150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (25th NOV. - 1st DEC. 1869)
This week's stories include the promise of light for the dark streets of St Helens, the moaning mounted member of the Lancashire Light Horse, a tragedian performs at the Theatre Royal, why an earthquake was wanted in Prescot and there is a police campaign against vagrancy in St Helens.
It's hard to imagine how dark St Helens must have been 150 years ago, with only parts of the town centre having a reasonable level of illumination. It must have been very dangerous for pedestrians, with many roads not being paved and many people fell into the canal and drowned. Those going home from the beerhouse at night would have been especially at risk of not reaching their destination.
However on the 25th a meeting of the directors of the St Helens Gas and Coke Company took place in which there was hope of improving matters. A special committee was established to manage the laying of a gas extension mains, which was believed to be almost twelve miles long.
The St Helens Newspaper in an editorial called for St Helens Corporation to similarly step up to the plate and install lamps where mains already existed. The paper pointed out that over the last few weeks gas lamp pillars had been erected in various parts of St Helens but these were not yet providing light. The Newspaper wrote: "These posts placed on the footpaths, add to, rather than lessen, the dangers to pedestrians on dark nights."
The town's second Theatre Royal was situated at the corner of Milk Street and Waterloo Street, in the premises until recently occupied by the Citadel (shown above). The theatre rarely features in these articles, as adverts for performances in the St Helens Newspaper were rare. That was probably because the Theatre Royal's clientele was largely working class and not great purveyors of papers. So the promoters of the events spent their money on having posters and handbills printed instead.
However Arthur C. Forde did have an ad published in the Newspaper on the 27th with a couple of purposes in mind. One was to plug the upcoming performances at the Theatre Royal of the self-styled "tragedian". The second was to try and obtain some bookings in giving private readings and elocution lessons during his stay in St Helens. As well as being an actor appearing in plays, Forde would also give on-stage recitals of works, such as Shakespeare. In St Helens he performed as Shylock and Hamlet, amongst others, however attendances over the six nights were poor.
The Prescot Reporter was also published on the 27th and called for an earthquake to hit the town! The paper's editorial on street improvements read: "If there is one want which Prescot suffers from more than any other it is what a newspaper reader would scarcely expect it to be. The fact is we could do very well with an earthquake on a small scale. Scarcely any town in the country of similar size contains so many ricketty, tumble-down cottages. Some are highly suggestive of the leaning tower at Pisa; others have the walls bulging out to such an extent that long since they would have fallen into ruin but for being held together by iron rods running from outer wall to outer wall.
"Great numbers of them have roofs which resemble stone yards, so broken and crumbled have become the grey stones which were used in former days for roofing. There are cottages which may be counted by the score, which have become so weak in beams and joists, in laths, plaster, bricks, and mortar, as almost to defy the very ingenious jobbing bricklayers and joiners whose time is spent in patching and repairing the ancient domiciles. The wonder is that many of them have not fallen, and buried the inmates in the ruins."
In St Helens Police Court on the 29th John Burns pleaded guilty to begging in Church Street and was sent to prison for a week. The man had approached a police constable in plain clothes and asked him for money. George Ward and William Johnson "dropped into a similar trap with the same officer" – as the St Helens Newspaper put it – and they were also sent to Kirkdale Prison for a week.
Superintendent Ludlam told the Bench that because of the "alarming" increase in vagrancy in St Helens on Saturday nights, he had sent out a couple of officers in plain clothes to catch offenders. The Newspaper described how a man called George Wilson had also been caught begging in Church Street: "This amiable mendicant made a habit of cursing the persons who refused him alms, and for this feature in his case he was sent to prison for 14 days."
There were also a number of cases of beerhouses being opened at an illegal hour, including a prosecution of Patrick Collins who kept a house in Victoria Street near North Road. He pleaded guilty to allowing two men to sup beer on a Sunday morning but appealed for leniency, saying they had been choking with gas after leaving the Mayor's works. Collins was referring to Lieut.-Col. David Gamble's chemical plant at Gerards Bridge. These were dreadful places and many workers died young after inhaling the chemical fumes. Patrick Collins was fined £2.
An amusing case concerned Thomas Edwardson, a volunteer in the 2nd Lancashire Light Horse, who was charged with neglecting to pay a 30-shilling subscription. This was essentially a series of fines for non-attendance. The light horse was intended as a mounted rifle corps and had been set up as a result of an invasion scare but only lasted about 15 years. Captain Biram, the commander of the corps, gave evidence that Edwardson had only attended four out of sixteen drills.
His excuse was that when he was in uniform his horse would only allow him to mount up if a friend put a sack over the animal's eyes. Edwardson added that in 1868 his horse had fallen on him, inflicting such injuries that led to a doctor's bill of £12. He claimed to have attended six drills but that often nobody was there to drill the men and give them credit for attendance. Edwardson also complained of sometimes having to go to Liverpool to drill in order to accommodate half a dozen Liverpool fellows "who rode on broken-kneed cab horses". On one occasion one of these nags fell over and the rider in going down tore Edwardson's trousers with his sabre.
