150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (7th - 13th FEBRUARY 1872)
This week's stories include an update on the shocking case of near-starvation of two Sutton children, the explosion at Peasley Cross Colliery, the drunk who walked into the St Helens canal, the shindy in a St Helens chemical works, the mayor's lack of robes for official events and the grotesque black entertainers performing at the Theatre Royal.
We begin on the 7th when the quarterly general meeting of St Helens Town Council was held and the Town Clerk read out a letter from the Home Secretary. This thanked the council for their own letter to the Queen which had congratulated Victoria on her son's recovery from typhoid. The serious illness of the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII and pictured above in the 1870s) had been a great concern throughout the country. Recently, the Mayor of St Helens, John Marsh, had referred to the "great anxiety and trial" in the town over the prince's dangerous condition.
A thanksgiving service was going to be held at St Paul's Cathedral and the mayor had received an invitation. However, there was one problem. It was likely that the owner of Parr Alkali Works would be expected to wear his official robes of office – and he didn't have any. The mayorship had only been created in 1868 when St Helens became a borough – and the council had never got round to ordering robes. However, John Marsh was a wealthy man and he said he'd pay for some himself if official robes were needed for the service.
Some of the leading citizens of St Ann's in Eccleston also attended the council meeting to present a petition protesting at proposals to open a chemical works in Boundary Road. St Ann's was a posh, middle-class area – which the petition stated contained "valuable villa residences and other superior dwelling-house property". The residents were concerned that noxious vapours would be blown their way that might damage their hedges and gardens.
On the 9th, John and Jane Smith appeared again in St Helens Petty Sessions charged with neglecting and starving two of their children, aged six and four years old. The St Helens Newspaper wrote that the condition of the children when discovered, both as regards starvation and filth, was "shocking in the extreme". The girl aged six was said to be fast recovering. However, Dr Hall told the court that lack of food had permanently injured her younger brother by damaging his bowels. The boy's clothes, according to the Newspaper, created "a sensation" when shown to the magistrates. The Wigan Observer added that the children when brought to the court presented a "pitiable aspect of emaciation, the boy being no more than a living skeleton".
John Smith’s solicitor submitted to the court that there was no evidence against his client and the mother had accepted all the blame. Jane Smith admitted receiving 20 to 30 shillings per week from her husband, which was then a reasonable income. Both parents were sent for trial at the next assizes hearing in Liverpool, which would be held on April 26th. It was stated that many hundreds of people had been attracted to the court while the case was being heard, "hooting, yelling, and [making] other evidences of indignation".
I shudder when I read how black artists were regularly described in the newspaper entertainment listings in the 1870s. This week Lamb and Chapman were part of the company performing at the St Helens Theatre Royal Concert Hall in the premises we know as The Citadel (pictured above). Next to their name in their listing in The Era newspaper was the single word "Ni**ers" – which was supposed to describe the nature of their act.
A slightly more informative review after the pair had performed in Gloucester said: "Messrs Lamb and Chapman have become immensely popular in their entertainments as delineators of grotesque Negro life. Their witticisms and comicalities have produced roars of laughter."
There were an extraordinarily high number of black artists performing on the British music hall circuit during the 1870s. Quite a number came from the USA, with some of them freed slaves – but most appeared to be from Britain. In the mix were white performers who wore blackface using burnt cork make-up to parody and reinforce the exaggerated comic stereotype of black life.
Other turns performing at the Theatre Royal this week were Mr Coutellier ("Exceedingly clever gymnast"); Tom Everard ("An excellent and gentlemanly comic"); Annie Jolly ("Female tenor with a most wonderful voice") and Miss Fanny Wheland ("Serio-comic, characteristic vocalist and dancer").
The mortality figure for this week in St Helens (ending February 10th) was 16. Of that number smallpox had caused four of the deaths and other diseases had killed three persons. Of the total deaths registered in the town, nine were children under five years of age. During the same period in 1871, there had been 29 deaths with the improvement credited to the "fineness" of the weather. The mortality rates may seem low to us – but the population of St Helens was, of course, then a fraction of what it is today.
