150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 5 - 11 AUGUST 1874
This week's many stories include the runaway horse in Tontine Street, the brutal attack on an old man in Parr, the knife assault in a Sutton pub, the miserable looking old man who stole bread from a Church Street shop, the Sutton Amateur Athletic Sports and several fathers are prosecuted for not having their child vaccinated against smallpox.
We begin on the 5th when Catherine Drennan from Parr appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions charged with uttering counterfeit coin. She was accused of paying for a glass of whiskey at the Royal Oak Inn with a florin, which – as the St Helens Newspaper put it – was "base". The landlord John Wells only discovered the fake coin when counting his takings later that evening and did not know which customer had been responsible.
But on the following morning a little girl called Mary Dunn attempted to pass another dud two-bob piece onto him when ordering a pint of beer to take away. Upon being questioned the child said Catherine Drennan had given the coin to her and the 30-year-old woman was remanded for further enquiries to be made. Catherine was eventually committed for trial to Liverpool Assizes, although for some reason the charge was dropped before the hearing began.
A few months ago there was a much-publicised case of runaway horses in London. In the days when horses were routinely used for travel and transporting goods, startled nags that did a runner in St Helens were a common event. Quite a few runaway horses were hurt when they dashed into the large plate-glass windows of shops.
Such an event occurred on the 7th when John Marsh, a well-known carriage proprietor from Eccleston, was being driven along Tontine Street (pictured above). His horse was startled by something and it took to its heels. The animal dashed into the window of Walsh's general shop and after recoiling from the impact the wounded nag set off up Liverpool Road where it ran for some distance. Mr Marsh and his driver were thrown out of their rig but were not seriously hurt, neither it appears was their horse.
The Sutton Amateur Athletic Sports was held on the Sutton Cricket Ground at St Helens Junction on the 8th. The sports were held in aid of the widows and orphans funds operated by a couple of friendly societies "under the patronage of His Worship the Mayor, James Radley, Esq., and other distinguished gentlemen."
The £40 prize money was not in cash, cups or medals but in articles that were worth that amount in total – such as watches, silver snuffboxes, rings, silver-mounted goblets and valises. About 2,000 people attended and the event went well – or as the Newspaper put it: "The sports on the whole were beyond anticipation".
The St Helens Newspaper on the 8th reported on a brutal attack on an elderly man called McGrath in Parr in which his attackers had blinded him in one eye and then filled the eye socket with lime. The thugs had also poured the substance down the poor Irishman's throat in an apparent sectarian act. The injuries and the manner of how they were caused were so life-changing to Mr McGrath that he was later reported to have been driven insane.
In an editorial the Newspaper hit out at the "ruffianism of Parr", saying: "He was subjected not only to the rough and brutal violence in which a certain class of the population seem to delight, but also to an ingenuity of torture more in keeping with the characteristics of savages than of people nominally civilised.
"It is quite apparent that there is still a class of our people who hate their Irish neighbours with a deadly hatred, and are cowardly enough to wreak it upon those who, by reason of sex or old age, cannot make a formidable resistance. Whoever committed this midnight outrage were discreet enough to select easy victims, that they might gratify their ferocious prejudice without serious physical risk."
An umbrella dealer called James Murphy appeared in court this week accused of having stabbed Thomas Priestnall. The latter was a hairdresser living in Peckers Hill in Sutton and he had gone for a drink with Murphy in what was reported to have been the Red Cat Inn (but was probably the Red Lion). A dispute arose over a game of dominoes, which ended with Murphy punching Priestnall on his mouth, cheek and breast.
The latter retaliated with a blow of his own and as the pair scuffled the landlady begged both men to stop. Priestnall said he did as he was asked and turned to leave the room but then felt a blow on his right arm that caused blood to flow. A witness gave evidence of seeing James Murphy stab Priestnall with a knife and PC Clarke told the court that when he arrested the accused man he found a penknife in his possession.
