150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (21st - 27th October 1869)
This week's stories include the farmer who fell into a threshing machine at Leach Hall Farm, a Sutton pub landlord learns the perils of pigeon racing, the Prescot police cell left in a "beastly condition", the gloom caused by the death of Lord Derby, the library and entertainment at the Mechanics Institute and the man who claimed Beecham's pills were the best medicine in the world.
We begin on the 21st with a presentation to Mary Stapleton-Bretherton that was held in St Bartholomew's schoolroom in Rainhill. The philanthropic Bretherton family of Rainhill Hall had been responsible for the building of the church in 1842 and it was decided it was time to say thanks.
The Roman Catholic Bishop of Liverpool, Dr Alexander Goss, had even been roped in to add to the plaudits that were showered on Mrs Stapleton-Bretherton and her late parents. A replica of a medallion that had been presented to the Pope to commemorate the Immaculate Conception was presented to her, along with an illuminated address – a type of ornate certificate.
On the 22nd there was an advert in the Wigan Observer from auctioneer Thomas Lyon from Baldwin Street. He was advertising a forthcoming sale of horses and carts on behalf of Samuel Vose who was giving up the carting business. His workplace was The Old Brewery Stables at Denton's Green and his nags were described in the ad as "well-known honest workers".
Greenalls had acquired the Denton's Green Brewery four years earlier in order to reduce the competition. They demolished the building (apart from the stables) leaving just three very small breweries in Peckers Hill, Thatto Heath and Langtree Street as competitors.
The Observer also wrote that John Hope – the brother of farmer Joseph Hope – had a few days earlier fallen into a threshing machine at Leach Hall Farm. The 69-year-old's arm became entangled in the machinery but he escaped serious injury, although his elbow was fractured and his wrist dislocated. The farmhouse at Leach Hall Farm would also soon serve as the Engine and Tender beerhouse.
The Red Lion at the top of Bridge Street (pictured above) was one of the best-known pubs in St Helens, having been built in 1730 and was not demolished until 1924. It had a yard at its rear where the auctioning of animals often took place. On the 23rd William Gerrard was selling a dozen Welsh ponies at the Red Lion with the expectation that colliery owners would buy them.
By 1869 Beecham's was spending a fortune advertising their pills in newspapers nationwide using their slogan "Worth A Guinea A Box". According to James Brockbank's 'History of St Helens' of 1896 this was coined as a result of comments made by an Ellen Butler, when Thomas Beecham was selling his pills on St Helens Market for 6d per box. She was supposed to have approached Beecham on his stall in the late 1850s and told him that his pills had done her such good they were "worth a guinea a box".
On the 22nd in the Western Gazette the St Helens' firm published a testimonial from John Riley of Stockport who claimed Beecham's pills were "the best medicine in the world". The man claimed that for six years he had suffered greatly from pains all over his body and had been scarcely able to keep down any food or sleep at night. However having taken five boxes of Beecham's had made him "quite a new man". Not only was Mr Riley now free from all pain and able to eat his food without being sick but he also slept well and was able to follow his employment.
Beecham's ad continued to make their claim that the same pills could cure a huge range of illnesses, including: "…bilious and nervous disorders, such as wind and pain at the stomach, sick headache, giddiness, fulness after meals, dizziness and drowsiness, cold chills, flushings of heat, loss of appetite, shortness of breath, costiveness [constipation], scurvy, blotches on the skin, disturbed sleep, frightful dreams, and nervous and trembling sensations &c. &c. The first dose will relieve in twenty minutes. This is no fiction, for they have done it in thousands of cases."
The death of Lord Derby took place on the 23rd at his home in Knowsley Hall after a long illness. Despite the expectation of his demise, the St Helens Newspaper said the announcement had come "like a thunder-clap". A "feeling of gloom" had descended on Prescot and Huyton with scarcely a house without a closed blind or some other mark of respect for the 14th earl. Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley had served as prime minister on three occasions and is still to this day the Tories longest-serving leader.
The inquest was held on the 23rd on Thomas Watkins who had died on the previous day from the injuries he'd received at the Atlas Iron Works in Pocket Nook. The man had landed on his head after falling twenty feet from a crane.
The Mechanics Institute does not sound particularly exciting but the society pioneered a public library at their base in the Town Hall in New Market Place and also put on entertainment for the people of St Helens. However throughout the 1860s it had been losing support and the first concert in their new season was held on the 23rd in which attendance was described as meagre.
Although this was blamed on the weather, the organisation would close in 1870 and for seven years there would be nowhere for people to borrow books. That was until St Helens Corporation opened a library in the new Town Hall in Corporation Street.
