150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 9 - 15 FEBRUARY 1876
This week's many stories include the plans to build a new parish church in Rainford, the builder injured in an accident in Park Road who received a huge pay-off, the Smithy Brow father forced to pay maintenance for his illegitimate child, the dangerous Jack Tar in the Globe, the thief that stole from a drinker in a Bridge Street pub and the Marshall Cross man who was rewarded for helping a policeman.
There was no automatic compensation if someone was badly injured at work but sensible workmen joined some form of insurance scheme. Peter Buckley was one such wise worker, who on the 10th at the White Lion Hotel in Church Street received the sum of £100. In November 1874 he had been involved in the erection of a Baptist chapel in Park Road in St Helens when the scaffold on which he had been working gave way.
In the fall the chisel that he had been holding was driven through his right hand, rendering him incapable of following his employment. Buckley was a member of the General Union Society of Operative Carpenters and Joiners who met at the White Lion. They had a rule that stated that if any member who had paid his subs for two years met with an accident that prevented him from following his trade, he would be entitled to the sum of £100.
That was providing the accident was not caused by drunkenness or other improper conduct. A very large number of members of the society attended the cash handover at the White Lion in which Mr Buckley was presented with £100 in gold that had been tied up in a small, white napkin. And then, I expect it was drinks all round!
It's clear that during the 1870s the court reporters in St Helens Petty Sessions did not see a list of names of the defendants and simply wrote them down as they heard (or misheard) them being spoken. And so wrong or misspelled names in the St Helens Newspaper were commonplace.
The paper stated that Mary Hewitt had been charged with stealing 15 shillings from Grace's Vaults in Bridge Street – although her actual name, I've discovered, was Mary Hughes. John Heaton told the magistrates that he had entered what he called the bar parlour where the woman had been sitting and she went and sat next to him.
Heaton said Mary asked him to buy her a drink, which he did, and then – according to the Newspaper's account – she "commenced feeling about his pockets, for which he checked her". Shortly afterwards Mary left him and he discovered that he had lost 15 shillings. He said he complained to a woman who had been cleaning the house and she went into the backyard and spoke to Mary about the theft.
She admitted taking 12s 6d of the missing money and then, as the cleaning lady reported back to Mr Heaton, Mary disappeared. She was not seen for some time until arrested by PC Kelly on a charge of vagrancy. In the Petty Sessions on the 11th, Mary denied stealing the cash and she was committed to take her trial at the next Kirkdale Quarter Sessions. That took place in April when 31-year-old Mary Hughes, who was described in court as a needlewoman, was sent to prison for three months.
Passers-by did occasionally come to the aid of a lone policeman who was being violently assaulted – although it was more likely that a crowd would gather and cheer on the attacker. The latter was a regular event in St Helens, especially on Saturday nights, with Greenbank and Parr particular hotspots for the beating up of bobbies. But in quieter places like Marshalls Cross there was a greater chance of assistance from some law-abiding person.
However, the unnamed man that helped PC Charles Smith is the first newspaper report that I have come across in which such a Good Samaritan was rewarded in court. The person had intervened when PC Smith found Thomas Morgan drunk and disorderly in Chester Lane. The policeman asked the man to go home quietly with his wife, which he refused to do and he also failed to give his name and address. Morgan then became very violent and struck and kicked the constable.
While they were struggling together both fell to the ground and as the officer attempted to get handcuffs on his prisoner, Morgan bit him severely on his hand. Despite being handcuffed Morgan was still violent but a young labourer in the neighbourhood helped the constable to get his prisoner to the police station.
In court this week the defendant was fined 5 shillings and costs or seven days in prison for the drunkenness and for the assault Morgan had to pay 20s and costs or 1 month in prison. The latter fine included 10s 6d to be given as a reward to the young man who had gone to the aid of the battered constable.
Also in court was Thomas Bond who the Newspaper wrote was a cripple. Despite his disability he was another violent customer that Sgt Robinson had at 10pm arrested for being drunk and disorderly in Liverpool Road in St Helens. Bond appeared to be begging from passers-by and as the sergeant approached him the officer was attacked.
