150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 7 - 13 SEPTEMBER 1876
This week's many stories include the Church Street grocer who claimed damages after his carter suddenly quit, the 11-year-old pigeon thief from Sutton, the tough prison sentence for a savage pummelling of three policemen, the curious prosecution of the Nelson Inn for playing cards, a disorderly and drunken prostitute returns to court and the Parr attack on a bobby using an iron bar.
Workers were regularly prosecuted for leaving their jobs without serving a notice period – although employers seemed able to lay off their employees at will. Thomas Rigby appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions this week for leaving the service of William Howard. The Church Street grocer claimed £1 damages, which he said the sudden departure of his employee had cost him.
Howard told the magistrates that Rigby had worked for him for two months as a carter – presumably to make deliveries to his customers – on what he claimed to be the usual terms of a week's notice before leaving. That had clearly not been in writing and was probably unspoken and assumed. But the grocer claimed the man’s sudden departure had left him in the lurch and he said he had been unable to hire another carter for a few days.
So he had needed to employ other carriers to deliver his goods at an increased cost, which he estimated at £1. But Thomas Rigby denied that there had ever been any agreement between them as to notice and stated that his former boss had on two previous occasions dismissed him at a moment's notice. However, the magistrates almost always sided with the employer and signed an order for the £1 that had been claimed, with costs.
An 11-year-old boy called Edward Brennan appeared in court charged with stealing three pigeons belonging to Samuel Smith from Moss Nook in Sutton that had been kept in a barn. Samuel made the mistake of trying to sell them to a man in the neighbourhood who recognised the birds and turned the boy into the police. Eleven-year-olds were often sent to prison but as the pigeons had been returned to their owner, the boy was only fined five shillings and costs.
It was common for people to be prosecuted for gambling in public houses but the charges levelled against George Hewitt and George Howard were unusual. Hewitt was the landlord of the Nelson Inn in Bridge Street and PC McDonald gave evidence that at 2:45am on the previous Thursday morning he had been walking past the Nelson when he noticed a light in the bar window and heard voices coming from inside.
The constable said he could easily hear the shuffling of cards and the landlord saying "clubs are trumps" and then "spades are trumps". He said he could also hear Hewitt say, "that's two shillings" and then "that's three shillings". At 3am, PC McDonald said PC Gibson had joined him and they both listened for a while.
Having been convinced that they had sufficient evidence of card playing for money, they knocked on the door but it took three minutes for it to be opened. However, the magistrates felt the charge had not been proved and dismissed the case.
A lad called John Birchall was summoned to court on a charge of cruelty to two dogs by setting them to fight each other. James Holland, the landlord of the Sun Inn, said that Birchall had gone into the backyard of his pub and set his dog upon the landlord's dog. And it had been with some difficulty that he had been able to separate them.
After doing so James Holland admitted having boxed the lad's ears and kicked his behind. He then turned the boy and his dog out of the yard, telling him never to go there again. But Birchall reckoned that he'd been hurt by the landlord and had claimed £6 compensation for his injuries.
In court James Holland admitted that he had only brought his case against the young lad after receiving the compensation claim from a solicitor. The magistrates said they considered the evidence to be insufficient and dismissed the charge. Just whether the boy got his £6, I don't know.
The Liverpool Evening Express described Mary Ratcliffe as an "incorrigible drunkard" when she appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions, although the St Helens Newspaper in the headline to its report preferred "disorderly prostitute". The paper said Mary spent most of her time in gaol and was making her 38th appearance in court after being found drunk and disorderly in Church Street at midnight. She was sent to prison for a further month.
It does seem that the courts were at last treating the violent beating of policemen with the severity that the crime deserved. The Newspaper described Edward Trainor as a "powerful looking man" when he appeared in the dock charged with savagely beating PC Robert Sheriff and his colleague PC Tennor. "Both policemen were very severely cut about the face, which were disfigured almost beyond recognition," said the Newspaper.
And Trainor's wife, Melinda – as well as Edward Jones and John Walsh who had also joined in the bobby bashing – were also in the dock. The chain of violence had begun at 11pm when PC Sheriff had been going up Parr Street (pictured above) and seen Edward Trainor and a man called Patrick Connolly fighting in the street. After separating the pair, the constable told the two pugilists that he would report them and ordered them both home.