Dr Jamison said there had been a wound on Priestnall's arm about one-inch-long, which had penetrated "somewhat deeply". The magistrates sent the 46-year-old for trial at the next assizes but gave him bail, which was not usual. In November at the Liverpool Assizes, Richard Pennington of Muncaster Hall in Rainford was the county magistrate who sentenced Murphy to eight months in prison on a charge of unlawful wounding.
Vaccination against smallpox was compulsory 150 years ago which made it even more controversial than today. In 1870 John Hunt of Windle Street in St Helens had a furious letter published in a Wigan newspaper in which he wrote: "I could quote the names of large numbers of medical men who after twenty or thirty years' experience have come to the conclusion that vaccination is a delusion."
Every now and then a batch of summonses were issued to those fathers that had not complied with the law and this week several defaulters appeared in court. William Armistead's child was 18 months old and during that period several letters reminding him to get his child vaccinated had been sent to him and he'd also been spoken to on one occasion. He told the magistrates that he felt vaccination would "do my child no good" and said he knew of several youngsters who had been harmed by having the jab.
Mr Armistead apologised for breaking the law but said he was acting out of conscience. Upon being ordered to have his child vaccinated within 14 days, the defendant said he would rather pay a fine than comply. To that remark the Clerk to the court told him he would be repeatedly summoned if he failed to carry out the court order. In fact in December 1876 it was reported that a Preston man called Edward Foster had been before the courts 35 times through refusing to have his child vaccinated and had been fined on many of those occasions.
John Crompton and William Thompson were also summoned to appear in the St Helens Petty Sessions for non-compliance with the vaccination law but seemingly did not want to take time off work and lose wages. So their wives turned up on their behalf but were told that was not good enough as the summonses were in their husbands' names. Consequently their cases were adjourned for a week for the two men to appear in person.
James Radcliff was described by the St Helens Newspaper as a "miserable looking old man" when he appeared in court this week. He was charged with stealing bread rolls from a shop in Church Street by claiming that someone else had paid for them. Mr Radcliff had every right to look miserable, as he must have anticipated what was coming as he was sent to prison for a fortnight. What never seemed to be explored in such cases was whether stolen food was taken through hunger and desperation or because the thief simply did not want to pay for the items.
Patrick Laffey was a market character who had been in court several times. In 1869 the St Helens Newspaper wrote: "Patrick has a happy knack of delivering himself of his opinions of any of his neighbours, with an eloquence and elegance of phraseology that have made him famous within the circle in which he moves. To be sure, his observations have frequently been unfeelingly considered to be what is called slanderous and abusive language."
In the following year they referred to the then 59-year-old from Cross Street as "an individual in whom, like Etna, the snows of many winters have not cooled the fire of his blood." However, this week Mr Laffey was the complainant after William Knox was accused of stealing a shirt off his market stall.
Margaret Monaghan gave evidence of seeing Knox pinch the shirt and of alerting Laffey who followed and apprehended the thief. The man claimed to have unconsciously taken the shirt but his excuse was not accepted. Stealing so-called wearing apparel was a serious crime and Knox was sent to prison for a month.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Blackbrook woman who died from rabies, the opening of the first Catholic school in Rainford, the little boys prosecuted for walking across a field and the man dubbed a lazy, drunken, idle fellow.
We begin on the 5th when Catherine Drennan from Parr appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions charged with uttering counterfeit coin. She was accused of paying for a glass of whiskey at the Royal Oak Inn with a florin, which – as the St Helens Newspaper put it – was "base". The landlord John Wells only discovered the fake coin when counting his takings later that evening and did not know which customer had been responsible.
But on the following morning a little girl called Mary Dunn attempted to pass another dud two-bob piece onto him when ordering a pint of beer to take away. Upon being questioned the child said Catherine Drennan had given the coin to her and the 30-year-old woman was remanded for further enquiries to be made. Catherine was eventually committed for trial to Liverpool Assizes, although for some reason the charge was dropped before the hearing began.
