150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (7th - 13th January 1869)
This week's stories include the Peasley Cross cock stealers, a shocking mining tragedy in Rainford, the drowning of a drunkard in Pocket Nook, the Mayoress is presented with a silver cradle, a 12-year-old boy sues a stallholder in St Helens Market and a Masonic ball is held in Prescot.
However we begin on the 8th when a fire took place down the No. 7 pit of the Rainford Colliery Company, which led to a total of eight men losing their lives. The disaster began after six miners had been sent down the pit to quench the fire. For unknown reasons the direction of the flames suddenly reversed severely burning all the men.
When it was decided that the fire could not be extinguished, the decision was made to close a separate shaft known as a downcast pit. This provided ventilation and the intention in shutting it down was to starve the inferno of oxygen. This was achieved rather crudely by means of the laying down of boards and earth across the top of the shaft.
Two men called Thomas Whalley and Thomas Barrow were then sent to ensure that the blockage remained in place. However either the planks that they were standing on gave way or the men missed their footing in the dark. Whatever the reason the pair plunged to the bottom of the pit and endured a horrible death. It was thought that it might take several months for their bodies to be retrieved.
The colliery was situated about a quarter of a mile from Rainford Junction station and an inquest was held at the Junction Inn three days later. However it was decided to adjourn it for a month until a clearer picture of what had happened emerged.
Also on the 8th collier John Wilson from Parr was working in the Sutton Colliery of the Sankey Brook Coal Company when a large stone fell down from the pit roof. The St Helens Newspaper said the stone "crushed him fearfully", having struck the man on his back and within a few minutes he was dead.
While the working class were suffering down dirty and dangerous coal mines, the better off Masons were attending a posh ball in the new Prescot courtroom. The Newspaper said there had been a "full and fashionable attendance", with dancing until almost dawn, adding that:
"In anticipation of a large and brilliant company, the room was most tastefully and elaborately ornamented with flowers, evergreens, and various devices, while mirrors were placed around the walls, and altogether, when fully illuminated, wore a most cheerful and attractive aspect."
On the 9th Bernard Riley was charged in St Helens Police Court with resisting and assaulting Police Constable Marsden on the night before when he was drunk. In court and now sober the man expressed his sorrow for what had occurred and as he had no money was allowed to go free, a decision for which the prisoner expressed his gratitude.
An inquest was held on the same day on Patrick Harney who two days earlier had been found drowned in the canal near Pocket Nook. The 22-year-old from Barber Street in Parr had been missing since the evening of December 17th when he was seen to have been drunk.
It was supposed that Harney had fallen into the canal while walking home, something that often happened. It was also commonplace for bodies to lie in the canal for a number of weeks before being discovered. The usual verdict of "Found drowned" was brought in by the inquest jury.
On the 11th in the St Helens Petty Sessions Dennis Feigh was charged with drunkenness and disorderly conduct. The bricksetter's labourer was making his forty-fifth appearance before the Bench and was fined 40 shillings and costs. The Wigan Observer wrote: "Dennis's exchequer being as usual sans bullion, he was committed to prison for a month." I think that means he was brassic – or sans brass!
Robert Pring and Peter Tavanagh were charged with stealing a cock belonging to publican John Houghton from Peasley Cross, which was valued at three shillings. Houghton told the court that he had found two men trespassing in his hen house in his backyard. One escaped but he managed to seize the other, who turned out to be Pring.
After two police officers had taken the man away, he found his cock lying dead on the ground behind where Pring had been standing. The prisoners denied the offence but were both sent to prison at Kirkdale for a month.
A middle-aged woman called Johanna Burns was sent to prison for seven days for stealing 56lb of coal from the Sutton Colliery, owned by the Sankey Brook Coal Company. PC Rigby told the court that he had been on duty near the colliery and had observed the woman carrying a bag of coal.
As soon as Johanna saw him she dropped the bag and ran off but the bobby chased after her and took her into custody. Many were driven to steal coal from railway wagons or from spoil heaps out of sheer poverty.
Two colliers called John Robinson and Richard Chadwick were charged with "using a gun and dog for the purpose of killing and taking game on land belonging to the Earl of Derby, in the township of Rainford." A witness called Edward Winstanley worked with the men at Moss Hall Colliery but he also had a part-time job as a game watcher. He was paid by Lord Derby to keep an eye on his land and often accompanied his gamekeepers on night patrols.
Winstanley told the court that he had seen the two men chasing hares but they denied it. Robinson and Chadwick claimed that as the watcher was being paid for his evidence, he was an unreliable witness. However the magistrates were unconvinced by their version of events and fined them both £2 and costs.
