150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 24 - 30 AUGUST 1876
This week's many stories include the Greenbank man whose wife stabbed him in the eye, the clog kicking of constables, the Nutgrove water problem, the rabbit trapping in Sherdley Park, the abusive train passenger carrying £3 but who refused to pay his fare and the St Helens Junction railway staff who were thumped after saving a drunk from being run over.
Spelling bees were now proving popular within the St Helens district and advertised in the St Helens Newspaper on the 26th were Heywood's spelling bee cards containing over 1,000 words. The cards were on sale for 6d a packet from Dromgooles of Hardshaw Street, which was attached to the offices of the Newspaper itself.
There was a curious letter in the Newspaper from a man who did not give his name but stated that he was from Nutgrove and supplied over 50 homes with water. The individual claimed that for three solid days no water had been available, causing much inconvenience for the residents. But the man also wrote:
"I am no scholar myself, so I have got a man to write this for me, who I often see and feel for; he comes twisting my nose round at all hours, some times at midnight and again at daybreak, but all I can give him is a deep sigh; and then he gives another, and off he goes muttering something, perhaps not his prayers. How much longer is this to last I wonder?" Presumably, he was referring to being unable to give his ghost letterwriter a water supply, leading to the sighs and muttering and nose twisting, whether metaphoric or real!
Railway staff faced a lot of abuse and violence from passengers, particularly from drunks late at night. It wasn't just yobs that caused trouble but businessmen and officials with an inflated view of their own importance who objected to ticket collectors interrogating them.
This week George Farmer appeared in court charged with travelling without a ticket and being drunk at St Helens railway station. The baker from Huyton had arrived by train at St Helens shortly after midnight and was found by a porter to be asleep in a carriage. Upon being asked for his ticket, he said he did not have it and became very abusive and refused to pay his fare.
It was even suggested to Farmer that he leave a shilling until the morning and if his ticket turned up they would return the money. But the man refused this and threatened the railway staff who described him as being "mad drunk". The police were called and when searched at the station he was found to be carrying £3 10 shillings – but had no ticket.
In court Farmer claimed to have bought a ticket for Huyton but had fallen asleep on the train through having worked all the previous night and had accidentally gone past his station. The case had been remanded for a couple of days to see if his story could be proved – but it could not. The defendant was fined 10 shillings and costs for riding without a ticket but the charge of drunkenness was dismissed.
A man who comes into the yob category was Michael Walsh. He had for no apparent reason attacked Thomas Egan, who was a pointsman on the line at Fleet Lane, striking him three times. Walsh had just come out of a pub when he saw Egan and after his victim reported the assault, a summons was taken out against the man. But just hours before Walsh was due in court, he went to Egan's house, as the St Helens Newspaper described:
"And having first entirely demolished the front window, he entered by the aperture thus made, knocked Egan down, and jumped upon him several times, at the same time threatening that if he got 20 years for that, he would have his life when he came back." Walsh was fined a total of £3 14 shillings, with the alternative of two months in prison and he also had to find sureties to keep the peace.
And in another case the staff at St Helens Junction station got thumped for preventing Edward Dougherty of Newtown from being knocked down by a passing train. Twice the drunken man had got on to the line and twice he had to be saved. When Dougherty appeared in court to face a charge of being drunk at the Junction station, he was fined 10 shillings and costs.
A woman who was also called Dougherty from Pottery Street in Greenbank appeared in court charged with assaulting her husband Cornelius. The latter told the magistrates that on the previous Sunday night he had gone to a house in Garden Street where he found his wife Bridget drunk. He told her to go home with him, which she agreed to do. But when they went upstairs in their house, she struck him in the right eye with a knife and cut it severely.
Cornelius gave his evidence very reluctantly, saying that he did not want to be hard on his wife because of the children. As a result the magistrates decided to reduce the charge from unlawful wounding to one of common assault. However, the Chairman of the Bench said it was not an offence they could pass over altogether and they sentenced Bridget to two months hard labour.
It sounds like Richard Naylor's father might have been in danger of losing his farm through the actions of his son. Richard appeared in court accused of trespassing in pursuit of game on land belonging to Michael Hughes of Sherdley Park. The young man's father was a tenant farmer who rented his farm off Hughes and his son had been caught previously searching for game on Sherdley land.