A few months ago there was a much-publicised case of runaway horses in London. In the days when horses were routinely used for travel and transporting goods, startled nags that did a runner in St Helens were a common event. Quite a few runaway horses were hurt when they dashed into the large plate-glass windows of shops.
The Sutton Amateur Athletic Sports was held on the Sutton Cricket Ground at St Helens Junction on the 8th. The sports were held in aid of the widows and orphans funds operated by a couple of friendly societies "under the patronage of His Worship the Mayor, James Radley, Esq., and other distinguished gentlemen."
The £40 prize money was not in cash, cups or medals but in articles that were worth that amount in total – such as watches, silver snuffboxes, rings, silver-mounted goblets and valises. About 2,000 people attended and the event went well – or as the Newspaper put it: "The sports on the whole were beyond anticipation".
The St Helens Newspaper on the 8th reported on a brutal attack on an elderly man called McGrath in Parr in which his attackers had blinded him in one eye and then filled the eye socket with lime. The thugs had also poured the substance down the poor Irishman's throat in an apparent sectarian act. The injuries and the manner of how they were caused were so life-changing to Mr McGrath that he was later reported to have been driven insane.
In an editorial the Newspaper hit out at the "ruffianism of Parr", saying: "He was subjected not only to the rough and brutal violence in which a certain class of the population seem to delight, but also to an ingenuity of torture more in keeping with the characteristics of savages than of people nominally civilised.
"It is quite apparent that there is still a class of our people who hate their Irish neighbours with a deadly hatred, and are cowardly enough to wreak it upon those who, by reason of sex or old age, cannot make a formidable resistance. Whoever committed this midnight outrage were discreet enough to select easy victims, that they might gratify their ferocious prejudice without serious physical risk."
An umbrella dealer called James Murphy appeared in court this week accused of having stabbed Thomas Priestnall. The latter was a hairdresser living in Peckers Hill in Sutton and he had gone for a drink with Murphy in what was reported to have been the Red Cat Inn (but was probably the Red Lion). A dispute arose over a game of dominoes, which ended with Murphy punching Priestnall on his mouth, cheek and breast.
The latter retaliated with a blow of his own and as the pair scuffled the landlady begged both men to stop. Priestnall said he did as he was asked and turned to leave the room but then felt a blow on his right arm that caused blood to flow. A witness gave evidence of seeing James Murphy stab Priestnall with a knife and PC Clarke told the court that when he arrested the accused man he found a penknife in his possession.
Dr Jamison said there had been a wound on Priestnall's arm about one-inch-long, which had penetrated "somewhat deeply". The magistrates sent the 46-year-old for trial at the next assizes but gave him bail, which was not usual. In November at the Liverpool Assizes, Richard Pennington of Muncaster Hall in Rainford was the county magistrate who sentenced Murphy to eight months in prison on a charge of unlawful wounding.
Vaccination against smallpox was compulsory 150 years ago which made it even more controversial than today. In 1870 John Hunt of Windle Street in St Helens had a furious letter published in a Wigan newspaper in which he wrote: "I could quote the names of large numbers of medical men who after twenty or thirty years' experience have come to the conclusion that vaccination is a delusion."
Every now and then a batch of summonses were issued to those fathers that had not complied with the law and this week several defaulters appeared in court. William Armistead's child was 18 months old and during that period several letters reminding him to get his child vaccinated had been sent to him and he'd also been spoken to on one occasion. He told the magistrates that he felt vaccination would "do my child no good" and said he knew of several youngsters who had been harmed by having the jab.
Mr Armistead apologised for breaking the law but said he was acting out of conscience. Upon being ordered to have his child vaccinated within 14 days, the defendant said he would rather pay a fine than comply. To that remark the Clerk to the court told him he would be repeatedly summoned if he failed to carry out the court order. In fact in December 1876 it was reported that a Preston man called Edward Foster had been before the courts 35 times through refusing to have his child vaccinated and had been fined on many of those occasions.
