150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (20- 26 NOVEMBER 1873)
This week's many stories include the Bridge Street window smashing over a tanner change, some shocking child mortality stats are issued, the St Helens Newspaper is sued for libel, the Irish diorama in the Volunteer Hall, the annual inspection of St Helens roads and the deaths of two men employed by two chemical works that were permitted to drink at work.
A couple of weeks ago after the annual local elections had taken place the St Helens Newspaper had claimed that Thomas Thompson had received a suspect payment of £24. The Water Street tailor had been working for one of the candidates and the hint was that the payment had been a bribe. However, that word was not actually used in the report but still Thompson was furious with the implication of corruption.
On the 22nd the Newspaper reported that a writ had now been served on them at their Hardshaw Street premises. They were accused of libelling Thompson with their report or, as the paper put it, "openly relating the transactions which occurred at the late Windle election". Thompson wanted to have the case tried at the next assizes hearings and was claiming the huge sum of £500 damages. The paper added:
"Mr. Thompson, in his declaration, further says that we charged him with accepting a sum of money as a bribe. This is not correct, we never named or insinuated anything about a bribe." The former was true but I think the insinuation would be hard to deny. The Newspaper also complained about "certain parties" going about the town collecting money for Mr Thompson, and misleading people by saying it was for his defence fund, whereas he was actually the plaintiff that had started the action.
At every meeting of the council's Health Committee detailed stats on the latest mortality rates in St Helens were given out. That had been a fairly recent innovation and when the tables were published in the Newspaper they made for very disturbing reading. During the previous four weeks in October and early November, there had been 137 deaths within the borough of St Helens. And of those 51 came under the category of Zymotic. That was the 19th century generic term for contagious, fever-like illnesses. Scarlet fever accounted for 27 of the 51 deaths; measles had taken seven lives and diarrhoea six.
Out of the 137 deaths in total, 91 of them had been children under 10. And breaking down that shocking number even further, 81 of the kids had been under 5 and 36 under a year old. And that was only last month's figures. In presenting the stats to the committee, the Medical Officer of Health explained that the death rate was higher than during the previous month due to the present epidemic of scarlet fever.
Dr Robert McNicoll of Hardshaw Street complained that far too many families waited until the patient was in an advanced state of illness before calling in a doctor, which made it much more difficult to save life. Of course, that was largely through the cost of paying a doctor – although care in the workhouse hospital was provided free for suitable cases.
Dr McNicoll also stated that there were far too many houses in St Helens – principally in Greenbank – that had very poor ventilation, which was contributing to the spread of Zymotic disease. And pulling the homes down was, he said, the only solution, albeit not a practical one, as it was better to have a bad house than no house at all.
The Medical Officer also described how there had been three cases of smallpox in St Helens over the past month. They had all been within the locality of Greenbank, with the disease having been brought in to the district by a tramp. All three cases had been removed to the workhouse hospital where two had recovered and one had died.
His death was not recorded in the latest stats because Whiston was not within the borough of St Helens. Other Zymotic disease deaths at Whiston's hospital would also not have been included in the mortality stats, thus understating the extent of the problem. Dr McNicoll also called for the Corporation to have its own ambulance in order to speedily remove suitable cases to the hospital and it was decided to enquire into the cost of purchasing one.
On the 24th the Corporation's Paving and Highway committee made their annual inspection of St Helens' roads. The tour had started a few years earlier and it continued for 70 or 80 years and was an ideal opportunity for the councillors and aldermen to see for themselves what the streets were like.
I expect the highway near Sutton Oak station was on their agenda. Last week the committee had discussed a complaint made by grocers Sephton and Green. Mr Green and a passenger had recently been thrown out of their vehicle when their horse had stumbled into a hole in the road near to the station.
From the 24th for one week another Irish diorama was on display in the Volunteer Hall, the largest venue in St Helens. The diorama was quite a theatrical experience and is said to have astounded audiences. Light was manipulated in a manner that made landscape paintings appear to move and change their appearance.
The visual presentations did not last long and so related performances were often given to provide extra value for customers' money. So as well as scenes on Ireland, the show at the Volunteer Hall also included: "Music, dances, and sketches of Irish life and character, by the world renowned Irish Minstrels." The Newspaper called it: "An entertainment of exceptionally attractive character".