But because of his father‘s situation, the agent for the estate had forgiven Richard upon him promising not to offend again. However, Richard Brown, who was described as the park keeper at Sherdley Hall, had subsequently come across a rabbit trap and decided to keep watch on the place. He later saw Richard Naylor resetting the trap and in court he was fined 20 shillings.
Assaults on police officers rarely merited a prison sentence but this week two men were sent to Kirkdale Gaol for their separate bobby bashings on a Saturday night. Both had previous convictions, which often made a big difference in the sentencing, and both had used their clogs to kick the arresting constables.
PC Archer had taken William Tone into custody in Peter Street for being drunk and disorderly and refusing to go home. On the journey to the police station he kicked the constable several times with his clogs and as he had been 17 times previously convicted, Tone was sent to prison for one month.
John Howard had been arrested in Parr Street for the same reason as Tone but proved even more difficult to escort to the station. His victim was PC Murney, whom he kicked several times and the man was said to have been very violent all the way to the station. John Howard was renowned as a violent character and was sent to prison for two months.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the little girls sent to steal coal at Ravenhead, the claim of a penny's worth of damage done to a reservoir, the case of cruelty to a market hen and why the Red Cat in Crank could not serve alcohol.
There was a curious letter in the Newspaper from a man who did not give his name but stated that he was from Nutgrove and supplied over 50 homes with water. The individual claimed that for three solid days no water had been available, causing much inconvenience for the residents. But the man also wrote:
"I am no scholar myself, so I have got a man to write this for me, who I often see and feel for; he comes twisting my nose round at all hours, some times at midnight and again at daybreak, but all I can give him is a deep sigh; and then he gives another, and off he goes muttering something, perhaps not his prayers. How much longer is this to last I wonder?" Presumably, he was referring to being unable to give his ghost letterwriter a water supply, leading to the sighs and muttering and nose twisting, whether metaphoric or real!
Railway staff faced a lot of abuse and violence from passengers, particularly from drunks late at night. It wasn't just yobs that caused trouble but businessmen and officials with an inflated view of their own importance who objected to ticket collectors interrogating them.
This week George Farmer appeared in court charged with travelling without a ticket and being drunk at St Helens railway station. The baker from Huyton had arrived by train at St Helens shortly after midnight and was found by a porter to be asleep in a carriage. Upon being asked for his ticket, he said he did not have it and became very abusive and refused to pay his fare.
It was even suggested to Farmer that he leave a shilling until the morning and if his ticket turned up they would return the money. But the man refused this and threatened the railway staff who described him as being "mad drunk". The police were called and when searched at the station he was found to be carrying £3 10 shillings – but had no ticket.
In court Farmer claimed to have bought a ticket for Huyton but had fallen asleep on the train through having worked all the previous night and had accidentally gone past his station. The case had been remanded for a couple of days to see if his story could be proved – but it could not. The defendant was fined 10 shillings and costs for riding without a ticket but the charge of drunkenness was dismissed.
A man who comes into the yob category was Michael Walsh. He had for no apparent reason attacked Thomas Egan, who was a pointsman on the line at Fleet Lane, striking him three times. Walsh had just come out of a pub when he saw Egan and after his victim reported the assault, a summons was taken out against the man. But just hours before Walsh was due in court, he went to Egan's house, as the St Helens Newspaper described:
"And having first entirely demolished the front window, he entered by the aperture thus made, knocked Egan down, and jumped upon him several times, at the same time threatening that if he got 20 years for that, he would have his life when he came back." Walsh was fined a total of £3 14 shillings, with the alternative of two months in prison and he also had to find sureties to keep the peace.
And in another case the staff at St Helens Junction station got thumped for preventing Edward Dougherty of Newtown from being knocked down by a passing train. Twice the drunken man had got on to the line and twice he had to be saved. When Dougherty appeared in court to face a charge of being drunk at the Junction station, he was fined 10 shillings and costs.
A woman who was also called Dougherty from Pottery Street in Greenbank appeared in court charged with assaulting her husband Cornelius. The latter told the magistrates that on the previous Sunday night he had gone to a house in Garden Street where he found his wife Bridget drunk. He told her to go home with him, which she agreed to do. But when they went upstairs in their house, she struck him in the right eye with a knife and cut it severely.