John Crompton and William Thompson were also summoned to appear in the St Helens Petty Sessions for non-compliance with the vaccination law but seemingly did not want to take time off work and lose wages. So their wives turned up on their behalf but were told that was not good enough as the summonses were in their husbands' names. Consequently their cases were adjourned for a week for the two men to appear in person.
James Radcliff was described by the St Helens Newspaper as a "miserable looking old man" when he appeared in court this week. He was charged with stealing bread rolls from a shop in Church Street by claiming that someone else had paid for them. Mr Radcliff had every right to look miserable, as he must have anticipated what was coming as he was sent to prison for a fortnight. What never seemed to be explored in such cases was whether stolen food was taken through hunger and desperation or because the thief simply did not want to pay for the items.
Patrick Laffey was a market character who had been in court several times. In 1869 the St Helens Newspaper wrote: "Patrick has a happy knack of delivering himself of his opinions of any of his neighbours, with an eloquence and elegance of phraseology that have made him famous within the circle in which he moves. To be sure, his observations have frequently been unfeelingly considered to be what is called slanderous and abusive language."
In the following year they referred to the then 59-year-old from Cross Street as "an individual in whom, like Etna, the snows of many winters have not cooled the fire of his blood." However, this week Mr Laffey was the complainant after William Knox was accused of stealing a shirt off his market stall.
Margaret Monaghan gave evidence of seeing Knox pinch the shirt and of alerting Laffey who followed and apprehended the thief. The man claimed to have unconsciously taken the shirt but his excuse was not accepted. Stealing so-called wearing apparel was a serious crime and Knox was sent to prison for a month.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Blackbrook woman who died from rabies, the opening of the first Catholic school in Rainford, the little boys prosecuted for walking across a field and the man dubbed a lazy, drunken, idle fellow.
This week's many stories include the runaway horse in Tontine Street, the brutal attack on an old man in Parr, the knife assault in a Sutton pub, the miserable looking old man who stole bread from a Church Street shop, the Sutton Amateur Athletic Sports and several fathers are prosecuted for not having their child vaccinated against smallpox.
We begin on the 5th when Catherine Drennan from Parr appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions charged with uttering counterfeit coin.
She was accused of paying for a glass of whiskey at the Royal Oak Inn with a florin, which – as the St Helens Newspaper put it – was "base".
The landlord John Wells only discovered the fake coin when counting his takings later that evening and did not know which customer had been responsible.
But on the following morning a little girl called Mary Dunn attempted to pass another dud two-bob piece onto him when ordering a pint of beer to take away.
Upon being questioned the child said Catherine Drennan had given the coin to her and the 30-year-old woman was remanded for further enquiries to be made.
Catherine was eventually committed for trial to Liverpool Assizes, although for some reason the charge was dropped before the hearing began.
A few months ago there was a much-publicised case of runaway horses in London.
In the days when horses were routinely used for travel and transporting goods, startled nags that did a runner in St Helens were a common event.
Quite a few runaway horses were hurt when they dashed into the large plate-glass windows of shops.
Such an event occurred on the 7th when John Marsh, a well-known carriage proprietor from Eccleston, was being driven along Tontine Street (pictured above). His horse was startled by something and it took to its heels.
The animal dashed into the window of Walsh's general shop and after recoiling from the impact the wounded nag set off up Liverpool Road where it ran for some distance.
Mr Marsh and his driver were thrown out of their rig but were not seriously hurt, neither it appears was their horse.
The Sutton Amateur Athletic Sports was held on the Sutton Cricket Ground at St Helens Junction on the 8th.
The sports were held in aid of the widows and orphans funds operated by a couple of friendly societies "under the patronage of His Worship the Mayor, James Radley, Esq., and other distinguished gentlemen."
The £40 prize money was not in cash, cups or medals but in articles that were worth that amount in total – such as watches, silver snuffboxes, rings, silver-mounted goblets and valises.
