150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (14th - 20th January 1869)
This week's stories include a Water Street child tragedy, a Parr poker assault on Christmas Day, the two little girl thieves in Ormskirk Street, a horse beater in Exchange Street, the two canal inspectors who came to grief near Liverpool Road and severe sentences are handed out to St Helens' folk at the Liverpool Quarter Sessions.
We begin on the 18th in Bridge Street where an inquest was held on a 21-month-old child from Water Street. Mary Philips had been left in her house in the care of a four-year-old child while her mother went outside to talk to her son. Mrs Philips was only away for a few minutes but when she returned she found little Mary covered in flames with the older child "screaming fearfully".
A neighbour learning of the fire ran into the house with a bucket full of water but mistaking the victim threw the water over the mother. It would have been a comical scene if it had not been so tragic. Upon replenishing the bucket its contents were finally thrown over the child but as the St Helens Newspaper put it: "the poor little thing was beyond all further measures of preservation".
It was learnt that while her mother had been outside, Mary had walked towards the house fire to pick up some food that was being cooked. Upon reaching towards the fire her clothes were set ablaze. It was the usual problem of children wearing highly flammable clothing and the jury brought in the usual verdict of accidental death.
There was another long list of cases dealt with at the St Helens Petty Sessions on the 18th. These were held within the Town Hall, which was then in New Market Place, at the end of Exchange Street. The courtroom had briefly been in the Raven Inn before transferring in 1839 to the new, utilitarian building, with dances and public dinners also taking placing within the same space. The furnishings in the courtroom were cleverly designed to disappear below floor level when they were not needed.
The magistrates in the Petty Sessions ordered James Burchall to pay an 8-shilling fine for cruelly beating a horse with the shaft of a potato fork. The lad of about sixteen was seen in Exchange Street by Police Sergeant Myers and upon being questioned said he had not been able to get the horse to remain still. "No wonder", said the Chairman of the Bench, suggesting that the animal was hardly likely to keep stationary if it was being beaten.
The wives of defendants sometimes got very angry in the courts over how they felt the magistrates had treated their husbands. After grocer William Makin of Parr Flat was fined £2 9s for having his scales set against the purchaser, his wife, according to the St Helens Newspaper, made "an exceeding uproar", complaining that their case had not been properly heard and was only "quieted with some difficulty".
One of the leading builders in St Helens during the 19th century was George Harris, who was responsible for constructing large numbers of cottages, factories and churches. Harris and Sherratt (and later George Harris and Son) also built many of the spacious buildings in the new residential areas of Cowley Hill and St Ann's.
One of the cases at the Petty Sessions concerned a theft of 93 pounds of lead from Harris's yard in Liverpool Road. Henry Harris told the court that he had seen Henry Swift in his father’s yard and noticing something bulky underneath his coat, he grabbed hold of the man and found the lead.
Swift admitted selling stolen lead to a dealer in Claughton Street, as well as to another person. The man had previously been in court for lead thieving and so was sent to prison for two months with hard labour.
They were certainly fans of the short, sharp shock in the 1860s. What were described as "two little girls" were ordered to be locked up for one day for stealing three antimacassar cloths. Jane Boyle and Margaret Cullen had taken the fabrics – that were usually placed over the backs of chairs – off a clothes line in Ormskirk Street.
Little Margaret took the cloths to Moxon's pawnshop in Baldwin Street but they were suspicious and refused to accept them. As well as ordering that the children be confined for a day, the magistrates told their mothers to be more careful with them in future.
Owen Farde was charged with committing an assault upon a Mrs Marsh in what was described as College Lane. It was alleged that he had knocked the woman down and then tried to indecently assault her. However she resisted and screamed and was heard by Constable Gilligan who arrested the man. The prisoner pleaded drunkenness as an excuse for his behaviour. But the magistrates were having none of it and sent Farde to prison for a month with hard labour.
Beerhouse keepers often came up with dubious excuses after being caught serving ale out of hours. Daniel Woods' reason for keeping his house in New Market Place open at 2am was that he was holding a house warming. The magistrates fined him 5 shillings.
Margaret Butterworth appeared in court charged with assaulting Ellen Thompson with a poker at around 11pm on Christmas Day. This was after Ellen had pushed her way into Margaret's home in Parr and in response she struck her on the head and arms. Superintendent Ludlam told the Bench that Mrs Thompson had not been fit to attend court until now and she gave evidence with a large bandage wrapped around her forehead.
Margaret's defence counsel said an Englishman's house is his castle and his client had every right to use the poker to deny Ellen Thompson entry. He also argued that the woman's health problems had been aggravated because she delayed getting proper medical treatment, which had led to the infection erysipelas setting in. The magistrates committed the woman for trial at the next Kirkdale quarter sessions where she was bound over to keep the peace.
At about half-past eight on the 19th the bodies of two young men were found in the St Helens Canal in the area known as Greenbank around Liverpool Road. A workman of the St Helens Alkali Company discovered the pair, who were identified as William Ellison from Warrington and John Sinclair of Winwick. They had both been employed by the London and North-Western Railway Company as overlookers (or superintendents) of the canal.
