150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 3 - 9 MARCH 1875
This week's many stories include the ploughing competition in Rainford, the market stallholders' anger with unlicensed auctioneers, the donation of a mayoral chain of office, the fowl deed at the Ship Inn, the demise of the Rainhill Light Horse, St Helens Cricket Club hire a professional player and the chemical worker who was too drunk to work.
We begin on the 3rd when the annual ploughing match was held in Rainford on land belonging to Joseph Whalley at what was described as "Mosbro Lane". Such competitions were regularly held over the rural parts of the St Helens district during the 19th century – especially in Bold and Sutton – and still take place in other parts of the country. Not only did they encourage good practice (being a measure of quality rather than speed) but the ploughmen could win as much as £5 prize money – which was more than three weeks' wages.
The St Helens Newspaper said it had been intensely cold in Rainford but there had been a good attendance of competitors and the ploughing had been "splendid". Thomas Birchall Jnr was singled out for praise, writing: "…there is little doubt that the ploughing world will hear of him again on some future day." Afterwards the judges and ploughmen enjoyed a dinner at the Stanley Arms.
Back in September 1874 what the St Helens Newspaper called a "week of ecstasies" had taken place in Liverpool. That was when Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh, had visited the city to open an orphanage and lay the foundation stone for the Walker Art Gallery. The Mayor of St Helens, James Radley (pictured above), had been one of the invited guests and he had also recently been one of many Lancashire mayors attending the opening of Southport's Botanic Gardens.
But unlike his peers he had no robe and so had needed to borrow something suitable to wear. Radley also had no chain of office and at the next meeting of St Helens Town Council the coal magnate offered to provide a gold chain for all future mayors of the borough to wear. His offer was accepted and at this week's council meeting Radley produced the newly made chain of office. He said it was not yet in a "perfect state" but good enough to be worn.
It was not yet perfect, as the Mayor had put it, because the Borough Coat of Arms needed to be "emblazoned" on it. And that was because the Heralds College had yet to approve its design. James Radley wore the badge and chain for the first time on the 4th when he attended a banquet given by the Mayor of Liverpool to the Lord Mayor of London.
A memorial had a few different meanings in the 19th century but in a written form it referred to a petition. Memorials usually contained such obsequious language as "we beg you to consider" and "your humble servant". At the Town Council meeting their clerk read out a memorial that the market stallholders had submitted in which they complained about persons described as "unlicensed auctioneers" that were selling various articles in front of the Running Horses Inn.
It was a problem that shopkeepers and market folk with stalls would complain about for well over a hundred years. Traders that briefly came into St Helens selling cut-price goods without paying rates and rent and, perhaps, not even having a hawkers licence. It was decided to refer the matter to the Parliamentary and General Purposes Committee for their consideration, although it was uncertain whether anything could be done about the auctioneers. That was because the space that the sellers were occupying was believed to be private land.
Many people kept hens in their backyard and quite a few had them stolen. But with a small population and community policing knowing whom the likely offenders were, it did not usually take long for the culprits to be brought to book. When Sarah Banks, who kept the Ship Inn at Blackbrook, missed a cock and three of her hens, she went to local bobby PC William Milner to complain. Very quickly he had Thomas Twist in custody after finding the fowl inside his house.
On the road to the station the miner had told the constable: "Well, I've done it, and if I get 18 months, it will serve me right, and will perhaps do me good." PC Milner told the magistrates that Twist was a married man but his wife did not live with him as he would not work. The constable added that the defendant had often been suspected of stealing poultry but they could never get a case against him. Thomas Twist did not receive 18 months, but was instead sentenced to two months in prison.
It was not unknown for workmen on the evening shift to disappear to the pub for a while for a quick pint. But some overdid it, such as John Spolland. He was employed at John Leatham's chemical plant in St Helens and at about 8 o’clock on one evening had sneaked out from the works and did not return until 10:40 pm. And then he was too drunk to work and instead Spolland went to a quiet part of the works and lay down to sleep. Eventually, the foreman found him and ordered the man home.