Some fifteen minutes later when PC Sheriff was walking past Trainor's house, the latter approached the officer to ask him if he really intended reporting him "for that fighting job", as he put it. Upon PC Sheriff saying that he was, Trainor struck him in the eye with his fist and knocked him down. PC Tennor came to his colleague's assistance and was also attacked.
Melinda Trainor, seeing her husband battling with the police, used a large stone to strike PC Sheriff on his nose and right ear, cutting him severely and both the Trainors continually called on a watching crowd to rescue Edward from the police. As they proceeded to the police station, Trainor struggled and resisted violently and the crowd threw stones at the officers.
Edward Jones was the ringleader of the mob and a third policeman called PC McGuiness, who came to help, had his helmet cut in five places by stones. All three policemen were struck in different parts of their bodies but PC Sheriff was severely hurt and did not stop bleeding until 5 am on the Sunday morning. Edward Trainor had twice been previously fined for assault and his wife Melinda on one occasion.
The magistrates said they considered the case to be a very bad and disgraceful one and told Edward they would give him the highest punishment within their power as they sentenced him to 6 months hard labour. And the other three defendants received three months hard labour at Kirkdale Gaol.
Michael and John Finnan – who were father and son – were also in court charged with violently assaulting PC Murney in School Street at Parr. The trouble began when PC Murney had told Mrs Finnan to go away after she was abusive to him. The woman did so but returned shortly afterwards accompanied by her husband and son, with the former carrying an iron bar.
Michael Finnan attempted to strike the constable with the bar but PC Murney managed to dodge it. As the man made to make a second blow, the constable drew his staff and knocked the bar out of his hand. Finnan and his son then seized the constable by his moustache and PC Murney told the court that he gave both Mr and Mrs Finnan a "gentle tap on the head" with his staff in self-defence.
Their defence solicitor blamed the constable for provoking the Finnans, saying he acted the part of a petty autocrat in giving orders to the woman. But the magistrates were having none of it and said they were determined to protect the police in the exercise of their duty. Michael Finnan was sent to prison for four months, although his son John was only fined 20 shillings and costs.
And finally, Henry Cook, Mary Cook and Mary Campbell were committed to take their trial at the next Kirkdale Quarter Sessions after being charged with stealing a silk umbrella belonging to Dr John Martin. The umbrella was valued at 10 shillings and all three were later sentenced to two months in prison.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the blackguardism and ruffianism at the St Helens Fair, the Champagne stealing from the railway at Pocket Nook, the recall of library books and the little boy who was encouraged to throw stones at a woman.
Workers were regularly prosecuted for leaving their jobs without serving a notice period – although employers seemed able to lay off their employees at will. Thomas Rigby appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions this week for leaving the service of William Howard. The Church Street grocer claimed £1 damages, which he said the sudden departure of his employee had cost him.
Howard told the magistrates that Rigby had worked for him for two months as a carter – presumably to make deliveries to his customers – on what he claimed to be the usual terms of a week's notice before leaving. That had clearly not been in writing and was probably unspoken and assumed. But the grocer claimed the man’s sudden departure had left him in the lurch and he said he had been unable to hire another carter for a few days.
So he had needed to employ other carriers to deliver his goods at an increased cost, which he estimated at £1. But Thomas Rigby denied that there had ever been any agreement between them as to notice and stated that his former boss had on two previous occasions dismissed him at a moment's notice. However, the magistrates almost always sided with the employer and signed an order for the £1 that had been claimed, with costs.
An 11-year-old boy called Edward Brennan appeared in court charged with stealing three pigeons belonging to Samuel Smith from Moss Nook in Sutton that had been kept in a barn. Samuel made the mistake of trying to sell them to a man in the neighbourhood who recognised the birds and turned the boy into the police. Eleven-year-olds were often sent to prison but as the pigeons had been returned to their owner, the boy was only fined five shillings and costs.
It was common for people to be prosecuted for gambling in public houses but the charges levelled against George Hewitt and George Howard were unusual. Hewitt was the landlord of the Nelson Inn in Bridge Street and PC McDonald gave evidence that at 2:45am on the previous Thursday morning he had been walking past the Nelson when he noticed a light in the bar window and heard voices coming from inside.
The constable said he could easily hear the shuffling of cards and the landlord saying "clubs are trumps" and then "spades are trumps". He said he could also hear Hewitt say, "that's two shillings" and then "that's three shillings". At 3am, PC McDonald said PC Gibson had joined him and they both listened for a while.