One letter-writer in the St Helens Newspaper put the blame for the continuation of smallpox in the district on the doctors who were dealing with such cases. The complaint published on the 10th was that the medics were inadvertently passing on the disease by not disinfecting their clothing after treating patients.
The Irish Looney family of Parr did like to live up to their name with crazy fights between relatives and supposed friends. The Newspaper also published this article headlined "A Shindy In A Chemical Works":
"Bernard Looney, a notorious character, was charged with assaulting John Lawlor, on Saturday night. Mr. Taylor appeared for the prosecution. The prosecutor said that as he was attending to his furnace in the Greenbank Alkali Works, the defendant came in and struck him several times without the slightest provocation. They got into a scuffle then, and complainant was thrown. While he was down Looney tried to “gouge” his eyes out, and would have succeeded but for two men who interfered.
"Corroboratory evidence was given by two fellow workmen, one of whom said that when the men were dragged asunder, they called for the alking irons. The night watchman deposed that Looney had to be pulled away several times. Supt. Ludlam said that the defendant was always in some mischief. The Chairman said he would be fined £4 and costs, in default two months' imprisonment." Almost certainly, that would have meant a term in Kirkdale Prison for the man.
On the 10th miner William Heaton succumbed to the injuries that he'd received in an explosion at Peasley Cross Colliery eight days earlier. As Heaton and Thomas Foster had been about to commence work, a gas build up was ignited, probably through their use of a naked flame. Heaton was reported as having been burned in a "dreadful manner" about his breast and arms. But Foster escaped injury after having thrown himself to the ground once he saw the flash of the explosion. In a year's time there would be a cottage hospital on the colliers' doorstep. But there was no medical centre available in 1872 and so Heaton had to walk to his home in Merton Bank despite, no doubt, being in terrible pain.
The Saddle Inn used to be situated in between the Star Inn and the Derby Arms in Rainford in what used to be called School Brow (now Church Road). It was there on the 12th that the tobacco pipe makers of the district held a meeting to discuss their wages. It was decided that they would all give notice to their "masters" that they wanted a 10% increase in their wages.
On the 12th the fourth annual "soiree" of the Holy Cross church choir took place at the Volunteer Hall in St Helens. The entertainment included the Liverpool Handbell Ringers performing a peal of fifty bells. After the concert was concluded, dancing took place with tickets costing 2 shillings.
No one will ever know the true number of persons who drowned in the St Helens / Sankey Canal. But the figure must be in the hundreds or, perhaps, thousands. Some deaths were suicides or swimmers getting out of their depth. But a large number of drownings were of individuals who had simply stumbled into the water. Much of the canal was unfenced and unlit at night and so even perfectly sober individuals could easily end up in the canal if they were not careful.
However, the vast majority of those who walked into the water and were unable to get out were the drunks making their way home. One of these was Patrick Morgan. He was seen at 2am on the 13th staggering by the side of the canal. Several workmen employed at a bottle works shouted warnings to Patrick. However, he paid no attention and continued his course in a zig-zag manner and finally walked straight into the water. A number of men rushed to his assistance but it was not for an hour of searching that his body could be recovered.
Next week's stories will include the Warrington Road beerhouse scandal, the pipe-smoking boys of College Street, the celebration of Valentine's Day in St Helens and the stubborn cow that refused to budge out of a Prescot pub.
A thanksgiving service was going to be held at St Paul's Cathedral and the mayor had received an invitation. However, there was one problem. It was likely that the owner of Parr Alkali Works would be expected to wear his official robes of office – and he didn't have any. The mayorship had only been created in 1868 when St Helens became a borough – and the council had never got round to ordering robes. However, John Marsh was a wealthy man and he said he'd pay for some himself if official robes were needed for the service.
Some of the leading citizens of St Ann's in Eccleston also attended the council meeting to present a petition protesting at proposals to open a chemical works in Boundary Road. St Ann's was a posh, middle-class area – which the petition stated contained "valuable villa residences and other superior dwelling-house property". The residents were concerned that noxious vapours would be blown their way that might damage their hedges and gardens.