In court this week Spolland was charged with absenting himself from his employment without permission and notional damages of 10 shillings were claimed. In total the defendant was fined 17 shillings 6d and if he could not find the cash, he would have to go to prison for 14 days.
Last December St Helens Cricket Club had decided to hire a professional cricketer for the summer season for their Dentons Green ground. Few players 150 years ago were able to watch the game being played at county or test level and with no television to watch cricket and gain knowledge, it is hardly surprising that skills were low and cricket scores tended to be low.
At the club's annual meeting this week at the Fleece Hotel, it was reported that a pro called H. Grist had been hired and in order to pay for his services the club had been on a recruitment drive. Sixteen new members of the club had signed up and paid their dues and they were on the look out for even more subscribers to boost their funds. Cricket clubs in St Helens usually organised an annual athletics festival as an additional fundraiser and the club announced that July 17th had been set aside for this year's event.
In an edition of the Prescot Reporter from 1868 there was a report on the 40-strong Rainhill Light Horse who had recently journeyed from the Stanley Arms at Roby to the Fleece Hotel in St Helens. But on March 6th of this week the Reporter lamented the demise of the unit, writing:
"The Rainhill Light Horse. This once neat and efficient troop of volunteer cavalry no longer exists. It died out gradually, and its end was foreseen. It is a matter of regret that so extensive a district as South Lancashire should not have at least one corps of hussars, with such a creditable and formidable array of infantry.
"The proportion of mounted volunteers is disgracefully small, even for the purposes of ornament; and if we take our volunteer force as representing the materials of a powerful army of reserve, to be made available in case of need, the want of cavalry would reduce its power by one-half.
"The regular army has no more than its regular proportion of mounted troops and could give no help to any other branch, and the late Franco-German war has taught us, even if the fact were not known before, that cavalry of the light class are simply indispensable in campaigns. The Rainhill Horse were once the pride of this neighbourhood. They have guarded the field on many a review day, or gone through the fiery but harmless charges of the sham-battle both at St. Helens and Liverpool, and they have always won praise."
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the 12-year-old Parr girl's claim of rape against a Corporation official, the dispute over a policeman's lamp in Rainford, Fossett's Circus comes to Prescot and the harsh penalty for stealing a coat from St Helens market.
We begin on the 3rd when the annual ploughing match was held in Rainford on land belonging to Joseph Whalley at what was described as "Mosbro Lane". Such competitions were regularly held over the rural parts of the St Helens district during the 19th century – especially in Bold and Sutton – and still take place in other parts of the country. Not only did they encourage good practice (being a measure of quality rather than speed) but the ploughmen could win as much as £5 prize money – which was more than three weeks' wages.
The St Helens Newspaper said it had been intensely cold in Rainford but there had been a good attendance of competitors and the ploughing had been "splendid". Thomas Birchall Jnr was singled out for praise, writing: "…there is little doubt that the ploughing world will hear of him again on some future day." Afterwards the judges and ploughmen enjoyed a dinner at the Stanley Arms.
But unlike his peers he had no robe and so had needed to borrow something suitable to wear. Radley also had no chain of office and at the next meeting of St Helens Town Council the coal magnate offered to provide a gold chain for all future mayors of the borough to wear. His offer was accepted and at this week's council meeting Radley produced the newly made chain of office. He said it was not yet in a "perfect state" but good enough to be worn.
It was not yet perfect, as the Mayor had put it, because the Borough Coat of Arms needed to be "emblazoned" on it. And that was because the Heralds College had yet to approve its design. James Radley wore the badge and chain for the first time on the 4th when he attended a banquet given by the Mayor of Liverpool to the Lord Mayor of London.
A memorial had a few different meanings in the 19th century but in a written form it referred to a petition. Memorials usually contained such obsequious language as "we beg you to consider" and "your humble servant". At the Town Council meeting their clerk read out a memorial that the market stallholders had submitted in which they complained about persons described as "unlicensed auctioneers" that were selling various articles in front of the Running Horses Inn.
