150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 12 - 18 AUGUST 1874
This week's many stories include the Blackbrook woman who died from rabies, the opening of the first Catholic school in Rainford, the little boys prosecuted for walking across a field, the bare-faced theft of trousers from an Eccleston house, the Glover Street man's strange death in a pit and the man dubbed a lazy, drunken, idle fellow who said he wanted to cherish his wife.
We begin on the 12th when Bridget Kildare made yet another appearance in St Helens Petty Sessions. The Newspaper once sarcastically wrote that she'd "had the honour of a personal interview with almost every magistrate in the division". This week they described Bridget as a "disreputable character" as they explained how she had been fined 20 shillings and costs for drunkenness. There would have been no possibility of the woman finding such an amount of money and so prison would once again have been her inevitable destination.
Margaret Edwards could also expect a custodial sentence. The 29-year-old domestic servant appeared in court charged with stealing a pair of trousers from the house of John Foster in Eccleston. He was working in his garden when he saw the woman approach his house and then walk away carrying a bundle and afterwards he missed a pair of trousers.
In her defence Mrs Edwards said a "strange woman" had given the pants to her. By that she did not mean that the person was a bit weird – just that the alleged donor of the trousers was strange to her, i.e. a stranger. Stealing so-called wearing apparel was a serious offence and Mrs Edwards was committed to the next Liverpool Assizes where she would likely receive a prison sentence of one or two months.
The St Helens Newspaper on the 15th reported how the first Catholic school in modern times had opened in Rainford. The building had been constructed in brick with stone dressings and was described as strong and enduring, as opposed to being handsome. There were two unusual aspects to the school, which would later be known as Corpus Christi.
Firstly, faiths did not normally build schools until a few years after their place of worship had been constructed. But Father Powell – who was the driving force behind the scheme – saw education as the priority for local youngsters. Also, the Catholic religion tended not to enjoy the same level of philanthropy as the Church of England and so they were normally plagued by debt for some years after building schools and churches.
But the whole £1,050 cost of the new building had either been raised or promised. The St Helens Newspaper wrote: "This is all the more creditable, as the parish is a poor one, containing a small congregation, with a very slight sprinkling of persons possessing means."
The official opening was celebrated by a tea party and concert inside the new building and there was a packed attendance. On the following morning the new school opened for business and 80 children attended, although the building could accommodate 135. Father Powell was reported to have been so encouraged by the support that he had received, that building work on a church was expected to begin next February.
Walking across a private field often resulted in a prosecution, if the offenders could be identified. This week four men were fined 1 shilling and costs each for damaging oats by running through a field that belonged to the Ravenhead Colliery Company. And in a separate case, Robert Seddon, Thomas Webb, John Houghton, Edward Webb and Thomas Seddon were charged with damaging growing wheat in a field belonging to a farmer called Ralph Smith.
They were all small boys and one would've thought that a telling off would have been sufficient instead of dragging them into court. In fact three of the children were under six. That was then seen as the minimum age of criminal responsibility and they were discharged or, as the St Helens Newspaper put it, "allowed to go about their business". But Robert Seddon and Edward Webb who were at least six years old were both fined 2 shillings and costs.
William Ashton appeared in court charged with neglecting his family. He was brought up under warrant, which suggested that he had failed to attend court when previously summoned. And so an arrest warrant had been issued which would likely have led to Ashton being in police custody for a day or two awaiting his day in court.
The St Helens Relieving officer James Fowler told the court that on July 31st Mrs Ashton had applied for the so-called parish relief, stating that her husband had deserted her. Mr Fowler then accused William Ashton of being a "lazy, drunken, idle fellow, who could earn good wages at his trade as a painter, but preferred to be idle." But as you would expect Mr Ashton denied this and declared to the court his willingness to "cherish" his wife.
He claimed to have been driven out of his house by the violence of his wife's children from her previous marriage. That if true would likely have been to protect their mother from her husband. William Ashton was ordered to repay the Prescot Guardians 11s 6d or go to prison for a month. That amount would have been the money that the relieving officer had given to his wife as parish relief on behalf of the Guardians.