James Appleton kept a grocer's shop in Bridge Street and had a large front window that measured 87 inches by 27 inches. That was until John Galloway came into his shop to buy a bit of bacon and tendered a shilling. The change given to him consisted of sixpence in silver and some coppers. As soon as Galloway saw the silver coin, he complained it was only worth threepence and created a disturbance despite being assured of the coin's true value. He then went outside the shop and smashed the sheet of glass, which had cost £4 11 shillings.
Of course, Galloway told a different tale in St Helens Petty Sessions this week. He claimed that when he went outside of the shop a number of lads had surrounded him and pushed him about and the window had accidentally broken in the melee. The Bench did not believe him and ordered Galloway to pay a total of £4 19s 6d or go to prison for two months. A fiver was probably four weeks wages for the man and so he almost certainly went to Kirkdale Gaol.
Canal deaths increased during the wintertime on dark nights. That was when drunks that were walking home by the banks of the waterway missed their footing. Usually such persons met their demise when going home from the pub but chemical workers – amongst others in St Helens – were allowed to drink on the job. On the morning of the 25th the body of John Ogle was found in the canal near to the Pocket Nook Glass Works.
The labourer from Lowe Street was employed at Crosfield's Chemical Works and on the previous Saturday night at around 11pm he had left the factory in a drunken state. As he never arrived home a search took place and the can that contained his food was found lying on the canal bank. That led to the water being dragged and Ogle's body being recovered.
At the man's inquest at the Peel Arms in Westfield Street, the usual verdict of "found drowned" was returned with the jury calling for a fence to be placed on the canal bank from Pocket Nook to Crosfield's Works. Whether that ever happened I couldn't say, as that would have cost money and there'd have been the usual arguments over who should pay.
Also on the 25th what was described as the "second winter's entertainments" were given in St Joseph’s School in Peasley Cross. By today's standards it wouldn't be seen as anything particularly remarkable. Just a few amateurs singing along to a solo piano, without, of course, any microphone or amplification. But such simple entertainment provided by the church as an alternative to the pub could prove very popular and the place was described as "uncomfortably full".
And finally, on the 26th John Crangie died at his home in Duke Street in St Helens from the injuries that he had received on the previous day. The man had been a joiner at the Gerard's Bridge Chemical Works and had lost his balance while going down a flight of fifteen steps. And he too had been drunk! Crangie's head had hit the ground with some force and at his inquest held at the Rifle Corps Inn, the works foreman promised to have a rail put on the staircase. Shame he hadn't thought of that before.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the constable that spotted a fugitive tailor on a train at Newton, the young Feigh brothers are back in trouble, the Rainford hare poaching case and the carters' squabble that led to a court case.
A couple of weeks ago after the annual local elections had taken place the St Helens Newspaper had claimed that Thomas Thompson had received a suspect payment of £24. The Water Street tailor had been working for one of the candidates and the hint was that the payment had been a bribe. However, that word was not actually used in the report but still Thompson was furious with the implication of corruption.
"Mr. Thompson, in his declaration, further says that we charged him with accepting a sum of money as a bribe. This is not correct, we never named or insinuated anything about a bribe." The former was true but I think the insinuation would be hard to deny. The Newspaper also complained about "certain parties" going about the town collecting money for Mr Thompson, and misleading people by saying it was for his defence fund, whereas he was actually the plaintiff that had started the action.
At every meeting of the council's Health Committee detailed stats on the latest mortality rates in St Helens were given out. That had been a fairly recent innovation and when the tables were published in the Newspaper they made for very disturbing reading. During the previous four weeks in October and early November, there had been 137 deaths within the borough of St Helens. And of those 51 came under the category of Zymotic. That was the 19th century generic term for contagious, fever-like illnesses. Scarlet fever accounted for 27 of the 51 deaths; measles had taken seven lives and diarrhoea six.
Out of the 137 deaths in total, 91 of them had been children under 10. And breaking down that shocking number even further, 81 of the kids had been under 5 and 36 under a year old. And that was only last month's figures. In presenting the stats to the committee, the Medical Officer of Health explained that the death rate was higher than during the previous month due to the present epidemic of scarlet fever.
Dr Robert McNicoll of Hardshaw Street complained that far too many families waited until the patient was in an advanced state of illness before calling in a doctor, which made it much more difficult to save life. Of course, that was largely through the cost of paying a doctor – although care in the workhouse hospital was provided free for suitable cases.
Dr McNicoll also stated that there were far too many houses in St Helens – principally in Greenbank – that had very poor ventilation, which was contributing to the spread of Zymotic disease. And pulling the homes down was, he said, the only solution, albeit not a practical one, as it was better to have a bad house than no house at all.