Having been convinced that they had sufficient evidence of card playing for money, they knocked on the door but it took three minutes for it to be opened. However, the magistrates felt the charge had not been proved and dismissed the case.
A lad called John Birchall was summoned to court on a charge of cruelty to two dogs by setting them to fight each other. James Holland, the landlord of the Sun Inn, said that Birchall had gone into the backyard of his pub and set his dog upon the landlord's dog. And it had been with some difficulty that he had been able to separate them.
After doing so James Holland admitted having boxed the lad's ears and kicked his behind. He then turned the boy and his dog out of the yard, telling him never to go there again. But Birchall reckoned that he'd been hurt by the landlord and had claimed £6 compensation for his injuries.
In court James Holland admitted that he had only brought his case against the young lad after receiving the compensation claim from a solicitor. The magistrates said they considered the evidence to be insufficient and dismissed the charge. Just whether the boy got his £6, I don't know.
The Liverpool Evening Express described Mary Ratcliffe as an "incorrigible drunkard" when she appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions, although the St Helens Newspaper in the headline to its report preferred "disorderly prostitute". The paper said Mary spent most of her time in gaol and was making her 38th appearance in court after being found drunk and disorderly in Church Street at midnight. She was sent to prison for a further month.
It does seem that the courts were at last treating the violent beating of policemen with the severity that the crime deserved. The Newspaper described Edward Trainor as a "powerful looking man" when he appeared in the dock charged with savagely beating PC Robert Sheriff and his colleague PC Tennor. "Both policemen were very severely cut about the face, which were disfigured almost beyond recognition," said the Newspaper.
Some fifteen minutes later when PC Sheriff was walking past Trainor's house, the latter approached the officer to ask him if he really intended reporting him "for that fighting job", as he put it. Upon PC Sheriff saying that he was, Trainor struck him in the eye with his fist and knocked him down. PC Tennor came to his colleague's assistance and was also attacked.
Melinda Trainor, seeing her husband battling with the police, used a large stone to strike PC Sheriff on his nose and right ear, cutting him severely and both the Trainors continually called on a watching crowd to rescue Edward from the police. As they proceeded to the police station, Trainor struggled and resisted violently and the crowd threw stones at the officers.
Edward Jones was the ringleader of the mob and a third policeman called PC McGuiness, who came to help, had his helmet cut in five places by stones. All three policemen were struck in different parts of their bodies but PC Sheriff was severely hurt and did not stop bleeding until 5 am on the Sunday morning. Edward Trainor had twice been previously fined for assault and his wife Melinda on one occasion.
The magistrates said they considered the case to be a very bad and disgraceful one and told Edward they would give him the highest punishment within their power as they sentenced him to 6 months hard labour. And the other three defendants received three months hard labour at Kirkdale Gaol.
Michael and John Finnan – who were father and son – were also in court charged with violently assaulting PC Murney in School Street at Parr. The trouble began when PC Murney had told Mrs Finnan to go away after she was abusive to him. The woman did so but returned shortly afterwards accompanied by her husband and son, with the former carrying an iron bar.
Michael Finnan attempted to strike the constable with the bar but PC Murney managed to dodge it. As the man made to make a second blow, the constable drew his staff and knocked the bar out of his hand. Finnan and his son then seized the constable by his moustache and PC Murney told the court that he gave both Mr and Mrs Finnan a "gentle tap on the head" with his staff in self-defence.
Their defence solicitor blamed the constable for provoking the Finnans, saying he acted the part of a petty autocrat in giving orders to the woman. But the magistrates were having none of it and said they were determined to protect the police in the exercise of their duty. Michael Finnan was sent to prison for four months, although his son John was only fined 20 shillings and costs.
And finally, Henry Cook, Mary Cook and Mary Campbell were committed to take their trial at the next Kirkdale Quarter Sessions after being charged with stealing a silk umbrella belonging to Dr John Martin. The umbrella was valued at 10 shillings and all three were later sentenced to two months in prison.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the blackguardism and ruffianism at the St Helens Fair, the Champagne stealing from the railway at Pocket Nook, the recall of library books and the little boy who was encouraged to throw stones at a woman.