Margaret Ashcroft summoned Thomas Plews to "show cause why he should not contribute to the support of her illegitimate child" and an order for 2s 6d per week was made.
At the St Helens County Court on the 12th a boy called John Crompton sued Thomas Haslam for £5 compensation after accusing the confectioner of breaking his arm. Last October the twelve-year-old had been playing with a number of other lads in the market place and had sat on Haslam's empty stall while the stallholder was away.
Upon his return it was alleged that the man had given John a blow in his back and had then taken hold of him by the heels and flung him to the ground. The boy fell onto flags and fractured his right arm above the elbow. He was taken to Dr Twyford to have the limb set and was under medical care for six weeks.
Jane Fairhurst of the Beehive public house in Exchange Street gave evidence that on the day in question she had heard a child crying as if in great pain. Upon going outside she saw the boy crying bitterly and calling out "Oh, my arm". His clothes were dirty as if he had fallen down and she got a cloth to wipe them.
When she touched his arm John screamed and the other boys told her that "Toffy Harry" had done it – which was Thomas Haslam's nickname. The defendant claimed that he had simply shouted at the lad and in his haste to get away he had fallen and broken his arm. The judge said the evidence had been very clearly given and he awarded John £4 and costs. £4 is worth around £400 in today's money.
During the evening of the 12th a lecture called 'Rome and the Romans' was given in the Presbyterian Church in Hardshaw Street organised by their Young Men's Association.
On the 13th a silver cradle was presented to the Mayoress of St Helens at a special ceremony held in the Fleece Hotel in Church Street (pictured above). This was not the same Fleece that closed in 1986, as the original Church Street hotel was demolished in 1931 and a new one built.
The presentation was an old custom in which a cradle was given to the wife of a town's first citizen after she had given birth to a child. Last September Elizabeth Gamble had "presented" her husband Lieutenant-Colonel David Gamble with a son. As St Helens had only recently been incorporated as a borough, this was the first time that such a ceremony had taken place. The inscription on the cradle read:
"Presented to Mrs. Gamble by the inhabitants of the borough of St. Helen's on the occasion of the birth of her son Henry during the mayoralty of her husband, Lieutenant-Colonel Gamble, as a mark of the high esteem in which he is held by his fellow townsmen."
Next week's stories include a child tragedy in Water Street, a Parr poker assault on Christmas Day, the two little girl thieves in Ormskirk Street, a horse beater in Exchange Street, the two canal inspectors who came to grief near Liverpool Road, an Eccleston trotting match and severe sentences are handed out to St Helens' folk at the Liverpool Quarter Sessions.
However we begin on the 8th when a fire took place down the No. 7 pit of the Rainford Colliery Company, which led to a total of eight men losing their lives. The disaster began after six miners had been sent down the pit to quench the fire. For unknown reasons the direction of the flames suddenly reversed severely burning all the men.
When it was decided that the fire could not be extinguished, the decision was made to close a separate shaft known as a downcast pit. This provided ventilation and the intention in shutting it down was to starve the inferno of oxygen. This was achieved rather crudely by means of the laying down of boards and earth across the top of the shaft.
Two men called Thomas Whalley and Thomas Barrow were then sent to ensure that the blockage remained in place. However either the planks that they were standing on gave way or the men missed their footing in the dark. Whatever the reason the pair plunged to the bottom of the pit and endured a horrible death. It was thought that it might take several months for their bodies to be retrieved.
The colliery was situated about a quarter of a mile from Rainford Junction station and an inquest was held at the Junction Inn three days later. However it was decided to adjourn it for a month until a clearer picture of what had happened emerged.
Also on the 8th collier John Wilson from Parr was working in the Sutton Colliery of the Sankey Brook Coal Company when a large stone fell down from the pit roof. The St Helens Newspaper said the stone "crushed him fearfully", having struck the man on his back and within a few minutes he was dead.
While the working class were suffering down dirty and dangerous coal mines, the better off Masons were attending a posh ball in the new Prescot courtroom. The Newspaper said there had been a "full and fashionable attendance", with dancing until almost dawn, adding that:
"In anticipation of a large and brilliant company, the room was most tastefully and elaborately ornamented with flowers, evergreens, and various devices, while mirrors were placed around the walls, and altogether, when fully illuminated, wore a most cheerful and attractive aspect."
On the 9th Bernard Riley was charged in St Helens Police Court with resisting and assaulting Police Constable Marsden on the night before when he was drunk. In court and now sober the man expressed his sorrow for what had occurred and as he had no money was allowed to go free, a decision for which the prisoner expressed his gratitude.
