150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (13th - 19th MARCH 1873)
This week's many stories include the poker battle between neighbours in Parr, a fierce attack on longwinded councillors, the appointment of a much-needed Medical Officer of Health for St Helens, the unlicensed gun in Rainford, the feckless Feigh family's harsh punishment and why the government inspector of chemical works in St Helens could do little to prevent shrubs at the Borough Cemetery from turning black.
The editor and owner of the St Helens Newspaper, Bernard Dromgoole, was exceedingly outspoken and made many enemies in his time. However, he was also exceedingly popular with many people for shaking up the status quo and being prepared to prick the pomposity of those with inflated egos. This is what he had to say in his paper on the 15th:
"It is deplorable that the interest of a town should, for even a few hours, be placed in the hands of such men as formed a majority of the meeting of the Water Committee, a report of whose proceedings will be found in another column. Unless the Mayor and other influential and leading members of the Council step in and repress the worse than boorish propensities of three or four members of the Council, who evidently think no business is done unless their long ears are tickled by the inharmonious sound of their own voices."
And the boorish members of the council with long, ticklish ears were named. The "clique" were called Jackson, Thomason and Pemberton and Bernard Dromgoole – after listing what he saw as the trio's past mistakes – said their "…oblique vision prevents them seeing beyond the ends of their noses. …We ask, are such men as these fit to govern a town, or be entrusted with its water supply? …men who have over and over again proved their incompetency for the position to which – unfortunately for the town – they have been elevated."
At long last St Helens was getting a Medical Officer of Health. The appointment had some controversy about it based on what that person's remit should be and how much they should be paid. But this week an advert for a medical officer appeared in the St Helens Newspaper at a salary of £200, initially for just 12 months. The precise job description still did not appear to have been decided. However, the successful applicant would in the future play a very important role in addressing health issues in unhealthy St Helens.
The St Helens Burial Board ran the Borough Cemetery and provided simple funerals for the very poor. At its monthly meeting in February their Registrar had described how a couple of days earlier smoke had swept over the cemetery. The fumes, he said, had done "inconceivable injury to the vegetation" and the leaves had been made to look as if they had all been "carefully black-leaded". The meeting decided to report the matter to Mr Fletcher, the government inspector of alkali works in St Helens, and samples of the affected leaves were sent. At this week's meeting of the Burial Board his report was read out which said:
"On examining the leaves, chemically, I found that they had been exposed to the acid vapours so common in the smokes of St. Helens. They were also coated with soot. In places the soot was so thick that it could be removed with a penknife. I have also visited the cemetery grounds, and observed the position of the injured shrubs. There can be no doubt that the injury proceeds from St. Helens. It seems to be the combined work of the various factories around the town, but is not, I think, traceable to one or two only.
"In saying this I fear I am only asserting that which you already know. Instead of this you doubtless expect from me some reason for hope that the evils complained of will cease. I wish it were in my power fully to give this. The Alkali Act, as you know, forbids the excessive escape of muriatic acid from alkali works, but it does not interfere with its escape from other works, nor the escape of other acid vapours from any works, though some of these vapours are very injurious to vegetation."
Alfred Fletcher was explaining that his hands were tied as the law only forbade an excessive amount of discharge of a certain type of acid specifically from chemical works. Other factories in St Helens – copper, glass, etc. – could pump out whatever they liked, largely with impunity. Mr Fletcher's letter went on to explain that if had not been for his "constant inspection" of chemical works, discharges would be much worse and that most escapes were not known to the workmen inside the plant.
The biggest worry that the authorities seemed to have with gun possession was not so much their potential for use in violent acts – but whether or not the weapon was licensed. And you got your licence for your gun at the post office in the same way that you might get a dog licence. And failure to be licensed could mean a quite hefty fine.
In St Helens Petty Sessions on the 17th, Peter Smith pleaded guilty to using a gun without a licence in Rainford. The Inland Revenue was responsible for such prosecutions and their district supervisor told the magistrates that the fine for possessing an unlicensed gun was £10. However, he said if the Bench thought it right to reduce the fine to a quarter of that amount, the Revenue would not object. And so a fine of £2 10 shillings was levelled at Smith – around a fortnight's wages for many workers.