On the 9th, John and Jane Smith appeared again in St Helens Petty Sessions charged with neglecting and starving two of their children, aged six and four years old. The St Helens Newspaper wrote that the condition of the children when discovered, both as regards starvation and filth, was "shocking in the extreme". The girl aged six was said to be fast recovering. However, Dr Hall told the court that lack of food had permanently injured her younger brother by damaging his bowels. The boy's clothes, according to the Newspaper, created "a sensation" when shown to the magistrates. The Wigan Observer added that the children when brought to the court presented a "pitiable aspect of emaciation, the boy being no more than a living skeleton".
John Smith’s solicitor submitted to the court that there was no evidence against his client and the mother had accepted all the blame. Jane Smith admitted receiving 20 to 30 shillings per week from her husband, which was then a reasonable income. Both parents were sent for trial at the next assizes hearing in Liverpool, which would be held on April 26th. It was stated that many hundreds of people had been attracted to the court while the case was being heard, "hooting, yelling, and [making] other evidences of indignation".
A slightly more informative review after the pair had performed in Gloucester said: "Messrs Lamb and Chapman have become immensely popular in their entertainments as delineators of grotesque Negro life. Their witticisms and comicalities have produced roars of laughter."
There were an extraordinarily high number of black artists performing on the British music hall circuit during the 1870s. Quite a number came from the USA, with some of them freed slaves – but most appeared to be from Britain. In the mix were white performers who wore blackface using burnt cork make-up to parody and reinforce the exaggerated comic stereotype of black life.
Other turns performing at the Theatre Royal this week were Mr Coutellier ("Exceedingly clever gymnast"); Tom Everard ("An excellent and gentlemanly comic"); Annie Jolly ("Female tenor with a most wonderful voice") and Miss Fanny Wheland ("Serio-comic, characteristic vocalist and dancer").
The mortality figure for this week in St Helens (ending February 10th) was 16. Of that number smallpox had caused four of the deaths and other diseases had killed three persons. Of the total deaths registered in the town, nine were children under five years of age. During the same period in 1871, there had been 29 deaths with the improvement credited to the "fineness" of the weather. The mortality rates may seem low to us – but the population of St Helens was, of course, then a fraction of what it is today.
One letter-writer in the St Helens Newspaper put the blame for the continuation of smallpox in the district on the doctors who were dealing with such cases. The complaint published on the 10th was that the medics were inadvertently passing on the disease by not disinfecting their clothing after treating patients.
The Irish Looney family of Parr did like to live up to their name with crazy fights between relatives and supposed friends. The Newspaper also published this article headlined "A Shindy In A Chemical Works":
"Bernard Looney, a notorious character, was charged with assaulting John Lawlor, on Saturday night. Mr. Taylor appeared for the prosecution. The prosecutor said that as he was attending to his furnace in the Greenbank Alkali Works, the defendant came in and struck him several times without the slightest provocation. They got into a scuffle then, and complainant was thrown. While he was down Looney tried to “gouge” his eyes out, and would have succeeded but for two men who interfered.
"Corroboratory evidence was given by two fellow workmen, one of whom said that when the men were dragged asunder, they called for the alking irons. The night watchman deposed that Looney had to be pulled away several times. Supt. Ludlam said that the defendant was always in some mischief. The Chairman said he would be fined £4 and costs, in default two months' imprisonment." Almost certainly, that would have meant a term in Kirkdale Prison for the man.
On the 10th miner William Heaton succumbed to the injuries that he'd received in an explosion at Peasley Cross Colliery eight days earlier. As Heaton and Thomas Foster had been about to commence work, a gas build up was ignited, probably through their use of a naked flame. Heaton was reported as having been burned in a "dreadful manner" about his breast and arms. But Foster escaped injury after having thrown himself to the ground once he saw the flash of the explosion. In a year's time there would be a cottage hospital on the colliers' doorstep. But there was no medical centre available in 1872 and so Heaton had to walk to his home in Merton Bank despite, no doubt, being in terrible pain.