The Medical Officer also described how there had been three cases of smallpox in St Helens over the past month. They had all been within the locality of Greenbank, with the disease having been brought in to the district by a tramp. All three cases had been removed to the workhouse hospital where two had recovered and one had died.
His death was not recorded in the latest stats because Whiston was not within the borough of St Helens. Other Zymotic disease deaths at Whiston's hospital would also not have been included in the mortality stats, thus understating the extent of the problem. Dr McNicoll also called for the Corporation to have its own ambulance in order to speedily remove suitable cases to the hospital and it was decided to enquire into the cost of purchasing one.
On the 24th the Corporation's Paving and Highway committee made their annual inspection of St Helens' roads. The tour had started a few years earlier and it continued for 70 or 80 years and was an ideal opportunity for the councillors and aldermen to see for themselves what the streets were like.
I expect the highway near Sutton Oak station was on their agenda. Last week the committee had discussed a complaint made by grocers Sephton and Green. Mr Green and a passenger had recently been thrown out of their vehicle when their horse had stumbled into a hole in the road near to the station.
From the 24th for one week another Irish diorama was on display in the Volunteer Hall, the largest venue in St Helens. The diorama was quite a theatrical experience and is said to have astounded audiences. Light was manipulated in a manner that made landscape paintings appear to move and change their appearance.
The visual presentations did not last long and so related performances were often given to provide extra value for customers' money. So as well as scenes on Ireland, the show at the Volunteer Hall also included: "Music, dances, and sketches of Irish life and character, by the world renowned Irish Minstrels." The Newspaper called it: "An entertainment of exceptionally attractive character".
James Appleton kept a grocer's shop in Bridge Street and had a large front window that measured 87 inches by 27 inches. That was until John Galloway came into his shop to buy a bit of bacon and tendered a shilling. The change given to him consisted of sixpence in silver and some coppers. As soon as Galloway saw the silver coin, he complained it was only worth threepence and created a disturbance despite being assured of the coin's true value. He then went outside the shop and smashed the sheet of glass, which had cost £4 11 shillings.
Of course, Galloway told a different tale in St Helens Petty Sessions this week. He claimed that when he went outside of the shop a number of lads had surrounded him and pushed him about and the window had accidentally broken in the melee. The Bench did not believe him and ordered Galloway to pay a total of £4 19s 6d or go to prison for two months. A fiver was probably four weeks wages for the man and so he almost certainly went to Kirkdale Gaol.
Canal deaths increased during the wintertime on dark nights. That was when drunks that were walking home by the banks of the waterway missed their footing. Usually such persons met their demise when going home from the pub but chemical workers – amongst others in St Helens – were allowed to drink on the job. On the morning of the 25th the body of John Ogle was found in the canal near to the Pocket Nook Glass Works.
The labourer from Lowe Street was employed at Crosfield's Chemical Works and on the previous Saturday night at around 11pm he had left the factory in a drunken state. As he never arrived home a search took place and the can that contained his food was found lying on the canal bank. That led to the water being dragged and Ogle's body being recovered.
At the man's inquest at the Peel Arms in Westfield Street, the usual verdict of "found drowned" was returned with the jury calling for a fence to be placed on the canal bank from Pocket Nook to Crosfield's Works. Whether that ever happened I couldn't say, as that would have cost money and there'd have been the usual arguments over who should pay.
Also on the 25th what was described as the "second winter's entertainments" were given in St Joseph’s School in Peasley Cross. By today's standards it wouldn't be seen as anything particularly remarkable. Just a few amateurs singing along to a solo piano, without, of course, any microphone or amplification. But such simple entertainment provided by the church as an alternative to the pub could prove very popular and the place was described as "uncomfortably full".
And finally, on the 26th John Crangie died at his home in Duke Street in St Helens from the injuries that he had received on the previous day. The man had been a joiner at the Gerard's Bridge Chemical Works and had lost his balance while going down a flight of fifteen steps. And he too had been drunk! Crangie's head had hit the ground with some force and at his inquest held at the Rifle Corps Inn, the works foreman promised to have a rail put on the staircase. Shame he hadn't thought of that before.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the constable that spotted a fugitive tailor on a train at Newton, the young Feigh brothers are back in trouble, the Rainford hare poaching case and the carters' squabble that led to a court case.
