150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (4th - 10th JANUARY 1871)
This week's stories include the annual dinner for the aged poor of Parr, the hen-pecked Ashton bigamist is back in court, a dreadful mining accident takes place and the man who died after lighting his pipe.
Centenarians were rare in St Helens but one died this week. Mary Norman had been born in October 1770 when King George III had been on the throne and five years before the American War of Independence had begun.
On the 5th Joseph Greenough gave his annual dinner to the aged poor of Parr at the schoolhouse in Parr Stocks. Aged meant over 60 and the "capital feast" given to 103 persons (with an average age of 75) consisted of roast beef, plum pudding and ale. Greenough would fall from grace in 1877 after trying to evict tenants on Parr Moss by destroying their house! He was sent to prison but died within weeks.
On the same day the district coroner held an inquest at the Albion Hotel in Parr into a curious death. Michael Murray lived in Parr Street (pictured above) and was employed at a local chemical works. On Christmas Eve the 38-year-old had gone to the Bath Hotel in Warrington where he drank seven or eight glasses of whisky. It was common for men to make use of the naked flames in candles, gas or oil lamps to light their pipes.
This was often done by igniting a piece of paper and then transferring the flame quickly to the pipe, hoping their fingers didn't get burned in the bargain! While attempting to light his pipe using that method, Michael somehow allowed the burning paper to come into contact with his trousers. Many clothes were then highly flammable and Michael's pants burst into flames, severely burning him and ultimately taking his life.
As well as the St Helens Newspaper, there was also the St Helens Standard. I have rarely referenced the latter in my articles as the 1870 editions are all missing from the local archives and the 1869 ones are extremely difficult to read. However copies of the Standard from 1871 are available and are legible – despite displaying in a peculiar negative-type effect with white letters on a black background.
In its edition of the 7th there was an advert for George Webster's drug establishment in Church Street (opposite Bridge Street). The chemist certainly liked quinine, selling Webster's Quinine Bitters "for strengthening the stomach and digestive organs" at 1s 6d per bottle. Sarsaparilla and quinine was also on sale "for purifying the blood". These days quinine is banned for many uses, although it is still employed as an anti-malarial drug and in low quantities is an ingredient in tonic water.
Mr Webster was an agent for homeopathic medicines and was selling "this season's new cod liver oil" – were there different versions every year like dresses or hats? George Webster was also agent for the 'French Specific Pill', which "cures pleasantly in three days, either sex, without Mercury, Capivi, or Injections". And what did it treat? "Cures nervous debility, disturbed dreams, pains in the back, loins, weak eyes, pimples, blood impurities, melancholy, lassitude, &c." Next time I have back ache and pimples, I'll have to search that out!
There were also a lot of other quack treatments in the classified section of the St Helens Standard. One promised to prevent baldness and restore hair in three weeks while another claimed to be able to produce "luxuriant whiskers and moustaches" in ten days.
We first came across Thomas Marsh last June when he appeared in St Helens Police Court charged with bigamy after "feloniously intermarrying with Elizabeth Hill, at Prescot". The 22-year-old had gone through the marriage ceremony just a few days earlier and his wife in Ashton-in-Makerfield had heard of it and reported him. Marsh was committed to the Liverpool Summer Assizes where he explained to the court that his wife had a very violent temper and had made his life very unhappy. Surprisingly the judge accepted this claim and only sentenced the coal miner to a day's imprisonment.
Now Marsh was summoned to the Petty Sessions after making his second "wife" pregnant, as reported by the St Helens Newspaper: "A collier named Thomas Marsh, resident in Ashton, was summoned by Elizabeth Hill, of Sutton, to contribute towards the support of her child, of which he admitted he was the father.
"The defendant had been convicted at the last Liverpool assizes of bigamy, he having married the complainant while his first wife was living. He was ordered to pay 5s. a week for the first six weeks, and 2s. 6d. a week afterwards. When he returned to his seat in court his first wife received him there with a sound box in the face."