The Saddle Inn used to be situated in between the Star Inn and the Derby Arms in Rainford in what used to be called School Brow (now Church Road). It was there on the 12th that the tobacco pipe makers of the district held a meeting to discuss their wages. It was decided that they would all give notice to their "masters" that they wanted a 10% increase in their wages.
On the 12th the fourth annual "soiree" of the Holy Cross church choir took place at the Volunteer Hall in St Helens. The entertainment included the Liverpool Handbell Ringers performing a peal of fifty bells. After the concert was concluded, dancing took place with tickets costing 2 shillings.
No one will ever know the true number of persons who drowned in the St Helens / Sankey Canal. But the figure must be in the hundreds or, perhaps, thousands. Some deaths were suicides or swimmers getting out of their depth. But a large number of drownings were of individuals who had simply stumbled into the water. Much of the canal was unfenced and unlit at night and so even perfectly sober individuals could easily end up in the canal if they were not careful.
However, the vast majority of those who walked into the water and were unable to get out were the drunks making their way home. One of these was Patrick Morgan. He was seen at 2am on the 13th staggering by the side of the canal. Several workmen employed at a bottle works shouted warnings to Patrick. However, he paid no attention and continued his course in a zig-zag manner and finally walked straight into the water. A number of men rushed to his assistance but it was not for an hour of searching that his body could be recovered.
Next week's stories will include the Warrington Road beerhouse scandal, the pipe-smoking boys of College Street, the celebration of Valentine's Day in St Helens and the stubborn cow that refused to budge out of a Prescot pub.
This week's stories include an update on the shocking case of near-starvation of two Sutton children, the explosion at Peasley Cross Colliery, the drunk who walked into the St Helens canal, the shindy in a St Helens chemical works, the mayor's lack of robes for official events and the grotesque black entertainers performing at the Theatre Royal.
We begin on the 7th when the quarterly general meeting of St Helens Town Council was held and the Town Clerk read out a letter from the Home Secretary.
This thanked the council for their own letter to the Queen which had congratulated Victoria on her son's recovery from typhoid.
The serious illness of the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII and pictured above in the 1870s) had been a great concern throughout the country.
Recently, the Mayor of St Helens, John Marsh, had referred to the "great anxiety and trial" in the town over the prince's dangerous condition.
A thanksgiving service was going to be held at St Paul's Cathedral and the mayor had received an invitation.
However, there was one problem. It was likely that the owner of Parr Alkali Works would be expected to wear his official robes of office – and he didn't have any.
The mayorship had only been created in 1868 when St Helens became a borough – and the council had never got round to ordering robes.
However, John Marsh was a wealthy man and he said he'd pay for some himself if official robes were needed for the service.
Some of the leading citizens of St Ann's in Eccleston also attended the council meeting to present a petition protesting at proposals to open a chemical works in Boundary Road.
St Ann's was a posh, middle-class area – which the petition stated contained "valuable villa residences and other superior dwelling-house property".
The residents were concerned that noxious vapours would be blown their way that might damage their hedges and gardens.
On the 9th, John and Jane Smith appeared again in St Helens Petty Sessions charged with neglecting and starving two of their children, aged six and four years old.
The St Helens Newspaper wrote that the condition of the children when discovered, both as regards starvation and filth, was "shocking in the extreme".
The girl aged six was said to be fast recovering. However, Dr Hall told the court that lack of food had permanently injured her younger brother by damaging his bowels.
The boy's clothes, according to the Newspaper, created "a sensation" when shown to the magistrates.
The Wigan Observer added that the children when brought to the court presented a "pitiable aspect of emaciation, the boy being no more than a living skeleton".
John Smith’s solicitor submitted to the court that there was no evidence against his client and the mother had accepted all the blame.
Jane Smith admitted receiving 20 to 30 shillings per week from her husband, which was then a reasonable income.
Both parents were sent for trial at the next assizes hearing in Liverpool, which would be held on April 26th.