The man struggled very violently with Sgt Robinson for over 10 minutes until police reinforcements arrived. However, Bond was still so aggressive that it was necessary for the police to acquire a small cart to convey their prisoner to the station. In court he was fined 25 shillings, plus costs, and as he had no money, Bond was immediately sent to prison for five weeks.
The Newspaper's headline to its report on sailor Thomas Smith was "The Dangerous Tar". Smith had been charged with unlawfully assaulting John Mottram in the Globe Vaults with a stick and then threatening to use a knife on him. In his defence he claimed he had been cutting tobacco and the blade had fallen from his hand onto the floor. But a witness said he had taken it out of his pocket and "Jack Tar" Smith was sent to prison for two months with hard labour.
Edward Coyle appeared in the Petty Sessions charged with wounding Mary Dwyer of Liverpool Street. The complainant said she had witnessed Coyle kicking at the door of a house in John Street in Greenbank but the woman who lived there had sensibly refused to let him in. Mary told Coyle that he was no man to be kicking at a woman's door like that and in response he turned upon her.
She said Coyle first kicked her on the legs and then struck her on her head with a poker, knocking Mary unconscious. Although as I've often said violence was not treated very seriously in the 1870s, this attack was considered to have been severe. And so the magistrates committed the 24-year-old to take his trial at the next Quarter Sessions. There, Coyle was sentenced to serve 12 months in prison.
I have a theory that many of the young men who got girls pregnant and initially talked of getting wed and later changed their minds, did so after being persuaded against marriage by their mates, who also encouraged them to deny paternity. You can just imagine lads saying: "Just deny being the father; she can't prove it and you'll save yourself a few bob." Whether that had been the case with Patrick Fitzpatrick, I cannot say. However, this week he was summoned to court to provide maintenance for the illegitimate child of Sarah Ann Riley.
The young man worked at Peasley Cross Colliery and like Sarah, he lived in Smithy Brow in St Helens. It was alleged that he had been walking out with Sarah for the past two years and had never disputed the paternity of the child. As recently as last Christmas Eve he had admitted being the father and said he was saving up to pay for their marriage.
But since Christmas he had stopped visiting Sarah and her child and denied being the father. However, she had witnesses to prove their courtship and his past admissions of paternity and the magistrates disbelieved Fitzpatrick and made an order for him to pay Sarah 3s 6d per week. A miserly amount but better than nothing.
The parish church at Rainford (pictured above) was in 1876 nearly 200 years old and considered by the Newspaper to be "old and incommodious". A month ago one of the galleries inside the church had to be propped due to the bulging of one of its walls. As well as fears that the building would not stand for much longer, there was a serious problem with a lack of space.
Meetings of parishioners had been held from time to time to consider building a new church – but without coming to any decision. A benefactor was needed to come forward to sanction such a scheme and kick-start its funding. On the 12th the St Helens Newspaper wrote that Lord Derby, who was a major land and property owner in Rainford, was to become their knight in shining armour.
He had agreed to pay £2,000, which would likely be half of the estimated minimum cost of building a new church. The Newspaper added that since Lord Derby's offer had been received, a meeting of parishioners had taken place in the Rainford National Schoolroom and a further £762 had been pledged.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the acidic sewers in St Helens, the man called Garbage that gave the police a kicking, Rainhill ratepayers battle against a new sewage farm and the cruel farm labourer that hit a horse with a spade.
There was no automatic compensation if someone was badly injured at work but sensible workmen joined some form of insurance scheme. Peter Buckley was one such wise worker, who on the 10th at the White Lion Hotel in Church Street received the sum of £100. In November 1874 he had been involved in the erection of a Baptist chapel in Park Road in St Helens when the scaffold on which he had been working gave way.
In the fall the chisel that he had been holding was driven through his right hand, rendering him incapable of following his employment. Buckley was a member of the General Union Society of Operative Carpenters and Joiners who met at the White Lion. They had a rule that stated that if any member who had paid his subs for two years met with an accident that prevented him from following his trade, he would be entitled to the sum of £100.