It was a problem that shopkeepers and market folk with stalls would complain about for well over a hundred years. Traders that briefly came into St Helens selling cut-price goods without paying rates and rent and, perhaps, not even having a hawkers licence. It was decided to refer the matter to the Parliamentary and General Purposes Committee for their consideration, although it was uncertain whether anything could be done about the auctioneers. That was because the space that the sellers were occupying was believed to be private land.
Many people kept hens in their backyard and quite a few had them stolen. But with a small population and community policing knowing whom the likely offenders were, it did not usually take long for the culprits to be brought to book. When Sarah Banks, who kept the Ship Inn at Blackbrook, missed a cock and three of her hens, she went to local bobby PC William Milner to complain. Very quickly he had Thomas Twist in custody after finding the fowl inside his house.
On the road to the station the miner had told the constable: "Well, I've done it, and if I get 18 months, it will serve me right, and will perhaps do me good." PC Milner told the magistrates that Twist was a married man but his wife did not live with him as he would not work. The constable added that the defendant had often been suspected of stealing poultry but they could never get a case against him. Thomas Twist did not receive 18 months, but was instead sentenced to two months in prison.
It was not unknown for workmen on the evening shift to disappear to the pub for a while for a quick pint. But some overdid it, such as John Spolland. He was employed at John Leatham's chemical plant in St Helens and at about 8 o’clock on one evening had sneaked out from the works and did not return until 10:40 pm. And then he was too drunk to work and instead Spolland went to a quiet part of the works and lay down to sleep. Eventually, the foreman found him and ordered the man home.
In court this week Spolland was charged with absenting himself from his employment without permission and notional damages of 10 shillings were claimed. In total the defendant was fined 17 shillings 6d and if he could not find the cash, he would have to go to prison for 14 days.
Last December St Helens Cricket Club had decided to hire a professional cricketer for the summer season for their Dentons Green ground. Few players 150 years ago were able to watch the game being played at county or test level and with no television to watch cricket and gain knowledge, it is hardly surprising that skills were low and cricket scores tended to be low.
At the club's annual meeting this week at the Fleece Hotel, it was reported that a pro called H. Grist had been hired and in order to pay for his services the club had been on a recruitment drive. Sixteen new members of the club had signed up and paid their dues and they were on the look out for even more subscribers to boost their funds. Cricket clubs in St Helens usually organised an annual athletics festival as an additional fundraiser and the club announced that July 17th had been set aside for this year's event.
In an edition of the Prescot Reporter from 1868 there was a report on the 40-strong Rainhill Light Horse who had recently journeyed from the Stanley Arms at Roby to the Fleece Hotel in St Helens. But on March 6th of this week the Reporter lamented the demise of the unit, writing:
"The Rainhill Light Horse. This once neat and efficient troop of volunteer cavalry no longer exists. It died out gradually, and its end was foreseen. It is a matter of regret that so extensive a district as South Lancashire should not have at least one corps of hussars, with such a creditable and formidable array of infantry.
"The proportion of mounted volunteers is disgracefully small, even for the purposes of ornament; and if we take our volunteer force as representing the materials of a powerful army of reserve, to be made available in case of need, the want of cavalry would reduce its power by one-half.
"The regular army has no more than its regular proportion of mounted troops and could give no help to any other branch, and the late Franco-German war has taught us, even if the fact were not known before, that cavalry of the light class are simply indispensable in campaigns. The Rainhill Horse were once the pride of this neighbourhood. They have guarded the field on many a review day, or gone through the fiery but harmless charges of the sham-battle both at St. Helens and Liverpool, and they have always won praise."
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the 12-year-old Parr girl's claim of rape against a Corporation official, the dispute over a policeman's lamp in Rainford, Fossett's Circus comes to Prescot and the harsh penalty for stealing a coat from St Helens market.
This week's many stories include the ploughing competition in Rainford, the market stallholders' anger with unlicensed auctioneers, the donation of a mayoral chain of office, the fowl deed at the Ship Inn, the demise of the Rainhill Light Horse, St Helens Cricket Club hire a professional player and the chemical worker who was too drunk to work.