About 2,000 people attended and the event went well – or as the Newspaper put it: "The sports on the whole were beyond anticipation".
The St Helens Newspaper on the 8th reported on a brutal attack on an elderly man called McGrath in Parr in which his attackers had blinded him in one eye and then filled the eye socket with lime.
The thugs had also poured the substance down the poor Irishman's throat in an apparent sectarian act.
The injuries and the manner of how they were caused were so life-changing to Mr McGrath that he was later reported to have been driven insane.
In an editorial the Newspaper hit out at the "ruffianism of Parr", saying:
"He was subjected not only to the rough and brutal violence in which a certain class of the population seem to delight, but also to an ingenuity of torture more in keeping with the characteristics of savages than of people nominally civilised.
"It is quite apparent that there is still a class of our people who hate their Irish neighbours with a deadly hatred, and are cowardly enough to wreak it upon those who, by reason of sex or old age, cannot make a formidable resistance.
"Whoever committed this midnight outrage were discreet enough to select easy victims, that they might gratify their ferocious prejudice without serious physical risk."
An umbrella dealer called James Murphy appeared in court this week accused of having stabbed Thomas Priestnall.
The latter was a hairdresser living in Peckers Hill in Sutton and he had gone for a drink with Murphy in what was reported to have been the Red Cat Inn (but was probably the Red Lion).
A dispute arose over a game of dominoes, which ended with Murphy punching Priestnall on his mouth, cheek and breast.
The latter retaliated with a blow of his own and as the pair scuffled the landlady begged both men to stop.
Priestnall said he did as he was asked and turned to leave the room but then felt a blow on his right arm that caused blood to flow.
A witness gave evidence of seeing James Murphy stab Priestnall with a knife and PC Clarke told the court that when he arrested the accused man he found a penknife in his possession.
Dr Jamison said there had been a wound on Priestnall's arm about one-inch-long, which had penetrated "somewhat deeply".
The magistrates sent the 46-year-old for trial at the next assizes but gave him bail, which was not usual.
In November at the Liverpool Assizes, Richard Pennington of Muncaster Hall in Rainford was the county magistrate who sentenced Murphy to eight months in prison on a charge of unlawful wounding.
Vaccination against smallpox was compulsory 150 years ago which made it even more controversial than today.
In 1870 John Hunt of Windle Street in St Helens had a furious letter published in a Wigan newspaper in which he wrote:
"I could quote the names of large numbers of medical men who after twenty or thirty years' experience have come to the conclusion that vaccination is a delusion."
Every now and then a batch of summonses were issued to those fathers that had not complied with the law and this week several defaulters appeared in court.
William Armistead's child was 18 months old and during that period several letters reminding him to get his child vaccinated had been sent to him and he'd also been spoken to on one occasion.
He told the magistrates that he felt vaccination would "do my child no good" and said he knew of several youngsters who had been harmed by having the jab.
Mr Armistead apologised for breaking the law but said he was acting out of conscience.
Upon being ordered to have his child vaccinated within 14 days, the defendant said he would rather pay a fine than comply.
To that remark the Clerk to the court told him he would be repeatedly summoned if he failed to carry out the court order.
In fact in December 1876 it was reported that a Preston man called Edward Foster had been before the courts 35 times through refusing to have his child vaccinated and had been fined on many of those occasions.
John Crompton and William Thompson were also summoned to appear in the St Helens Petty Sessions for non-compliance with the vaccination law but seemingly did not want to take time off work and lose wages.
So their wives turned up on their behalf but were told that was not good enough as the summonses were in their husbands' names. Consequently their cases were adjourned for a week for the two men to appear in person.
James Radcliff was described by the St Helens Newspaper as a "miserable looking old man" when he appeared in court this week.
He was charged with stealing bread rolls from a shop in Church Street by claiming that someone else had paid for them.
Mr Radcliff had every right to look miserable, as he must have anticipated what was coming as he was sent to prison for a fortnight.