Cornelius gave his evidence very reluctantly, saying that he did not want to be hard on his wife because of the children. As a result the magistrates decided to reduce the charge from unlawful wounding to one of common assault. However, the Chairman of the Bench said it was not an offence they could pass over altogether and they sentenced Bridget to two months hard labour.
It sounds like Richard Naylor's father might have been in danger of losing his farm through the actions of his son. Richard appeared in court accused of trespassing in pursuit of game on land belonging to Michael Hughes of Sherdley Park. The young man's father was a tenant farmer who rented his farm off Hughes and his son had been caught previously searching for game on Sherdley land.
But because of his father‘s situation, the agent for the estate had forgiven Richard upon him promising not to offend again. However, Richard Brown, who was described as the park keeper at Sherdley Hall, had subsequently come across a rabbit trap and decided to keep watch on the place. He later saw Richard Naylor resetting the trap and in court he was fined 20 shillings.
Assaults on police officers rarely merited a prison sentence but this week two men were sent to Kirkdale Gaol for their separate bobby bashings on a Saturday night. Both had previous convictions, which often made a big difference in the sentencing, and both had used their clogs to kick the arresting constables.
PC Archer had taken William Tone into custody in Peter Street for being drunk and disorderly and refusing to go home. On the journey to the police station he kicked the constable several times with his clogs and as he had been 17 times previously convicted, Tone was sent to prison for one month.
John Howard had been arrested in Parr Street for the same reason as Tone but proved even more difficult to escort to the station. His victim was PC Murney, whom he kicked several times and the man was said to have been very violent all the way to the station. John Howard was renowned as a violent character and was sent to prison for two months.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the little girls sent to steal coal at Ravenhead, the claim of a penny's worth of damage done to a reservoir, the case of cruelty to a market hen and why the Red Cat in Crank could not serve alcohol.
This week's many stories include the Greenbank man whose wife stabbed him in the eye, the clog kicking of constables, the Nutgrove water problem, the rabbit trapping in Sherdley Park, the abusive train passenger carrying £3 but who refused to pay his fare and the St Helens Junction railway staff who were thumped after saving a drunk from being run over.
Spelling bees were now proving popular within the St Helens district and advertised in the St Helens Newspaper on the 26th were Heywood's spelling bee cards containing over 1,000 words.
The cards were on sale for 6d a packet from Dromgooles of Hardshaw Street (pictured above), which was attached to the offices of the Newspaper itself.
There was a curious letter in the Newspaper from a man who did not give his name but stated that he was from Nutgrove and supplied over 50 homes with water.
The individual claimed that for three solid days no water had been available, causing much inconvenience for the residents. But the man also wrote:
"I am no scholar myself, so I have got a man to write this for me, who I often see and feel for; he comes twisting my nose round at all hours, some times at midnight and again at daybreak, but all I can give him is a deep sigh; and then he gives another, and off he goes muttering something, perhaps not his prayers. How much longer is this to last I wonder?"
Presumably, he was referring to being unable to give his ghost letterwriter a water supply, leading to the sighs and muttering and nose twisting, whether metaphoric or real!
Railway staff faced a lot of abuse and violence from passengers, particularly from drunks late at night.
It wasn't just yobs that caused trouble but businessmen and officials with an inflated view of their own importance who objected to ticket collectors interrogating them.
This week George Farmer appeared in court charged with travelling without a ticket and being drunk at St Helens railway station.
The baker from Huyton had arrived by train at St Helens shortly after midnight and was found by a porter to be asleep in a carriage.
Upon being asked for his ticket, he said he did not have it and became very abusive and refused to pay his fare.
It was even suggested to Farmer that he leave a shilling until the morning and if his ticket turned up they would return the money.
But the man refused this and threatened the railway staff who described him as being "mad drunk".
The police were called and when searched at the station he was found to be carrying £3 10 shillings – but had no ticket.
In court Farmer claimed to have bought a ticket for Huyton but had fallen asleep on the train through having worked all the previous night and had accidentally gone past his station.