Thomas Fay was also deserving of a sound box in the face. Sometimes spelt Feigh the man had been before the magistrates in St Helens and Prescot on over 30 occasions for various offences. Last November he had been summoned to court charged with wife desertion and refusing to support his wife and child, who were inmates of Whiston Workhouse. Fay had a simple defence, saying: "She's not my wife" and claiming the woman had chosen to live in the workhouse of her own accord. For once he got off the charge, as the marriage could not be proved. However the magistrate told Fay that he had been guilty of the "most abominable conduct".
Now his son was in court, as described by the St Helens Newspaper: "A little fellow named John Feigh was charged with begging in Waterloo-street on Saturday night. It was stated that the child's father was a notorious character. An elder brother of the prisoner appeared before the court and said that his father was an “odd character”. The prisoner was sentenced to seven days' imprisonment." That's a child sentenced to a week in Kirkdale prison either because his father was not providing for him or had sent him out onto the streets to beg.
There were some very strict regulations 150 years ago and the authorities enforced them religiously. Michael and Ellen Bibby from Peasley Cross Lane made separate appearances in the Sessions charged with different but rather minor offences. The 38-year-old husband was fined 7s 6d and costs for leaving his donkey and cart on the highway for a longer period than the police deemed necessary.
And his wife was prosecuted for selling coal by measure instead of weight. All the woman had done was exchange potato peelings for some coal but it was enough for her to be ordered to pay a 17-shilling fine or if in default of payment be sent to gaol for 14 days.
Carelessness and poor safety procedures regularly caused industrial accidents. Park Lane Collieries in Ashton-in-Makerfield had a particularly poor safety record with almost 70 men and boys killed in explosions over the past four years. On the 9th a miner at Park Lane lost his life after falling 250 yards down a shaft and four others almost suffered a similar fate – all because an engine winder did not pay attention to his job.
The winder was responsible for lowering the miners down the pit and safely returning them to the surface when their labours were done. Materials and coal were also conveyed up and down the shaft in cages. It was not a very labour-intensive job to be a winder but a highly responsible one. The tragedy occurred after the man had thought he'd taken down all the miners for that particular shift. And so after bringing the empty cage back up, the winder applied the brake to his engine and walked away.
However he was called back after being told that five more men were in the cage and needed to be taken down. So the unnamed winder returned to his place and removed the engine's brake. However he forgot that after returning the empty cage to the surface, the engine was still in upward mode. And so instead of descending down the shaft, the five men in the cage began to ascend. It had risen four or five yards before the winder realised his mistake and reversed the engine to begin bringing the cage down.
However the five passengers had already started to panic. Fearing the cage would be overwound to the top of the gantry, Thomas Parkinson leapt out but lost his balance and dropped 250 yards down the mine. It was a dreadful way to die and it was reported that two "stout" planks at the bottom of the shaft were broken by the force of the man's fall. The usual verdict of accidental death was returned at the inquest but everyone knew who was responsible – including the poor winder.
Next week's stories will include the Bridge Street beggar's hard luck story, the man who went to prison for tearing his trousers, the dispute between the auctioneer and the butcher and the Parr landlord's silly sister who landed her brother in court!
Centenarians were rare in St Helens but one died this week. Mary Norman had been born in October 1770 when King George III had been on the throne and five years before the American War of Independence had begun.
On the 5th Joseph Greenough gave his annual dinner to the aged poor of Parr at the schoolhouse in Parr Stocks. Aged meant over 60 and the "capital feast" given to 103 persons (with an average age of 75) consisted of roast beef, plum pudding and ale. Greenough would fall from grace in 1877 after trying to evict tenants on Parr Moss by destroying their house! He was sent to prison but died within weeks.
This was often done by igniting a piece of paper and then transferring the flame quickly to the pipe, hoping their fingers didn't get burned in the bargain! While attempting to light his pipe using that method, Michael somehow allowed the burning paper to come into contact with his trousers. Many clothes were then highly flammable and Michael's pants burst into flames, severely burning him and ultimately taking his life.