That was providing the accident was not caused by drunkenness or other improper conduct. A very large number of members of the society attended the cash handover at the White Lion in which Mr Buckley was presented with £100 in gold that had been tied up in a small, white napkin. And then, I expect it was drinks all round!
It's clear that during the 1870s the court reporters in St Helens Petty Sessions did not see a list of names of the defendants and simply wrote them down as they heard (or misheard) them being spoken. And so wrong or misspelled names in the St Helens Newspaper were commonplace.
The paper stated that Mary Hewitt had been charged with stealing 15 shillings from Grace's Vaults in Bridge Street – although her actual name, I've discovered, was Mary Hughes. John Heaton told the magistrates that he had entered what he called the bar parlour where the woman had been sitting and she went and sat next to him.
Heaton said Mary asked him to buy her a drink, which he did, and then – according to the Newspaper's account – she "commenced feeling about his pockets, for which he checked her". Shortly afterwards Mary left him and he discovered that he had lost 15 shillings. He said he complained to a woman who had been cleaning the house and she went into the backyard and spoke to Mary about the theft.
She admitted taking 12s 6d of the missing money and then, as the cleaning lady reported back to Mr Heaton, Mary disappeared. She was not seen for some time until arrested by PC Kelly on a charge of vagrancy. In the Petty Sessions on the 11th, Mary denied stealing the cash and she was committed to take her trial at the next Kirkdale Quarter Sessions. That took place in April when 31-year-old Mary Hughes, who was described in court as a needlewoman, was sent to prison for three months.
Passers-by did occasionally come to the aid of a lone policeman who was being violently assaulted – although it was more likely that a crowd would gather and cheer on the attacker. The latter was a regular event in St Helens, especially on Saturday nights, with Greenbank and Parr particular hotspots for the beating up of bobbies. But in quieter places like Marshalls Cross there was a greater chance of assistance from some law-abiding person.
However, the unnamed man that helped PC Charles Smith is the first newspaper report that I have come across in which such a Good Samaritan was rewarded in court. The person had intervened when PC Smith found Thomas Morgan drunk and disorderly in Chester Lane. The policeman asked the man to go home quietly with his wife, which he refused to do and he also failed to give his name and address. Morgan then became very violent and struck and kicked the constable.
While they were struggling together both fell to the ground and as the officer attempted to get handcuffs on his prisoner, Morgan bit him severely on his hand. Despite being handcuffed Morgan was still violent but a young labourer in the neighbourhood helped the constable to get his prisoner to the police station.
In court this week the defendant was fined 5 shillings and costs or seven days in prison for the drunkenness and for the assault Morgan had to pay 20s and costs or 1 month in prison. The latter fine included 10s 6d to be given as a reward to the young man who had gone to the aid of the battered constable.
Also in court was Thomas Bond who the Newspaper wrote was a cripple. Despite his disability he was another violent customer that Sgt Robinson had at 10pm arrested for being drunk and disorderly in Liverpool Road in St Helens. Bond appeared to be begging from passers-by and as the sergeant approached him the officer was attacked.
The man struggled very violently with Sgt Robinson for over 10 minutes until police reinforcements arrived. However, Bond was still so aggressive that it was necessary for the police to acquire a small cart to convey their prisoner to the station. In court he was fined 25 shillings, plus costs, and as he had no money, Bond was immediately sent to prison for five weeks.
The Newspaper's headline to its report on sailor Thomas Smith was "The Dangerous Tar". Smith had been charged with unlawfully assaulting John Mottram in the Globe Vaults with a stick and then threatening to use a knife on him. In his defence he claimed he had been cutting tobacco and the blade had fallen from his hand onto the floor. But a witness said he had taken it out of his pocket and "Jack Tar" Smith was sent to prison for two months with hard labour.
Edward Coyle appeared in the Petty Sessions charged with wounding Mary Dwyer of Liverpool Street. The complainant said she had witnessed Coyle kicking at the door of a house in John Street in Greenbank but the woman who lived there had sensibly refused to let him in. Mary told Coyle that he was no man to be kicking at a woman's door like that and in response he turned upon her.