The case had been remanded for a couple of days to see if his story could be proved – but it could not.
The defendant was fined 10 shillings and costs for riding without a ticket but the charge of drunkenness was dismissed.
A man who comes into the yob category was Michael Walsh. He had for no apparent reason attacked Thomas Egan, who was a pointsman on the line at Fleet Lane, striking him three times.
Walsh had just come out of a pub when he saw Egan and after his victim reported the assault, a summons was taken out against the man.
But just hours before Walsh was due in court, he went to Egan's house, as the St Helens Newspaper described:
"And having first entirely demolished the front window, he entered by the aperture thus made, knocked Egan down, and jumped upon him several times, at the same time threatening that if he got 20 years for that, he would have his life when he came back."
Walsh was fined a total of £3 14 shillings, with the alternative of two months in prison and he also had to find sureties to keep the peace.
And in another case the staff at St Helens Junction station got thumped for preventing Edward Dougherty of Newtown from being knocked down by a passing train.
Twice the drunken man had got on to the line and twice he had to be saved.
When Dougherty appeared in court to face a charge of being drunk at the Junction station, he was fined 10 shillings and costs.
A woman who was also called Dougherty from Pottery Street in Greenbank appeared in court charged with assaulting her husband Cornelius.
The latter told the magistrates that on the previous Sunday night he had gone to a house in Garden Street where he found his wife Bridget drunk.
He told her to go home with him, which she agreed to do. But when they went upstairs in their house, she struck him in the right eye with a knife and cut it severely.
Cornelius gave his evidence very reluctantly, saying that he did not want to be hard on his wife because of the children.
As a result the magistrates decided to reduce the charge from unlawful wounding to one of common assault.
However, the Chairman of the Bench said it was not an offence they could pass over altogether and they sentenced Bridget to two months hard labour.
It sounds like Richard Naylor's father might have been in danger of losing his farm through the actions of his son.
Richard appeared in court accused of trespassing in pursuit of game on land belonging to Michael Hughes of Sherdley Park.
The young man's father was a tenant farmer who rented his farm off Hughes and his son had been caught previously searching for game on Sherdley land.
But because of his father‘s situation, the agent for the estate had forgiven Richard upon him promising not to offend again.
However, Richard Brown, who was described as the park keeper at Sherdley Hall, had subsequently come across a rabbit trap and decided to keep watch on the place.
He later saw Richard Naylor resetting the trap and in court he was fined 20 shillings.
Assaults on police officers rarely merited a prison sentence but this week two men were sent to Kirkdale Gaol for their separate bobby bashings on a Saturday night.
Both had previous convictions, which often made a big difference in the sentencing, and both had used their clogs to kick the arresting constables.
PC Archer had taken William Tone into custody in Peter Street for being drunk and disorderly and refusing to go home.
On the journey to the police station he kicked the constable several times with his clogs and as he had been 17 times previously convicted, Tone was sent to prison for one month.
John Howard had been arrested in Parr Street for the same reason as Tone but proved even more difficult to escort to the station.
His victim was PC Murney, whom he kicked several times and the man was said to have been very violent all the way to the station.
John Howard was renowned as a violent character and was sent to prison for two months.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the little girls sent to steal coal at Ravenhead, the claim of a penny's worth of damage done to a reservoir, the case of cruelty to a market hen and why the Red Cat in Crank could not serve alcohol.
The cards were on sale for 6d a packet from Dromgooles of Hardshaw Street (pictured above), which was attached to the offices of the Newspaper itself.
There was a curious letter in the Newspaper from a man who did not give his name but stated that he was from Nutgrove and supplied over 50 homes with water.
The individual claimed that for three solid days no water had been available, causing much inconvenience for the residents. But the man also wrote:
"I am no scholar myself, so I have got a man to write this for me, who I often see and feel for; he comes twisting my nose round at all hours, some times at midnight and again at daybreak, but all I can give him is a deep sigh; and then he gives another, and off he goes muttering something, perhaps not his prayers. How much longer is this to last I wonder?"
Presumably, he was referring to being unable to give his ghost letterwriter a water supply, leading to the sighs and muttering and nose twisting, whether metaphoric or real!
Railway staff faced a lot of abuse and violence from passengers, particularly from drunks late at night.