Rabies – or hydrophobia as it was then more commonly known – was the most feared disease of the 19th century due to the manner in which sufferers expired. On the 15th a young woman from Blackbrook called Sarah Arkwright died from hydrophobia. The 24-year-old had been bitten on her cheek and nose by a neighbour's dog that previously she had been quite friendly with.
The incident had occurred a month before and Sarah had not initially considered her wounds to be serious. But they became increasingly painful and several weeks after suffering the bites, Dr Ricketts was called in and he ordered Sarah's immediate removal to the cottage hospital in Peasley Cross. The Newspaper said she had "suffered extremely" before her death and displayed all the well-known symptoms of hydrophobia.
At Sarah's inquest her husband explained how two days before her death his wife had complained of severe thirst but when he had obtained some ale for her she had not been able to drink it. Dr Ricketts also told the hearing that there was some ground for believing that rabies still existed in Haydock.
And in returning a verdict of death from hydrophobia, the jury advised the owners of dogs in the district to take precautions to prevent their animals from biting people. The owner of the poor rabid dog, by the way, had drowned his animal immediately after it had bitten Sarah.
This advert in the Prescot Reporter on the 15th from a Liverpool hosiery firm called Lloyds caught my eye advising that the elixir to good health is to wear a good pair of knickers: "Our Climate – There is no climate more variable than our own, and to guard against the effects of its sudden mutations underclothing is a matter which ought to engage a wise attention, otherwise neither health nor comfort can be long enjoyed. The largest, best, and cheapest stock of Hosiery in England, is at Lloyd's."
And finally, on the 16th John Glover, who lived in Glover Street in St Helens, was found face down in a pit near to Lyon's bottleworks where he was employed. On the previous evening he had quarrelled with inmates of the house where he lodged and just after midnight Glover had stormed out.
It was yet another mysterious death in St Helens' numerous places of open water. Had it been suicide or an accident? Triggered, perhaps, by drinking and the very dark nights that could make walking off the main streets in order to take a shortcut a perilous business.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include concern over the high rate of infant mortality in St Helens, the domestic servant's theft of cash from a Prescot doctor, the living skeletons in Whiston Workhouse and an inquiry into the water shortage in Whiston.
We begin on the 12th when Bridget Kildare made yet another appearance in St Helens Petty Sessions. The Newspaper once sarcastically wrote that she'd "had the honour of a personal interview with almost every magistrate in the division". This week they described Bridget as a "disreputable character" as they explained how she had been fined 20 shillings and costs for drunkenness. There would have been no possibility of the woman finding such an amount of money and so prison would once again have been her inevitable destination.
Margaret Edwards could also expect a custodial sentence. The 29-year-old domestic servant appeared in court charged with stealing a pair of trousers from the house of John Foster in Eccleston. He was working in his garden when he saw the woman approach his house and then walk away carrying a bundle and afterwards he missed a pair of trousers.
In her defence Mrs Edwards said a "strange woman" had given the pants to her. By that she did not mean that the person was a bit weird – just that the alleged donor of the trousers was strange to her, i.e. a stranger. Stealing so-called wearing apparel was a serious offence and Mrs Edwards was committed to the next Liverpool Assizes where she would likely receive a prison sentence of one or two months.
Firstly, faiths did not normally build schools until a few years after their place of worship had been constructed. But Father Powell – who was the driving force behind the scheme – saw education as the priority for local youngsters. Also, the Catholic religion tended not to enjoy the same level of philanthropy as the Church of England and so they were normally plagued by debt for some years after building schools and churches.
But the whole £1,050 cost of the new building had either been raised or promised. The St Helens Newspaper wrote: "This is all the more creditable, as the parish is a poor one, containing a small congregation, with a very slight sprinkling of persons possessing means."
The official opening was celebrated by a tea party and concert inside the new building and there was a packed attendance. On the following morning the new school opened for business and 80 children attended, although the building could accommodate 135. Father Powell was reported to have been so encouraged by the support that he had received, that building work on a church was expected to begin next February.