Also in court was John Blaize who pleaded guilty to working his horse while in an unfit state at Peckers Hill in Sutton. Sergeant Bee told the magistrates that the animal had a very raw wound on its shoulder, which must have been there for a day or two. Blaize was fined 6s 6d and costs.
Yet another neighbourly row in Parr was described in court when Owen and Mary Devany were charged with threatening to assault Margaret Bailey and breaking her door. In fact there had been two rows, as Mrs Bailey explained to the Bench that a woman had come to her house to "make a dust with her". The noise of their squabble attracted the Devanys who came to her door and created a "woeful" noise as they tried to smash their way in.
A witness called Francis Gormley said that he had witnessed the attack on the house but also described some resistance. He said Mrs Bailey had used a poker to defend her home and a son of the Devanys then made use of another poker to hit her with. The magistrates had heard countless such cases before and knew it was likely that both sides had been as bad as each other and so dismissed the charge.
Lodging houses could be in a shocking condition with many men sharing the same room and even the same bed – if they were fortunate enough to have a bed. On the 18th at the Prescot Petty Sessions, three proprietors of lodging houses in Prescot called John Wilkinson, Mary Ellwood and Michael McNally were summoned for having their houses in such a dirty state that they were considered unfit to receive lodgers. They were fined 2s 6d, 10s and 15 shillings, respectively.
You have to feel sorry for Margaret Feigh. She was married to Denis Feigh, who was regularly in court for drunkenness and rarely worked. She was in court on the 19th charged with begging in Westfield Street and Rigby Street, along with her young daughter. Supt. James Ludlam was in charge of St Helens Police and told the magistrates that Margaret was a "bad character" who was making her 19th court appearance, adding:
"The whole family lived by begging, except the father, who drank all he could earn." It didn't seem to occur to anyone that they probably had little choice but to beg. Margaret was sent to prison for a month and her little daughter Catherine – who had also been charged with begging – was discharged. Again, no one seemed to care as to what would happen to her with her mother in Kirkdale Gaol.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the bricklayers and tailors' demands for more pay, the Great Vance comes to St Helens, the prosecutions for leaving jobs without notice and St Thomas National School gets a glowing inspector's report.
The editor and owner of the St Helens Newspaper, Bernard Dromgoole, was exceedingly outspoken and made many enemies in his time. However, he was also exceedingly popular with many people for shaking up the status quo and being prepared to prick the pomposity of those with inflated egos. This is what he had to say in his paper on the 15th:
"It is deplorable that the interest of a town should, for even a few hours, be placed in the hands of such men as formed a majority of the meeting of the Water Committee, a report of whose proceedings will be found in another column. Unless the Mayor and other influential and leading members of the Council step in and repress the worse than boorish propensities of three or four members of the Council, who evidently think no business is done unless their long ears are tickled by the inharmonious sound of their own voices."
At long last St Helens was getting a Medical Officer of Health. The appointment had some controversy about it based on what that person's remit should be and how much they should be paid. But this week an advert for a medical officer appeared in the St Helens Newspaper at a salary of £200, initially for just 12 months. The precise job description still did not appear to have been decided. However, the successful applicant would in the future play a very important role in addressing health issues in unhealthy St Helens.
The St Helens Burial Board ran the Borough Cemetery and provided simple funerals for the very poor. At its monthly meeting in February their Registrar had described how a couple of days earlier smoke had swept over the cemetery. The fumes, he said, had done "inconceivable injury to the vegetation" and the leaves had been made to look as if they had all been "carefully black-leaded". The meeting decided to report the matter to Mr Fletcher, the government inspector of alkali works in St Helens, and samples of the affected leaves were sent. At this week's meeting of the Burial Board his report was read out which said:
"On examining the leaves, chemically, I found that they had been exposed to the acid vapours so common in the smokes of St. Helens. They were also coated with soot. In places the soot was so thick that it could be removed with a penknife. I have also visited the cemetery grounds, and observed the position of the injured shrubs. There can be no doubt that the injury proceeds from St. Helens. It seems to be the combined work of the various factories around the town, but is not, I think, traceable to one or two only.