As well as the St Helens Newspaper, there was also the St Helens Standard. I have rarely referenced the latter in my articles as the 1870 editions are all missing from the local archives and the 1869 ones are extremely difficult to read. However copies of the Standard from 1871 are available and are legible – despite displaying in a peculiar negative-type effect with white letters on a black background.
In its edition of the 7th there was an advert for George Webster's drug establishment in Church Street (opposite Bridge Street). The chemist certainly liked quinine, selling Webster's Quinine Bitters "for strengthening the stomach and digestive organs" at 1s 6d per bottle. Sarsaparilla and quinine was also on sale "for purifying the blood". These days quinine is banned for many uses, although it is still employed as an anti-malarial drug and in low quantities is an ingredient in tonic water.
Mr Webster was an agent for homeopathic medicines and was selling "this season's new cod liver oil" – were there different versions every year like dresses or hats? George Webster was also agent for the 'French Specific Pill', which "cures pleasantly in three days, either sex, without Mercury, Capivi, or Injections". And what did it treat? "Cures nervous debility, disturbed dreams, pains in the back, loins, weak eyes, pimples, blood impurities, melancholy, lassitude, &c." Next time I have back ache and pimples, I'll have to search that out!
There were also a lot of other quack treatments in the classified section of the St Helens Standard. One promised to prevent baldness and restore hair in three weeks while another claimed to be able to produce "luxuriant whiskers and moustaches" in ten days.
We first came across Thomas Marsh last June when he appeared in St Helens Police Court charged with bigamy after "feloniously intermarrying with Elizabeth Hill, at Prescot". The 22-year-old had gone through the marriage ceremony just a few days earlier and his wife in Ashton-in-Makerfield had heard of it and reported him. Marsh was committed to the Liverpool Summer Assizes where he explained to the court that his wife had a very violent temper and had made his life very unhappy. Surprisingly the judge accepted this claim and only sentenced the coal miner to a day's imprisonment.
Now Marsh was summoned to the Petty Sessions after making his second "wife" pregnant, as reported by the St Helens Newspaper: "A collier named Thomas Marsh, resident in Ashton, was summoned by Elizabeth Hill, of Sutton, to contribute towards the support of her child, of which he admitted he was the father.
"The defendant had been convicted at the last Liverpool assizes of bigamy, he having married the complainant while his first wife was living. He was ordered to pay 5s. a week for the first six weeks, and 2s. 6d. a week afterwards. When he returned to his seat in court his first wife received him there with a sound box in the face."
Thomas Fay was also deserving of a sound box in the face. Sometimes spelt Feigh the man had been before the magistrates in St Helens and Prescot on over 30 occasions for various offences. Last November he had been summoned to court charged with wife desertion and refusing to support his wife and child, who were inmates of Whiston Workhouse. Fay had a simple defence, saying: "She's not my wife" and claiming the woman had chosen to live in the workhouse of her own accord. For once he got off the charge, as the marriage could not be proved. However the magistrate told Fay that he had been guilty of the "most abominable conduct".
Now his son was in court, as described by the St Helens Newspaper: "A little fellow named John Feigh was charged with begging in Waterloo-street on Saturday night. It was stated that the child's father was a notorious character. An elder brother of the prisoner appeared before the court and said that his father was an “odd character”. The prisoner was sentenced to seven days' imprisonment." That's a child sentenced to a week in Kirkdale prison either because his father was not providing for him or had sent him out onto the streets to beg.
There were some very strict regulations 150 years ago and the authorities enforced them religiously. Michael and Ellen Bibby from Peasley Cross Lane made separate appearances in the Sessions charged with different but rather minor offences. The 38-year-old husband was fined 7s 6d and costs for leaving his donkey and cart on the highway for a longer period than the police deemed necessary.
And his wife was prosecuted for selling coal by measure instead of weight. All the woman had done was exchange potato peelings for some coal but it was enough for her to be ordered to pay a 17-shilling fine or if in default of payment be sent to gaol for 14 days.