Walking across a private field often resulted in a prosecution, if the offenders could be identified. This week four men were fined 1 shilling and costs each for damaging oats by running through a field that belonged to the Ravenhead Colliery Company. And in a separate case, Robert Seddon, Thomas Webb, John Houghton, Edward Webb and Thomas Seddon were charged with damaging growing wheat in a field belonging to a farmer called Ralph Smith.
They were all small boys and one would've thought that a telling off would have been sufficient instead of dragging them into court. In fact three of the children were under six. That was then seen as the minimum age of criminal responsibility and they were discharged or, as the St Helens Newspaper put it, "allowed to go about their business". But Robert Seddon and Edward Webb who were at least six years old were both fined 2 shillings and costs.
William Ashton appeared in court charged with neglecting his family. He was brought up under warrant, which suggested that he had failed to attend court when previously summoned. And so an arrest warrant had been issued which would likely have led to Ashton being in police custody for a day or two awaiting his day in court.
The St Helens Relieving officer James Fowler told the court that on July 31st Mrs Ashton had applied for the so-called parish relief, stating that her husband had deserted her. Mr Fowler then accused William Ashton of being a "lazy, drunken, idle fellow, who could earn good wages at his trade as a painter, but preferred to be idle." But as you would expect Mr Ashton denied this and declared to the court his willingness to "cherish" his wife.
He claimed to have been driven out of his house by the violence of his wife's children from her previous marriage. That if true would likely have been to protect their mother from her husband. William Ashton was ordered to repay the Prescot Guardians 11s 6d or go to prison for a month. That amount would have been the money that the relieving officer had given to his wife as parish relief on behalf of the Guardians.
Rabies – or hydrophobia as it was then more commonly known – was the most feared disease of the 19th century due to the manner in which sufferers expired. On the 15th a young woman from Blackbrook called Sarah Arkwright died from hydrophobia. The 24-year-old had been bitten on her cheek and nose by a neighbour's dog that previously she had been quite friendly with.
The incident had occurred a month before and Sarah had not initially considered her wounds to be serious. But they became increasingly painful and several weeks after suffering the bites, Dr Ricketts was called in and he ordered Sarah's immediate removal to the cottage hospital in Peasley Cross. The Newspaper said she had "suffered extremely" before her death and displayed all the well-known symptoms of hydrophobia.
At Sarah's inquest her husband explained how two days before her death his wife had complained of severe thirst but when he had obtained some ale for her she had not been able to drink it. Dr Ricketts also told the hearing that there was some ground for believing that rabies still existed in Haydock.
And in returning a verdict of death from hydrophobia, the jury advised the owners of dogs in the district to take precautions to prevent their animals from biting people. The owner of the poor rabid dog, by the way, had drowned his animal immediately after it had bitten Sarah.
This advert in the Prescot Reporter on the 15th from a Liverpool hosiery firm called Lloyds caught my eye advising that the elixir to good health is to wear a good pair of knickers: "Our Climate – There is no climate more variable than our own, and to guard against the effects of its sudden mutations underclothing is a matter which ought to engage a wise attention, otherwise neither health nor comfort can be long enjoyed. The largest, best, and cheapest stock of Hosiery in England, is at Lloyd's."
And finally, on the 16th John Glover, who lived in Glover Street in St Helens, was found face down in a pit near to Lyon's bottleworks where he was employed. On the previous evening he had quarrelled with inmates of the house where he lodged and just after midnight Glover had stormed out.
It was yet another mysterious death in St Helens' numerous places of open water. Had it been suicide or an accident? Triggered, perhaps, by drinking and the very dark nights that could make walking off the main streets in order to take a shortcut a perilous business.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include concern over the high rate of infant mortality in St Helens, the domestic servant's theft of cash from a Prescot doctor, the living skeletons in Whiston Workhouse and an inquiry into the water shortage in Whiston.
