150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 26 JAN - 1 FEB 1876
This week's many stories include the opening of the new St Helens police station and courthouse, the workhouse Christmas Tree celebration, the theft of a till from the Victoria Vaults in Sutton and the virago that attacked the landlady of a Smithy Brow pub.
Getting paid could be a huge problem for doctors and sometimes medics refused to turn out unless a down payment was made. Proving liability to pay could also be tricky and people could be reluctant to summon a doctor for someone else in case they got lumbered with the bill.
In St Helens County Court (pictured above) on the 26th a case was heard in which a man had seemingly repudiated his agreement to pay a doctor's bill upon seeing how high the amount was. Dr James Ricketts of Cotham Street had brought an action against a Bold farmer called Joseph Almond for non-payment of his bill for medical services. One of Almond's workmen called Ledger had had an accident on the railway and been taken to St Helens Cottage Hospital where he was attended by Dr Ricketts.
The latter amputated one of Ledger's arms and continued to attend the man for a month on the promise that Joseph Almond would pay for the treatment. But when Dr Ricketts submitted his bill for the considerable sum of £9 18 shillings, the farmer refused to cough up. Almond denied agreeing to pay and said his worker had money of his own and a wife and two brothers able to assist him. As Dr Ricketts had no proof of Almond's consent to pay, his action was dismissed.
In 1871 Colonel Robert Bruce, the Lancashire Chief Constable, had written to St Helens Council from his offices in Preston complaining of the "utterly inadequate condition" of St Helens police station at the old Town Hall in New Marketplace. That was since three fires had taken place necessitating the building of a new Town Hall in what became Corporation Street, although the old police station had largely escaped the flames. The new municipal building was going to incorporate a police station and courtroom but by August 1875 Colonel Bruce was getting impatient at the delay, writing this letter to the Council:
"There still, however, seems no immediate prospect of the borough having a police station completed, and in the meantime the police are subjected to the very greatest straits and inconveniences, and the cells are in so bad a condition that they cannot be responsible for the safety of prisoners committed to their charge. I beg to call your attention to the matter, and to hope that some steps may at once be taken to expedite the completion of the police station proposed to be let to the county."
The answer that was sent to Col Bruce was that the contractors were working with "every possible diligence" and they hoped that in a "very short time" the new premises would be ready to hand over to the police. That time arrived on the 28th of this week when the new police station and courtroom were officially opened. The Town Hall was still several months away from being completed but in view of Col Bruce's concerns, priority had being given to the completion of the station and courtroom.
Magistrate William Pilkington formally opened the new premises and congratulated everyone on the "completion and opening of so convenient a court-room" and said it would be the "study" of the magistrates to administer justice there with fairness and impartiality. Since the fire the hearings in the St Helens Petty Sessions had been held in the County Court in East Street, necessitating the escorting of prisoners from the old police station to court. But now when hearings took place, the prisoners could far more conveniently be transferred within the same building.
The St Helens Newspaper on the 29th gave a very detailed account of what was simply referred to as the workhouse Christmas Tree. The annual event had taken place this year on the 13th and, as I have often said, it was an oddity that mid-January rather than December was always chosen. And it was a big day in the lives of the 420 inmates of Whiston Workhouse, including over 150 children, with many presents handed out from the tree.
Eighty-six persons had donated cash or gifts to enable the event to take place, including the Countess of Derby at Knowsley Hall and the Hon Mrs Stapleton Bretherton of Rainhill Hall. In a rather contradictory manner, it was reported that the paupers had "all behaved themselves exceedingly well, and it said a good deal for the management and discipline of the [work]house, that out of a total of 420 in the house, only about a dozen were excluded for bad conduct."
After the Christmas tree handouts had been completed, which usually took a couple of hours, the twenty members of the St Helens Amateur Christy Minstrels performed an entertainment that went down well. The day, however, had been plagued by people from outside trying to get into the small, crowded hall, often by claiming they were related to the children in the workhouse.
In the evening as many as 260 such persons had attempted to gain admission and some who were not entitled to be present were said to have successfully got inside to see the show. The organisers said next year they would consider issuing tickets in advance to authorised visitors.
