150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (25th - 31st JANUARY 1871)
This week's stories include plans to vaccinate the poor against the spread of smallpox, the sale of two old workhouses, the annual dinner for the old folk of Rainford and the right old barney that took place in Parr.
One hundred and fifty years ago, January was definitely the month for tea parties and balls – sometimes both held together, with the dancing taking placing after the dining. That was the case with Holy Cross Church's annual soiree with the event held in the Volunteer Hall on the 25th.
On the following day the Prescot Union's Board of Guardians – the men who ran Whiston Workhouse and implemented the Poor Law out in the community – met for their fortnightly meeting in the workhouse's boardroom. The 28 elected Guardians covered a very wide area, with three members representing Sutton and three for Windle; two members each for Parr, Eccleston, Widnes and Prescot and one each for Whiston, Bold, Huyton, Knowsley, Rainford, Rainhill, Ditton, Cronton, Hale, Halewood, Speke, Much Woolton, Little Woolton and Tarbock.
The Guardians discussed the return of smallpox to Sutton, which had occurred after someone from Liverpool had gone there and "infected the place". James Ricketts was the 30-year-old doctor who lived in Cotham Street and who tends to get mentioned whenever train crashes occur in the St Helens district. That was because the railway company paid him to treat their injured passengers – which made him a busy and possibly well-off doctor!
Dr Ricketts was also on the books of the Guardians and was responsible for treating the very poor in Sutton. Not that many people qualified for free treatment. Despite the number of cases of smallpox in the Sutton district, only 24 persons had been cared for in the past fortnight. The doctor was concerned that large numbers of people were unvaccinated against the disease and had written to the Poor Law Board to ask for their advice.
The law at present only permitted vaccination within a doctor's surgery and Dr Ricketts wanted permission to vaccinate within patients' homes to try and prevent a serious epidemic. The Board had written back that they were unable to grant him that power but the Prescot Union could – as long as the danger of the disease spreading was considered very great. The Guardians decided to go one step further and employ a man for a month to visit the infected districts and ensure vaccinations were carried out. If people refused to be vaccinated, then prosecutions would be initiated.
Yes, 150 years ago vaccination was compulsory which made it even more controversial than today. In 1870 John Hunt of Windle Street in St Helens had a furious letter published in a Wigan newspaper in which he wrote: "I could quote the names of large numbers of medical men who after twenty or thirty years' experience have come to the conclusion that vaccination is a delusion, and ought to be abandoned from the statute books as compulsory."
It was also reported that the two old workhouses had finally been sold. James Grace had bought the derelict Sutton Workhouse – situated opposite St Nicholas Church – for £270. This, like all the other small workhouses within the St Helens and Prescot districts, had been closed in 1843 with the inmates transferred to the new "super-workhouse" at Whiston.
Grace's Square would be built on the site of the old workhouse and from the 1970s it would form part of the playing fields of Sherdley Primary School. That is rather appropriate, as teaching of pauper children would have taken place in the workhouse and since its closure, the building had served as the first Sutton National School.
The other workhouse was in Baldwin Street and was sold to John Ansdell for £1,040. This had been built in the 1790s as a joint scheme by the Windle and Eccleston townships to care for their paupers. The Co-operative Stores would later be built on the site but since its closure in the 1840s the building had been used as a lodging house. The building's new owner, John Ansdell, was a wealthy solicitor, property owner and registrar to St Helens County Court. Twenty years earlier he had built Cowley House – or the Mansion House as we know it – in what would become Victoria Park.
A railway worker called John Freeman was killed on the line at Parr on the 27th. The St Helens Newspaper wrote on the following day that his body had been "frightfully mangled".
The Newspaper also described the recently held dinner for the old folk of Rainford, which was held in the Eagle and Child in Chapel Lane (now Church Road - pub pictured above). The "feast" was courtesy of Richard Pennington, the wealthy cotton manufacturer, who five years earlier had built Muncaster Hall. Pennington had first moved to Rainford in 1857 to set up home with a mill girl called Elizabeth Cash. His mother disapproved of the liaison and the couple had to "live in sin" for four years until the old woman died before getting married.