This week's many stories include the Blackbrook woman who died from rabies, the opening of the first Catholic school in Rainford, the little boys prosecuted for walking across a field, the bare-faced theft of trousers from an Eccleston house, the Glover Street man's strange death in a pit and the man dubbed a lazy, drunken, idle fellow who said he wanted to cherish his wife.
We begin on the 12th when Bridget Kildare made yet another appearance in St Helens Petty Sessions.
The Newspaper once sarcastically wrote that she'd "had the honour of a personal interview with almost every magistrate in the division".
This week they described Bridget as a "disreputable character" as they explained how she had been fined 20 shillings and costs for drunkenness.
There would have been no possibility of the woman finding such an amount of money and so prison would once again have been her inevitable destination.
Margaret Edwards could also expect a custodial sentence. The 29-year-old domestic servant appeared in court charged with stealing a pair of trousers from the house of John Foster in Eccleston.
He was working in his garden when he saw the woman approach his house and then walk away carrying a bundle and afterwards he missed a pair of trousers.
In her defence Mrs Edwards said a "strange woman" had given the pants to her.
By that she did not mean that the person was a bit weird – just that the alleged donor of the trousers was strange to her, i.e. a stranger.
Stealing so-called wearing apparel was a serious offence and Mrs Edwards was committed to the next Liverpool Assizes where she would likely receive a prison sentence of one or two months.
The St Helens Newspaper on the 15th reported how the first Catholic school in modern times had opened in Rainford.
The building had been constructed in brick with stone dressings and was described as strong and enduring, as opposed to being handsome.
There were two unusual aspects to the school, which would later be known as Corpus Christi.
Firstly, faiths did not normally build schools until a few years after their place of worship had been constructed.
But Father Powell – who was the driving force behind the scheme – saw education as the priority for local youngsters.
Also, the Catholic religion tended not to enjoy the same level of philanthropy as the Church of England and so they were normally plagued by debt for some years after building schools and churches.
But the whole £1,050 cost of the new building had either been raised or promised. The St Helens Newspaper wrote:
"This is all the more creditable, as the parish is a poor one, containing a small congregation, with a very slight sprinkling of persons possessing means."
The official opening was celebrated by a tea party and concert inside the new building and there was a packed attendance.
On the following morning the new school opened for business and 80 children attended, although the building could accommodate 135.
Father Powell was reported to have been so encouraged by the support that he had received, that building work on a church was expected to begin next February.
Walking across a private field often resulted in a prosecution, if the offenders could be identified.
This week four men were fined 1 shilling and costs each for damaging oats by running through a field that belonged to the Ravenhead Colliery Company.
And in a separate case, Robert Seddon, Thomas Webb, John Houghton, Edward Webb and Thomas Seddon were charged with damaging growing wheat in a field belonging to a farmer called Ralph Smith.
They were all small boys and one would've thought that a telling off would have been sufficient instead of dragging them into court.
In fact three of the children were under six. That was then seen as the minimum age of criminal responsibility and they were discharged or, as the St Helens Newspaper put it, "allowed to go about their business".
But Robert Seddon and Edward Webb who were at least six years old were both fined 2 shillings and costs.
William Ashton appeared in court charged with neglecting his family. He was brought up under warrant, which suggested that he had failed to attend court when previously summoned.
And so an arrest warrant had been issued which would likely have led to Ashton being in police custody for a day or two awaiting his day in court.
The St Helens Relieving officer James Fowler told the court that on July 31st Mrs Ashton had applied for the so-called parish relief, stating that her husband had deserted her.
Mr Fowler then accused William Ashton of being a "lazy, drunken, idle fellow, who could earn good wages at his trade as a painter, but preferred to be idle."
But as you would expect Mr Ashton denied this and declared to the court his willingness to "cherish" his wife.
He claimed to have been driven out of his house by the violence of his wife's children from her previous marriage.
That if true would likely have been to protect their mother from her husband.
William Ashton was ordered to repay the Prescot Guardians 11s 6d or go to prison for a month.
That amount would have been the money that the relieving officer had given to his wife as parish relief on behalf of the Guardians.
Rabies – or hydrophobia as it was then more commonly known – was the most feared disease of the 19th century due to the manner in which sufferers expired.
