably would also have been worried that the fire might spread to their own premises.
In the event the buckets of water worked so well that the fire engine was not needed when it arrived. But after the firemen had left it was discovered that the fire had indeed spread to the adjoining office of solicitor Henry Riley. And so the brigade was recalled and that fire was put out.
In St Helens Petty Sessions this week, Thomas Spratt was charged with making use of abusive language to Mary Dogherty of Union Street. Her solicitor claimed that the defendant was in the habit of annoying his client and on the date named in the summons had met her in North Road and called her names that were both offensive and slanderous. A Mrs Webb corroborated and said that the name-calling had been without the slightest provocation.
But, of course, Thomas Spratt had his own take on things and explained that a week prior to the incident in North Road, Mrs Dogherty had hit him with a poker and her husband had bit his hand. That was something that Mrs Doherty had failed to mention in her testimony – but then Spratt didn't say what had caused the Doghertys to bash and bite him in the first place! I doubt it had been for nothing and Spratt was fined 5 shillings and costs.
Who'd be a policeman in the 1870s? They were routinely knocked about and their assailants were invariably given light sentences. PC McPetrie gave evidence of seeing James Lyon fighting with another man in Cross Street and so he apprehended him. He said PC Heslip came to his assistance and was kicked and badly treated by Lyon.
In his own evidence PC Heslip said that the defendant had kicked him in the shins, struck him on the nose and drawn blood, knocked him down and then tried to choke him, torn his coat and had abused him very generally. However, James Lyon had hired the indomitable solicitor Thomas Swift who argued that his client should never have been arrested at all.
He called a witness named Grundy who had been with Lyon at the time of the arrest. The man denied that they had been fighting or quarrelling or done anything to justify the conduct of the police in making an arrest. The magistrates still found James Lyon guilty but only fined him 2s 6d with 8s 6d costs.
Just because your dependent was an inmate of the Rainhill Asylum did not mean that you no longer had any financial responsibility for them. William Hickey was summoned to court for not supporting his wife who was a patient in the hospital. It was alleged that the bad treatment of her husband had led to his wife's admission in the first place.
But in his defence Hickey said that no man loved a woman as much as he loved his wife but claimed that she had been "brought down" by drink. That might have been true but it was a claim often made by abusive husbands attempting to shift the blame and the man sounded like he was putting on quite an act. Hickey said he was willing to do everything he could but at the present time he had two sons to support and so could not contribute to his wife's upkeep at Rainhill.
However, the Relieving Officer said that the man's own children gave him the "blackest of characters" and he even claimed that Hickey was not sober in the courtroom. The Bench made an order for 10 shillings 6d a week but the defendant protested that the amount was beyond his power to pay. The ultimate penalty if he continued to refuse to cough up the maintenance money was prison.
Can you imagine taking a couple of days off work today and a warrant for your arrest subsequently being issued? That's what happened to John Norman and John Murphy this week. They were employed, seemingly, at Nutgrove or Thatto Heath collieries and they and two others had not turned up to work on three days during the past month.
The mines' owner, James Radley – who was also the Mayor of St Helens (pictured above) – claimed that the absences of the four miners had cost him 10 shillings each day. Noah Lamb and William Jackson appeared in court and were ordered to pay 30 shillings and costs each and warrants for the arrest of John Norman and John Murphy were issued.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the clever capture of alleged rapists in Westfield Street, the heavy fines for using a trade vehicle privately, the miner arrested for taking time off work through rheumatism and an assault through drenching.
We begin on the 2nd at a St Helens Council meeting when Councillor Green called attention to the lack of gas lamps in Albert Street, near North Road on Cowley Hill. And then Alderman Johnson called attention to there being no light on a new road in Sutton that led to Church Street and ran by the railway.
That area came to be known as Pudding Bag and the dark, new street appears to be a reference to Railway Terrace. In 1902 Church Street was renamed Woodcock Street to prevent confusion with the main road of the same name in the town centre.
Not long ago there had been a fire at the Sutton Engine Sheds and at the council meeting Councillor Grace criticised the performance of the St Helens Fire Brigade. Mr Grace said Sutton folk had complained of considerable inefficiency in tackling the blaze. He claimed that the firemen did not bring sufficient hose and so great had been the delay in obtaining more hose that their engine had proved practically useless.