It wasn't just yobs that caused trouble but businessmen and officials with an inflated view of their own importance who objected to ticket collectors interrogating them.
This week George Farmer appeared in court charged with travelling without a ticket and being drunk at St Helens railway station.
The baker from Huyton had arrived by train at St Helens shortly after midnight and was found by a porter to be asleep in a carriage.
Upon being asked for his ticket, he said he did not have it and became very abusive and refused to pay his fare.
It was even suggested to Farmer that he leave a shilling until the morning and if his ticket turned up they would return the money.
But the man refused this and threatened the railway staff who described him as being "mad drunk".
The police were called and when searched at the station he was found to be carrying £3 10 shillings – but had no ticket.
In court Farmer claimed to have bought a ticket for Huyton but had fallen asleep on the train through having worked all the previous night and had accidentally gone past his station.
The case had been remanded for a couple of days to see if his story could be proved – but it could not.
The defendant was fined 10 shillings and costs for riding without a ticket but the charge of drunkenness was dismissed.
A man who comes into the yob category was Michael Walsh. He had for no apparent reason attacked Thomas Egan, who was a pointsman on the line at Fleet Lane, striking him three times.
Walsh had just come out of a pub when he saw Egan and after his victim reported the assault, a summons was taken out against the man.
But just hours before Walsh was due in court, he went to Egan's house, as the St Helens Newspaper described:
"And having first entirely demolished the front window, he entered by the aperture thus made, knocked Egan down, and jumped upon him several times, at the same time threatening that if he got 20 years for that, he would have his life when he came back."
Walsh was fined a total of £3 14 shillings, with the alternative of two months in prison and he also had to find sureties to keep the peace.
And in another case the staff at St Helens Junction station got thumped for preventing Edward Dougherty of Newtown from being knocked down by a passing train.
Twice the drunken man had got on to the line and twice he had to be saved.
When Dougherty appeared in court to face a charge of being drunk at the Junction station, he was fined 10 shillings and costs.
A woman who was also called Dougherty from Pottery Street in Greenbank appeared in court charged with assaulting her husband Cornelius.
The latter told the magistrates that on the previous Sunday night he had gone to a house in Garden Street where he found his wife Bridget drunk.
He told her to go home with him, which she agreed to do. But when they went upstairs in their house, she struck him in the right eye with a knife and cut it severely.
Cornelius gave his evidence very reluctantly, saying that he did not want to be hard on his wife because of the children.
As a result the magistrates decided to reduce the charge from unlawful wounding to one of common assault.
However, the Chairman of the Bench said it was not an offence they could pass over altogether and they sentenced Bridget to two months hard labour.
It sounds like Richard Naylor's father might have been in danger of losing his farm through the actions of his son.
Richard appeared in court accused of trespassing in pursuit of game on land belonging to Michael Hughes of Sherdley Park.
The young man's father was a tenant farmer who rented his farm off Hughes and his son had been caught previously searching for game on Sherdley land.
But because of his father‘s situation, the agent for the estate had forgiven Richard upon him promising not to offend again.
However, Richard Brown, who was described as the park keeper at Sherdley Hall, had subsequently come across a rabbit trap and decided to keep watch on the place.
He later saw Richard Naylor resetting the trap and in court he was fined 20 shillings.
Assaults on police officers rarely merited a prison sentence but this week two men were sent to Kirkdale Gaol for their separate bobby bashings on a Saturday night.
Both had previous convictions, which often made a big difference in the sentencing, and both had used their clogs to kick the arresting constables.
PC Archer had taken William Tone into custody in Peter Street for being drunk and disorderly and refusing to go home.
On the journey to the police station he kicked the constable several times with his clogs and as he had been 17 times previously convicted, Tone was sent to prison for one month.
John Howard had been arrested in Parr Street for the same reason as Tone but proved even more difficult to escort to the station.
His victim was PC Murney, whom he kicked several times and the man was said to have been very violent all the way to the station.
John Howard was renowned as a violent character and was sent to prison for two months.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the little girls sent to steal coal at Ravenhead, the claim of a penny's worth of damage done to a reservoir, the case of cruelty to a market hen and why the Red Cat in Crank could not serve alcohol.