The belief was that the pair had been checking inlets into the waterway from the chemical works and had stooped over the edge of the canal. They were then overpowered by poisonous gases and had fallen into the water and drowned. The jury at the men's inquest held at the Star Inn in Liverpool Road was told that this explanation was supported by a post mortem examination.
On the 19th at Prescot Petty Sessions six young men were charged with assaulting John Johnson at Whiston Colliery, breaking his arm and inflicting other injuries. There was some difficulty proving which of them had actually been the assailants and so the magistrates suggested that the defendants should offer their victim some compensation and they would then dismiss the case.
A man called George Nixon was sent to prison for a month for owing nine weeks arrears of maintenance payments to his separated wife that amounted to £2.
Also on the 19th a trotting match was held from the Bird-in-Hand in Prescot Road to Eccleston Lane Ends for the sum of £5. These events were often held and much gambling took place on the winner. Only two nags competed at any one time, so you had a 50% chance of being right! The two contestants were "Mr. Bagshaw's celebrated Prescot pony" and Jonathan Wrigley's cob 'Sirloin'. The race was described as having been well contested but the Prescot pony won by several lengths.
Before the Crown Courts were created in 1972, Quarter Sessions were held at four set times each year in order to try the more serious crimes. On the 19th the Liverpool Quarter Sessions were held in the courtroom at Kirkdale Gaol. This was very convenient for the authorities, as those found guilty and imprisoned would only have a short walk to their prison cell.
Some of the defendants from the St Helens' district were handed some really harsh sentences. Not least 21-year-old Mary Lawler from Parr who was given six months for stealing 2¾ lb of pork from John Littler's shop. Mary did have some prior convictions but her sentence still sounds excessive.
Housekeeper Mary Rigley (43) received two months for stealing 4lbs of sugar and other articles from John Roberts at Windle. Miner Thomas Littler (36) received two years hard labour for stealing an umbrella and 2d on Christmas Day from James Aspinall in Ashton-in-Makerfield.
Twenty-five-year-old miner James Johnson received a year at Queen Victoria's pleasure for stealing a hammer and a trowel in Parr. There was also soldier Joseph Saxon (19) who was sentenced to three months in prison for stealing a chicken in Parr.
It appears the bigger the animal the longer the sentence as labourer Thomas Chadwick (46) was given two years at Kirkdale for stealing a pig. There were many other similar sentences and although the durations of their trials were not stated in the newspaper reports, most hearings in the 1860s lasted no more than a few minutes.
Next week's stories include the Parr man who tried to strangle his wife, a startling Sutton train incident, the man of East Indian blood in Bridge Street, the double locks drawbridge drowning in Parr, the Sunday morning beerhouse dilemma, the St Helens dog deniers and the bodies of the Rainford miners that fell down a pit shaft are retrieved.
We begin on the 18th in Bridge Street where an inquest was held on a 21-month-old child from Water Street. Mary Philips had been left in her house in the care of a four-year-old child while her mother went outside to talk to her son. Mrs Philips was only away for a few minutes but when she returned she found little Mary covered in flames with the older child "screaming fearfully".
A neighbour learning of the fire ran into the house with a bucket full of water but mistaking the victim threw the water over the mother. It would have been a comical scene if it had not been so tragic. Upon replenishing the bucket its contents were finally thrown over the child but as the St Helens Newspaper put it: "the poor little thing was beyond all further measures of preservation".
It was learnt that while her mother had been outside, Mary had walked towards the house fire to pick up some food that was being cooked. Upon reaching towards the fire her clothes were set ablaze. It was the usual problem of children wearing highly flammable clothing and the jury brought in the usual verdict of accidental death.
The magistrates in the Petty Sessions ordered James Burchall to pay an 8-shilling fine for cruelly beating a horse with the shaft of a potato fork. The lad of about sixteen was seen in Exchange Street by Police Sergeant Myers and upon being questioned said he had not been able to get the horse to remain still. "No wonder", said the Chairman of the Bench, suggesting that the animal was hardly likely to keep stationary if it was being beaten.
The wives of defendants sometimes got very angry in the courts over how they felt the magistrates had treated their husbands. After grocer William Makin of Parr Flat was fined £2 9s for having his scales set against the purchaser, his wife, according to the St Helens Newspaper, made "an exceeding uproar", complaining that their case had not been properly heard and was only "quieted with some difficulty".
One of the leading builders in St Helens during the 19th century was George Harris, who was responsible for constructing large numbers of cottages, factories and churches. Harris and Sherratt (and later George Harris and Son) also built many of the spacious buildings in the new residential areas of Cowley Hill and St Ann's.
One of the cases at the Petty Sessions concerned a theft of 93 pounds of lead from Harris's yard in Liverpool Road. Henry Harris told the court that he had seen Henry Swift in his father’s yard and noticing something bulky underneath his coat, he grabbed hold of the man and found the lead.