Councillor Fidler added that he had recently been down to the fire station and found what he called a "gross want of discipline". He complained of its complete inefficiency to the needs of the town and added: "It is necessary there should be a reorganisation, with a man capable of commanding the brigade."
The diorama was quite a theatrical experience and is said to have astounded audiences. Light was manipulated in a manner that made landscape paintings appear to change their appearance. However, a silent presentation of the visuals did not help to engage the audience and so musicians and singers would often perform. This week in the Volunteer Hall in St Helens a "Diorama of Scotland" was presented featuring its cities, lakes and mountains. The show's advert said:
"A Trip Through Bonnie Scotland. This magnificent series of colossal paintings has recently been exhibited with unprecedented success, in the principal towns of England and Scotland. This gigantic work of art covers upwards of 30,000 square feet of canvas, introducing mechanical and dioramic effects never before attempted. To render the Diorama a thoroughly National entertainment, the Original Scottish Minstrels, will introduce appropriate songs, duetts [sic], choruses, dances, and instrumental music, together with an historical and descriptive lecture."
Last week I described a fire in the premises of ironmongers Booth and Jordan on the corner of Church Street and Hardshaw Street. There had been concern that the blaze might ignite gunpowder and paraffin stored in the building but the fire was extinguished before they could be reached. In the St Helens Newspaper on the 5th, Booth and Jordan had a notice published thanking all those involved in dealing with the fire.
In particular they thanked their neighbour Joseph Hewitt who kept a watch shop and had raised the alarm at 4 am and also the fire brigade for their "promptitude, energy, and tact displayed in extinguishing what threatened to be a truly disastrous fire." Their praise would have been well received by Superintendent Leigh, who was in charge of the brigade, bearing in mind the critical comments that the councillors had made earlier in the week.
Then working on the principle that every dark cloud has a silver lining, Booth and Jordan ran a separate advert for a whole load of supposedly fire-damaged ironmongery stock at reduced prices. There were 19 categories of goods on offer, including cutlery, baths, bedsteads, perambulators, lamps, tea and coffee pots, ranges and wringing machines. As many of these were made of metal, I would not have thought that they would have been that much damaged by the fire but it was a very good excuse for a sale and you can't blame them!
The Newspaper also described how a blaze had broken out in a toy and smallware shop in Market Street that was owned by James Williams. Despite the outbreak being after 9 pm on a Saturday night, the majority of shops in St Helens were still open as most workers received their wages on that day and so had money to burn. As a result the flames creeping along the shelves in Mr Williams' premises were soon seen and the alarm was given.
The blaze being located in the town centre meant that the Fire Brigade did not have far to travel. But it would still take some minutes for the fire bell to be rung and for the men to get to the shop and during that period the fire could take hold. While today many shops have their own fire extinguishers, in the 1870s they had their own more basic version.
These were in the form of buckets of water that were kept filled in case such an emergency arose. Once neighbouring tradesmen heard of the fire they rushed in to lend their assistance and the Newspaper wrote that they used the buckets "industriously". No doubt the traders had a generous spirit in wanting to help Mr Williams out. But they probably would also have been worried that the fire might spread to their own premises.
In the event the buckets of water worked so well that the fire engine was not needed when it arrived. But after the firemen had left it was discovered that the fire had indeed spread to the adjoining office of solicitor Henry Riley. And so the brigade was recalled and that fire was put out.
In St Helens Petty Sessions this week, Thomas Spratt was charged with making use of abusive language to Mary Dogherty of Union Street. Her solicitor claimed that the defendant was in the habit of annoying his client and on the date named in the summons had met her in North Road and called her names that were both offensive and slanderous. A Mrs Webb corroborated and said that the name-calling had been without the slightest provocation.
But, of course, Thomas Spratt had his own take on things and explained that a week prior to the incident in North Road, Mrs Dogherty had hit him with a poker and her husband had bit his hand. That was something that Mrs Doherty had failed to mention in her testimony – but then Spratt didn't say what had caused the Doghertys to bash and bite him in the first place! I doubt it had been for nothing and Spratt was fined 5 shillings and costs.
Who'd be a policeman in the 1870s? They were routinely knocked about and their assailants were invariably given light sentences. PC McPetrie gave evidence of seeing James Lyon fighting with another man in Cross Street and so he apprehended him. He said PC Heslip came to his assistance and was kicked and badly treated by Lyon.