"In saying this I fear I am only asserting that which you already know. Instead of this you doubtless expect from me some reason for hope that the evils complained of will cease. I wish it were in my power fully to give this. The Alkali Act, as you know, forbids the excessive escape of muriatic acid from alkali works, but it does not interfere with its escape from other works, nor the escape of other acid vapours from any works, though some of these vapours are very injurious to vegetation."
Alfred Fletcher was explaining that his hands were tied as the law only forbade an excessive amount of discharge of a certain type of acid specifically from chemical works. Other factories in St Helens – copper, glass, etc. – could pump out whatever they liked, largely with impunity. Mr Fletcher's letter went on to explain that if had not been for his "constant inspection" of chemical works, discharges would be much worse and that most escapes were not known to the workmen inside the plant.
The biggest worry that the authorities seemed to have with gun possession was not so much their potential for use in violent acts – but whether or not the weapon was licensed. And you got your licence for your gun at the post office in the same way that you might get a dog licence. And failure to be licensed could mean a quite hefty fine.
In St Helens Petty Sessions on the 17th, Peter Smith pleaded guilty to using a gun without a licence in Rainford. The Inland Revenue was responsible for such prosecutions and their district supervisor told the magistrates that the fine for possessing an unlicensed gun was £10. However, he said if the Bench thought it right to reduce the fine to a quarter of that amount, the Revenue would not object. And so a fine of £2 10 shillings was levelled at Smith – around a fortnight's wages for many workers.
Also in court was John Blaize who pleaded guilty to working his horse while in an unfit state at Peckers Hill in Sutton. Sergeant Bee told the magistrates that the animal had a very raw wound on its shoulder, which must have been there for a day or two. Blaize was fined 6s 6d and costs.
Yet another neighbourly row in Parr was described in court when Owen and Mary Devany were charged with threatening to assault Margaret Bailey and breaking her door. In fact there had been two rows, as Mrs Bailey explained to the Bench that a woman had come to her house to "make a dust with her". The noise of their squabble attracted the Devanys who came to her door and created a "woeful" noise as they tried to smash their way in.
A witness called Francis Gormley said that he had witnessed the attack on the house but also described some resistance. He said Mrs Bailey had used a poker to defend her home and a son of the Devanys then made use of another poker to hit her with. The magistrates had heard countless such cases before and knew it was likely that both sides had been as bad as each other and so dismissed the charge.
Lodging houses could be in a shocking condition with many men sharing the same room and even the same bed – if they were fortunate enough to have a bed. On the 18th at the Prescot Petty Sessions, three proprietors of lodging houses in Prescot called John Wilkinson, Mary Ellwood and Michael McNally were summoned for having their houses in such a dirty state that they were considered unfit to receive lodgers. They were fined 2s 6d, 10s and 15 shillings, respectively.
You have to feel sorry for Margaret Feigh. She was married to Denis Feigh, who was regularly in court for drunkenness and rarely worked. She was in court on the 19th charged with begging in Westfield Street and Rigby Street, along with her young daughter. Supt. James Ludlam was in charge of St Helens Police and told the magistrates that Margaret was a "bad character" who was making her 19th court appearance, adding:
"The whole family lived by begging, except the father, who drank all he could earn." It didn't seem to occur to anyone that they probably had little choice but to beg. Margaret was sent to prison for a month and her little daughter Catherine – who had also been charged with begging – was discharged. Again, no one seemed to care as to what would happen to her with her mother in Kirkdale Gaol.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the bricklayers and tailors' demands for more pay, the Great Vance comes to St Helens, the prosecutions for leaving jobs without notice and St Thomas National School gets a glowing inspector's report.
This week's many stories include the poker battle between neighbours in Parr, a fierce attack on longwinded councillors, the appointment of a much-needed Medical Officer of Health for St Helens, the unlicensed gun in Rainford, the feckless Feigh family's harsh punishment and why the government inspector of chemical works in St Helens could do little to prevent shrubs at the Borough Cemetery from turning black.