It was stated that many hundreds of people had been attracted to the court while the case was being heard, "hooting, yelling, and [making] other evidences of indignation".
I shudder when I read how black artists were regularly described in the newspaper entertainment listings in the 1870s.
This week Lamb and Chapman were part of the company performing at the St Helens Theatre Royal Concert Hall in the premises we know as The Citadel (pictured above).
Next to their name in their listing in The Era newspaper was the single word "Ni**ers" – which was supposed to describe the nature of their act.
A slightly more informative review after the pair had performed in Gloucester said:
"Messrs Lamb and Chapman have become immensely popular in their entertainments as delineators of grotesque Negro life. Their witticisms and comicalities have produced roars of laughter."
There were an extraordinarily high number of black artists performing on the British music hall circuit during the 1870s.
Quite a number came from the USA, with some of them freed slaves – but most appeared to be from Britain.
In the mix were white performers who wore blackface using burnt cork make-up to parody and reinforce the exaggerated comic stereotype of black life.
Other turns performing at the Theatre Royal this week were Mr Coutellier ("Exceedingly clever gymnast"); Tom Everard ("An excellent and gentlemanly comic"); Annie Jolly ("Female tenor with a most wonderful voice") and Miss Fanny Wheland ("Serio-comic, characteristic vocalist and dancer").
The mortality figure for this week in St Helens (ending February 10th) was 16. Of that number smallpox had caused four of the deaths and other diseases had killed three persons.
Of the total deaths registered in the town, nine were children under five years of age.
During the same period in 1871, there had been 29 deaths with the improvement credited to the "fineness" of the weather.
The mortality rates may seem low to us – but the population of St Helens was, of course, then a fraction of what it is today.
One letter-writer in the St Helens Newspaper put the blame for the continuation of smallpox in the district on the doctors who were dealing with such cases.
The complaint published on the 10th was that the medics were inadvertently passing on the disease by not disinfecting their clothing after treating patients.
The Irish Looney family of Parr did like to live up to their name with crazy fights between relatives and supposed friends.
The Newspaper also published this article headlined "A Shindy In A Chemical Works":
"Bernard Looney, a notorious character, was charged with assaulting John Lawlor, on Saturday night. Mr. Taylor appeared for the prosecution.
"The prosecutor said that as he was attending to his furnace in the Greenbank Alkali Works, the defendant came in and struck him several times without the slightest provocation.
"They got into a scuffle then, and complainant was thrown. While he was down Looney tried to “gouge” his eyes out, and would have succeeded but for two men who interfered.
"Corroboratory evidence was given by two fellow workmen, one of whom said that when the men were dragged asunder, they called for the alking irons.
"The night watchman deposed that Looney had to be pulled away several times.
"Supt. Ludlam said that the defendant was always in some mischief. The Chairman said he would be fined £4 and costs, in default two months' imprisonment."
Almost certainly, that would have meant a term in Kirkdale Prison for the man.
On the 10th miner William Heaton succumbed to the injuries that he'd received in an explosion at Peasley Cross Colliery eight days earlier.
As Heaton and Thomas Foster had been about to commence work, a gas build up was ignited, probably through their use of a naked flame.
Heaton was reported as having been burned in a "dreadful manner" about his breast and arms.
But Foster escaped injury after having thrown himself to the ground once he saw the flash of the explosion.
In a year's time there would be a cottage hospital on the colliers' doorstep.
But there was no medical centre available in 1872 and so Heaton had to walk to his home in Merton Bank despite, no doubt, being in terrible pain.
The Saddle Inn used to be situated in between the Star Inn and the Derby Arms in Rainford in what used to be called School Brow (now Church Road).
It was there on the 12th that the tobacco pipe makers of the district held a meeting to discuss their wages.
It was decided that they would all give notice to their "masters" that they wanted a 10% increase in their wages.
On the 12th the fourth annual "soiree" of the Holy Cross church choir took place at the Volunteer Hall in St Helens.
The entertainment included the Liverpool Handbell Ringers performing a peal of fifty bells.