On the 15th a young woman from Blackbrook called Sarah Arkwright died from hydrophobia.
The 24-year-old had been bitten on her cheek and nose by a neighbour's dog that previously she had been quite friendly with.
The incident had occurred a month before and Sarah had not initially considered her wounds to be serious.
But they became increasingly painful and several weeks after suffering the bites, Dr Ricketts was called in and he ordered Sarah's immediate removal to the cottage hospital in Peasley Cross.
The Newspaper said she had "suffered extremely" before her death and displayed all the well-known symptoms of hydrophobia.
At Sarah's inquest her husband explained how two days before her death his wife had complained of severe thirst but when he had obtained some ale for her she had not been able to drink it.
Dr Ricketts also told the hearing that there was some ground for believing that rabies still existed in Haydock.
And in returning a verdict of death from hydrophobia, the jury advised the owners of dogs in the district to take precautions to prevent their animals from biting people.
The owner of the poor rabid dog, by the way, had drowned his animal immediately after it had bitten Sarah.
This advert in the Prescot Reporter on the 15th from a Liverpool hosiery firm called Lloyds caught my eye advising that the elixir to good health is to wear a good pair of knickers:
"OUR CLIMATE – There is no climate more variable than our own, and to guard against the effects of its sudden mutations underclothing is a matter which ought to engage a wise attention, otherwise neither health nor comfort can be long enjoyed. The largest, best, and cheapest stock of Hosiery in England, is at Lloyd's."
And finally, on the 16th John Glover, who lived in Glover Street in St Helens, was found face down in a pit near to Lyon's bottleworks where he was employed.
On the previous evening he had quarrelled with inmates of the house where he lodged and just after midnight Glover had stormed out.
It was yet another mysterious death in St Helens' numerous places of open water.
Had it been suicide or an accident? Triggered, perhaps, by drinking and the very dark nights that could make walking off the main streets in order to take a shortcut a perilous business.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include concern over the high rate of infant mortality in St Helens, the domestic servant's theft of cash from a Prescot doctor, the living skeletons in Whiston Workhouse and an inquiry into the water shortage in Whiston.
We begin on the 12th when Bridget Kildare made yet another appearance in St Helens Petty Sessions.
The Newspaper once sarcastically wrote that she'd "had the honour of a personal interview with almost every magistrate in the division".
This week they described Bridget as a "disreputable character" as they explained how she had been fined 20 shillings and costs for drunkenness.
There would have been no possibility of the woman finding such an amount of money and so prison would once again have been her inevitable destination.
Margaret Edwards could also expect a custodial sentence. The 29-year-old domestic servant appeared in court charged with stealing a pair of trousers from the house of John Foster in Eccleston.
He was working in his garden when he saw the woman approach his house and then walk away carrying a bundle and afterwards he missed a pair of trousers.
In her defence Mrs Edwards said a "strange woman" had given the pants to her.
By that she did not mean that the person was a bit weird – just that the alleged donor of the trousers was strange to her, i.e. a stranger.
Stealing so-called wearing apparel was a serious offence and Mrs Edwards was committed to the next Liverpool Assizes where she would likely receive a prison sentence of one or two months.
The building had been constructed in brick with stone dressings and was described as strong and enduring, as opposed to being handsome.
There were two unusual aspects to the school, which would later be known as Corpus Christi.
Firstly, faiths did not normally build schools until a few years after their place of worship had been constructed.
But Father Powell – who was the driving force behind the scheme – saw education as the priority for local youngsters.
Also, the Catholic religion tended not to enjoy the same level of philanthropy as the Church of England and so they were normally plagued by debt for some years after building schools and churches.
But the whole £1,050 cost of the new building had either been raised or promised. The St Helens Newspaper wrote:
"This is all the more creditable, as the parish is a poor one, containing a small congregation, with a very slight sprinkling of persons possessing means."
The official opening was celebrated by a tea party and concert inside the new building and there was a packed attendance.
On the following morning the new school opened for business and 80 children attended, although the building could accommodate 135.