In his own evidence PC Heslip said that the defendant had kicked him in the shins, struck him on the nose and drawn blood, knocked him down and then tried to choke him, torn his coat and had abused him very generally. However, James Lyon had hired the indomitable solicitor Thomas Swift who argued that his client should never have been arrested at all.
He called a witness named Grundy who had been with Lyon at the time of the arrest. The man denied that they had been fighting or quarrelling or done anything to justify the conduct of the police in making an arrest. The magistrates still found James Lyon guilty but only fined him 2s 6d with 8s 6d costs.
Just because your dependent was an inmate of the Rainhill Asylum did not mean that you no longer had any financial responsibility for them. William Hickey was summoned to court for not supporting his wife who was a patient in the hospital. It was alleged that the bad treatment of her husband had led to his wife's admission in the first place.
But in his defence Hickey said that no man loved a woman as much as he loved his wife but claimed that she had been "brought down" by drink. That might have been true but it was a claim often made by abusive husbands attempting to shift the blame and the man sounded like he was putting on quite an act. Hickey said he was willing to do everything he could but at the present time he had two sons to support and so could not contribute to his wife's upkeep at Rainhill.
However, the Relieving Officer said that the man's own children gave him the "blackest of characters" and he even claimed that Hickey was not sober in the courtroom. The Bench made an order for 10 shillings 6d a week but the defendant protested that the amount was beyond his power to pay. The ultimate penalty if he continued to refuse to cough up the maintenance money was prison.
Can you imagine taking a couple of days off work today and a warrant for your arrest subsequently being issued? That's what happened to John Norman and John Murphy this week. They were employed, seemingly, at Nutgrove or Thatto Heath collieries and they and two others had not turned up to work on three days during the past month.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the clever capture of alleged rapists in Westfield Street, the heavy fines for using a trade vehicle privately, the miner arrested for taking time off work through rheumatism and an assault through drenching.
This week's many stories include the fire-damaged stock for sale in Church Street, the colossal Scottish diorama in the Volunteer Hall, the fire in a Market Street toy shop, criticism by councillors of the town's fire brigade and the man that battered a policeman in Cross Street who only received a fine of half-a-crown.
We begin on the 2nd at a St Helens Council meeting when Councillor Green called attention to the lack of gas lamps in Albert Street, near North Road on Cowley Hill.
And then Alderman Johnson called attention to there being no light on a new road in Sutton that led to Church Street and ran by the railway.
That area came to be known as Pudding Bag and the dark, new street appears to be a reference to Railway Terrace.
In 1902 Church Street was renamed Woodcock Street to prevent confusion with the main road of the same name in the town centre.
Not long ago there had been a fire at the Sutton Engine Sheds and at the council meeting Councillor Grace criticised the performance of the St Helens Fire Brigade.
Mr Grace said Sutton folk had complained of considerable inefficiency in tackling the blaze.
He claimed that the firemen did not bring sufficient hose and so great had been the delay in obtaining more hose that their engine had proved practically useless.
Councillor Fidler added that he had recently been down to the fire station and found what he called a "gross want of discipline".
He complained of its complete inefficiency to the needs of the town and added:
"It is necessary there should be a reorganisation, with a man capable of commanding the brigade."
The diorama was quite a theatrical experience and is said to have astounded audiences.
Light was manipulated in a manner that made landscape paintings appear to change their appearance.
However, a silent presentation of the visuals did not help to engage the audience and so musicians and singers would often perform.
This week in the Volunteer Hall in St Helens a "Diorama of Scotland" was presented featuring its cities, lakes and mountains. The show's advert said:
"A Trip Through Bonnie Scotland. This magnificent series of colossal paintings has recently been exhibited with unprecedented success, in the principal towns of England and Scotland.
"This gigantic work of art covers upwards of 30,000 square feet of canvas, introducing mechanical and dioramic effects never before attempted.
"To render the Diorama a thoroughly National entertainment, the Original Scottish Minstrels, will introduce appropriate songs, duetts [sic], choruses, dances, and instrumental music, together with an historical and descriptive lecture."
Last week I described a fire in the premises of ironmongers Booth and Jordan on the corner of Church Street and Hardshaw Street.