This week's many stories include the Bridge Street window smashing over a tanner change, some shocking child mortality stats are issued, the St Helens Newspaper is sued for libel, the Irish diorama in the Volunteer Hall, the annual inspection of St Helens roads and the deaths of two men employed by two chemical works that were permitted to drink at work.
A couple of weeks ago after the annual local elections had taken place the St Helens Newspaper had claimed that Thomas Thompson had received a suspect payment of £24.
The Water Street tailor had been working for one of the candidates and the hint was that the payment had been a bribe.
However, that word was not actually used in the report but still Thompson was furious with the implication of corruption.
On the 22nd the Newspaper reported that a writ had now been served on them at their Hardshaw Street premises.
They were accused of libelling Thompson with their report or, as the paper put it, "openly relating the transactions which occurred at the late Windle election".
Thompson wanted to have the case tried at the next assizes hearings and was claiming the huge sum of £500 damages. The paper added:
"Mr. Thompson, in his declaration, further says that we charged him with accepting a sum of money as a bribe. This is not correct, we never named or insinuated anything about a bribe."
The former was true but I think the insinuation would be hard to deny.
The Newspaper also complained about "certain parties" going about the town collecting money for Mr Thompson, and misleading people by saying it was for his defence fund, whereas he was actually the plaintiff that had started the action.
At every meeting of the council's Health Committee detailed stats on the latest mortality rates in St Helens were given out.
That had been a fairly recent innovation and when the tables were published in the Newspaper they made for very disturbing reading.
During the previous four weeks in October and early November, there had been 137 deaths within the borough of St Helens.
And of those 51 came under the category of Zymotic. That was the 19th century generic term for contagious, fever-like illnesses.
Scarlet fever accounted for 27 of the 51 deaths; measles had taken seven lives and diarrhoea six.
Out of the 137 deaths in total, 91 of them had been children under 10. And breaking down that shocking number even further, 81 of the kids had been under 5 and 36 under a year old. And that was only last month's figures.
In presenting the stats to the committee, the Medical Officer of Health explained that the death rate was higher than during the previous month due to the present epidemic of scarlet fever.
Dr Robert McNicoll of Hardshaw Street complained that far too many families waited until the patient was in an advanced state of illness before calling in a doctor, which made it much more difficult to save life.
Of course, that was largely through the cost of paying a doctor – although care in the workhouse hospital was provided free for suitable cases.
Dr McNicoll also stated that there were far too many houses in St Helens – principally in Greenbank – that had very poor ventilation, which was contributing to the spread of Zymotic disease.
And pulling the homes down was, he said, the only solution, albeit not a practical one, as it was better to have a bad house than no house at all.
The Medical Officer also described how there had been three cases of smallpox in St Helens over the past month.
They had all been within the locality of Greenbank, with the disease having been brought in to the district by a tramp.
All three cases had been removed to the workhouse hospital where two had recovered and one had died.
His death was not recorded in the latest stats because Whiston was not within the borough of St Helens.
Other Zymotic disease deaths at Whiston's hospital would also not have been included in the mortality stats, thus understating the extent of the problem.
Dr McNicoll also called for the Corporation to have its own ambulance in order to speedily remove suitable cases to the hospital and it was decided to enquire into the cost of purchasing one.
On the 24th the Corporation's Paving and Highway committee made their annual inspection of St Helens' roads.
The tour had started a few years earlier and it continued for 70 or 80 years and was an ideal opportunity for the councillors and aldermen to see for themselves what the streets were like.
I expect the highway near Sutton Oak station was on their agenda. Last week the committee had discussed a complaint made by grocers Sephton and Green.
Mr Green and a passenger had recently been thrown out of their vehicle when their horse had stumbled into a hole in the road near to the station.
From the 24th for one week another Irish diorama was on display in the Volunteer Hall, the largest venue in St Helens.
The diorama was quite a theatrical experience and is said to have astounded audiences.
Light was manipulated in a manner that made landscape paintings appear to move and change their appearance.
The visual presentations did not last long and so related performances were often given to provide extra value for customers' money.
So as well as scenes on Ireland, the show at the Volunteer Hall also included: "Music, dances, and sketches of Irish life and character, by the world renowned Irish Minstrels."
The Newspaper called it: "An entertainment of exceptionally attractive character".
James Appleton kept a grocer's shop in Bridge Street and had a large front window that measured 87 inches by 27 inches.
That was until John Galloway came into his shop to buy a bit of bacon and tendered a shilling. The change given to him consisted of sixpence in silver and some coppers.
As soon as Galloway saw the silver coin, he complained it was only worth threepence and created a disturbance despite being assured of the coin's true value.
