150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (18th - 24th NOVEMBER 1869)
This week's stories include the Greenbank women who put on an act in court, the drunks that died in St Helens Canal, the abused Newton servant girl who cut her throat, the council consider having a borough police force, the state-of-the art steam printing in Hardshaw Street and the brick-throwing fracas at Pilks.
We begin on the 18th when the Prescot Board of Guardians met in the boardroom at Whiston Workhouse (pictured above). Their clerk asked whether the paupers would be allowed to have a Christmas tree and fête this year – by that he meant some entertainment on the day. Getting a positive reply, the clerk said a Mr Birchall had offered to provide a tree and some ladies at Rainhill had volunteered to assist him.
It was common for young servants to be ill-treated by their bosses and some reacted badly to it. The Wigan Observer wrote on the 19th how a servant girl called Ann Davenport had cut her throat with a razor after several days of harsh treatment from her "master". He was innkeeper Robert Price of Cross Lane in Newton-le-Willows, who amongst other abuses had accused Ann of stealing some money, of which she was completely innocent.
Fortunately Price's daughter saw a pool of blood running from an outbuilding and told her father, who forced open a door and found Ann. A doctor lived opposite and he quickly stitched her throat, which had been severely cut but just missed the windpipe. The girl was conveyed to a relative's house near the Sankey Sugar Works, where she was reported as progressing satisfactorily, although still in a depressed state of mind.
On the 20th the body of Michael Scally was pulled out of the St Helens Canal, near to the soap works of F. W. Tinker, the makers of Fountain Soap. The labourer in a Parr chemical works had been missing for six days and when his hat was found in the water, Scally's brother asked the police to drag the canal. They initially refused, saying: "People should keep sober, and then there would be no need to drag the canal." That was true as many drunks drowned on the journey home from their hostelry in the dark. The brother appealed to higher authority and the police drag eventually took place and the body taken to the Nags Head in Smithy Brow ready for the inquest.
Acting appeared to be the order of the day in the St Helens Petty Sessions on the 22nd, when a row in Greenbank (the Irish district around Liverpool Road) was described. Barbara Scally claimed she had been assaulted by Bridget Moore but, according to the Newspaper, she "affected to be very weak" when describing her story to the Bench. She said she had been cleaning her house when Mrs Moore "came and upbraided and assaulted her". Mrs Scally added that Mrs Moore's husband James then "kicked most viciously" at her. The Newspaper then wrote: "Barbara wound up by saying that she left her life in the magistrates' hands, and then dissolved into tears."
When it came for Mrs Moore to give evidence she: "paraded the remains of a black eye, and spoke in a very weak voice out of a tunnel of woollen head-gear, threw all the blame on her antagonist, and represented herself as a most unhappy woman. A number of witnesses were called to give all sorts of versions of the affair. As the witnesses proceeded, their recitals were accompanied by constant exclamations from the principals, in turn, of indignation, horror or surprise, that any one should have the hardihood to paint them as anything but doves.
"[Mr] Moore, it appeared, whatever he did on the offensive way, had to stand a vigorous tattoo with a sweeping-brush on his back and shoulders, which Mrs. Scally wielded with a muscularity ill in keeping with her present apparent constitutional weakness. She was prepared, at a moment's warning, and sometimes without any at all, to favour the court with a good cry, which invariably ceased as suddenly as it came, and was succeeded by a volubility of utterance that was as characteristic as surprising." In the end Barbara Scally was considered the guilty party and was fined 10 shillings and 10 shillings costs.
Also in court was Samuel Dixon who was charged with assaulting Matthew Malone at Pilkington's glass works. The latter claimed that Dixon had approached him at his work, knocked him down and then placed his knees upon his chest. Malone said he did this twice without any provocation but forgot to mention that he had thrown bricks at Dixon. It must have slipped his mind! The defendant explained to the court that it was Dixon's duty to supply him with steam but as no steam was forthcoming he pushed him out of the way and made up the fire for the steam himself. Malone's actions angered Dixon so he lobbed bricks at him who reacted by knocking him down. The magistrates dismissed the case.
A special meeting of St Helens Town Council was held on the 22nd in which it was decided to allow the resumption of tolls on the road from Eccleston to Thatto Heath. Tolls were intended to pay for road maintenance and the council had intended to take over the management of the road, keep it in good repair and allow free travel for its citizens. However the Government had indicated that it was thinking of abolishing all road tolls nationwide and so the councillors decided to wait to see if that happened. This was despite Councillor Johnson's call for the toll to be immediately ended, saying it was not right that there should be a tax on people like farmers who used that road to bring produce to market in St Helens.