There had been concern that the blaze might ignite gunpowder and paraffin stored in the building but the fire was extinguished before they could be reached.
In the St Helens Newspaper on the 5th, Booth and Jordan had a notice published thanking all those involved in dealing with the fire.
In particular they thanked their neighbour Joseph Hewitt who kept a watch shop and had raised the alarm at 4 am and also the fire brigade for their "promptitude, energy, and tact displayed in extinguishing what threatened to be a truly disastrous fire."
Their praise would have been well received by Superintendent Leigh, who was in charge of the brigade, bearing in mind the critical comments that the councillors had made earlier in the week.
Then working on the principle that every dark cloud has a silver lining, Booth and Jordan ran a separate advert for a whole load of supposedly fire-damaged ironmongery stock at reduced prices.
There were 19 categories of goods on offer, including cutlery, baths, bedsteads, perambulators, lamps, tea and coffee pots, ranges and wringing machines.
As many of these were made of metal, I would not have thought that they would have been that much damaged by the fire but it was a very good excuse for a sale and you can't blame them!
The Newspaper also described how a blaze had broken out in a toy and smallware shop in Market Street that was owned by James Williams.
Despite the outbreak being after 9 pm on a Saturday night, the majority of shops in St Helens were still open as most workers received their wages on that day and so had money to burn.
As a result the flames creeping along the shelves in Mr Williams' premises were soon seen and the alarm was given.
The blaze being located in the town centre meant that the Fire Brigade did not have far to travel.
But it would still take some minutes for the fire bell to be rung and for the men to get to the shop and during that period the fire could take hold.
While today many shops have their own fire extinguishers, in the 1870s they had their own more basic version.
These were in the form of buckets of water that were kept filled in case such an emergency arose.
Once neighbouring tradesmen heard of the fire they rushed in to lend their assistance and the Newspaper wrote that they used the buckets "industriously".
No doubt the traders had a generous spirit in wanting to help Mr Williams out. But they probably would also have been worried that the fire might spread to their own premises.
In the event the buckets of water worked so well that the fire engine was not needed when it arrived.
But after the firemen had left it was discovered that the fire had indeed spread to the adjoining office of solicitor Henry Riley. And so the brigade was recalled and that fire was put out.
In St Helens Petty Sessions this week, Thomas Spratt was charged with making use of abusive language to Mary Dogherty of Union Street.
Her solicitor claimed that the defendant was in the habit of annoying his client and on the date named in the summons had met her in North Road and called her names that were both offensive and slanderous.
A Mrs Webb corroborated and said that the name-calling had been without the slightest provocation.
But, of course, Thomas Spratt had his own take on things and explained that a week prior to the incident in North Road, Mrs Dogherty had hit him with a poker and her husband had bit his hand.
That was something that Mrs Doherty had failed to mention in her testimony – but then Spratt didn't say what had caused the Doghertys to bash and bite him in the first place!
I doubt it had been for nothing and Spratt was fined 5 shillings and costs.
Who'd be a policeman in the 1870s? They were routinely knocked about and their assailants were invariably given light sentences.
PC McPetrie gave evidence of seeing James Lyon fighting with another man in Cross Street and so he apprehended him.
He said PC Heslip came to his assistance and was kicked and badly treated by Lyon.
In his own evidence PC Heslip said that the defendant had kicked him in the shins, struck him on the nose and drawn blood, knocked him down and then tried to choke him, torn his coat and had abused him very generally.
However, James Lyon had hired the indomitable solicitor Thomas Swift who argued that his client should never have been arrested at all.
He called a witness named Grundy who had been with Lyon at the time of the arrest.
The man denied that they had been fighting or quarrelling or done anything to justify the conduct of the police in making an arrest.
The magistrates still found James Lyon guilty but only fined him 2s 6d with 8s 6d costs.
Just because your dependent was an inmate of the Rainhill Asylum did not mean that you no longer had any financial responsibility for them.
William Hickey was summoned to court for not supporting his wife who was a patient in the hospital.
It was alleged that the bad treatment of her husband had led to his wife's admission in the first place.
But in his defence Hickey said that no man loved a woman as much as he loved his wife but claimed that she had been "brought down" by drink.
That might have been true but it was a claim often made by abusive husbands attempting to shift the blame and the man sounded like he was putting on quite an act.