Carelessness and poor safety procedures regularly caused industrial accidents. Park Lane Collieries in Ashton-in-Makerfield had a particularly poor safety record with almost 70 men and boys killed in explosions over the past four years. On the 9th a miner at Park Lane lost his life after falling 250 yards down a shaft and four others almost suffered a similar fate – all because an engine winder did not pay attention to his job.
The winder was responsible for lowering the miners down the pit and safely returning them to the surface when their labours were done. Materials and coal were also conveyed up and down the shaft in cages. It was not a very labour-intensive job to be a winder but a highly responsible one. The tragedy occurred after the man had thought he'd taken down all the miners for that particular shift. And so after bringing the empty cage back up, the winder applied the brake to his engine and walked away.
However he was called back after being told that five more men were in the cage and needed to be taken down. So the unnamed winder returned to his place and removed the engine's brake. However he forgot that after returning the empty cage to the surface, the engine was still in upward mode. And so instead of descending down the shaft, the five men in the cage began to ascend. It had risen four or five yards before the winder realised his mistake and reversed the engine to begin bringing the cage down.
However the five passengers had already started to panic. Fearing the cage would be overwound to the top of the gantry, Thomas Parkinson leapt out but lost his balance and dropped 250 yards down the mine. It was a dreadful way to die and it was reported that two "stout" planks at the bottom of the shaft were broken by the force of the man's fall. The usual verdict of accidental death was returned at the inquest but everyone knew who was responsible – including the poor winder.
Next week's stories will include the Bridge Street beggar's hard luck story, the man who went to prison for tearing his trousers, the dispute between the auctioneer and the butcher and the Parr landlord's silly sister who landed her brother in court!
This week's stories include the annual dinner for the aged poor of Parr, the hen-pecked Ashton bigamist is back in court, a dreadful mining accident takes place and the man who died after lighting his pipe.
Centenarians were rare in St Helens but one died this week.
Mary Norman had been born in October 1770 when King George III had been on the throne and five years before the American War of Independence had begun.
On the 5th Joseph Greenough gave his annual dinner to the aged poor of Parr at the schoolhouse in Parr Stocks.
Aged meant over 60 and the "capital feast" given to 103 persons (with an average age of 75) consisted of roast beef, plum pudding and ale.
Greenough would fall from grace in 1877 after trying to evict tenants on Parr Moss by destroying their house! He was sent to prison but died within weeks.
On the same day the district coroner held an inquest at the Albion Hotel in Parr into a curious death.
Michael Murray lived in Parr Street (pictured above) and was employed at a local chemical works.
On Christmas Eve the 38-year-old had gone to the Bath Hotel in Warrington where he drank seven or eight glasses of whisky.
It was common for men to make use of the naked flames in candles, gas or oil lamps to light their pipes.
This was often done by igniting a piece of paper and then transferring the flame quickly to the pipe, hoping their fingers didn't get burned in the bargain!
While attempting to light his pipe using that method, Michael somehow allowed the burning paper to come into contact with his trousers.
Many clothes were then highly flammable and Michael's pants burst into flames, severely burning him and ultimately taking his life.
As well as the St Helens Newspaper, there was also the St Helens Standard.
I have rarely referenced the latter in my articles as the 1870 editions are all missing from the local archives and the 1869 ones are extremely difficult to read.
However copies of the Standard from 1871 are available and are legible – despite displaying in a peculiar negative-type effect with white letters on a black background.
In its edition of the 7th there was an advert for George Webster's drug establishment in Church Street (opposite Bridge Street).
The chemist certainly liked quinine, selling Webster's Quinine Bitters "for strengthening the stomach and digestive organs" at 1s 6d per bottle.
Sarsaparilla and quinine was also on sale "for purifying the blood".
These days quinine is banned for many uses, although it is still employed as an anti-malarial drug and in low quantities is an ingredient in tonic water.