The Newspaper wrote: "The amusements of the evening were greatly added to by songs, music, and dancing, and all seemed to enjoy themselves thoroughly." The seventy old folk were each presented with the customary leaving gift of a packet of tea for the women and pipe tobacco for the men. One would have thought that something a bit more feminine could have been found for the women but the tea had become a tradition and was no doubt appreciated. Somebody had been doing some maths at the event and calculated that the average age of the participants was 70¾ and they had had 343 children between them.
A story of a right old barney at Parr was told at the St Helens Petty Sessions on the 30th when Elizabeth Billinge accused Esther Harrison of assault. Mrs Billinge told the court that earlier that month she had rented a house from Mrs Harrison and paid her two weeks rent in advance. However an "old man" then told her that the property belonged to him and he demanded the rent. That led to a dispute and Mrs Billinge decided to quit the house and she moved her things to the Blue Bell pub in Broad Oak Road.
However Mrs Billinge then claimed that on the 23rd, Mrs Harrison threw a bucket of water over her as she was passing her door and the woman and her mother then commenced "a strangling of her". Some neighbours came to the rescue but then Mrs Billinge claimed that the mother and daughter went at her armed with pokers. She said if it had not been for the intervention of a young man in the crowd, she did not know what might have happened.
Of course this one-sided tale was not the complete story. Rachel Daniels had witnessed the affair and said that after the water throwing, Mrs Billinge had retaliated by throwing a handful of "sluch" at Mrs Harrison. An "elderly woman" called Fanny Swift (she appears to have been 55 according to the census!) said the pair had been rowing before the assault or as she put it – "they were agate of fighting all afternoon".
Upon being asked if Mrs Billinge had abused Mrs Harrison and been looking for a fight, Fanny Swift replied: "Well, they was one as bad as t’other. They're both alike. But she geet poker to leather her with and I took it from her, but they're both the same." After hearing the evidence the magistrates dismissed the summons.
There was another case in the Sessions of severe poverty driving a mother to steal some coal to warm her family in the severe winter that St Helens was currently experiencing. Elizabeth Mather was described by the Newspaper as a "poorly-clad woman" and had been caught taking 58 lbs of coal worth 2d from a railway wagon at Peasley Cross. The woman’s solicitor said Mrs Mather had been tempted to commit the crime because both she and her husband were out of work.
Since her arrest 36 hours earlier the woman had been held in a police lock up and as this was her first offence, he appealed for her not to be sent to prison. However the plea fell on deaf ears, with the Chairman of the Bench saying they were bound to protect property and Elizabeth Mather would be imprisoned for seven days.
Lawson Creighton was summoned for cruelly beating his horse in Raven Street at the top of Church Street. A constable gave evidence of seeing the man lean forward in his trap and "labour the animal in a brutal manner" with a large stick. Of course Creighton denied the offence but he was fined ten shillings and costs.
Alice and Richard Hodgkinson were also in the dock charged with creating a disturbance in Edward Street, which used to be near Liverpool Street. A constable told the court that the couple had been very noisy and after telling them to go home, they continued shouting at each other. Mrs Hodgkinson said it had only been a family quarrel and she had to shout to her husband or he would never have heard her! They were both bound over to keep the peace but needed to find sureties.
Next week's stories will include the great fire of Church Street, the Peasley Cross grocer warned about giving credit to women, the beggars in St Helens and the book-hawker who learnt a harsh lesson in Barrow Street.
One hundred and fifty years ago, January was definitely the month for tea parties and balls – sometimes both held together, with the dancing taking placing after the dining. That was the case with Holy Cross Church's annual soiree with the event held in the Volunteer Hall on the 25th.
On the following day the Prescot Union's Board of Guardians – the men who ran Whiston Workhouse and implemented the Poor Law out in the community – met for their fortnightly meeting in the workhouse's boardroom. The 28 elected Guardians covered a very wide area, with three members representing Sutton and three for Windle; two members each for Parr, Eccleston, Widnes and Prescot and one each for Whiston, Bold, Huyton, Knowsley, Rainford, Rainhill, Ditton, Cronton, Hale, Halewood, Speke, Much Woolton, Little Woolton and Tarbock.