He then went outside the shop and smashed the sheet of glass, which had cost £4 11 shillings.
Of course, Galloway told a different tale in St Helens Petty Sessions this week. He claimed that when he went outside of the shop a number of lads had surrounded him and pushed him about and the window had accidentally broken in the melee.
The Bench did not believe him and ordered Galloway to pay a total of £4 19s 6d or go to prison for two months.
A fiver was probably four weeks wages for the man and so he almost certainly went to Kirkdale Gaol.
Canal deaths increased during the wintertime on dark nights. That was when drunks that were walking home by the banks of the waterway missed their footing.
Usually such persons met their demise when going home from the pub but chemical workers – amongst others in St Helens – were allowed to drink on the job.
On the morning of the 25th the body of John Ogle was found in the canal near to the Pocket Nook Glass Works.
The labourer from Lowe Street was employed at Crosfield's Chemical Works and on the previous Saturday night at around 11pm he had left the factory in a drunken state.
As he never arrived home a search took place and the can that contained his food was found lying on the canal bank. That led to the water being dragged and Ogle's body being recovered.
At the man's inquest at the Peel Arms in Westfield Street, the usual verdict of "found drowned" was returned with the jury calling for a fence to be placed on the canal bank from Pocket Nook to Crosfield's Works.
Whether that ever happened I couldn't say, as that would have cost money and there'd have been the usual arguments over who should pay.
Also on the 25th what was described as the "second winter's entertainments" were given in St Joseph’s School in Peasley Cross.
By today's standards it wouldn't be seen as anything particularly remarkable. Just a few amateurs singing along to a solo piano, without, of course, any microphone or amplification.
But such simple entertainment provided by the church as an alternative to the pub could prove very popular and the place was described as "uncomfortably full".
And finally, on the 26th John Crangie died at his home in Duke Street in St Helens from the injuries that he had received on the previous day.
The man had been a joiner at the Gerard's Bridge Chemical Works and had lost his balance while going down a flight of fifteen steps. And he too had been drunk!
Crangie's head had hit the ground with some force and at his inquest held at the Rifle Corps Inn, the works foreman promised to have a rail put on the staircase. Shame he hadn't thought of that before.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the constable that spotted a fugitive tailor on a train at Newton, the young Feigh brothers are back in trouble, the Rainford hare poaching case and the carters' squabble that led to a court case.
A couple of weeks ago after the annual local elections had taken place the St Helens Newspaper had claimed that Thomas Thompson had received a suspect payment of £24.
The Water Street tailor had been working for one of the candidates and the hint was that the payment had been a bribe.
However, that word was not actually used in the report but still Thompson was furious with the implication of corruption.
On the 22nd the Newspaper reported that a writ had now been served on them at their Hardshaw Street premises.
They were accused of libelling Thompson with their report or, as the paper put it, "openly relating the transactions which occurred at the late Windle election".
Thompson wanted to have the case tried at the next assizes hearings and was claiming the huge sum of £500 damages. The paper added:
"Mr. Thompson, in his declaration, further says that we charged him with accepting a sum of money as a bribe. This is not correct, we never named or insinuated anything about a bribe."
The former was true but I think the insinuation would be hard to deny.
At every meeting of the council's Health Committee detailed stats on the latest mortality rates in St Helens were given out.
That had been a fairly recent innovation and when the tables were published in the Newspaper they made for very disturbing reading.
During the previous four weeks in October and early November, there had been 137 deaths within the borough of St Helens.
And of those 51 came under the category of Zymotic. That was the 19th century generic term for contagious, fever-like illnesses.
Scarlet fever accounted for 27 of the 51 deaths; measles had taken seven lives and diarrhoea six.
Out of the 137 deaths in total, 91 of them had been children under 10. And breaking down that shocking number even further, 81 of the kids had been under 5 and 36 under a year old. And that was only last month's figures.
In presenting the stats to the committee, the Medical Officer of Health explained that the death rate was higher than during the previous month due to the present epidemic of scarlet fever.
Dr Robert McNicoll of Hardshaw Street complained that far too many families waited until the patient was in an advanced state of illness before calling in a doctor, which made it much more difficult to save life.
Of course, that was largely through the cost of paying a doctor – although care in the workhouse hospital was provided free for suitable cases.
Dr McNicoll also stated that there were far too many houses in St Helens – principally in Greenbank – that had very poor ventilation, which was contributing to the spread of Zymotic disease.