An inquest was held on the same day on Patrick Harney who two days earlier had been found drowned in the canal near Pocket Nook. The 22-year-old from Barber Street in Parr had been missing since the evening of December 17th when he was seen to have been drunk.
It was supposed that Harney had fallen into the canal while walking home, something that often happened. It was also commonplace for bodies to lie in the canal for a number of weeks before being discovered. The usual verdict of "Found drowned" was brought in by the inquest jury.
On the 11th in the St Helens Petty Sessions Dennis Feigh was charged with drunkenness and disorderly conduct. The bricksetter's labourer was making his forty-fifth appearance before the Bench and was fined 40 shillings and costs. The Wigan Observer wrote: "Dennis's exchequer being as usual sans bullion, he was committed to prison for a month." I think that means he was brassic – or sans brass!
Robert Pring and Peter Tavanagh were charged with stealing a cock belonging to publican John Houghton from Peasley Cross, which was valued at three shillings. Houghton told the court that he had found two men trespassing in his hen house in his backyard. One escaped but he managed to seize the other, who turned out to be Pring.
After two police officers had taken the man away, he found his cock lying dead on the ground behind where Pring had been standing. The prisoners denied the offence but were both sent to prison at Kirkdale for a month.
A middle-aged woman called Johanna Burns was sent to prison for seven days for stealing 56lb of coal from the Sutton Colliery, owned by the Sankey Brook Coal Company. PC Rigby told the court that he had been on duty near the colliery and had observed the woman carrying a bag of coal.
As soon as Johanna saw him she dropped the bag and ran off but the bobby chased after her and took her into custody. Many were driven to steal coal from railway wagons or from spoil heaps out of sheer poverty.
Two colliers called John Robinson and Richard Chadwick were charged with "using a gun and dog for the purpose of killing and taking game on land belonging to the Earl of Derby, in the township of Rainford." A witness called Edward Winstanley worked with the men at Moss Hall Colliery but he also had a part-time job as a game watcher. He was paid by Lord Derby to keep an eye on his land and often accompanied his gamekeepers on night patrols.
Winstanley told the court that he had seen the two men chasing hares but they denied it. Robinson and Chadwick claimed that as the watcher was being paid for his evidence, he was an unreliable witness. However the magistrates were unconvinced by their version of events and fined them both £2 and costs.
Margaret Ashcroft summoned Thomas Plews to "show cause why he should not contribute to the support of her illegitimate child" and an order for 2s 6d per week was made.
At the St Helens County Court on the 12th a boy called John Crompton sued Thomas Haslam for £5 compensation after accusing the confectioner of breaking his arm. Last October the twelve-year-old had been playing with a number of other lads in the market place and had sat on Haslam's empty stall while the stallholder was away.
Upon his return it was alleged that the man had given John a blow in his back and had then taken hold of him by the heels and flung him to the ground. The boy fell onto flags and fractured his right arm above the elbow. He was taken to Dr Twyford to have the limb set and was under medical care for six weeks.
Jane Fairhurst of the Beehive public house in Exchange Street gave evidence that on the day in question she had heard a child crying as if in great pain. Upon going outside she saw the boy crying bitterly and calling out "Oh, my arm". His clothes were dirty as if he had fallen down and she got a cloth to wipe them.
When she touched his arm John screamed and the other boys told her that "Toffy Harry" had done it – which was Thomas Haslam's nickname. The defendant claimed that he had simply shouted at the lad and in his haste to get away he had fallen and broken his arm. The judge said the evidence had been very clearly given and he awarded John £4 and costs. £4 is worth around £400 in today's money.
During the evening of the 12th a lecture called 'Rome and the Romans' was given in the Presbyterian Church in Hardshaw Street organised by their Young Men's Association.
The presentation was an old custom in which a cradle was given to the wife of a town's first citizen after she had given birth to a child. Last September Elizabeth Gamble had "presented" her husband Lieutenant-Colonel David Gamble with a son. As St Helens had only recently been incorporated as a borough, this was the first time that such a ceremony had taken place. The inscription on the cradle read:
"Presented to Mrs. Gamble by the inhabitants of the borough of St. Helen's on the occasion of the birth of her son Henry during the mayoralty of her husband, Lieutenant-Colonel Gamble, as a mark of the high esteem in which he is held by his fellow townsmen."
Next week's stories include a child tragedy in Water Street, a Parr poker assault on Christmas Day, the two little girl thieves in Ormskirk Street, a horse beater in Exchange Street, the two canal inspectors who came to grief near Liverpool Road, an Eccleston trotting match and severe sentences are handed out to St Helens' folk at the Liverpool Quarter Sessions.