She said Coyle first kicked her on the legs and then struck her on her head with a poker, knocking Mary unconscious. Although as I've often said violence was not treated very seriously in the 1870s, this attack was considered to have been severe. And so the magistrates committed the 24-year-old to take his trial at the next Quarter Sessions. There, Coyle was sentenced to serve 12 months in prison.
I have a theory that many of the young men who got girls pregnant and initially talked of getting wed and later changed their minds, did so after being persuaded against marriage by their mates, who also encouraged them to deny paternity. You can just imagine lads saying: "Just deny being the father; she can't prove it and you'll save yourself a few bob." Whether that had been the case with Patrick Fitzpatrick, I cannot say. However, this week he was summoned to court to provide maintenance for the illegitimate child of Sarah Ann Riley.
The young man worked at Peasley Cross Colliery and like Sarah, he lived in Smithy Brow in St Helens. It was alleged that he had been walking out with Sarah for the past two years and had never disputed the paternity of the child. As recently as last Christmas Eve he had admitted being the father and said he was saving up to pay for their marriage.
But since Christmas he had stopped visiting Sarah and her child and denied being the father. However, she had witnesses to prove their courtship and his past admissions of paternity and the magistrates disbelieved Fitzpatrick and made an order for him to pay Sarah 3s 6d per week. A miserly amount but better than nothing.
Meetings of parishioners had been held from time to time to consider building a new church – but without coming to any decision. A benefactor was needed to come forward to sanction such a scheme and kick-start its funding. On the 12th the St Helens Newspaper wrote that Lord Derby, who was a major land and property owner in Rainford, was to become their knight in shining armour.
He had agreed to pay £2,000, which would likely be half of the estimated minimum cost of building a new church. The Newspaper added that since Lord Derby's offer had been received, a meeting of parishioners had taken place in the Rainford National Schoolroom and a further £762 had been pledged.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the acidic sewers in St Helens, the man called Garbage that gave the police a kicking, Rainhill ratepayers battle against a new sewage farm and the cruel farm labourer that hit a horse with a spade.
This week's many stories include the plans to build a new parish church in Rainford, the builder injured in an accident in Park Road who received a huge pay-off, the Smithy Brow father forced to pay maintenance for his illegitimate child, the dangerous Jack Tar in the Globe, the thief that stole from a drinker in a Bridge Street pub and the Marshall Cross man who was rewarded for helping a policeman.
There was no automatic compensation if someone was badly injured at work but sensible workmen joined some form of insurance scheme.
Peter Buckley was one such wise worker, who on the 10th at the White Lion Hotel in Church Street received the sum of £100.
In November 1874 he had been involved in the erection of a Baptist chapel in Park Road in St Helens when the scaffold on which he had been working gave way.
In the fall the chisel that he had been holding was driven through his right hand, rendering him incapable of following his employment.
Buckley was a member of the General Union Society of Operative Carpenters and Joiners who met at the White Lion.
They had a rule that stated that if any member who had paid his subs for two years met with an accident that prevented him from following his trade, he would be entitled to the sum of £100.
That was providing the accident was not caused by drunkenness or other improper conduct.
A very large number of members of the society attended the cash handover at the White Lion in which Mr Buckley was presented with £100 in gold that had been tied up in a small, white napkin. And then, I expect it was drinks all round!
It's clear that during the 1870s the court reporters in St Helens Petty Sessions did not see a list of names of the defendants and simply wrote them down as they heard (or misheard) them being spoken.
And so wrong or misspelled names in the St Helens Newspaper were commonplace.
The paper stated that Mary Hewitt had been charged with stealing 15 shillings from Grace's Vaults in Bridge Street – although her actual name, I've discovered, was Mary Hughes.
John Heaton told the magistrates that he had entered what he called the bar parlour where the woman had been sitting and she went and sat next to him.
Heaton said Mary asked him to buy her a drink, which he did, and then – according to the Newspaper's account – she "commenced feeling about his pockets, for which he checked her".
Shortly afterwards Mary left him and he discovered that he had lost 15 shillings.
He said he complained to a woman who had been cleaning the house and she went into the backyard and spoke to Mary about the theft.
She admitted taking 12s 6d of the missing money and then, as the cleaning lady reported back to Mr Heaton, Mary disappeared.