And pulling the homes down was, he said, the only solution, albeit not a practical one, as it was better to have a bad house than no house at all.
The Medical Officer also described how there had been three cases of smallpox in St Helens over the past month.
They had all been within the locality of Greenbank, with the disease having been brought in to the district by a tramp.
All three cases had been removed to the workhouse hospital where two had recovered and one had died.
His death was not recorded in the latest stats because Whiston was not within the borough of St Helens.
Other Zymotic disease deaths at Whiston's hospital would also not have been included in the mortality stats, thus understating the extent of the problem.
Dr McNicoll also called for the Corporation to have its own ambulance in order to speedily remove suitable cases to the hospital and it was decided to enquire into the cost of purchasing one.
On the 24th the Corporation's Paving and Highway committee made their annual inspection of St Helens' roads.
The tour had started a few years earlier and it continued for 70 or 80 years and was an ideal opportunity for the councillors and aldermen to see for themselves what the streets were like.
I expect the highway near Sutton Oak station was on their agenda. Last week the committee had discussed a complaint made by grocers Sephton and Green.
Mr Green and a passenger had recently been thrown out of their vehicle when their horse had stumbled into a hole in the road near to the station.
From the 24th for one week another Irish diorama was on display in the Volunteer Hall, the largest venue in St Helens.
The diorama was quite a theatrical experience and is said to have astounded audiences.
Light was manipulated in a manner that made landscape paintings appear to move and change their appearance.
The visual presentations did not last long and so related performances were often given to provide extra value for customers' money.
So as well as scenes on Ireland, the show at the Volunteer Hall also included: "Music, dances, and sketches of Irish life and character, by the world renowned Irish Minstrels."
The Newspaper called it: "An entertainment of exceptionally attractive character".
James Appleton kept a grocer's shop in Bridge Street and had a large front window that measured 87 inches by 27 inches.
That was until John Galloway came into his shop to buy a bit of bacon and tendered a shilling. The change given to him consisted of sixpence in silver and some coppers.
As soon as Galloway saw the silver coin, he complained it was only worth threepence and created a disturbance despite being assured of the coin's true value.
He then went outside the shop and smashed the sheet of glass, which had cost £4 11 shillings.
Of course, Galloway told a different tale in St Helens Petty Sessions this week. He claimed that when he went outside of the shop a number of lads had surrounded him and pushed him about and the window had accidentally broken in the melee.
The Bench did not believe him and ordered Galloway to pay a total of £4 19s 6d or go to prison for two months.
A fiver was probably four weeks wages for the man and so he almost certainly went to Kirkdale Gaol.
Canal deaths increased during the wintertime on dark nights. That was when drunks that were walking home by the banks of the waterway missed their footing.
Usually such persons met their demise when going home from the pub but chemical workers – amongst others in St Helens – were allowed to drink on the job.
On the morning of the 25th the body of John Ogle was found in the canal near to the Pocket Nook Glass Works.
The labourer from Lowe Street was employed at Crosfield's Chemical Works and on the previous Saturday night at around 11pm he had left the factory in a drunken state.
As he never arrived home a search took place and the can that contained his food was found lying on the canal bank. That led to the water being dragged and Ogle's body being recovered.
At the man's inquest at the Peel Arms in Westfield Street, the usual verdict of "found drowned" was returned with the jury calling for a fence to be placed on the canal bank from Pocket Nook to Crosfield's Works.
Whether that ever happened I couldn't say, as that would have cost money and there'd have been the usual arguments over who should pay.
Also on the 25th what was described as the "second winter's entertainments" were given in St Joseph’s School in Peasley Cross.
By today's standards it wouldn't be seen as anything particularly remarkable. Just a few amateurs singing along to a solo piano, without, of course, any microphone or amplification.
But such simple entertainment provided by the church as an alternative to the pub could prove very popular and the place was described as "uncomfortably full".
And finally, on the 26th John Crangie died at his home in Duke Street in St Helens from the injuries that he had received on the previous day.
The man had been a joiner at the Gerard's Bridge Chemical Works and had lost his balance while going down a flight of fifteen steps. And he too had been drunk!
Crangie's head had hit the ground with some force and at his inquest held at the Rifle Corps Inn, the works foreman promised to have a rail put on the staircase. Shame he hadn't thought of that before.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the constable that spotted a fugitive tailor on a train at Newton, the young Feigh brothers are back in trouble, the Rainford hare poaching case and the carters' squabble that led to a court case.