At the St Helens Petty Sessions on the 25th John Isherwood was charged with being drunk and disorderly in Sutton. Thus is how the St Helens Newspaper reported his case:
"It having been ascertained that it was his 16th appearance, he was ordered to pay 20s. and costs. John flatly refused to do anything of the kind. He declared he was not coming there to throw money away, and was ready for the alternative. Thereupon he was ordered to be kept in prison for a fortnight, and a couple of constables removed him. As he went off he gave out his estimate of the treatment he was receiving. He looked upon it as a great scandal to be so exorbitantly charged for his amusement."
In Prescot Police Court on the 25th Edward Conlan, Michael Mulligan, Francis Mannion and Michael Higgins were charged with playing pitch and toss on Mill Brow. This had taken place last May but the four young men had failed to answer their summonses and so arrest warrants were issued. Nothing further was heard of them until the previous evening when they were apprehended while fighting.
Superintendent Fowler complained to the Bench about the prisoners' conduct since they'd been arrested and recommended that the magistrate look at their cell before passing sentence. The Prescot Reporter described it as being in a "beastly condition" and the disgusted magistrate sent two of the men to prison for a month and a third for three weeks. However Francis Mannion had behaved well and his case was dismissed upon payment of costs.
The Prescot Working Men's Improvement and Recreation Society held a 'Grand Concert' on the 25th in Prescot Town Hall. Most of the artistes were vocalists from Liverpool singing to a piano accompaniment. Ticket prices started at just 3d, in order to encourage the less well off to attend.
The St Helens County Court sat on the 25th and considered a pigeon-racing dispute in which a man called Heyes sued John Hamblett. Heyes had raced his pigeon against one owned by a man called Garner and Hamblett had agreed to be the stakeholder and referee. He was the licensee of the Prince of Wales Hotel in Junction Lane in Sutton and both sides gave him a £3 stake to hold.
The firing of a cannon was the signal for the start of the race. However it was alleged that Garner's pigeon had been liberated two minutes early and had arrived at its destination only five seconds after the blast had sounded. Despite this Hamblett ruled that Garner had won and awarded him the £6 prize, which angered Heyes and led to the court case. The judge heard the arguments and decided to reserve his judgement until a future date. Whatever the judge's decision, I'll bet that was the last time that John Hamblett agreed to help out in a pigeon race!
And finally during the evening of the 27th a fire broke out on the farm of Samuel Bennett of Parr Flat and soon "raged in the fiercest manner", as described by the St Helens Newspaper. About £200 worth of damage was caused.
Next week's stories will include the corrupt St Helens' councillors who bought their way into office, the Westfield Street brothel keeper who picked up trouble in Bolton, a prosecution for perjury by a Cotham Street doctor against a Market Street bootmaker and the racist railway row between an Irishman and a Welshman.
We begin on the 21st with a presentation to Mary Stapleton-Bretherton that was held in St Bartholomew's schoolroom in Rainhill. The philanthropic Bretherton family of Rainhill Hall had been responsible for the building of the church in 1842 and it was decided it was time to say thanks.
The Roman Catholic Bishop of Liverpool, Dr Alexander Goss, had even been roped in to add to the plaudits that were showered on Mrs Stapleton-Bretherton and her late parents. A replica of a medallion that had been presented to the Pope to commemorate the Immaculate Conception was presented to her, along with an illuminated address – a type of ornate certificate.
On the 22nd there was an advert in the Wigan Observer from auctioneer Thomas Lyon from Baldwin Street. He was advertising a forthcoming sale of horses and carts on behalf of Samuel Vose who was giving up the carting business. His workplace was The Old Brewery Stables at Denton's Green and his nags were described in the ad as "well-known honest workers".
Greenalls had acquired the Denton's Green Brewery four years earlier in order to reduce the competition. They demolished the building (apart from the stables) leaving just three very small breweries in Peckers Hill, Thatto Heath and Langtree Street as competitors.
The Observer also wrote that John Hope – the brother of farmer Joseph Hope – had a few days earlier fallen into a threshing machine at Leach Hall Farm. The 69-year-old's arm became entangled in the machinery but he escaped serious injury, although his elbow was fractured and his wrist dislocated. The farmhouse at Leach Hall Farm would also soon serve as the Engine and Tender beerhouse.
By 1869 Beecham's was spending a fortune advertising their pills in newspapers nationwide using their slogan "Worth A Guinea A Box". According to James Brockbank's 'History of St Helens' of 1896 this was coined as a result of comments made by an Ellen Butler, when Thomas Beecham was selling his pills on St Helens Market for 6d per box. She was supposed to have approached Beecham on his stall in the late 1850s and told him that his pills had done her such good they were "worth a guinea a box".