She was not seen for some time until arrested by PC Kelly on a charge of vagrancy.
In the Petty Sessions on the 11th, Mary denied stealing the cash and she was committed to take her trial at the next Kirkdale Quarter Sessions.
That took place in April when 31-year-old Mary Hughes, who was described in court as a needlewoman, was sent to prison for three months.
Passers-by did occasionally come to the aid of a lone policeman who was being violently assaulted – although it was more likely that a crowd would gather and cheer on the attacker.
The latter was a regular event in St Helens, especially on Saturday nights, with Greenbank and Parr particular hotspots for the beating up of bobbies.
But in quieter places like Marshalls Cross there was a greater chance of assistance from some law-abiding person.
However, the unnamed man that helped PC Charles Smith is the first newspaper report that I have come across in which such a Good Samaritan was rewarded in court.
The person had intervened when PC Smith found Thomas Morgan drunk and disorderly in Chester Lane.
The policeman asked the man to go home quietly with his wife, which he refused to do and he also failed to give his name and address.
Morgan then became very violent and struck and kicked the constable.
While they were struggling together both fell to the ground and as the officer attempted to get handcuffs on his prisoner, Morgan bit him severely on his hand.
Despite being handcuffed Morgan was still violent but a young labourer in the neighbourhood helped the constable to get his prisoner to the police station.
In court this week the defendant was fined 5 shillings and costs or seven days in prison for the drunkenness and for the assault Morgan had to pay 20s and costs or 1 month in prison.
The latter fine included 10s 6d to be given as a reward to the young man who had gone to the aid of the battered constable.
Also in court was Thomas Bond who the Newspaper wrote was a cripple.
Despite his disability he was another violent customer that Sgt Robinson had at 10pm arrested for being drunk and disorderly in Liverpool Road in St Helens.
Bond appeared to be begging from passers-by and as the sergeant approached him the officer was attacked.
The man struggled very violently with Sgt Robinson for over 10 minutes until police reinforcements arrived.
However, Bond was still so aggressive that it was necessary for the police to acquire a small cart to convey their prisoner to the station.
In court he was fined 25 shillings, plus costs, and as he had no money, Bond was immediately sent to prison for five weeks.
The Newspaper's headline to its report on sailor Thomas Smith was "The Dangerous Tar".
Smith had been charged with unlawfully assaulting John Mottram in the Globe Vaults with a stick and then threatening to use a knife on him.
In his defence he claimed he had been cutting tobacco and the blade had fallen from his hand onto the floor.
But a witness said he had taken it out of his pocket and "Jack Tar" Smith was sent to prison for two months with hard labour.
Edward Coyle appeared in the Petty Sessions charged with wounding Mary Dwyer of Liverpool Street.
The complainant said she had witnessed Coyle kicking at the door of a house in John Street in Greenbank but the woman who lived there had sensibly refused to let him in.
Mary told Coyle that he was no man to be kicking at a woman's door like that and in response he turned upon her.
She said Coyle first kicked her on the legs and then struck her on her head with a poker, knocking Mary unconscious.
Although as I've often said violence was not treated very seriously in the 1870s, this attack was considered to have been severe.
And so the magistrates committed the 24-year-old to take his trial at the next Quarter Sessions. There, Coyle was sentenced to serve 12 months in prison.
I have a theory that many of the young men who got girls pregnant and initially talked of getting wed and later changed their minds, did so after being persuaded against marriage by their mates, who also encouraged them to deny paternity.
You can just imagine lads saying: "Just deny being the father; she can't prove it and you'll save yourself a few bob."
Whether that had been the case with Patrick Fitzpatrick, I cannot say. However, this week he was summoned to court to provide maintenance for the illegitimate child of Sarah Ann Riley.
The young man worked at Peasley Cross Colliery and like Sarah, he lived in Smithy Brow in St Helens.
It was alleged that he had been walking out with Sarah for the past two years and had never disputed the paternity of the child.
As recently as last Christmas Eve he had admitted being the father and said he was saving up to pay for their marriage.
But since Christmas he had stopped visiting Sarah and her child and denied being the father.