Father Powell was reported to have been so encouraged by the support that he had received, that building work on a church was expected to begin next February.
Walking across a private field often resulted in a prosecution, if the offenders could be identified.
This week four men were fined 1 shilling and costs each for damaging oats by running through a field that belonged to the Ravenhead Colliery Company.
And in a separate case, Robert Seddon, Thomas Webb, John Houghton, Edward Webb and Thomas Seddon were charged with damaging growing wheat in a field belonging to a farmer called Ralph Smith.
They were all small boys and one would've thought that a telling off would have been sufficient instead of dragging them into court.
In fact three of the children were under six. That was then seen as the minimum age of criminal responsibility and they were discharged or, as the St Helens Newspaper put it, "allowed to go about their business".
But Robert Seddon and Edward Webb who were at least six years old were both fined 2 shillings and costs.
William Ashton appeared in court charged with neglecting his family. He was brought up under warrant, which suggested that he had failed to attend court when previously summoned.
And so an arrest warrant had been issued which would likely have led to Ashton being in police custody for a day or two awaiting his day in court.
The St Helens Relieving officer James Fowler told the court that on July 31st Mrs Ashton had applied for the so-called parish relief, stating that her husband had deserted her.
Mr Fowler then accused William Ashton of being a "lazy, drunken, idle fellow, who could earn good wages at his trade as a painter, but preferred to be idle."
But as you would expect Mr Ashton denied this and declared to the court his willingness to "cherish" his wife.
He claimed to have been driven out of his house by the violence of his wife's children from her previous marriage.
That if true would likely have been to protect their mother from her husband.
William Ashton was ordered to repay the Prescot Guardians 11s 6d or go to prison for a month.
That amount would have been the money that the relieving officer had given to his wife as parish relief on behalf of the Guardians.
Rabies – or hydrophobia as it was then more commonly known – was the most feared disease of the 19th century due to the manner in which sufferers expired.
On the 15th a young woman from Blackbrook called Sarah Arkwright died from hydrophobia.
The 24-year-old had been bitten on her cheek and nose by a neighbour's dog that previously she had been quite friendly with.
The incident had occurred a month before and Sarah had not initially considered her wounds to be serious.
But they became increasingly painful and several weeks after suffering the bites, Dr Ricketts was called in and he ordered Sarah's immediate removal to the cottage hospital in Peasley Cross.
The Newspaper said she had "suffered extremely" before her death and displayed all the well-known symptoms of hydrophobia.
At Sarah's inquest her husband explained how two days before her death his wife had complained of severe thirst but when he had obtained some ale for her she had not been able to drink it.
Dr Ricketts also told the hearing that there was some ground for believing that rabies still existed in Haydock.
And in returning a verdict of death from hydrophobia, the jury advised the owners of dogs in the district to take precautions to prevent their animals from biting people.
The owner of the poor rabid dog, by the way, had drowned his animal immediately after it had bitten Sarah.
This advert in the Prescot Reporter on the 15th from a Liverpool hosiery firm called Lloyds caught my eye advising that the elixir to good health is to wear a good pair of knickers:
"OUR CLIMATE – There is no climate more variable than our own, and to guard against the effects of its sudden mutations underclothing is a matter which ought to engage a wise attention, otherwise neither health nor comfort can be long enjoyed. The largest, best, and cheapest stock of Hosiery in England, is at Lloyd's."
And finally, on the 16th John Glover, who lived in Glover Street in St Helens, was found face down in a pit near to Lyon's bottleworks where he was employed.
On the previous evening he had quarrelled with inmates of the house where he lodged and just after midnight Glover had stormed out.
It was yet another mysterious death in St Helens' numerous places of open water.
Had it been suicide or an accident? Triggered, perhaps, by drinking and the very dark nights that could make walking off the main streets in order to take a shortcut a perilous business.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include concern over the high rate of infant mortality in St Helens, the domestic servant's theft of cash from a Prescot doctor, the living skeletons in Whiston Workhouse and an inquiry into the water shortage in Whiston.