He also claimed that Captain Biram did not attend drills very often and complained of frequently having to ride for six hours without food. This he thought unfair, as he said he was not as fat as his captain! The St Helens Newspaper wrote: "[Police] Superintendent Ludlam told him that he ought not to speak in that way about his captain, but he was indifferent to all advice, and kept grumbling until the magistrates had made up their minds. He was then ordered to pay 30s. and costs of court."
In another case Henry Critchley and Joseph Burrowes were charged with assaulting John Parry in Rainhill. The latter was an attendant at the Lunatic Asylum (as it was then known) and lived in a nearby house and Critchley worked at Sutton Glassworks. Parry had spent the evening drinking at the Black Horse Inn and left at 11:30pm, along with Critchley and Burrowes.
On the short journey home Parry and Critchley decided to race each other for a bet, with Burrowes agreeing to hold their half-crown stakes. However they changed their minds and called off the race and when Parry reached the asylum gates he asked Burrowes to return his cash. According to Parry, Burrowes struck him a violent blow, knocked him down, kicked him savagely and then bit his hand. Critchley joined in with the attack, leaving Parry lying on the road half dead. He said he had been so injured that it took him ninety minutes to walk a quarter of a mile home.
However Henry Critchley claimed it was Parry who had thrown him down and then the man attacked Burrowes. This was after saying he would give the latter a "d__n good thrashing" (as the Newspaper reported it). He also claimed it had been Parry that had bitten Burrowes' hand – not the other way round. Burrowes gave similar evidence to Critchley. It was the usual six of one and half a dozen of the other with truth the biggest casualty and so the Bench dismissed the case.
William Redman was charged with driving his horse and cart without reins at Rainford. The man explained that he had been placing sacks in his cart when his horse suddenly started off and it was in motion when the officer appeared. He was fined 5 shillings. Thomas Tallow was also fined 5 shillings for working an unfit ass at Sutton. Sgt. Bee said the animal had several raw wounds on it.
James Manchester appeared in the Sessions charged with assaulting Thomas Pennington. The latter told the Bench that the defendant had struck him several blows without the slightest provocation in the house of his aunt. Manchester said he had been "very ill drunk at the time, and unable to distinguish between what I ought and ought not to do." He was fined ten shillings.
There was more evidence of the decline of the Mechanics Institute on the 30th when a lecture on Michael Faraday at their base in the Town Hall drew a very meagre attendance. The Institute also pioneered a public library in St Helens and when the organisation closed in 1870 there was nowhere for people to borrow books. That was until St Helens Corporation opened a library in the new Town Hall in Corporation Street in 1877.
Next week's stories will include the St Helens market traders unlawfully crying out rabbit, the end of the Eccleston road toll, the black man begging in Bridge Street pubs, the pulling of a boy's ear lands a shopkeeper in court and the three Prescot boys imprisoned for playing pitch and toss.
It's hard to imagine how dark St Helens must have been 150 years ago, with only parts of the town centre having a reasonable level of illumination. It must have been very dangerous for pedestrians, with many roads not being paved and many people fell into the canal and drowned. Those going home from the beerhouse at night would have been especially at risk of not reaching their destination.
However on the 25th a meeting of the directors of the St Helens Gas and Coke Company took place in which there was hope of improving matters. A special committee was established to manage the laying of a gas extension mains, which was believed to be almost twelve miles long.
The St Helens Newspaper in an editorial called for St Helens Corporation to similarly step up to the plate and install lamps where mains already existed. The paper pointed out that over the last few weeks gas lamp pillars had been erected in various parts of St Helens but these were not yet providing light. The Newspaper wrote: "These posts placed on the footpaths, add to, rather than lessen, the dangers to pedestrians on dark nights."
However Arthur C. Forde did have an ad published in the Newspaper on the 27th with a couple of purposes in mind. One was to plug the upcoming performances at the Theatre Royal of the self-styled "tragedian". The second was to try and obtain some bookings in giving private readings and elocution lessons during his stay in St Helens. As well as being an actor appearing in plays, Forde would also give on-stage recitals of works, such as Shakespeare. In St Helens he performed as Shylock and Hamlet, amongst others, however attendances over the six nights were poor.
The Prescot Reporter was also published on the 27th and called for an earthquake to hit the town! The paper's editorial on street improvements read: "If there is one want which Prescot suffers from more than any other it is what a newspaper reader would scarcely expect it to be. The fact is we could do very well with an earthquake on a small scale. Scarcely any town in the country of similar size contains so many ricketty, tumble-down cottages. Some are highly suggestive of the leaning tower at Pisa; others have the walls bulging out to such an extent that long since they would have fallen into ruin but for being held together by iron rods running from outer wall to outer wall.
"Great numbers of them have roofs which resemble stone yards, so broken and crumbled have become the grey stones which were used in former days for roofing. There are cottages which may be counted by the score, which have become so weak in beams and joists, in laths, plaster, bricks, and mortar, as almost to defy the very ingenious jobbing bricklayers and joiners whose time is spent in patching and repairing the ancient domiciles. The wonder is that many of them have not fallen, and buried the inmates in the ruins."