The editor and owner of the St Helens Newspaper, Bernard Dromgoole, was exceedingly outspoken and made many enemies in his time.
However, he was also exceedingly popular with many people for shaking up the status quo and being prepared to prick the pomposity of those with inflated egos. This is what he had to say in his paper on the 15th:
"It is deplorable that the interest of a town should, for even a few hours, be placed in the hands of such men as formed a majority of the meeting of the Water Committee, a report of whose proceedings will be found in another column.
"Unless the Mayor and other influential and leading members of the Council step in and repress the worse than boorish propensities of three or four members of the Council, who evidently think no business is done unless their long ears are tickled by the inharmonious sound of their own voices."
And the boorish members of the council with long, ticklish ears were named. The "clique" were called Jackson, Thomason and Pemberton and Bernard Dromgoole – after listing what he saw as the trio's past mistakes – said their…
"…oblique vision prevents them seeing beyond the ends of their noses. …We ask, are such men as these fit to govern a town, or be entrusted with its water supply? …men who have over and over again proved their incompetency for the position to which – unfortunately for the town – they have been elevated."
At long last St Helens was getting a Medical Officer of Health. The appointment had some controversy about it based on what that person's remit should be and how much they should be paid.
But this week an advert for a medical officer appeared in the St Helens Newspaper at a salary of £200, initially for just 12 months.
The precise job description still did not appear to have been decided. However, the successful applicant would in the future play a very important role in addressing health issues in unhealthy St Helens.
The St Helens Burial Board ran the Borough Cemetery and provided simple funerals for the very poor.
At its monthly meeting in February their Registrar had described how a couple of days earlier smoke had swept over the cemetery.
The fumes, he said, had done "inconceivable injury to the vegetation" and the leaves had been made to look as if they had all been "carefully black-leaded".
The meeting decided to report the matter to Mr Fletcher, the government inspector of alkali works in St Helens, and samples of the affected leaves were sent. At this week's meeting of the Burial Board his report was read out which said:
"On examining the leaves, chemically, I found that they had been exposed to the acid vapours so common in the smokes of St. Helens. They were also coated with soot. In places the soot was so thick that it could be removed with a penknife.
"I have also visited the cemetery grounds, and observed the position of the injured shrubs. There can be no doubt that the injury proceeds from St. Helens. It seems to be the combined work of the various factories around the town, but is not, I think, traceable to one or two only.
"In saying this I fear I am only asserting that which you already know. Instead of this you doubtless expect from me some reason for hope that the evils complained of will cease. I wish it were in my power fully to give this.
"The Alkali Act, as you know, forbids the excessive escape of muriatic acid from alkali works, but it does not interfere with its escape from other works, nor the escape of other acid vapours from any works, though some of these vapours are very injurious to vegetation."
Alfred Fletcher was explaining that his hands were tied as the law only forbade an excessive amount of discharge of a certain type of acid specifically from chemical works.
Other factories in St Helens – copper, glass, etc. – could pump out whatever they liked, largely with impunity.
Mr Fletcher's letter went on to explain that if had not been for his "constant inspection" of chemical works, discharges would be much worse and that most escapes were not known to the workmen inside the plant.
The biggest worry that the authorities seemed to have with gun possession was not so much their potential for use in violent acts – but whether or not the weapon was licensed.
And you got your licence for your gun at the post office in the same way that you might get a dog licence. And failure to be licensed could mean a quite hefty fine.
In St Helens Petty Sessions on the 17th, Peter Smith pleaded guilty to using a gun without a licence in Rainford.
The Inland Revenue was responsible for such prosecutions and their district supervisor told the magistrates that the fine for possessing an unlicensed gun was £10.
However, he said if the Bench thought it right to reduce the fine to a quarter of that amount, the Revenue would not object.
And so a fine of £2 10 shillings was levelled at Smith – around a fortnight's wages for many workers.