This week's many stories include the Church Street grocer who claimed damages after his carter suddenly quit, the 11-year-old pigeon thief from Sutton, the tough prison sentence for a savage pummelling of three policemen, the curious prosecution of the Nelson Inn for playing cards, a disorderly and drunken prostitute returns to court and the Parr attack on a bobby using an iron bar.
Workers were regularly prosecuted for leaving their jobs without serving a notice period – although employers seemed able to lay off their employees at will.
Thomas Rigby appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions this week for leaving the service of William Howard.
The Church Street grocer claimed £1 damages, which he said the sudden departure of his employee had cost him.
Howard told the magistrates that Rigby had worked for him for two months as a carter – presumably to make deliveries to his customers – on what he claimed to be the usual terms of a week's notice before leaving.
That had clearly not been in writing and was probably unspoken and assumed.
But the grocer claimed the man’s sudden departure had left him in the lurch and he said he had been unable to hire another carter for a few days.
So he had needed to employ other carriers to deliver his goods at an increased cost, which he estimated at £1.
But Thomas Rigby denied that there had ever been any agreement between them as to notice and stated that his former boss had on two previous occasions dismissed him at a moment's notice.
However, the magistrates almost always sided with the employer and signed an order for the £1 that had been claimed, with costs.
An 11-year-old boy called Edward Brennan appeared in court charged with stealing three pigeons belonging to Samuel Smith from Moss Nook in Sutton that had been kept in a barn.
Samuel made the mistake of trying to sell them to a man in the neighbourhood who recognised the birds and turned the boy into the police.
Eleven-year-olds were often sent to prison but as the pigeons had been returned to their owner, the boy was only fined five shillings and costs.
It was common for people to be prosecuted for gambling in public houses but the charges levelled against George Hewitt and George Howard were unusual.
Hewitt was the landlord of the Nelson Inn in Bridge Street and PC McDonald gave evidence that at 2:45am on the previous Thursday morning he had been walking past the Nelson when he noticed a light in the bar window and heard voices coming from inside.
The constable said he could easily hear the shuffling of cards and the landlord saying "clubs are trumps" and then "spades are trumps".
He said he could also hear Hewitt say, "that's two shillings" and then "that's three shillings".
At 3am, PC McDonald said PC Gibson had joined him and they both listened for a while.
Having been convinced that they had sufficient evidence of card playing for money, they knocked on the door but it took three minutes for it to be opened.
However, the magistrates felt the charge had not been proved and dismissed the case.
A lad called John Birchall was summoned to court on a charge of cruelty to two dogs by setting them to fight each other.
James Holland, the landlord of the Sun Inn, said that Birchall had gone into the backyard of his pub and set his dog upon the landlord's dog.
And it had been with some difficulty that he had been able to separate them.
After doing so James Holland admitted having boxed the lad's ears and kicked his behind.
He then turned the boy and his dog out of the yard, telling him never to go there again.
But Birchall reckoned that he'd been hurt by the landlord and had claimed £6 compensation for his injuries.
In court James Holland admitted that he had only brought his case against the young lad after receiving the compensation claim from a solicitor.
The magistrates said they considered the evidence to be insufficient and dismissed the charge. Just whether the boy got his £6, I don't know.
The Liverpool Evening Express described Mary Ratcliffe as an "incorrigible drunkard" when she appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions, although the St Helens Newspaper in the headline to its report preferred "disorderly prostitute".
The paper said Mary spent most of her time in gaol and was making her 38th appearance in court after being found drunk and disorderly in Church Street at midnight. She was sent to prison for a further month.
It does seem that the courts were at last treating the violent beating of policemen with the severity that the crime deserved.
The Newspaper described Edward Trainor as a "powerful looking man" when he appeared in the dock charged with savagely beating PC Robert Sheriff and his colleague PC Tennor.
"Both policemen were very severely cut about the face, which were disfigured almost beyond recognition," said the Newspaper.
And Trainor's wife, Melinda – as well as Edward Jones and John Walsh who had also joined in the bobby bashing – were also in the dock.
The chain of violence had begun at 11pm when PC Sheriff had been going up Parr Street (pictured above) and seen Edward Trainor and a man called Patrick Connolly fighting in the street.
After separating the pair, the constable told the two pugilists that he would report them and ordered them both home.
Some fifteen minutes later when PC Sheriff was walking past Trainor's house, the latter approached the officer to ask him if he really intended reporting him "for that fighting job", as he put it.
Upon PC Sheriff saying that he was, Trainor struck him in the eye with his fist and knocked him down.