The Guardians discussed the return of smallpox to Sutton, which had occurred after someone from Liverpool had gone there and "infected the place". James Ricketts was the 30-year-old doctor who lived in Cotham Street and who tends to get mentioned whenever train crashes occur in the St Helens district. That was because the railway company paid him to treat their injured passengers – which made him a busy and possibly well-off doctor!
Dr Ricketts was also on the books of the Guardians and was responsible for treating the very poor in Sutton. Not that many people qualified for free treatment. Despite the number of cases of smallpox in the Sutton district, only 24 persons had been cared for in the past fortnight. The doctor was concerned that large numbers of people were unvaccinated against the disease and had written to the Poor Law Board to ask for their advice.
The law at present only permitted vaccination within a doctor's surgery and Dr Ricketts wanted permission to vaccinate within patients' homes to try and prevent a serious epidemic. The Board had written back that they were unable to grant him that power but the Prescot Union could – as long as the danger of the disease spreading was considered very great. The Guardians decided to go one step further and employ a man for a month to visit the infected districts and ensure vaccinations were carried out. If people refused to be vaccinated, then prosecutions would be initiated.
Yes, 150 years ago vaccination was compulsory which made it even more controversial than today. In 1870 John Hunt of Windle Street in St Helens had a furious letter published in a Wigan newspaper in which he wrote: "I could quote the names of large numbers of medical men who after twenty or thirty years' experience have come to the conclusion that vaccination is a delusion, and ought to be abandoned from the statute books as compulsory."
It was also reported that the two old workhouses had finally been sold. James Grace had bought the derelict Sutton Workhouse – situated opposite St Nicholas Church – for £270. This, like all the other small workhouses within the St Helens and Prescot districts, had been closed in 1843 with the inmates transferred to the new "super-workhouse" at Whiston.
Grace's Square would be built on the site of the old workhouse and from the 1970s it would form part of the playing fields of Sherdley Primary School. That is rather appropriate, as teaching of pauper children would have taken place in the workhouse and since its closure, the building had served as the first Sutton National School.
The other workhouse was in Baldwin Street and was sold to John Ansdell for £1,040. This had been built in the 1790s as a joint scheme by the Windle and Eccleston townships to care for their paupers. The Co-operative Stores would later be built on the site but since its closure in the 1840s the building had been used as a lodging house. The building's new owner, John Ansdell, was a wealthy solicitor, property owner and registrar to St Helens County Court. Twenty years earlier he had built Cowley House – or the Mansion House as we know it – in what would become Victoria Park.
A railway worker called John Freeman was killed on the line at Parr on the 27th. The St Helens Newspaper wrote on the following day that his body had been "frightfully mangled".
The Newspaper wrote: "The amusements of the evening were greatly added to by songs, music, and dancing, and all seemed to enjoy themselves thoroughly." The seventy old folk were each presented with the customary leaving gift of a packet of tea for the women and pipe tobacco for the men. One would have thought that something a bit more feminine could have been found for the women but the tea had become a tradition and was no doubt appreciated. Somebody had been doing some maths at the event and calculated that the average age of the participants was 70¾ and they had had 343 children between them.
A story of a right old barney at Parr was told at the St Helens Petty Sessions on the 30th when Elizabeth Billinge accused Esther Harrison of assault. Mrs Billinge told the court that earlier that month she had rented a house from Mrs Harrison and paid her two weeks rent in advance. However an "old man" then told her that the property belonged to him and he demanded the rent. That led to a dispute and Mrs Billinge decided to quit the house and she moved her things to the Blue Bell pub in Broad Oak Road.
However Mrs Billinge then claimed that on the 23rd, Mrs Harrison threw a bucket of water over her as she was passing her door and the woman and her mother then commenced "a strangling of her". Some neighbours came to the rescue but then Mrs Billinge claimed that the mother and daughter went at her armed with pokers. She said if it had not been for the intervention of a young man in the crowd, she did not know what might have happened.
Of course this one-sided tale was not the complete story. Rachel Daniels had witnessed the affair and said that after the water throwing, Mrs Billinge had retaliated by throwing a handful of "sluch" at Mrs Harrison. An "elderly woman" called Fanny Swift (she appears to have been 55 according to the census!) said the pair had been rowing before the assault or as she put it – "they were agate of fighting all afternoon".