However, she had witnesses to prove their courtship and his past admissions of paternity and the magistrates disbelieved Fitzpatrick and made an order for him to pay Sarah 3s 6d per week. A miserly amount but better than nothing.
The parish church at Rainford (pictured above) was in 1876 nearly 200 years old and considered by the Newspaper to be "old and incommodious".
A month ago one of the galleries inside the church had to be propped due to the bulging of one of its walls.
As well as fears that the building would not stand for much longer, there was a serious problem with a lack of space.
Meetings of parishioners had been held from time to time to consider building a new church – but without coming to any decision.
A benefactor was needed to come forward to sanction such a scheme and kick-start its funding.
On the 12th the St Helens Newspaper wrote that Lord Derby, who was a major land and property owner in Rainford, was to become their knight in shining armour.
He had agreed to pay £2,000, which would likely be half of the estimated minimum cost of building a new church.
The Newspaper added that since Lord Derby's offer had been received, a meeting of parishioners had taken place in the Rainford National Schoolroom and a further £762 had been pledged.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the acidic sewers in St Helens, the man called Garbage that gave the police a kicking, Rainhill ratepayers battle against a new sewage farm and the cruel farm labourer that hit a horse with a spade.
There was no automatic compensation if someone was badly injured at work but sensible workmen joined some form of insurance scheme.
Peter Buckley was one such wise worker, who on the 10th at the White Lion Hotel in Church Street received the sum of £100.
In November 1874 he had been involved in the erection of a Baptist chapel in Park Road in St Helens when the scaffold on which he had been working gave way.
In the fall the chisel that he had been holding was driven through his right hand, rendering him incapable of following his employment.
Buckley was a member of the General Union Society of Operative Carpenters and Joiners who met at the White Lion.
They had a rule that stated that if any member who had paid his subs for two years met with an accident that prevented him from following his trade, he would be entitled to the sum of £100.
That was providing the accident was not caused by drunkenness or other improper conduct.
A very large number of members of the society attended the cash handover at the White Lion in which Mr Buckley was presented with £100 in gold that had been tied up in a small, white napkin. And then, I expect it was drinks all round!
It's clear that during the 1870s the court reporters in St Helens Petty Sessions did not see a list of names of the defendants and simply wrote them down as they heard (or misheard) them being spoken.
And so wrong or misspelled names in the St Helens Newspaper were commonplace.
The paper stated that Mary Hewitt had been charged with stealing 15 shillings from Grace's Vaults in Bridge Street – although her actual name, I've discovered, was Mary Hughes.
John Heaton told the magistrates that he had entered what he called the bar parlour where the woman had been sitting and she went and sat next to him.
Heaton said Mary asked him to buy her a drink, which he did, and then – according to the Newspaper's account – she "commenced feeling about his pockets, for which he checked her".
Shortly afterwards Mary left him and he discovered that he had lost 15 shillings.
He said he complained to a woman who had been cleaning the house and she went into the backyard and spoke to Mary about the theft.
She admitted taking 12s 6d of the missing money and then, as the cleaning lady reported back to Mr Heaton, Mary disappeared.
She was not seen for some time until arrested by PC Kelly on a charge of vagrancy.
In the Petty Sessions on the 11th, Mary denied stealing the cash and she was committed to take her trial at the next Kirkdale Quarter Sessions.
That took place in April when 31-year-old Mary Hughes, who was described in court as a needlewoman, was sent to prison for three months.
Passers-by did occasionally come to the aid of a lone policeman who was being violently assaulted – although it was more likely that a crowd would gather and cheer on the attacker.
The latter was a regular event in St Helens, especially on Saturday nights, with Greenbank and Parr particular hotspots for the beating up of bobbies.
But in quieter places like Marshalls Cross there was a greater chance of assistance from some law-abiding person.
However, the unnamed man that helped PC Charles Smith is the first newspaper report that I have come across in which such a Good Samaritan was rewarded in court.
The person had intervened when PC Smith found Thomas Morgan drunk and disorderly in Chester Lane.
The policeman asked the man to go home quietly with his wife, which he refused to do and he also failed to give his name and address.
Morgan then became very violent and struck and kicked the constable.