The councillors also decided to purchase the premises of chemist Thomas McKenzie in Church Street at its junction with Ormskirk Street and Bridge Street in order to widen the thoroughfare.
St Helens had become a borough in 1868 but the town had yet to form its own borough police force. Currently the 23 officers in the town were part of the Lancashire County force and their superior in St Helens was a superintendent who reported to a chief constable in Preston. The ratepayers financed the force but the council had little say over the police. So the councillors had a long discussion as to whether they should establish their own borough police force.
The current force cost the ratepayers £2,100 and it was argued that there could be more than 40 borough police officers enrolled at roughly the same cost, through the receipt of a Government grant. The matter was discussed at length and the question adjourned until the next meeting. However it wouldn't be until 1875 that the town had its own borough police force and chief constable.
A fortnight earlier the 'Original Christy's Minstrels' had performed in St Helens. Now it was the turn of 'The Royal Christy's', who made their debut appearance at the Town Hall on the 22nd. The 20-strong-troupe called themselves the "Queen's Minstrel Band", as Queen Victoria had once watched them. They were one of several black-faced troupes that claimed to be the original Minstrels, with each having one or two former members of the old troupe within their ranks.
Steam is hardly state-of-the art to us these days. But during the 19th century it was considered revolutionary. In the printing industry the introduction of steam-powered rotary presses allowed printing to take place on an industrial scale. The St Helens Newspaper's Tuesday edition contained this advert from their owner and printer based in Hardshaw Street:
"B. A. Dromgoole respectfully calls attention to the fact that the Printing Office now contains every modern appliance for executing cheaply and expeditiously every description of letterpress printing. From the smallest card, circular, or billhead to the largest posting bills for the walls. By the introduction of three cylinder machines, worked by steam power, ten thousand, twenty thousand, or one hundred thousand bills can now be printed in an incredibly short space of time, and at a very considerable reduction in price."
And this was certainly the era of bill posting, with many adverts and details of events at the Theatre Royal and other places emblazoned over the walls of St Helens to catch people's attention.
Another advert was from John Ackary, coffin maker and general undertaker, who was now in business in Chancery Lane and College Street. "Children's coffins always on hand", he wrote, "at prices ranging from 2s 6d upwards." And with child mortality being very high, there was likely to have been a plentiful stock needed.
Next week's stories will include the promise of light for the dark streets of St Helens, the moaning mounted member of the Lancashire Light Horse, a tragedian at the Theatre Royal, why an earthquake was wanted in Prescot and a police campaign against vagrancy in St Helens.
It was common for young servants to be ill-treated by their bosses and some reacted badly to it. The Wigan Observer wrote on the 19th how a servant girl called Ann Davenport had cut her throat with a razor after several days of harsh treatment from her "master". He was innkeeper Robert Price of Cross Lane in Newton-le-Willows, who amongst other abuses had accused Ann of stealing some money, of which she was completely innocent.
Fortunately Price's daughter saw a pool of blood running from an outbuilding and told her father, who forced open a door and found Ann. A doctor lived opposite and he quickly stitched her throat, which had been severely cut but just missed the windpipe. The girl was conveyed to a relative's house near the Sankey Sugar Works, where she was reported as progressing satisfactorily, although still in a depressed state of mind.
On the 20th the body of Michael Scally was pulled out of the St Helens Canal, near to the soap works of F. W. Tinker, the makers of Fountain Soap. The labourer in a Parr chemical works had been missing for six days and when his hat was found in the water, Scally's brother asked the police to drag the canal. They initially refused, saying: "People should keep sober, and then there would be no need to drag the canal." That was true as many drunks drowned on the journey home from their hostelry in the dark. The brother appealed to higher authority and the police drag eventually took place and the body taken to the Nags Head in Smithy Brow ready for the inquest.
Acting appeared to be the order of the day in the St Helens Petty Sessions on the 22nd, when a row in Greenbank (the Irish district around Liverpool Road) was described. Barbara Scally claimed she had been assaulted by Bridget Moore but, according to the Newspaper, she "affected to be very weak" when describing her story to the Bench. She said she had been cleaning her house when Mrs Moore "came and upbraided and assaulted her". Mrs Scally added that Mrs Moore's husband James then "kicked most viciously" at her. The Newspaper then wrote: "Barbara wound up by saying that she left her life in the magistrates' hands, and then dissolved into tears."