Hickey said he was willing to do everything he could but at the present time he had two sons to support and so could not contribute to his wife's upkeep at Rainhill.
However, the Relieving Officer said that the man's own children gave him the "blackest of characters" and he even claimed that Hickey was not sober in the courtroom.
The Bench made an order for 10 shillings 6d a week but the defendant protested that the amount was beyond his power to pay.
The ultimate penalty if he continued to refuse to cough up the maintenance money was prison.
Can you imagine taking a couple of days off work today and a warrant for your arrest subsequently being issued?
That's what happened to John Norman and John Murphy this week.
They were employed, seemingly, at Nutgrove or Thatto Heath collieries and they and two others had not turned up to work on three days during the past month.
The mines' owner, James Radley – who was also the Mayor of St Helens (pictured above) – claimed that the absences of the four miners had cost him 10 shillings each day.
Noah Lamb and William Jackson appeared in court and were ordered to pay 30 shillings and costs each and warrants for the arrest of John Norman and John Murphy were issued.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the clever capture of alleged rapists in Westfield Street, the heavy fines for using a trade vehicle privately, the miner arrested for taking time off work through rheumatism and an assault through drenching.
We begin on the 2nd at a St Helens Council meeting when Councillor Green called attention to the lack of gas lamps in Albert Street, near North Road on Cowley Hill.
And then Alderman Johnson called attention to there being no light on a new road in Sutton that led to Church Street and ran by the railway.
That area came to be known as Pudding Bag and the dark, new street appears to be a reference to Railway Terrace.
In 1902 Church Street was renamed Woodcock Street to prevent confusion with the main road of the same name in the town centre.
Not long ago there had been a fire at the Sutton Engine Sheds and at the council meeting Councillor Grace criticised the performance of the St Helens Fire Brigade.
Mr Grace said Sutton folk had complained of considerable inefficiency in tackling the blaze.
He claimed that the firemen did not bring sufficient hose and so great had been the delay in obtaining more hose that their engine had proved practically useless.
Councillor Fidler added that he had recently been down to the fire station and found what he called a "gross want of discipline".
He complained of its complete inefficiency to the needs of the town and added:
"It is necessary there should be a reorganisation, with a man capable of commanding the brigade."
The diorama was quite a theatrical experience and is said to have astounded audiences.
Light was manipulated in a manner that made landscape paintings appear to change their appearance.
However, a silent presentation of the visuals did not help to engage the audience and so musicians and singers would often perform.
This week in the Volunteer Hall in St Helens a "Diorama of Scotland" was presented featuring its cities, lakes and mountains. The show's advert said:
"A Trip Through Bonnie Scotland. This magnificent series of colossal paintings has recently been exhibited with unprecedented success, in the principal towns of England and Scotland.
"This gigantic work of art covers upwards of 30,000 square feet of canvas, introducing mechanical and dioramic effects never before attempted.
"To render the Diorama a thoroughly National entertainment, the Original Scottish Minstrels, will introduce appropriate songs, duetts [sic], choruses, dances, and instrumental music, together with an historical and descriptive lecture."
Last week I described a fire in the premises of ironmongers Booth and Jordan on the corner of Church Street and Hardshaw Street.
There had been concern that the blaze might ignite gunpowder and paraffin stored in the building but the fire was extinguished before they could be reached.
In the St Helens Newspaper on the 5th, Booth and Jordan had a notice published thanking all those involved in dealing with the fire.
In particular they thanked their neighbour Joseph Hewitt who kept a watch shop and had raised the alarm at 4 am and also the fire brigade for their "promptitude, energy, and tact displayed in extinguishing what threatened to be a truly disastrous fire."
Their praise would have been well received by Superintendent Leigh, who was in charge of the brigade, bearing in mind the critical comments that the councillors had made earlier in the week.
Then working on the principle that every dark cloud has a silver lining, Booth and Jordan ran a separate advert for a whole load of supposedly fire-damaged ironmongery stock at reduced prices.
There were 19 categories of goods on offer, including cutlery, baths, bedsteads, perambulators, lamps, tea and coffee pots, ranges and wringing machines.
As many of these were made of metal, I would not have thought that they would have been that much damaged by the fire but it was a very good excuse for a sale and you can't blame them!