We begin on the 3rd when the annual ploughing match was held in Rainford on land belonging to Joseph Whalley at what was described as "Mosbro Lane".
Such competitions were regularly held over the rural parts of the St Helens district during the 19th century – especially in Bold and Sutton – and still take place in other parts of the country.
Not only did they encourage good practice (being a measure of quality rather than speed) but the ploughmen could win as much as £5 prize money – which was more than three weeks' wages.
The St Helens Newspaper said it had been intensely cold in Rainford but there had been a good attendance of competitors and the ploughing had been "splendid".
Thomas Birchall Jnr was singled out for praise, writing: "…there is little doubt that the ploughing world will hear of him again on some future day."
Afterwards the judges and ploughmen enjoyed a dinner at the Stanley Arms.
Back in September 1874 what the St Helens Newspaper called a "week of ecstasies" had taken place in Liverpool.
That was when Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh, had visited the city to open an orphanage and lay the foundation stone for the Walker Art Gallery.
The Mayor of St Helens, James Radley (pictured above), had been one of the invited guests and he had also recently been one of many Lancashire mayors attending the opening of Southport's Botanic Gardens.
But unlike his peers he had no robe and so had needed to borrow something suitable to wear.
Radley also had no chain of office and at the next meeting of St Helens Town Council the coal magnate offered to provide a gold chain for all future mayors of the borough to wear.
His offer was accepted and at this week's council meeting Radley produced the newly made chain of office. He said it was not yet in a "perfect state" but good enough to be worn.
It was not yet perfect, as the Mayor had put it, because the Borough Coat of Arms needed to be "emblazoned" on it. And that was because the Heralds College had yet to approve its design.
James Radley wore the badge and chain for the first time on the 4th when he attended a banquet given by the Mayor of Liverpool to the Lord Mayor of London.
A memorial had a few different meanings in the 19th century but in a written form it referred to a petition.
Memorials usually contained such obsequious language as "we beg you to consider" and "your humble servant".
At the Town Council meeting their clerk read out a memorial that the market stallholders had submitted in which they complained about persons described as "unlicensed auctioneers" that were selling various articles in front of the Running Horses Inn.
It was a problem that shopkeepers and market folk with stalls would complain about for well over a hundred years.
Traders that briefly came into St Helens selling cut-price goods without paying rates and rent and, perhaps, not even having a hawkers licence.
It was decided to refer the matter to the Parliamentary and General Purposes Committee for their consideration, although it was uncertain whether anything could be done about the auctioneers.
That was because the space that the sellers were occupying was believed to be private land.
Many people kept hens in their backyard and quite a few had them stolen.
But with a small population and community policing knowing whom the likely offenders were, it did not usually take long for the culprits to be brought to book.
When Sarah Banks, who kept the Ship Inn at Blackbrook, missed a cock and three of her hens, she went to local bobby PC William Milner to complain.
Very quickly he had Thomas Twist in custody after finding the fowl inside his house.
On the road to the station the miner had told the constable: "Well, I've done it, and if I get 18 months, it will serve me right, and will perhaps do me good."
PC Milner told the magistrates that Twist was a married man but his wife did not live with him as he would not work.
The constable added that the defendant had often been suspected of stealing poultry but they could never get a case against him.
Thomas Twist did not receive 18 months, but was instead sentenced to two months in prison.
It was not unknown for workmen on the evening shift to disappear to the pub for a while for a quick pint.
But some overdid it, such as John Spolland. He was employed at John Leatham's chemical plant in St Helens and at about 8 o’clock on one evening had sneaked out from the works and did not return until 10:40 pm.
And then he was too drunk to work and instead Spolland went to a quiet part of the works and lay down to sleep. Eventually, the foreman found him and ordered the man home.
In court this week Spolland was charged with absenting himself from his employment without permission and notional damages of 10 shillings were claimed.