PC Tennor came to his colleague's assistance and was also attacked.
Melinda Trainor, seeing her husband battling with the police, used a large stone to strike PC Sheriff on his nose and right ear, cutting him severely and both the Trainors continually called on a watching crowd to rescue Edward from the police.
As they proceeded to the police station, Trainor struggled and resisted violently and the crowd threw stones at the officers.
Edward Jones was the ringleader of the mob and a third policeman called PC McGuiness, who came to help, had his helmet cut in five places by stones.
All three policemen were struck in different parts of their bodies but PC Sheriff was severely hurt and did not stop bleeding until 5 am on the Sunday morning.
Edward Trainor had twice been previously fined for assault and his wife Melinda on one occasion.
The magistrates said they considered the case to be a very bad and disgraceful one and told Edward they would give him the highest punishment within their power as they sentenced him to 6 months hard labour.
And the other three defendants received three months hard labour at Kirkdale Gaol.
Michael and John Finnan – who were father and son – were also in court charged with violently assaulting PC Murney in School Street at Parr.
The trouble began when PC Murney had told Mrs Finnan to go away after she was abusive to him.
The woman did so but returned shortly afterwards accompanied by her husband and son, with the former carrying an iron bar.
Michael Finnan attempted to strike the constable with the bar but PC Murney managed to dodge it.
As the man made to make a second blow, the constable drew his staff and knocked the bar out of his hand.
Finnan and his son then seized the constable by his moustache and PC Murney told the court that he gave both Mr and Mrs Finnan a "gentle tap on the head" with his staff in self-defence.
Their defence solicitor blamed the constable for provoking the Finnans, saying he acted the part of a petty autocrat in giving orders to the woman.
But the magistrates were having none of it and said they were determined to protect the police in the exercise of their duty.
Michael Finnan was sent to prison for four months, although his son John was only fined 20 shillings and costs.
And finally, Henry Cook, Mary Cook and Mary Campbell were committed to take their trial at the next Kirkdale Quarter Sessions after being charged with stealing a silk umbrella belonging to Dr John Martin.
The umbrella was valued at 10 shillings and all three were later sentenced to two months in prison.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the blackguardism and ruffianism at the St Helens Fair, the Champagne stealing from the railway at Pocket Nook, the recall of library books and the little boy who was encouraged to throw stones at a woman.
Workers were regularly prosecuted for leaving their jobs without serving a notice period – although employers seemed able to lay off their employees at will.
Thomas Rigby appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions this week for leaving the service of William Howard.
The Church Street grocer claimed £1 damages, which he said the sudden departure of his employee had cost him.
Howard told the magistrates that Rigby had worked for him for two months as a carter – presumably to make deliveries to his customers – on what he claimed to be the usual terms of a week's notice before leaving.
That had clearly not been in writing and was probably unspoken and assumed.
But the grocer claimed the man’s sudden departure had left him in the lurch and he said he had been unable to hire another carter for a few days.
So he had needed to employ other carriers to deliver his goods at an increased cost, which he estimated at £1.
But Thomas Rigby denied that there had ever been any agreement between them as to notice and stated that his former boss had on two previous occasions dismissed him at a moment's notice.
However, the magistrates almost always sided with the employer and signed an order for the £1 that had been claimed, with costs.
An 11-year-old boy called Edward Brennan appeared in court charged with stealing three pigeons belonging to Samuel Smith from Moss Nook in Sutton that had been kept in a barn.
Samuel made the mistake of trying to sell them to a man in the neighbourhood who recognised the birds and turned the boy into the police.
Eleven-year-olds were often sent to prison but as the pigeons had been returned to their owner, the boy was only fined five shillings and costs.
It was common for people to be prosecuted for gambling in public houses but the charges levelled against George Hewitt and George Howard were unusual.
Hewitt was the landlord of the Nelson Inn in Bridge Street and PC McDonald gave evidence that at 2:45am on the previous Thursday morning he had been walking past the Nelson when he noticed a light in the bar window and heard voices coming from inside.
The constable said he could easily hear the shuffling of cards and the landlord saying "clubs are trumps" and then "spades are trumps".
He said he could also hear Hewitt say, "that's two shillings" and then "that's three shillings".
At 3am, PC McDonald said PC Gibson had joined him and they both listened for a while.