The Newspaper also described how a blaze had broken out in a toy and smallware shop in Market Street that was owned by James Williams.
Despite the outbreak being after 9 pm on a Saturday night, the majority of shops in St Helens were still open as most workers received their wages on that day and so had money to burn.
As a result the flames creeping along the shelves in Mr Williams' premises were soon seen and the alarm was given.
The blaze being located in the town centre meant that the Fire Brigade did not have far to travel.
But it would still take some minutes for the fire bell to be rung and for the men to get to the shop and during that period the fire could take hold.
While today many shops have their own fire extinguishers, in the 1870s they had their own more basic version.
These were in the form of buckets of water that were kept filled in case such an emergency arose.
Once neighbouring tradesmen heard of the fire they rushed in to lend their assistance and the Newspaper wrote that they used the buckets "industriously".
No doubt the traders had a generous spirit in wanting to help Mr Williams out. But they probably would also have been worried that the fire might spread to their own premises.
In the event the buckets of water worked so well that the fire engine was not needed when it arrived.
But after the firemen had left it was discovered that the fire had indeed spread to the adjoining office of solicitor Henry Riley. And so the brigade was recalled and that fire was put out.
In St Helens Petty Sessions this week, Thomas Spratt was charged with making use of abusive language to Mary Dogherty of Union Street.
Her solicitor claimed that the defendant was in the habit of annoying his client and on the date named in the summons had met her in North Road and called her names that were both offensive and slanderous.
A Mrs Webb corroborated and said that the name-calling had been without the slightest provocation.
But, of course, Thomas Spratt had his own take on things and explained that a week prior to the incident in North Road, Mrs Dogherty had hit him with a poker and her husband had bit his hand.
That was something that Mrs Doherty had failed to mention in her testimony – but then Spratt didn't say what had caused the Doghertys to bash and bite him in the first place!
I doubt it had been for nothing and Spratt was fined 5 shillings and costs.
Who'd be a policeman in the 1870s? They were routinely knocked about and their assailants were invariably given light sentences.
PC McPetrie gave evidence of seeing James Lyon fighting with another man in Cross Street and so he apprehended him.
He said PC Heslip came to his assistance and was kicked and badly treated by Lyon.
In his own evidence PC Heslip said that the defendant had kicked him in the shins, struck him on the nose and drawn blood, knocked him down and then tried to choke him, torn his coat and had abused him very generally.
However, James Lyon had hired the indomitable solicitor Thomas Swift who argued that his client should never have been arrested at all.
He called a witness named Grundy who had been with Lyon at the time of the arrest.
The man denied that they had been fighting or quarrelling or done anything to justify the conduct of the police in making an arrest.
The magistrates still found James Lyon guilty but only fined him 2s 6d with 8s 6d costs.
Just because your dependent was an inmate of the Rainhill Asylum did not mean that you no longer had any financial responsibility for them.
William Hickey was summoned to court for not supporting his wife who was a patient in the hospital.
It was alleged that the bad treatment of her husband had led to his wife's admission in the first place.
But in his defence Hickey said that no man loved a woman as much as he loved his wife but claimed that she had been "brought down" by drink.
That might have been true but it was a claim often made by abusive husbands attempting to shift the blame and the man sounded like he was putting on quite an act.
Hickey said he was willing to do everything he could but at the present time he had two sons to support and so could not contribute to his wife's upkeep at Rainhill.
However, the Relieving Officer said that the man's own children gave him the "blackest of characters" and he even claimed that Hickey was not sober in the courtroom.
The Bench made an order for 10 shillings 6d a week but the defendant protested that the amount was beyond his power to pay.
The ultimate penalty if he continued to refuse to cough up the maintenance money was prison.
Can you imagine taking a couple of days off work today and a warrant for your arrest subsequently being issued?
That's what happened to John Norman and John Murphy this week.
They were employed, seemingly, at Nutgrove or Thatto Heath collieries and they and two others had not turned up to work on three days during the past month.
Noah Lamb and William Jackson appeared in court and were ordered to pay 30 shillings and costs each and warrants for the arrest of John Norman and John Murphy were issued.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the clever capture of alleged rapists in Westfield Street, the heavy fines for using a trade vehicle privately, the miner arrested for taking time off work through rheumatism and an assault through drenching.