In total the defendant was fined 17 shillings 6d and if he could not find the cash, he would have to go to prison for 14 days.
Last December St Helens Cricket Club had decided to hire a professional cricketer for the summer season for their Dentons Green ground.
Few players 150 years ago were able to watch the game being played at county or test level and with no television to watch cricket and gain knowledge, it is hardly surprising that skills were low and cricket scores tended to be low.
At the club's annual meeting this week at the Fleece Hotel, it was reported that a pro called H. Grist had been hired and in order to pay for his services the club had been on a recruitment drive.
Sixteen new members of the club had signed up and paid their dues and they were on the look out for even more subscribers to boost their funds.
Cricket clubs in St Helens usually organised an annual athletics festival as an additional fundraiser and the club announced that July 17th had been set aside for this year's event.
In an edition of the Prescot Reporter from 1868 there was a report on the 40-strong Rainhill Light Horse who had recently journeyed from the Stanley Arms at Roby to the Fleece Hotel in St Helens.
But on March 6th of this week the Reporter lamented the demise of the unit, writing:
"The Rainhill Light Horse. This once neat and efficient troop of volunteer cavalry no longer exists. It died out gradually, and its end was foreseen.
"It is a matter of regret that so extensive a district as South Lancashire should not have at least one corps of hussars, with such a creditable and formidable array of infantry.
"The proportion of mounted volunteers is disgracefully small, even for the purposes of ornament; and if we take our volunteer force as representing the materials of a powerful army of reserve, to be made available in case of need, the want of cavalry would reduce its power by one-half.
"The regular army has no more than its regular proportion of mounted troops and could give no help to any other branch, and the late Franco-German war has taught us, even if the fact were not known before, that cavalry of the light class are simply indispensable in campaigns.
"The Rainhill Horse were once the pride of this neighbourhood. They have guarded the field on many a review day, or gone through the fiery but harmless charges of the sham-battle both at St. Helens and Liverpool, and they have always won praise."
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the 12-year-old Parr girl's claim of rape against a Corporation official, the dispute over a policeman's lamp in Rainford, Fossett's Circus comes to Prescot and the harsh penalty for stealing a coat from St Helens market.
We begin on the 3rd when the annual ploughing match was held in Rainford on land belonging to Joseph Whalley at what was described as "Mosbro Lane".
Such competitions were regularly held over the rural parts of the St Helens district during the 19th century – especially in Bold and Sutton – and still take place in other parts of the country.
Not only did they encourage good practice (being a measure of quality rather than speed) but the ploughmen could win as much as £5 prize money – which was more than three weeks' wages.
The St Helens Newspaper said it had been intensely cold in Rainford but there had been a good attendance of competitors and the ploughing had been "splendid".
Thomas Birchall Jnr was singled out for praise, writing: "…there is little doubt that the ploughing world will hear of him again on some future day."
Afterwards the judges and ploughmen enjoyed a dinner at the Stanley Arms.
Back in September 1874 what the St Helens Newspaper called a "week of ecstasies" had taken place in Liverpool.
That was when Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh, had visited the city to open an orphanage and lay the foundation stone for the Walker Art Gallery.
But unlike his peers he had no robe and so had needed to borrow something suitable to wear.
Radley also had no chain of office and at the next meeting of St Helens Town Council the coal magnate offered to provide a gold chain for all future mayors of the borough to wear.
His offer was accepted and at this week's council meeting Radley produced the newly made chain of office. He said it was not yet in a "perfect state" but good enough to be worn.
It was not yet perfect, as the Mayor had put it, because the Borough Coat of Arms needed to be "emblazoned" on it. And that was because the Heralds College had yet to approve its design.
James Radley wore the badge and chain for the first time on the 4th when he attended a banquet given by the Mayor of Liverpool to the Lord Mayor of London.
A memorial had a few different meanings in the 19th century but in a written form it referred to a petition.
Memorials usually contained such obsequious language as "we beg you to consider" and "your humble servant".