In St Helens Police Court on the 29th John Burns pleaded guilty to begging in Church Street and was sent to prison for a week. The man had approached a police constable in plain clothes and asked him for money. George Ward and William Johnson "dropped into a similar trap with the same officer" – as the St Helens Newspaper put it – and they were also sent to Kirkdale Prison for a week.
Superintendent Ludlam told the Bench that because of the "alarming" increase in vagrancy in St Helens on Saturday nights, he had sent out a couple of officers in plain clothes to catch offenders. The Newspaper described how a man called George Wilson had also been caught begging in Church Street: "This amiable mendicant made a habit of cursing the persons who refused him alms, and for this feature in his case he was sent to prison for 14 days."
There were also a number of cases of beerhouses being opened at an illegal hour, including a prosecution of Patrick Collins who kept a house in Victoria Street near North Road. He pleaded guilty to allowing two men to sup beer on a Sunday morning but appealed for leniency, saying they had been choking with gas after leaving the Mayor's works. Collins was referring to Lieut.-Col. David Gamble's chemical plant at Gerards Bridge. These were dreadful places and many workers died young after inhaling the chemical fumes. Patrick Collins was fined £2.
An amusing case concerned Thomas Edwardson, a volunteer in the 2nd Lancashire Light Horse, who was charged with neglecting to pay a 30-shilling subscription. This was essentially a series of fines for non-attendance. The light horse was intended as a mounted rifle corps and had been set up as a result of an invasion scare but only lasted about 15 years. Captain Biram, the commander of the corps, gave evidence that Edwardson had only attended four out of sixteen drills.
His excuse was that when he was in uniform his horse would only allow him to mount up if a friend put a sack over the animal's eyes. Edwardson added that in 1868 his horse had fallen on him, inflicting such injuries that led to a doctor's bill of £12. He claimed to have attended six drills but that often nobody was there to drill the men and give them credit for attendance. Edwardson also complained of sometimes having to go to Liverpool to drill in order to accommodate half a dozen Liverpool fellows "who rode on broken-kneed cab horses". On one occasion one of these nags fell over and the rider in going down tore Edwardson's trousers with his sabre.
He also claimed that Captain Biram did not attend drills very often and complained of frequently having to ride for six hours without food. This he thought unfair, as he said he was not as fat as his captain! The St Helens Newspaper wrote: "[Police] Superintendent Ludlam told him that he ought not to speak in that way about his captain, but he was indifferent to all advice, and kept grumbling until the magistrates had made up their minds. He was then ordered to pay 30s. and costs of court."
In another case Henry Critchley and Joseph Burrowes were charged with assaulting John Parry in Rainhill. The latter was an attendant at the Lunatic Asylum (as it was then known) and lived in a nearby house and Critchley worked at Sutton Glassworks. Parry had spent the evening drinking at the Black Horse Inn and left at 11:30pm, along with Critchley and Burrowes.
On the short journey home Parry and Critchley decided to race each other for a bet, with Burrowes agreeing to hold their half-crown stakes. However they changed their minds and called off the race and when Parry reached the asylum gates he asked Burrowes to return his cash. According to Parry, Burrowes struck him a violent blow, knocked him down, kicked him savagely and then bit his hand. Critchley joined in with the attack, leaving Parry lying on the road half dead. He said he had been so injured that it took him ninety minutes to walk a quarter of a mile home.
However Henry Critchley claimed it was Parry who had thrown him down and then the man attacked Burrowes. This was after saying he would give the latter a "d__n good thrashing" (as the Newspaper reported it). He also claimed it had been Parry that had bitten Burrowes' hand – not the other way round. Burrowes gave similar evidence to Critchley. It was the usual six of one and half a dozen of the other with truth the biggest casualty and so the Bench dismissed the case.
William Redman was charged with driving his horse and cart without reins at Rainford. The man explained that he had been placing sacks in his cart when his horse suddenly started off and it was in motion when the officer appeared. He was fined 5 shillings. Thomas Tallow was also fined 5 shillings for working an unfit ass at Sutton. Sgt. Bee said the animal had several raw wounds on it.
James Manchester appeared in the Sessions charged with assaulting Thomas Pennington. The latter told the Bench that the defendant had struck him several blows without the slightest provocation in the house of his aunt. Manchester said he had been "very ill drunk at the time, and unable to distinguish between what I ought and ought not to do." He was fined ten shillings.
There was more evidence of the decline of the Mechanics Institute on the 30th when a lecture on Michael Faraday at their base in the Town Hall drew a very meagre attendance. The Institute also pioneered a public library in St Helens and when the organisation closed in 1870 there was nowhere for people to borrow books. That was until St Helens Corporation opened a library in the new Town Hall in Corporation Street in 1877.
Next week's stories will include the St Helens market traders unlawfully crying out rabbit, the end of the Eccleston road toll, the black man begging in Bridge Street pubs, the pulling of a boy's ear lands a shopkeeper in court and the three Prescot boys imprisoned for playing pitch and toss.