Mr Webster was an agent for homeopathic medicines and was selling "this season's new cod liver oil" – were there different versions every year like dresses or hats?
George Webster was also agent for the 'French Specific Pill', which "cures pleasantly in three days, either sex, without Mercury, Capivi, or Injections".
And what did it treat? "Cures nervous debility, disturbed dreams, pains in the back, loins, weak eyes, pimples, blood impurities, melancholy, lassitude, &c."
Next time I have back ache and pimples, I'll have to search that out!
There were also a lot of other quack treatments in the classified section of the St Helens Standard.
One promised to prevent baldness and restore hair in three weeks while another claimed to be able to produce "luxuriant whiskers and moustaches" in ten days.
We first came across Thomas Marsh last June when he appeared in St Helens Police Court charged with bigamy after "feloniously intermarrying with Elizabeth Hill, at Prescot".
The 22-year-old had gone through the marriage ceremony just a few days earlier and his wife in Ashton-in-Makerfield had heard of it and reported him.
Marsh was committed to the Liverpool Summer Assizes where he explained to the court that his wife had a very violent temper and had made his life very unhappy.
Surprisingly the judge accepted this claim and only sentenced the coal miner to a day's imprisonment.
Now Marsh was summoned to the Petty Sessions after making his second "wife" pregnant, as reported by the St Helens Newspaper:
"A collier named Thomas Marsh, resident in Ashton, was summoned by Elizabeth Hill, of Sutton, to contribute towards the support of her child, of which he admitted he was the father.
"The defendant had been convicted at the last Liverpool assizes of bigamy, he having married the complainant while his first wife was living.
"He was ordered to pay 5s. a week for the first six weeks, and 2s. 6d. a week afterwards. When he returned to his seat in court his first wife received him there with a sound box in the face."
Thomas Fay was also deserving of a sound box in the face.
Sometimes spelt Feigh the man had been before the magistrates in St Helens and Prescot on over 30 occasions for various offences.
Last November he had been summoned to court charged with wife desertion and refusing to support his wife and child, who were inmates of Whiston Workhouse.
Fay had a simple defence, saying: "She's not my wife" and claiming the woman had chosen to live in the workhouse of her own accord.
For once he got off the charge, as the marriage could not be proved. However the magistrate told Fay that he had been guilty of the "most abominable conduct".
Now his son was in court, as described by the St Helens Newspaper:
"A little fellow named John Feigh was charged with begging in Waterloo-street on Saturday night. It was stated that the child's father was a notorious character.
"An elder brother of the prisoner appeared before the court and said that his father was an “odd character”. The prisoner was sentenced to seven days' imprisonment."
That's a child sentenced to a week in Kirkdale prison either because his father was not providing for him or had sent him out onto the streets to beg.
There were some very strict regulations 150 years ago and the authorities enforced them religiously.
Michael and Ellen Bibby from Peasley Cross Lane made separate appearances in the Sessions charged with different but rather minor offences.
The 38-year-old husband was fined 7s 6d and costs for leaving his donkey and cart on the highway for a longer period than the police deemed necessary.
And his wife was prosecuted for selling coal by measure instead of weight.
All the woman had done was exchange potato peelings for some coal but it was enough for her to be ordered to pay a 17-shilling fine or if in default of payment be sent to gaol for 14 days.
Carelessness and poor safety procedures regularly caused industrial accidents.
Park Lane Collieries in Ashton-in-Makerfield had a particularly poor safety record with almost 70 men and boys killed in explosions over the past four years.
On the 9th a miner at Park Lane lost his life after falling 250 yards down a shaft and four others almost suffered a similar fate – all because an engine winder did not pay attention to his job.
The winder was responsible for lowering the miners down the pit and safely returning them to the surface when their labours were done.
Materials and coal were also conveyed up and down the shaft in cages.
It was not a very labour-intensive job to be a winder but a highly responsible one.
The tragedy occurred after the man had thought he'd taken down all the miners for that particular shift.
And so after bringing the empty cage back up, the winder applied the brake to his engine and walked away.