After the concert was concluded, dancing took place with tickets costing 2 shillings.
No one will ever know the true number of persons who drowned in the St Helens / Sankey Canal. But the figure must be in the hundreds or, perhaps, thousands.
Some deaths were suicides or swimmers getting out of their depth. But a large number of drownings were of individuals who had simply stumbled into the water.
Much of the canal was unfenced and unlit at night and so even perfectly sober individuals could easily end up in the canal if they were not careful.
However, the vast majority of those who walked into the water and were unable to get out were the drunks making their way home. One of these was Patrick Morgan.
He was seen at 2am on the 13th staggering by the side of the canal. Several workmen employed at a bottle works shouted warnings to Patrick.
However, he paid no attention and continued his course in a zig-zag manner and finally walked straight into the water.
A number of men rushed to his assistance but it was not for an hour of searching that his body could be recovered.
Next week's stories will include the Warrington Road beerhouse scandal, the pipe-smoking boys of College Street, the celebration of Valentine's Day in St Helens and the stubborn cow that refused to budge out of a Prescot pub.
We begin on the 7th when the quarterly general meeting of St Helens Town Council was held and the Town Clerk read out a letter from the Home Secretary.
This thanked the council for their own letter to the Queen which had congratulated Victoria on her son's recovery from typhoid.
Recently, the Mayor of St Helens, John Marsh, had referred to the "great anxiety and trial" in the town over the prince's dangerous condition.
A thanksgiving service was going to be held at St Paul's Cathedral and the mayor had received an invitation.
However, there was one problem. It was likely that the owner of Parr Alkali Works would be expected to wear his official robes of office – and he didn't have any.
The mayorship had only been created in 1868 when St Helens became a borough – and the council had never got round to ordering robes.
However, John Marsh was a wealthy man and he said he'd pay for some himself if official robes were needed for the service.
Some of the leading citizens of St Ann's in Eccleston also attended the council meeting to present a petition protesting at proposals to open a chemical works in Boundary Road.
St Ann's was a posh, middle-class area – which the petition stated contained "valuable villa residences and other superior dwelling-house property".
The residents were concerned that noxious vapours would be blown their way that might damage their hedges and gardens.
On the 9th, John and Jane Smith appeared again in St Helens Petty Sessions charged with neglecting and starving two of their children, aged six and four years old.
The St Helens Newspaper wrote that the condition of the children when discovered, both as regards starvation and filth, was "shocking in the extreme".
The girl aged six was said to be fast recovering. However, Dr Hall told the court that lack of food had permanently injured her younger brother by damaging his bowels.
The boy's clothes, according to the Newspaper, created "a sensation" when shown to the magistrates.
The Wigan Observer added that the children when brought to the court presented a "pitiable aspect of emaciation, the boy being no more than a living skeleton".
John Smith’s solicitor submitted to the court that there was no evidence against his client and the mother had accepted all the blame.
Jane Smith admitted receiving 20 to 30 shillings per week from her husband, which was then a reasonable income.
Both parents were sent for trial at the next assizes hearing in Liverpool, which would be held on April 26th.
It was stated that many hundreds of people had been attracted to the court while the case was being heard, "hooting, yelling, and [making] other evidences of indignation".
This week Lamb and Chapman were part of the company performing at the St Helens Theatre Royal Concert Hall in the premises we know as The Citadel (pictured above).
Next to their name in their listing in The Era newspaper was the single word "Ni**ers" – which was supposed to describe the nature of their act.
A slightly more informative review after the pair had performed in Gloucester said:
"Messrs Lamb and Chapman have become immensely popular in their entertainments as delineators of grotesque Negro life. Their witticisms and comicalities have produced roars of laughter."
There were an extraordinarily high number of black artists performing on the British music hall circuit during the 1870s.
Quite a number came from the USA, with some of them freed slaves – but most appeared to be from Britain.
In the mix were white performers who wore blackface using burnt cork make-up to parody and reinforce the exaggerated comic stereotype of black life.