What never seemed to be explored in such cases was whether stolen food was taken through hunger and desperation or because the thief simply did not want to pay for the items.
Patrick Laffey was a market character who had been in court several times. In 1869 the St Helens Newspaper wrote:
"Patrick has a happy knack of delivering himself of his opinions of any of his neighbours, with an eloquence and elegance of phraseology that have made him famous within the circle in which he moves.
"To be sure, his observations have frequently been unfeelingly considered to be what is called slanderous and abusive language."
In the following year they referred to the then 59-year-old from Cross Street as "an individual in whom, like Etna, the snows of many winters have not cooled the fire of his blood."
However, this week Mr Laffey was the complainant after William Knox was accused of stealing a shirt off his market stall.
Margaret Monaghan gave evidence of seeing Knox pinch the shirt and of alerting Laffey who followed and apprehended the thief.
The man claimed to have unconsciously taken the shirt but his excuse was not accepted.
Stealing so-called wearing apparel was a serious crime and Knox was sent to prison for a month.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Blackbrook woman who died from rabies, the opening of the first Catholic school in Rainford, the little boys prosecuted for walking across a field and the man dubbed a lazy, drunken, idle fellow.
We begin on the 5th when Catherine Drennan from Parr appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions charged with uttering counterfeit coin.
She was accused of paying for a glass of whiskey at the Royal Oak Inn with a florin, which – as the St Helens Newspaper put it – was "base".
The landlord John Wells only discovered the fake coin when counting his takings later that evening and did not know which customer had been responsible.
But on the following morning a little girl called Mary Dunn attempted to pass another dud two-bob piece onto him when ordering a pint of beer to take away.
Upon being questioned the child said Catherine Drennan had given the coin to her and the 30-year-old woman was remanded for further enquiries to be made.
Catherine was eventually committed for trial to Liverpool Assizes, although for some reason the charge was dropped before the hearing began.
A few months ago there was a much-publicised case of runaway horses in London.
In the days when horses were routinely used for travel and transporting goods, startled nags that did a runner in St Helens were a common event.
Quite a few runaway horses were hurt when they dashed into the large plate-glass windows of shops.
The animal dashed into the window of Walsh's general shop and after recoiling from the impact the wounded nag set off up Liverpool Road where it ran for some distance.
Mr Marsh and his driver were thrown out of their rig but were not seriously hurt, neither it appears was their horse.
The Sutton Amateur Athletic Sports was held on the Sutton Cricket Ground at St Helens Junction on the 8th.
The sports were held in aid of the widows and orphans funds operated by a couple of friendly societies "under the patronage of His Worship the Mayor, James Radley, Esq., and other distinguished gentlemen."
The £40 prize money was not in cash, cups or medals but in articles that were worth that amount in total – such as watches, silver snuffboxes, rings, silver-mounted goblets and valises.
About 2,000 people attended and the event went well – or as the Newspaper put it: "The sports on the whole were beyond anticipation".
The St Helens Newspaper on the 8th reported on a brutal attack on an elderly man called McGrath in Parr in which his attackers had blinded him in one eye and then filled the eye socket with lime.
The thugs had also poured the substance down the poor Irishman's throat in an apparent sectarian act.
The injuries and the manner of how they were caused were so life-changing to Mr McGrath that he was later reported to have been driven insane.
In an editorial the Newspaper hit out at the "ruffianism of Parr", saying:
"He was subjected not only to the rough and brutal violence in which a certain class of the population seem to delight, but also to an ingenuity of torture more in keeping with the characteristics of savages than of people nominally civilised.
"It is quite apparent that there is still a class of our people who hate their Irish neighbours with a deadly hatred, and are cowardly enough to wreak it upon those who, by reason of sex or old age, cannot make a formidable resistance.
"Whoever committed this midnight outrage were discreet enough to select easy victims, that they might gratify their ferocious prejudice without serious physical risk."
An umbrella dealer called James Murphy appeared in court this week accused of having stabbed Thomas Priestnall.