Upon being asked if Mrs Billinge had abused Mrs Harrison and been looking for a fight, Fanny Swift replied: "Well, they was one as bad as t’other. They're both alike. But she geet poker to leather her with and I took it from her, but they're both the same." After hearing the evidence the magistrates dismissed the summons.
There was another case in the Sessions of severe poverty driving a mother to steal some coal to warm her family in the severe winter that St Helens was currently experiencing. Elizabeth Mather was described by the Newspaper as a "poorly-clad woman" and had been caught taking 58 lbs of coal worth 2d from a railway wagon at Peasley Cross. The woman’s solicitor said Mrs Mather had been tempted to commit the crime because both she and her husband were out of work.
Since her arrest 36 hours earlier the woman had been held in a police lock up and as this was her first offence, he appealed for her not to be sent to prison. However the plea fell on deaf ears, with the Chairman of the Bench saying they were bound to protect property and Elizabeth Mather would be imprisoned for seven days.
Lawson Creighton was summoned for cruelly beating his horse in Raven Street at the top of Church Street. A constable gave evidence of seeing the man lean forward in his trap and "labour the animal in a brutal manner" with a large stick. Of course Creighton denied the offence but he was fined ten shillings and costs.
Alice and Richard Hodgkinson were also in the dock charged with creating a disturbance in Edward Street, which used to be near Liverpool Street. A constable told the court that the couple had been very noisy and after telling them to go home, they continued shouting at each other. Mrs Hodgkinson said it had only been a family quarrel and she had to shout to her husband or he would never have heard her! They were both bound over to keep the peace but needed to find sureties.
Next week's stories will include the great fire of Church Street, the Peasley Cross grocer warned about giving credit to women, the beggars in St Helens and the book-hawker who learnt a harsh lesson in Barrow Street.
This week's stories include plans to vaccinate the poor against the spread of smallpox, the sale of two old workhouses, the annual dinner for the old folk of Rainford and the right old barney that took place in Parr.
One hundred and fifty years ago, January was definitely the month for tea parties and balls – sometimes both held together, with the dancing taking placing after the dining.
That was the case with Holy Cross Church's annual soiree with the event held in the Volunteer Hall on the 25th.
On the following day the Prescot Union's Board of Guardians – the men who ran Whiston Workhouse and implemented the Poor Law out in the community – met for their fortnightly meeting in the workhouse's boardroom.
The 28 elected Guardians covered a very wide area, with three members representing Sutton and three for Windle; two members each for Parr, Eccleston, Widnes and Prescot and one each for Whiston, Bold, Huyton, Knowsley, Rainford, Rainhill, Ditton, Cronton, Hale, Halewood, Speke, Much Woolton, Little Woolton and Tarbock.
The Guardians discussed the return of smallpox to Sutton, which had occurred after someone from Liverpool had gone there and "infected the place".
James Ricketts was the 30-year-old doctor who lived in Cotham Street and who tends to get mentioned whenever train crashes occur in the St Helens district.
That was because the railway company paid him to treat their injured passengers – which made him a busy and possibly well-off doctor!
Dr Ricketts was also on the books of the Guardians and was responsible for treating the very poor in Sutton.
Not that many people qualified for free treatment. Despite the number of cases of smallpox in the Sutton district, only 24 persons had been cared for in the past fortnight.
The doctor was concerned that large numbers of people were unvaccinated against the disease and had written to the Poor Law Board to ask for their advice.
The law at present only permitted vaccination within a doctor's surgery and Dr Ricketts wanted permission to vaccinate within patients' homes to try and prevent a serious epidemic.
The Board had written back that they were unable to grant him that power but the Prescot Union could – as long as the danger of the disease spreading was considered very great.
The Guardians decided to go one step further and employ a man for a month to visit the infected districts and ensure vaccinations were carried out. If people refused to be vaccinated, then prosecutions would be initiated.
Yes, 150 years ago vaccination was compulsory which made it even more controversial than today.
In 1870 John Hunt of Windle Street in St Helens had a furious letter published in a Wigan newspaper in which he wrote:
"I could quote the names of large numbers of medical men who after twenty or thirty years' experience have come to the conclusion that vaccination is a delusion, and ought to be abandoned from the statute books as compulsory."