Swift admitted selling stolen lead to a dealer in Claughton Street, as well as to another person. The man had previously been in court for lead thieving and so was sent to prison for two months with hard labour.
They were certainly fans of the short, sharp shock in the 1860s. What were described as "two little girls" were ordered to be locked up for one day for stealing three antimacassar cloths. Jane Boyle and Margaret Cullen had taken the fabrics – that were usually placed over the backs of chairs – off a clothes line in Ormskirk Street.
Little Margaret took the cloths to Moxon's pawnshop in Baldwin Street but they were suspicious and refused to accept them. As well as ordering that the children be confined for a day, the magistrates told their mothers to be more careful with them in future.
Owen Farde was charged with committing an assault upon a Mrs Marsh in what was described as College Lane. It was alleged that he had knocked the woman down and then tried to indecently assault her. However she resisted and screamed and was heard by Constable Gilligan who arrested the man. The prisoner pleaded drunkenness as an excuse for his behaviour. But the magistrates were having none of it and sent Farde to prison for a month with hard labour.
Beerhouse keepers often came up with dubious excuses after being caught serving ale out of hours. Daniel Woods' reason for keeping his house in New Market Place open at 2am was that he was holding a house warming. The magistrates fined him 5 shillings.
Margaret Butterworth appeared in court charged with assaulting Ellen Thompson with a poker at around 11pm on Christmas Day. This was after Ellen had pushed her way into Margaret's home in Parr and in response she struck her on the head and arms. Superintendent Ludlam told the Bench that Mrs Thompson had not been fit to attend court until now and she gave evidence with a large bandage wrapped around her forehead.
Margaret's defence counsel said an Englishman's house is his castle and his client had every right to use the poker to deny Ellen Thompson entry. He also argued that the woman's health problems had been aggravated because she delayed getting proper medical treatment, which had led to the infection erysipelas setting in. The magistrates committed the woman for trial at the next Kirkdale quarter sessions where she was bound over to keep the peace.
At about half-past eight on the 19th the bodies of two young men were found in the St Helens Canal in the area known as Greenbank around Liverpool Road. A workman of the St Helens Alkali Company discovered the pair, who were identified as William Ellison from Warrington and John Sinclair of Winwick. They had both been employed by the London and North-Western Railway Company as overlookers (or superintendents) of the canal.
The belief was that the pair had been checking inlets into the waterway from the chemical works and had stooped over the edge of the canal. They were then overpowered by poisonous gases and had fallen into the water and drowned. The jury at the men's inquest held at the Star Inn in Liverpool Road was told that this explanation was supported by a post mortem examination.
On the 19th at Prescot Petty Sessions six young men were charged with assaulting John Johnson at Whiston Colliery, breaking his arm and inflicting other injuries. There was some difficulty proving which of them had actually been the assailants and so the magistrates suggested that the defendants should offer their victim some compensation and they would then dismiss the case.
A man called George Nixon was sent to prison for a month for owing nine weeks arrears of maintenance payments to his separated wife that amounted to £2.
Also on the 19th a trotting match was held from the Bird-in-Hand in Prescot Road to Eccleston Lane Ends for the sum of £5. These events were often held and much gambling took place on the winner. Only two nags competed at any one time, so you had a 50% chance of being right! The two contestants were "Mr. Bagshaw's celebrated Prescot pony" and Jonathan Wrigley's cob 'Sirloin'. The race was described as having been well contested but the Prescot pony won by several lengths.
Before the Crown Courts were created in 1972, Quarter Sessions were held at four set times each year in order to try the more serious crimes. On the 19th the Liverpool Quarter Sessions were held in the courtroom at Kirkdale Gaol. This was very convenient for the authorities, as those found guilty and imprisoned would only have a short walk to their prison cell.
Some of the defendants from the St Helens' district were handed some really harsh sentences. Not least 21-year-old Mary Lawler from Parr who was given six months for stealing 2¾ lb of pork from John Littler's shop. Mary did have some prior convictions but her sentence still sounds excessive.
Housekeeper Mary Rigley (43) received two months for stealing 4lbs of sugar and other articles from John Roberts at Windle. Miner Thomas Littler (36) received two years hard labour for stealing an umbrella and 2d on Christmas Day from James Aspinall in Ashton-in-Makerfield.
Twenty-five-year-old miner James Johnson received a year at Queen Victoria's pleasure for stealing a hammer and a trowel in Parr. There was also soldier Joseph Saxon (19) who was sentenced to three months in prison for stealing a chicken in Parr.
It appears the bigger the animal the longer the sentence as labourer Thomas Chadwick (46) was given two years at Kirkdale for stealing a pig. There were many other similar sentences and although the durations of their trials were not stated in the newspaper reports, most hearings in the 1860s lasted no more than a few minutes.
Next week's stories include the Parr man who tried to strangle his wife, a startling Sutton train incident, the man of East Indian blood in Bridge Street, the double locks drawbridge drowning in Parr, the Sunday morning beerhouse dilemma, the St Helens dog deniers and the bodies of the Rainford miners that fell down a pit shaft are retrieved.