Other turns performing at the Theatre Royal this week were Mr Coutellier ("Exceedingly clever gymnast"); Tom Everard ("An excellent and gentlemanly comic"); Annie Jolly ("Female tenor with a most wonderful voice") and Miss Fanny Wheland ("Serio-comic, characteristic vocalist and dancer").
The mortality figure for this week in St Helens (ending February 10th) was 16. Of that number smallpox had caused four of the deaths and other diseases had killed three persons.
Of the total deaths registered in the town, nine were children under five years of age.
During the same period in 1871, there had been 29 deaths with the improvement credited to the "fineness" of the weather.
The mortality rates may seem low to us – but the population of St Helens was, of course, then a fraction of what it is today.
One letter-writer in the St Helens Newspaper put the blame for the continuation of smallpox in the district on the doctors who were dealing with such cases.
The complaint published on the 10th was that the medics were inadvertently passing on the disease by not disinfecting their clothing after treating patients.
The Irish Looney family of Parr did like to live up to their name with crazy fights between relatives and supposed friends.
The Newspaper also published this article headlined "A Shindy In A Chemical Works":
"Bernard Looney, a notorious character, was charged with assaulting John Lawlor, on Saturday night. Mr. Taylor appeared for the prosecution.
"The prosecutor said that as he was attending to his furnace in the Greenbank Alkali Works, the defendant came in and struck him several times without the slightest provocation.
"They got into a scuffle then, and complainant was thrown. While he was down Looney tried to “gouge” his eyes out, and would have succeeded but for two men who interfered.
"Corroboratory evidence was given by two fellow workmen, one of whom said that when the men were dragged asunder, they called for the alking irons.
"The night watchman deposed that Looney had to be pulled away several times.
"Supt. Ludlam said that the defendant was always in some mischief. The Chairman said he would be fined £4 and costs, in default two months' imprisonment."
Almost certainly, that would have meant a term in Kirkdale Prison for the man.
On the 10th miner William Heaton succumbed to the injuries that he'd received in an explosion at Peasley Cross Colliery eight days earlier.
As Heaton and Thomas Foster had been about to commence work, a gas build up was ignited, probably through their use of a naked flame.
Heaton was reported as having been burned in a "dreadful manner" about his breast and arms.
But Foster escaped injury after having thrown himself to the ground once he saw the flash of the explosion.
In a year's time there would be a cottage hospital on the colliers' doorstep.
But there was no medical centre available in 1872 and so Heaton had to walk to his home in Merton Bank despite, no doubt, being in terrible pain.
The Saddle Inn used to be situated in between the Star Inn and the Derby Arms in Rainford in what used to be called School Brow (now Church Road).
It was there on the 12th that the tobacco pipe makers of the district held a meeting to discuss their wages.
It was decided that they would all give notice to their "masters" that they wanted a 10% increase in their wages.
On the 12th the fourth annual "soiree" of the Holy Cross church choir took place at the Volunteer Hall in St Helens.
The entertainment included the Liverpool Handbell Ringers performing a peal of fifty bells.
After the concert was concluded, dancing took place with tickets costing 2 shillings.
No one will ever know the true number of persons who drowned in the St Helens / Sankey Canal. But the figure must be in the hundreds or, perhaps, thousands.
Some deaths were suicides or swimmers getting out of their depth. But a large number of drownings were of individuals who had simply stumbled into the water.
Much of the canal was unfenced and unlit at night and so even perfectly sober individuals could easily end up in the canal if they were not careful.
However, the vast majority of those who walked into the water and were unable to get out were the drunks making their way home. One of these was Patrick Morgan.
He was seen at 2am on the 13th staggering by the side of the canal. Several workmen employed at a bottle works shouted warnings to Patrick.
However, he paid no attention and continued his course in a zig-zag manner and finally walked straight into the water.
A number of men rushed to his assistance but it was not for an hour of searching that his body could be recovered.
Next week's stories will include the Warrington Road beerhouse scandal, the pipe-smoking boys of College Street, the celebration of Valentine's Day in St Helens and the stubborn cow that refused to budge out of a Prescot pub.