It was also reported that the two old workhouses had finally been sold. James Grace had bought the derelict Sutton Workhouse – situated opposite St Nicholas Church – for £270.
This, like all the other small workhouses within the St Helens and Prescot districts, had been closed in 1843 with the inmates transferred to the new "super-workhouse" at Whiston.
Grace's Square would be built on the site of the old workhouse and from the 1970s it would form part of the playing fields of Sherdley Primary School.
That is rather appropriate, as teaching of pauper children would have taken place in the workhouse and since its closure, the building had served as the first Sutton National School.
The other workhouse was in Baldwin Street and was sold to John Ansdell for £1,040. This had been built in the 1790s as a joint scheme by the Windle and Eccleston townships to care for their paupers.
The Co-operative Stores would later be built on the site but since its closure in the 1840s the building had been used as a lodging house.
The building's new owner, John Ansdell, was a wealthy solicitor, property owner and registrar to St Helens County Court.
Twenty years earlier he had built Cowley House – or the Mansion House as we know it – in what would become Victoria Park.
A railway worker called John Freeman was killed on the line at Parr on the 27th. The St Helens Newspaper wrote on the following day that his body had been "frightfully mangled".
The Newspaper also described the recently held dinner for the old folk of Rainford, which was held in the Eagle and Child in Chapel Lane (now Church Road - pub pictured above).
The "feast" was courtesy of Richard Pennington, the wealthy cotton manufacturer, who five years earlier had built Muncaster Hall.
Pennington had first moved to Rainford in 1857 to set up home with a mill girl called Elizabeth Cash.
His mother disapproved of the liaison and the couple had to "live in sin" for four years until the old woman died before getting married.
The Newspaper wrote: "The amusements of the evening were greatly added to by songs, music, and dancing, and all seemed to enjoy themselves thoroughly."
The seventy old folk were each presented with the customary leaving gift of a packet of tea for the women and pipe tobacco for the men.
One would have thought that something a bit more feminine could have been found for the women but the tea had become a tradition and was no doubt appreciated.
Somebody had been doing some maths at the event and calculated that the average age of the participants was 70¾ and they had had 343 children between them.
A story of a right old barney at Parr was told at the St Helens Petty Sessions on the 30th when Elizabeth Billinge accused Esther Harrison of assault.
Mrs Billinge told the court that earlier that month she had rented a house from Mrs Harrison and paid her two weeks rent in advance.
However an "old man" then told her that the property belonged to him and he demanded the rent.
That led to a dispute and Mrs Billinge decided to quit the house and she moved her things to the Blue Bell pub in Broad Oak Road.
However Mrs Billinge then claimed that on the 23rd, Mrs Harrison threw a bucket of water over her as she was passing her door and the woman and her mother then commenced "a strangling of her".
Some neighbours came to the rescue but then Mrs Billinge claimed that the mother and daughter went at her armed with pokers.
She said if it had not been for the intervention of a young man in the crowd, she did not know what might have happened.
Of course this one-sided tale was not the complete story.
Rachel Daniels had witnessed the affair and said that after the water throwing, Mrs Billinge had retaliated by throwing a handful of "sluch" at Mrs Harrison.
An "elderly woman" called Fanny Swift (she appears to have been 55 according to the census!) said the pair had been rowing before the assault or as she put it – "they were agate of fighting all afternoon".
Upon being asked if Mrs Billinge had abused Mrs Harrison and been looking for a fight, Fanny Swift replied:
"Well, they was one as bad as t’other. They're both alike. But she geet poker to leather her with and I took it from her, but they're both the same."
After hearing the evidence the magistrates dismissed the summons.
There was another case in the Sessions of severe poverty driving a mother to steal some coal to warm her family in the severe winter that St Helens was currently experiencing.
Elizabeth Mather was described by the Newspaper as a "poorly-clad woman" and had been caught taking 58 lbs of coal worth 2d from a railway wagon at Peasley Cross.
The woman’s solicitor said Mrs Mather had been tempted to commit the crime because both she and her husband were out of work.