When it came for Mrs Moore to give evidence she: "paraded the remains of a black eye, and spoke in a very weak voice out of a tunnel of woollen head-gear, threw all the blame on her antagonist, and represented herself as a most unhappy woman. A number of witnesses were called to give all sorts of versions of the affair. As the witnesses proceeded, their recitals were accompanied by constant exclamations from the principals, in turn, of indignation, horror or surprise, that any one should have the hardihood to paint them as anything but doves.
"[Mr] Moore, it appeared, whatever he did on the offensive way, had to stand a vigorous tattoo with a sweeping-brush on his back and shoulders, which Mrs. Scally wielded with a muscularity ill in keeping with her present apparent constitutional weakness. She was prepared, at a moment's warning, and sometimes without any at all, to favour the court with a good cry, which invariably ceased as suddenly as it came, and was succeeded by a volubility of utterance that was as characteristic as surprising." In the end Barbara Scally was considered the guilty party and was fined 10 shillings and 10 shillings costs.
Also in court was Samuel Dixon who was charged with assaulting Matthew Malone at Pilkington's glass works. The latter claimed that Dixon had approached him at his work, knocked him down and then placed his knees upon his chest. Malone said he did this twice without any provocation but forgot to mention that he had thrown bricks at Dixon. It must have slipped his mind! The defendant explained to the court that it was Dixon's duty to supply him with steam but as no steam was forthcoming he pushed him out of the way and made up the fire for the steam himself. Malone's actions angered Dixon so he lobbed bricks at him who reacted by knocking him down. The magistrates dismissed the case.
A special meeting of St Helens Town Council was held on the 22nd in which it was decided to allow the resumption of tolls on the road from Eccleston to Thatto Heath. Tolls were intended to pay for road maintenance and the council had intended to take over the management of the road, keep it in good repair and allow free travel for its citizens. However the Government had indicated that it was thinking of abolishing all road tolls nationwide and so the councillors decided to wait to see if that happened. This was despite Councillor Johnson's call for the toll to be immediately ended, saying it was not right that there should be a tax on people like farmers who used that road to bring produce to market in St Helens.
The councillors also decided to purchase the premises of chemist Thomas McKenzie in Church Street at its junction with Ormskirk Street and Bridge Street in order to widen the thoroughfare.
St Helens had become a borough in 1868 but the town had yet to form its own borough police force. Currently the 23 officers in the town were part of the Lancashire County force and their superior in St Helens was a superintendent who reported to a chief constable in Preston. The ratepayers financed the force but the council had little say over the police. So the councillors had a long discussion as to whether they should establish their own borough police force.
The current force cost the ratepayers £2,100 and it was argued that there could be more than 40 borough police officers enrolled at roughly the same cost, through the receipt of a Government grant. The matter was discussed at length and the question adjourned until the next meeting. However it wouldn't be until 1875 that the town had its own borough police force and chief constable.
A fortnight earlier the 'Original Christy's Minstrels' had performed in St Helens. Now it was the turn of 'The Royal Christy's', who made their debut appearance at the Town Hall on the 22nd. The 20-strong-troupe called themselves the "Queen's Minstrel Band", as Queen Victoria had once watched them. They were one of several black-faced troupes that claimed to be the original Minstrels, with each having one or two former members of the old troupe within their ranks.
"B. A. Dromgoole respectfully calls attention to the fact that the Printing Office now contains every modern appliance for executing cheaply and expeditiously every description of letterpress printing. From the smallest card, circular, or billhead to the largest posting bills for the walls. By the introduction of three cylinder machines, worked by steam power, ten thousand, twenty thousand, or one hundred thousand bills can now be printed in an incredibly short space of time, and at a very considerable reduction in price."
And this was certainly the era of bill posting, with many adverts and details of events at the Theatre Royal and other places emblazoned over the walls of St Helens to catch people's attention.
Another advert was from John Ackary, coffin maker and general undertaker, who was now in business in Chancery Lane and College Street. "Children's coffins always on hand", he wrote, "at prices ranging from 2s 6d upwards." And with child mortality being very high, there was likely to have been a plentiful stock needed.
Next week's stories will include the promise of light for the dark streets of St Helens, the moaning mounted member of the Lancashire Light Horse, a tragedian at the Theatre Royal, why an earthquake was wanted in Prescot and a police campaign against vagrancy in St Helens.