However he was called back after being told that five more men were in the cage and needed to be taken down.
So the unnamed winder returned to his place and removed the engine's brake.
However he forgot that after returning the empty cage to the surface, the engine was still in upward mode.
And so instead of descending down the shaft, the five men in the cage began to ascend.
It had risen four or five yards before the winder realised his mistake and reversed the engine to begin bringing the cage down.
However the five passengers had already started to panic.
Fearing the cage would be overwound to the top of the gantry, Thomas Parkinson leapt out but lost his balance and dropped 250 yards down the mine.
It was a dreadful way to die and it was reported that two "stout" planks at the bottom of the shaft were broken by the force of the man's fall.
The usual verdict of accidental death was returned at the inquest but everyone knew who was responsible – including the poor winder.
Next week's stories will include the Bridge Street beggar's hard luck story, the man who went to prison for tearing his trousers, the dispute between the auctioneer and the butcher and the Parr landlord's silly sister who landed her brother in court!
Centenarians were rare in St Helens but one died this week.
Mary Norman had been born in October 1770 when King George III had been on the throne and five years before the American War of Independence had begun.
On the 5th Joseph Greenough gave his annual dinner to the aged poor of Parr at the schoolhouse in Parr Stocks.
Aged meant over 60 and the "capital feast" given to 103 persons (with an average age of 75) consisted of roast beef, plum pudding and ale.
Greenough would fall from grace in 1877 after trying to evict tenants on Parr Moss by destroying their house! He was sent to prison but died within weeks.
On the same day the district coroner held an inquest at the Albion Hotel in Parr into a curious death.
On Christmas Eve the 38-year-old had gone to the Bath Hotel in Warrington where he drank seven or eight glasses of whisky.
It was common for men to make use of the naked flames in candles, gas or oil lamps to light their pipes.
This was often done by igniting a piece of paper and then transferring the flame quickly to the pipe, hoping their fingers didn't get burned in the bargain!
While attempting to light his pipe using that method, Michael somehow allowed the burning paper to come into contact with his trousers.
Many clothes were then highly flammable and Michael's pants burst into flames, severely burning him and ultimately taking his life.
As well as the St Helens Newspaper, there was also the St Helens Standard.
I have rarely referenced the latter in my articles as the 1870 editions are all missing from the local archives and the 1869 ones are extremely difficult to read.
However copies of the Standard from 1871 are available and are legible – despite displaying in a peculiar negative-type effect with white letters on a black background.
In its edition of the 7th there was an advert for George Webster's drug establishment in Church Street (opposite Bridge Street).
The chemist certainly liked quinine, selling Webster's Quinine Bitters "for strengthening the stomach and digestive organs" at 1s 6d per bottle.
Sarsaparilla and quinine was also on sale "for purifying the blood".
These days quinine is banned for many uses, although it is still employed as an anti-malarial drug and in low quantities is an ingredient in tonic water.
Mr Webster was an agent for homeopathic medicines and was selling "this season's new cod liver oil" – were there different versions every year like dresses or hats?
George Webster was also agent for the 'French Specific Pill', which "cures pleasantly in three days, either sex, without Mercury, Capivi, or Injections".
And what did it treat? "Cures nervous debility, disturbed dreams, pains in the back, loins, weak eyes, pimples, blood impurities, melancholy, lassitude, &c."
Next time I have back ache and pimples, I'll have to search that out!
There were also a lot of other quack treatments in the classified section of the St Helens Standard.
One promised to prevent baldness and restore hair in three weeks while another claimed to be able to produce "luxuriant whiskers and moustaches" in ten days.
We first came across Thomas Marsh last June when he appeared in St Helens Police Court charged with bigamy after "feloniously intermarrying with Elizabeth Hill, at Prescot".
The 22-year-old had gone through the marriage ceremony just a few days earlier and his wife in Ashton-in-Makerfield had heard of it and reported him.