Since her arrest 36 hours earlier the woman had been held in a police lock up and as this was her first offence, he appealed for her not to be sent to prison.
However the plea fell on deaf ears, with the Chairman of the Bench saying they were bound to protect property and Elizabeth Mather would be imprisoned for seven days.
Lawson Creighton was summoned for cruelly beating his horse in Raven Street at the top of Church Street.
A constable gave evidence of seeing the man lean forward in his trap and "labour the animal in a brutal manner" with a large stick.
Of course Creighton denied the offence but he was fined ten shillings and costs.
Alice and Richard Hodgkinson were also in the dock charged with creating a disturbance in Edward Street, which used to be near Liverpool Street.
A constable told the court that the couple had been very noisy and after telling them to go home, they continued shouting at each other.
Mrs Hodgkinson said it had only been a family quarrel and she had to shout to her husband or he would never have heard her!
They were both bound over to keep the peace but needed to find sureties.
Next week's stories will include the great fire of Church Street, the Peasley Cross grocer warned about giving credit to women, the beggars in St Helens and the book-hawker who learnt a harsh lesson in Barrow Street.
One hundred and fifty years ago, January was definitely the month for tea parties and balls – sometimes both held together, with the dancing taking placing after the dining.
That was the case with Holy Cross Church's annual soiree with the event held in the Volunteer Hall on the 25th.
On the following day the Prescot Union's Board of Guardians – the men who ran Whiston Workhouse and implemented the Poor Law out in the community – met for their fortnightly meeting in the workhouse's boardroom.
The 28 elected Guardians covered a very wide area, with three members representing Sutton and three for Windle; two members each for Parr, Eccleston, Widnes and Prescot and one each for Whiston, Bold, Huyton, Knowsley, Rainford, Rainhill, Ditton, Cronton, Hale, Halewood, Speke, Much Woolton, Little Woolton and Tarbock.
The Guardians discussed the return of smallpox to Sutton, which had occurred after someone from Liverpool had gone there and "infected the place".
James Ricketts was the 30-year-old doctor who lived in Cotham Street and who tends to get mentioned whenever train crashes occur in the St Helens district.
That was because the railway company paid him to treat their injured passengers – which made him a busy and possibly well-off doctor!
Dr Ricketts was also on the books of the Guardians and was responsible for treating the very poor in Sutton.
Not that many people qualified for free treatment. Despite the number of cases of smallpox in the Sutton district, only 24 persons had been cared for in the past fortnight.
The doctor was concerned that large numbers of people were unvaccinated against the disease and had written to the Poor Law Board to ask for their advice.
The law at present only permitted vaccination within a doctor's surgery and Dr Ricketts wanted permission to vaccinate within patients' homes to try and prevent a serious epidemic.
The Board had written back that they were unable to grant him that power but the Prescot Union could – as long as the danger of the disease spreading was considered very great.
The Guardians decided to go one step further and employ a man for a month to visit the infected districts and ensure vaccinations were carried out. If people refused to be vaccinated, then prosecutions would be initiated.
Yes, 150 years ago vaccination was compulsory which made it even more controversial than today.
In 1870 John Hunt of Windle Street in St Helens had a furious letter published in a Wigan newspaper in which he wrote:
"I could quote the names of large numbers of medical men who after twenty or thirty years' experience have come to the conclusion that vaccination is a delusion, and ought to be abandoned from the statute books as compulsory."
It was also reported that the two old workhouses had finally been sold. James Grace had bought the derelict Sutton Workhouse – situated opposite St Nicholas Church – for £270.
This, like all the other small workhouses within the St Helens and Prescot districts, had been closed in 1843 with the inmates transferred to the new "super-workhouse" at Whiston.
Grace's Square would be built on the site of the old workhouse and from the 1970s it would form part of the playing fields of Sherdley Primary School.
That is rather appropriate, as teaching of pauper children would have taken place in the workhouse and since its closure, the building had served as the first Sutton National School.
The other workhouse was in Baldwin Street and was sold to John Ansdell for £1,040. This had been built in the 1790s as a joint scheme by the Windle and Eccleston townships to care for their paupers.
The Co-operative Stores would later be built on the site but since its closure in the 1840s the building had been used as a lodging house.