Having been convinced that they had sufficient evidence of card playing for money, they knocked on the door but it took three minutes for it to be opened.
However, the magistrates felt the charge had not been proved and dismissed the case.
A lad called John Birchall was summoned to court on a charge of cruelty to two dogs by setting them to fight each other.
James Holland, the landlord of the Sun Inn, said that Birchall had gone into the backyard of his pub and set his dog upon the landlord's dog.
And it had been with some difficulty that he had been able to separate them.
After doing so James Holland admitted having boxed the lad's ears and kicked his behind.
He then turned the boy and his dog out of the yard, telling him never to go there again.
But Birchall reckoned that he'd been hurt by the landlord and had claimed £6 compensation for his injuries.
In court James Holland admitted that he had only brought his case against the young lad after receiving the compensation claim from a solicitor.
The magistrates said they considered the evidence to be insufficient and dismissed the charge. Just whether the boy got his £6, I don't know.
The Liverpool Evening Express described Mary Ratcliffe as an "incorrigible drunkard" when she appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions, although the St Helens Newspaper in the headline to its report preferred "disorderly prostitute".
The paper said Mary spent most of her time in gaol and was making her 38th appearance in court after being found drunk and disorderly in Church Street at midnight. She was sent to prison for a further month.
It does seem that the courts were at last treating the violent beating of policemen with the severity that the crime deserved.
The Newspaper described Edward Trainor as a "powerful looking man" when he appeared in the dock charged with savagely beating PC Robert Sheriff and his colleague PC Tennor.
"Both policemen were very severely cut about the face, which were disfigured almost beyond recognition," said the Newspaper.
And Trainor's wife, Melinda – as well as Edward Jones and John Walsh who had also joined in the bobby bashing – were also in the dock.
After separating the pair, the constable told the two pugilists that he would report them and ordered them both home.
Some fifteen minutes later when PC Sheriff was walking past Trainor's house, the latter approached the officer to ask him if he really intended reporting him "for that fighting job", as he put it.
Upon PC Sheriff saying that he was, Trainor struck him in the eye with his fist and knocked him down.
PC Tennor came to his colleague's assistance and was also attacked.
Melinda Trainor, seeing her husband battling with the police, used a large stone to strike PC Sheriff on his nose and right ear, cutting him severely and both the Trainors continually called on a watching crowd to rescue Edward from the police.
As they proceeded to the police station, Trainor struggled and resisted violently and the crowd threw stones at the officers.
Edward Jones was the ringleader of the mob and a third policeman called PC McGuiness, who came to help, had his helmet cut in five places by stones.
All three policemen were struck in different parts of their bodies but PC Sheriff was severely hurt and did not stop bleeding until 5 am on the Sunday morning.
Edward Trainor had twice been previously fined for assault and his wife Melinda on one occasion.
The magistrates said they considered the case to be a very bad and disgraceful one and told Edward they would give him the highest punishment within their power as they sentenced him to 6 months hard labour.
And the other three defendants received three months hard labour at Kirkdale Gaol.
Michael and John Finnan – who were father and son – were also in court charged with violently assaulting PC Murney in School Street at Parr.
The trouble began when PC Murney had told Mrs Finnan to go away after she was abusive to him.
The woman did so but returned shortly afterwards accompanied by her husband and son, with the former carrying an iron bar.
Michael Finnan attempted to strike the constable with the bar but PC Murney managed to dodge it.
As the man made to make a second blow, the constable drew his staff and knocked the bar out of his hand.
Finnan and his son then seized the constable by his moustache and PC Murney told the court that he gave both Mr and Mrs Finnan a "gentle tap on the head" with his staff in self-defence.
Their defence solicitor blamed the constable for provoking the Finnans, saying he acted the part of a petty autocrat in giving orders to the woman.
But the magistrates were having none of it and said they were determined to protect the police in the exercise of their duty.
Michael Finnan was sent to prison for four months, although his son John was only fined 20 shillings and costs.
And finally, Henry Cook, Mary Cook and Mary Campbell were committed to take their trial at the next Kirkdale Quarter Sessions after being charged with stealing a silk umbrella belonging to Dr John Martin.
The umbrella was valued at 10 shillings and all three were later sentenced to two months in prison.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the blackguardism and ruffianism at the St Helens Fair, the Champagne stealing from the railway at Pocket Nook, the recall of library books and the little boy who was encouraged to throw stones at a woman.