While they were struggling together both fell to the ground and as the officer attempted to get handcuffs on his prisoner, Morgan bit him severely on his hand.
Despite being handcuffed Morgan was still violent but a young labourer in the neighbourhood helped the constable to get his prisoner to the police station.
In court this week the defendant was fined 5 shillings and costs or seven days in prison for the drunkenness and for the assault Morgan had to pay 20s and costs or 1 month in prison.
The latter fine included 10s 6d to be given as a reward to the young man who had gone to the aid of the battered constable.
Also in court was Thomas Bond who the Newspaper wrote was a cripple.
Despite his disability he was another violent customer that Sgt Robinson had at 10pm arrested for being drunk and disorderly in Liverpool Road in St Helens.
Bond appeared to be begging from passers-by and as the sergeant approached him the officer was attacked.
The man struggled very violently with Sgt Robinson for over 10 minutes until police reinforcements arrived.
However, Bond was still so aggressive that it was necessary for the police to acquire a small cart to convey their prisoner to the station.
In court he was fined 25 shillings, plus costs, and as he had no money, Bond was immediately sent to prison for five weeks.
The Newspaper's headline to its report on sailor Thomas Smith was "The Dangerous Tar".
Smith had been charged with unlawfully assaulting John Mottram in the Globe Vaults with a stick and then threatening to use a knife on him.
In his defence he claimed he had been cutting tobacco and the blade had fallen from his hand onto the floor.
But a witness said he had taken it out of his pocket and "Jack Tar" Smith was sent to prison for two months with hard labour.
Edward Coyle appeared in the Petty Sessions charged with wounding Mary Dwyer of Liverpool Street.
The complainant said she had witnessed Coyle kicking at the door of a house in John Street in Greenbank but the woman who lived there had sensibly refused to let him in.
Mary told Coyle that he was no man to be kicking at a woman's door like that and in response he turned upon her.
She said Coyle first kicked her on the legs and then struck her on her head with a poker, knocking Mary unconscious.
Although as I've often said violence was not treated very seriously in the 1870s, this attack was considered to have been severe.
And so the magistrates committed the 24-year-old to take his trial at the next Quarter Sessions. There, Coyle was sentenced to serve 12 months in prison.
I have a theory that many of the young men who got girls pregnant and initially talked of getting wed and later changed their minds, did so after being persuaded against marriage by their mates, who also encouraged them to deny paternity.
You can just imagine lads saying: "Just deny being the father; she can't prove it and you'll save yourself a few bob."
Whether that had been the case with Patrick Fitzpatrick, I cannot say. However, this week he was summoned to court to provide maintenance for the illegitimate child of Sarah Ann Riley.
The young man worked at Peasley Cross Colliery and like Sarah, he lived in Smithy Brow in St Helens.
It was alleged that he had been walking out with Sarah for the past two years and had never disputed the paternity of the child.
As recently as last Christmas Eve he had admitted being the father and said he was saving up to pay for their marriage.
But since Christmas he had stopped visiting Sarah and her child and denied being the father.
However, she had witnesses to prove their courtship and his past admissions of paternity and the magistrates disbelieved Fitzpatrick and made an order for him to pay Sarah 3s 6d per week. A miserly amount but better than nothing.
A month ago one of the galleries inside the church had to be propped due to the bulging of one of its walls.
As well as fears that the building would not stand for much longer, there was a serious problem with a lack of space.
Meetings of parishioners had been held from time to time to consider building a new church – but without coming to any decision.
A benefactor was needed to come forward to sanction such a scheme and kick-start its funding.
On the 12th the St Helens Newspaper wrote that Lord Derby, who was a major land and property owner in Rainford, was to become their knight in shining armour.
He had agreed to pay £2,000, which would likely be half of the estimated minimum cost of building a new church.
The Newspaper added that since Lord Derby's offer had been received, a meeting of parishioners had taken place in the Rainford National Schoolroom and a further £762 had been pledged.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the acidic sewers in St Helens, the man called Garbage that gave the police a kicking, Rainhill ratepayers battle against a new sewage farm and the cruel farm labourer that hit a horse with a spade.