Also in court was John Blaize who pleaded guilty to working his horse while in an unfit state at Peckers Hill in Sutton.
Sergeant Bee told the magistrates that the animal had a very raw wound on its shoulder, which must have been there for a day or two. Blaize was fined 6s 6d and costs.
Yet another neighbourly row in Parr was described in court when Owen and Mary Devany were charged with threatening to assault Margaret Bailey and breaking her door.
In fact there had been two rows, as Mrs Bailey explained to the Bench that a woman had come to her house to "make a dust with her".
The noise of their squabble attracted the Devanys who came to her door and created a "woeful" noise as they tried to smash their way in.
A witness called Francis Gormley said that he had witnessed the attack on the house but also described some resistance.
He said Mrs Bailey had used a poker to defend her home and a son of the Devanys then made use of another poker to hit her with.
The magistrates had heard countless such cases before and knew it was likely that both sides had been as bad as each other and so dismissed the charge.
Lodging houses could be in a shocking condition with many men sharing the same room and even the same bed – if they were fortunate enough to have a bed.
On the 18th at the Prescot Petty Sessions, three proprietors of lodging houses in Prescot called John Wilkinson, Mary Ellwood and Michael McNally were summoned for having their houses in such a dirty state that they were considered unfit to receive lodgers. They were fined 2s 6d, 10s and 15 shillings, respectively.
You have to feel sorry for Margaret Feigh. She was married to Denis Feigh, who was regularly in court for drunkenness and rarely worked.
She was in court on the 19th charged with begging in Westfield Street and Rigby Street, along with her young daughter.
Supt. James Ludlam was in charge of St Helens Police and told the magistrates that Margaret was a "bad character" who was making her 19th court appearance, adding:
"The whole family lived by begging, except the father, who drank all he could earn."
It didn't seem to occur to anyone that they probably had little choice but to beg. Margaret was sent to prison for a month and her little daughter Catherine – who had also been charged with begging – was discharged.
Again, no one seemed to care as to what would happen to her with her mother in Kirkdale Gaol.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the bricklayers and tailors' demands for more pay, the Great Vance comes to St Helens, the prosecutions for leaving jobs without notice and St Thomas National School gets a glowing inspector's report.
The editor and owner of the St Helens Newspaper, Bernard Dromgoole, was exceedingly outspoken and made many enemies in his time.
However, he was also exceedingly popular with many people for shaking up the status quo and being prepared to prick the pomposity of those with inflated egos. This is what he had to say in his paper on the 15th:
"It is deplorable that the interest of a town should, for even a few hours, be placed in the hands of such men as formed a majority of the meeting of the Water Committee, a report of whose proceedings will be found in another column.
"Unless the Mayor and other influential and leading members of the Council step in and repress the worse than boorish propensities of three or four members of the Council, who evidently think no business is done unless their long ears are tickled by the inharmonious sound of their own voices."
"…oblique vision prevents them seeing beyond the ends of their noses. …We ask, are such men as these fit to govern a town, or be entrusted with its water supply? …men who have over and over again proved their incompetency for the position to which – unfortunately for the town – they have been elevated."
At long last St Helens was getting a Medical Officer of Health. The appointment had some controversy about it based on what that person's remit should be and how much they should be paid.
But this week an advert for a medical officer appeared in the St Helens Newspaper at a salary of £200, initially for just 12 months.
The precise job description still did not appear to have been decided. However, the successful applicant would in the future play a very important role in addressing health issues in unhealthy St Helens.
The St Helens Burial Board ran the Borough Cemetery and provided simple funerals for the very poor.
At its monthly meeting in February their Registrar had described how a couple of days earlier smoke had swept over the cemetery.
The fumes, he said, had done "inconceivable injury to the vegetation" and the leaves had been made to look as if they had all been "carefully black-leaded".
The meeting decided to report the matter to Mr Fletcher, the government inspector of alkali works in St Helens, and samples of the affected leaves were sent. At this week's meeting of the Burial Board his report was read out which said:
"On examining the leaves, chemically, I found that they had been exposed to the acid vapours so common in the smokes of St. Helens. They were also coated with soot. In places the soot was so thick that it could be removed with a penknife.