At the Town Council meeting their clerk read out a memorial that the market stallholders had submitted in which they complained about persons described as "unlicensed auctioneers" that were selling various articles in front of the Running Horses Inn.
It was a problem that shopkeepers and market folk with stalls would complain about for well over a hundred years.
Traders that briefly came into St Helens selling cut-price goods without paying rates and rent and, perhaps, not even having a hawkers licence.
It was decided to refer the matter to the Parliamentary and General Purposes Committee for their consideration, although it was uncertain whether anything could be done about the auctioneers.
That was because the space that the sellers were occupying was believed to be private land.
Many people kept hens in their backyard and quite a few had them stolen.
But with a small population and community policing knowing whom the likely offenders were, it did not usually take long for the culprits to be brought to book.
When Sarah Banks, who kept the Ship Inn at Blackbrook, missed a cock and three of her hens, she went to local bobby PC William Milner to complain.
Very quickly he had Thomas Twist in custody after finding the fowl inside his house.
On the road to the station the miner had told the constable: "Well, I've done it, and if I get 18 months, it will serve me right, and will perhaps do me good."
PC Milner told the magistrates that Twist was a married man but his wife did not live with him as he would not work.
The constable added that the defendant had often been suspected of stealing poultry but they could never get a case against him.
Thomas Twist did not receive 18 months, but was instead sentenced to two months in prison.
It was not unknown for workmen on the evening shift to disappear to the pub for a while for a quick pint.
But some overdid it, such as John Spolland. He was employed at John Leatham's chemical plant in St Helens and at about 8 o’clock on one evening had sneaked out from the works and did not return until 10:40 pm.
And then he was too drunk to work and instead Spolland went to a quiet part of the works and lay down to sleep. Eventually, the foreman found him and ordered the man home.
In court this week Spolland was charged with absenting himself from his employment without permission and notional damages of 10 shillings were claimed.
In total the defendant was fined 17 shillings 6d and if he could not find the cash, he would have to go to prison for 14 days.
Last December St Helens Cricket Club had decided to hire a professional cricketer for the summer season for their Dentons Green ground.
Few players 150 years ago were able to watch the game being played at county or test level and with no television to watch cricket and gain knowledge, it is hardly surprising that skills were low and cricket scores tended to be low.
At the club's annual meeting this week at the Fleece Hotel, it was reported that a pro called H. Grist had been hired and in order to pay for his services the club had been on a recruitment drive.
Sixteen new members of the club had signed up and paid their dues and they were on the look out for even more subscribers to boost their funds.
Cricket clubs in St Helens usually organised an annual athletics festival as an additional fundraiser and the club announced that July 17th had been set aside for this year's event.
In an edition of the Prescot Reporter from 1868 there was a report on the 40-strong Rainhill Light Horse who had recently journeyed from the Stanley Arms at Roby to the Fleece Hotel in St Helens.
But on March 6th of this week the Reporter lamented the demise of the unit, writing:
"The Rainhill Light Horse. This once neat and efficient troop of volunteer cavalry no longer exists. It died out gradually, and its end was foreseen.
"It is a matter of regret that so extensive a district as South Lancashire should not have at least one corps of hussars, with such a creditable and formidable array of infantry.
"The proportion of mounted volunteers is disgracefully small, even for the purposes of ornament; and if we take our volunteer force as representing the materials of a powerful army of reserve, to be made available in case of need, the want of cavalry would reduce its power by one-half.
"The regular army has no more than its regular proportion of mounted troops and could give no help to any other branch, and the late Franco-German war has taught us, even if the fact were not known before, that cavalry of the light class are simply indispensable in campaigns.
"The Rainhill Horse were once the pride of this neighbourhood. They have guarded the field on many a review day, or gone through the fiery but harmless charges of the sham-battle both at St. Helens and Liverpool, and they have always won praise."
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the 12-year-old Parr girl's claim of rape against a Corporation official, the dispute over a policeman's lamp in Rainford, Fossett's Circus comes to Prescot and the harsh penalty for stealing a coat from St Helens market.