On the 22nd in the Western Gazette the St Helens' firm published a testimonial from John Riley of Stockport who claimed Beecham's pills were "the best medicine in the world". The man claimed that for six years he had suffered greatly from pains all over his body and had been scarcely able to keep down any food or sleep at night. However having taken five boxes of Beecham's had made him "quite a new man". Not only was Mr Riley now free from all pain and able to eat his food without being sick but he also slept well and was able to follow his employment.
Beecham's ad continued to make their claim that the same pills could cure a huge range of illnesses, including: "…bilious and nervous disorders, such as wind and pain at the stomach, sick headache, giddiness, fulness after meals, dizziness and drowsiness, cold chills, flushings of heat, loss of appetite, shortness of breath, costiveness [constipation], scurvy, blotches on the skin, disturbed sleep, frightful dreams, and nervous and trembling sensations &c. &c. The first dose will relieve in twenty minutes. This is no fiction, for they have done it in thousands of cases."
Knowsley Hall and the 14th Lord Derby, Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, the longest-serving leader of the Conservatives
Knowsley Hall and 14th Lord Derby, Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley
Lord Derby, Edward Smith-Stanley
The inquest was held on the 23rd on Thomas Watkins who had died on the previous day from the injuries he'd received at the Atlas Iron Works in Pocket Nook. The man had landed on his head after falling twenty feet from a crane.
The Mechanics Institute does not sound particularly exciting but the society pioneered a public library at their base in the Town Hall in New Market Place and also put on entertainment for the people of St Helens. However throughout the 1860s it had been losing support and the first concert in their new season was held on the 23rd in which attendance was described as meagre.
Although this was blamed on the weather, the organisation would close in 1870 and for seven years there would be nowhere for people to borrow books. That was until St Helens Corporation opened a library in the new Town Hall in Corporation Street.
At the St Helens Petty Sessions on the 25th John Isherwood was charged with being drunk and disorderly in Sutton. Thus is how the St Helens Newspaper reported his case:
"It having been ascertained that it was his 16th appearance, he was ordered to pay 20s. and costs. John flatly refused to do anything of the kind. He declared he was not coming there to throw money away, and was ready for the alternative. Thereupon he was ordered to be kept in prison for a fortnight, and a couple of constables removed him. As he went off he gave out his estimate of the treatment he was receiving. He looked upon it as a great scandal to be so exorbitantly charged for his amusement."
In Prescot Police Court on the 25th Edward Conlan, Michael Mulligan, Francis Mannion and Michael Higgins were charged with playing pitch and toss on Mill Brow. This had taken place last May but the four young men had failed to answer their summonses and so arrest warrants were issued. Nothing further was heard of them until the previous evening when they were apprehended while fighting.
Superintendent Fowler complained to the Bench about the prisoners' conduct since they'd been arrested and recommended that the magistrate look at their cell before passing sentence. The Prescot Reporter described it as being in a "beastly condition" and the disgusted magistrate sent two of the men to prison for a month and a third for three weeks. However Francis Mannion had behaved well and his case was dismissed upon payment of costs.
The Prescot Working Men's Improvement and Recreation Society held a 'Grand Concert' on the 25th in Prescot Town Hall. Most of the artistes were vocalists from Liverpool singing to a piano accompaniment. Ticket prices started at just 3d, in order to encourage the less well off to attend.
The St Helens County Court sat on the 25th and considered a pigeon-racing dispute in which a man called Heyes sued John Hamblett. Heyes had raced his pigeon against one owned by a man called Garner and Hamblett had agreed to be the stakeholder and referee. He was the licensee of the Prince of Wales Hotel in Junction Lane in Sutton and both sides gave him a £3 stake to hold.
The firing of a cannon was the signal for the start of the race. However it was alleged that Garner's pigeon had been liberated two minutes early and had arrived at its destination only five seconds after the blast had sounded. Despite this Hamblett ruled that Garner had won and awarded him the £6 prize, which angered Heyes and led to the court case. The judge heard the arguments and decided to reserve his judgement until a future date. Whatever the judge's decision, I'll bet that was the last time that John Hamblett agreed to help out in a pigeon race!
And finally during the evening of the 27th a fire broke out on the farm of Samuel Bennett of Parr Flat and soon "raged in the fiercest manner", as described by the St Helens Newspaper. About £200 worth of damage was caused.
Next week's stories will include the corrupt St Helens' councillors who bought their way into office, the Westfield Street brothel keeper who picked up trouble in Bolton, a prosecution for perjury by a Cotham Street doctor against a Market Street bootmaker and the racist railway row between an Irishman and a Welshman.