The latter was a hairdresser living in Peckers Hill in Sutton and he had gone for a drink with Murphy in what was reported to have been the Red Cat Inn (but was probably the Red Lion).
A dispute arose over a game of dominoes, which ended with Murphy punching Priestnall on his mouth, cheek and breast.
The latter retaliated with a blow of his own and as the pair scuffled the landlady begged both men to stop.
Priestnall said he did as he was asked and turned to leave the room but then felt a blow on his right arm that caused blood to flow.
A witness gave evidence of seeing James Murphy stab Priestnall with a knife and PC Clarke told the court that when he arrested the accused man he found a penknife in his possession.
Dr Jamison said there had been a wound on Priestnall's arm about one-inch-long, which had penetrated "somewhat deeply".
The magistrates sent the 46-year-old for trial at the next assizes but gave him bail, which was not usual.
In November at the Liverpool Assizes, Richard Pennington of Muncaster Hall in Rainford was the county magistrate who sentenced Murphy to eight months in prison on a charge of unlawful wounding.
Vaccination against smallpox was compulsory 150 years ago which made it even more controversial than today.
In 1870 John Hunt of Windle Street in St Helens had a furious letter published in a Wigan newspaper in which he wrote:
"I could quote the names of large numbers of medical men who after twenty or thirty years' experience have come to the conclusion that vaccination is a delusion."
Every now and then a batch of summonses were issued to those fathers that had not complied with the law and this week several defaulters appeared in court.
William Armistead's child was 18 months old and during that period several letters reminding him to get his child vaccinated had been sent to him and he'd also been spoken to on one occasion.
He told the magistrates that he felt vaccination would "do my child no good" and said he knew of several youngsters who had been harmed by having the jab.
Mr Armistead apologised for breaking the law but said he was acting out of conscience.
Upon being ordered to have his child vaccinated within 14 days, the defendant said he would rather pay a fine than comply.
To that remark the Clerk to the court told him he would be repeatedly summoned if he failed to carry out the court order.
In fact in December 1876 it was reported that a Preston man called Edward Foster had been before the courts 35 times through refusing to have his child vaccinated and had been fined on many of those occasions.
John Crompton and William Thompson were also summoned to appear in the St Helens Petty Sessions for non-compliance with the vaccination law but seemingly did not want to take time off work and lose wages.
So their wives turned up on their behalf but were told that was not good enough as the summonses were in their husbands' names. Consequently their cases were adjourned for a week for the two men to appear in person.
James Radcliff was described by the St Helens Newspaper as a "miserable looking old man" when he appeared in court this week.
He was charged with stealing bread rolls from a shop in Church Street by claiming that someone else had paid for them.
Mr Radcliff had every right to look miserable, as he must have anticipated what was coming as he was sent to prison for a fortnight.
What never seemed to be explored in such cases was whether stolen food was taken through hunger and desperation or because the thief simply did not want to pay for the items.
Patrick Laffey was a market character who had been in court several times. In 1869 the St Helens Newspaper wrote:
"Patrick has a happy knack of delivering himself of his opinions of any of his neighbours, with an eloquence and elegance of phraseology that have made him famous within the circle in which he moves.
"To be sure, his observations have frequently been unfeelingly considered to be what is called slanderous and abusive language."
In the following year they referred to the then 59-year-old from Cross Street as "an individual in whom, like Etna, the snows of many winters have not cooled the fire of his blood."
However, this week Mr Laffey was the complainant after William Knox was accused of stealing a shirt off his market stall.
Margaret Monaghan gave evidence of seeing Knox pinch the shirt and of alerting Laffey who followed and apprehended the thief.
The man claimed to have unconsciously taken the shirt but his excuse was not accepted.
Stealing so-called wearing apparel was a serious crime and Knox was sent to prison for a month.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Blackbrook woman who died from rabies, the opening of the first Catholic school in Rainford, the little boys prosecuted for walking across a field and the man dubbed a lazy, drunken, idle fellow.