Marsh was committed to the Liverpool Summer Assizes where he explained to the court that his wife had a very violent temper and had made his life very unhappy.
Surprisingly the judge accepted this claim and only sentenced the coal miner to a day's imprisonment.
Now Marsh was summoned to the Petty Sessions after making his second "wife" pregnant, as reported by the St Helens Newspaper:
"A collier named Thomas Marsh, resident in Ashton, was summoned by Elizabeth Hill, of Sutton, to contribute towards the support of her child, of which he admitted he was the father.
"The defendant had been convicted at the last Liverpool assizes of bigamy, he having married the complainant while his first wife was living.
"He was ordered to pay 5s. a week for the first six weeks, and 2s. 6d. a week afterwards. When he returned to his seat in court his first wife received him there with a sound box in the face."
Thomas Fay was also deserving of a sound box in the face.
Sometimes spelt Feigh the man had been before the magistrates in St Helens and Prescot on over 30 occasions for various offences.
Last November he had been summoned to court charged with wife desertion and refusing to support his wife and child, who were inmates of Whiston Workhouse.
Fay had a simple defence, saying: "She's not my wife" and claiming the woman had chosen to live in the workhouse of her own accord.
For once he got off the charge, as the marriage could not be proved. However the magistrate told Fay that he had been guilty of the "most abominable conduct".
Now his son was in court, as described by the St Helens Newspaper:
"A little fellow named John Feigh was charged with begging in Waterloo-street on Saturday night. It was stated that the child's father was a notorious character.
"An elder brother of the prisoner appeared before the court and said that his father was an “odd character”. The prisoner was sentenced to seven days' imprisonment."
That's a child sentenced to a week in Kirkdale prison either because his father was not providing for him or had sent him out onto the streets to beg.
There were some very strict regulations 150 years ago and the authorities enforced them religiously.
Michael and Ellen Bibby from Peasley Cross Lane made separate appearances in the Sessions charged with different but rather minor offences.
The 38-year-old husband was fined 7s 6d and costs for leaving his donkey and cart on the highway for a longer period than the police deemed necessary.
And his wife was prosecuted for selling coal by measure instead of weight.
All the woman had done was exchange potato peelings for some coal but it was enough for her to be ordered to pay a 17-shilling fine or if in default of payment be sent to gaol for 14 days.
Carelessness and poor safety procedures regularly caused industrial accidents.
Park Lane Collieries in Ashton-in-Makerfield had a particularly poor safety record with almost 70 men and boys killed in explosions over the past four years.
On the 9th a miner at Park Lane lost his life after falling 250 yards down a shaft and four others almost suffered a similar fate – all because an engine winder did not pay attention to his job.
The winder was responsible for lowering the miners down the pit and safely returning them to the surface when their labours were done.
Materials and coal were also conveyed up and down the shaft in cages.
It was not a very labour-intensive job to be a winder but a highly responsible one.
The tragedy occurred after the man had thought he'd taken down all the miners for that particular shift.
And so after bringing the empty cage back up, the winder applied the brake to his engine and walked away.
However he was called back after being told that five more men were in the cage and needed to be taken down.
So the unnamed winder returned to his place and removed the engine's brake.
However he forgot that after returning the empty cage to the surface, the engine was still in upward mode.
And so instead of descending down the shaft, the five men in the cage began to ascend.
It had risen four or five yards before the winder realised his mistake and reversed the engine to begin bringing the cage down.
However the five passengers had already started to panic.
Fearing the cage would be overwound to the top of the gantry, Thomas Parkinson leapt out but lost his balance and dropped 250 yards down the mine.
It was a dreadful way to die and it was reported that two "stout" planks at the bottom of the shaft were broken by the force of the man's fall.
The usual verdict of accidental death was returned at the inquest but everyone knew who was responsible – including the poor winder.
Next week's stories will include the Bridge Street beggar's hard luck story, the man who went to prison for tearing his trousers, the dispute between the auctioneer and the butcher and the Parr landlord's silly sister who landed her brother in court!