"I have also visited the cemetery grounds, and observed the position of the injured shrubs. There can be no doubt that the injury proceeds from St. Helens. It seems to be the combined work of the various factories around the town, but is not, I think, traceable to one or two only.
"In saying this I fear I am only asserting that which you already know. Instead of this you doubtless expect from me some reason for hope that the evils complained of will cease. I wish it were in my power fully to give this.
"The Alkali Act, as you know, forbids the excessive escape of muriatic acid from alkali works, but it does not interfere with its escape from other works, nor the escape of other acid vapours from any works, though some of these vapours are very injurious to vegetation."
Alfred Fletcher was explaining that his hands were tied as the law only forbade an excessive amount of discharge of a certain type of acid specifically from chemical works.
Other factories in St Helens – copper, glass, etc. – could pump out whatever they liked, largely with impunity.
Mr Fletcher's letter went on to explain that if had not been for his "constant inspection" of chemical works, discharges would be much worse and that most escapes were not known to the workmen inside the plant.
The biggest worry that the authorities seemed to have with gun possession was not so much their potential for use in violent acts – but whether or not the weapon was licensed.
And you got your licence for your gun at the post office in the same way that you might get a dog licence. And failure to be licensed could mean a quite hefty fine.
In St Helens Petty Sessions on the 17th, Peter Smith pleaded guilty to using a gun without a licence in Rainford.
The Inland Revenue was responsible for such prosecutions and their district supervisor told the magistrates that the fine for possessing an unlicensed gun was £10.
However, he said if the Bench thought it right to reduce the fine to a quarter of that amount, the Revenue would not object.
And so a fine of £2 10 shillings was levelled at Smith – around a fortnight's wages for many workers.
Also in court was John Blaize who pleaded guilty to working his horse while in an unfit state at Peckers Hill in Sutton.
Sergeant Bee told the magistrates that the animal had a very raw wound on its shoulder, which must have been there for a day or two. Blaize was fined 6s 6d and costs.
Yet another neighbourly row in Parr was described in court when Owen and Mary Devany were charged with threatening to assault Margaret Bailey and breaking her door.
In fact there had been two rows, as Mrs Bailey explained to the Bench that a woman had come to her house to "make a dust with her".
The noise of their squabble attracted the Devanys who came to her door and created a "woeful" noise as they tried to smash their way in.
A witness called Francis Gormley said that he had witnessed the attack on the house but also described some resistance.
He said Mrs Bailey had used a poker to defend her home and a son of the Devanys then made use of another poker to hit her with.
The magistrates had heard countless such cases before and knew it was likely that both sides had been as bad as each other and so dismissed the charge.
Lodging houses could be in a shocking condition with many men sharing the same room and even the same bed – if they were fortunate enough to have a bed.
On the 18th at the Prescot Petty Sessions, three proprietors of lodging houses in Prescot called John Wilkinson, Mary Ellwood and Michael McNally were summoned for having their houses in such a dirty state that they were considered unfit to receive lodgers. They were fined 2s 6d, 10s and 15 shillings, respectively.
You have to feel sorry for Margaret Feigh. She was married to Denis Feigh, who was regularly in court for drunkenness and rarely worked.
She was in court on the 19th charged with begging in Westfield Street and Rigby Street, along with her young daughter.
Supt. James Ludlam was in charge of St Helens Police and told the magistrates that Margaret was a "bad character" who was making her 19th court appearance, adding:
"The whole family lived by begging, except the father, who drank all he could earn."
It didn't seem to occur to anyone that they probably had little choice but to beg. Margaret was sent to prison for a month and her little daughter Catherine – who had also been charged with begging – was discharged.
Again, no one seemed to care as to what would happen to her with her mother in Kirkdale Gaol.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next week's stories will include the bricklayers and tailors' demands for more pay, the Great Vance comes to St Helens, the prosecutions for leaving jobs without notice and St Thomas National School gets a glowing inspector's report.