The building's new owner, John Ansdell, was a wealthy solicitor, property owner and registrar to St Helens County Court.
Twenty years earlier he had built Cowley House – or the Mansion House as we know it – in what would become Victoria Park.
A railway worker called John Freeman was killed on the line at Parr on the 27th. The St Helens Newspaper wrote on the following day that his body had been "frightfully mangled".
The "feast" was courtesy of Richard Pennington, the wealthy cotton manufacturer, who five years earlier had built Muncaster Hall.
Pennington had first moved to Rainford in 1857 to set up home with a mill girl called Elizabeth Cash.
His mother disapproved of the liaison and the couple had to "live in sin" for four years until the old woman died before getting married.
The Newspaper wrote: "The amusements of the evening were greatly added to by songs, music, and dancing, and all seemed to enjoy themselves thoroughly."
The seventy old folk were each presented with the customary leaving gift of a packet of tea for the women and pipe tobacco for the men.
One would have thought that something a bit more feminine could have been found for the women but the tea had become a tradition and was no doubt appreciated.
Somebody had been doing some maths at the event and calculated that the average age of the participants was 70¾ and they had had 343 children between them.
A story of a right old barney at Parr was told at the St Helens Petty Sessions on the 30th when Elizabeth Billinge accused Esther Harrison of assault.
Mrs Billinge told the court that earlier that month she had rented a house from Mrs Harrison and paid her two weeks rent in advance.
However an "old man" then told her that the property belonged to him and he demanded the rent.
That led to a dispute and Mrs Billinge decided to quit the house and she moved her things to the Blue Bell pub in Broad Oak Road.
However Mrs Billinge then claimed that on the 23rd, Mrs Harrison threw a bucket of water over her as she was passing her door and the woman and her mother then commenced "a strangling of her".
Some neighbours came to the rescue but then Mrs Billinge claimed that the mother and daughter went at her armed with pokers.
She said if it had not been for the intervention of a young man in the crowd, she did not know what might have happened.
Of course this one-sided tale was not the complete story.
Rachel Daniels had witnessed the affair and said that after the water throwing, Mrs Billinge had retaliated by throwing a handful of "sluch" at Mrs Harrison.
An "elderly woman" called Fanny Swift (she appears to have been 55 according to the census!) said the pair had been rowing before the assault or as she put it – "they were agate of fighting all afternoon".
Upon being asked if Mrs Billinge had abused Mrs Harrison and been looking for a fight, Fanny Swift replied:
"Well, they was one as bad as t’other. They're both alike. But she geet poker to leather her with and I took it from her, but they're both the same."
After hearing the evidence the magistrates dismissed the summons.
There was another case in the Sessions of severe poverty driving a mother to steal some coal to warm her family in the severe winter that St Helens was currently experiencing.
Elizabeth Mather was described by the Newspaper as a "poorly-clad woman" and had been caught taking 58 lbs of coal worth 2d from a railway wagon at Peasley Cross.
The woman’s solicitor said Mrs Mather had been tempted to commit the crime because both she and her husband were out of work.
Since her arrest 36 hours earlier the woman had been held in a police lock up and as this was her first offence, he appealed for her not to be sent to prison.
However the plea fell on deaf ears, with the Chairman of the Bench saying they were bound to protect property and Elizabeth Mather would be imprisoned for seven days.
Lawson Creighton was summoned for cruelly beating his horse in Raven Street at the top of Church Street.
A constable gave evidence of seeing the man lean forward in his trap and "labour the animal in a brutal manner" with a large stick.
Of course Creighton denied the offence but he was fined ten shillings and costs.
Alice and Richard Hodgkinson were also in the dock charged with creating a disturbance in Edward Street, which used to be near Liverpool Street.
A constable told the court that the couple had been very noisy and after telling them to go home, they continued shouting at each other.
Mrs Hodgkinson said it had only been a family quarrel and she had to shout to her husband or he would never have heard her!
They were both bound over to keep the peace but needed to find sureties.
Next week's stories will include the great fire of Church Street, the Peasley Cross grocer warned about giving credit to women, the beggars in St Helens and the book-hawker who learnt a harsh lesson in Barrow Street.