The St Helens Petty Sessions this week heard how two men had emptied the till at the Victoria Vaults in Sutton. The pub in Ellamsbridge Road is now known as The Little Pig and on December 6th Thomas Davies and William Ray had engaged lodgings there. After ordering and paying for two glasses of ale, the men were briefly left alone while a barmaid called Miss Pilkington went into the kitchen.
The young woman said she soon afterwards heard money "jinking" in the bar and returned to the room but saw nothing suspicious. Miss Pilkington went back to the kitchen but then heard the sound of money for a second time and upon going into the bar saw that the till was missing. The woman was the daughter of the landlady and she called her mother – but the two men successfully made their escape.
The empty till was found in another part of the bar with about 30 shillings missing. Thomas Davies pleaded guilty to the theft after being arrested in Liverpool and was sentenced to three months imprisonment. His partner William Ray had, at the Kirkdale Quarter Sessions a few days before, been sent to prison for 12 months for his part in the offence.
The George and Dragon in Smithy Brow in St Helens, within the Parr Street district of the town, also featured in the news this week. There were often stories of landlords and landladies being attacked by their customers – often after refusing drunken ones more beer. Or, the windows of their hostelries would have a stone put through them.
In the case of the landlady of the George and Dragon, Sarah Neil had received from Margaret Rourke what was described as a severe blow to her breast. The latter had come storming into her pub and started abusing one of her customers. Mrs Neil said she had told her to stop but as the woman refused to cease her berating, Mrs Rourke was ordered to leave the house. As a result she transferred her anger to the landlady and struck her.
Margaret Rourke failed to turn up to court, which was foolish as she could not give her version of what had occurred. But the woman had been nine times previously convicted and so probably thought she had no chance of persuading the magistrates that she was as innocent as the day was long. And so in absentia, Margaret was fined £2 and costs or would have to serve a month in prison, which is likely to have been what happened. "A Virago At Smithy Brow" was the St Helens Newspaper's headline to their report.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Rainford ploughing match, the fire at the Friends Meeting House, the overlaid baby in Waterloo Street, the Valentine cards on sale and the black singers from Nashville singing slave hymns in the Volunteer Hall.
Getting paid could be a huge problem for doctors and sometimes medics refused to turn out unless a down payment was made. Proving liability to pay could also be tricky and people could be reluctant to summon a doctor for someone else in case they got lumbered with the bill.
The latter amputated one of Ledger's arms and continued to attend the man for a month on the promise that Joseph Almond would pay for the treatment. But when Dr Ricketts submitted his bill for the considerable sum of £9 18 shillings, the farmer refused to cough up. Almond denied agreeing to pay and said his worker had money of his own and a wife and two brothers able to assist him. As Dr Ricketts had no proof of Almond's consent to pay, his action was dismissed.
In 1871 Colonel Robert Bruce, the Lancashire Chief Constable, had written to St Helens Council from his offices in Preston complaining of the "utterly inadequate condition" of St Helens police station at the old Town Hall in New Marketplace. That was since three fires had taken place necessitating the building of a new Town Hall in what became Corporation Street, although the old police station had largely escaped the flames. The new municipal building was going to incorporate a police station and courtroom but by August 1875 Colonel Bruce was getting impatient at the delay, writing this letter to the Council:
"There still, however, seems no immediate prospect of the borough having a police station completed, and in the meantime the police are subjected to the very greatest straits and inconveniences, and the cells are in so bad a condition that they cannot be responsible for the safety of prisoners committed to their charge. I beg to call your attention to the matter, and to hope that some steps may at once be taken to expedite the completion of the police station proposed to be let to the county."
The answer that was sent to Col Bruce was that the contractors were working with "every possible diligence" and they hoped that in a "very short time" the new premises would be ready to hand over to the police. That time arrived on the 28th of this week when the new police station and courtroom were officially opened. The Town Hall was still several months away from being completed but in view of Col Bruce's concerns, priority had being given to the completion of the station and courtroom.
Magistrate William Pilkington formally opened the new premises and congratulated everyone on the "completion and opening of so convenient a court-room" and said it would be the "study" of the magistrates to administer justice there with fairness and impartiality. Since the fire the hearings in the St Helens Petty Sessions had been held in the County Court in East Street, necessitating the escorting of prisoners from the old police station to court. But now when hearings took place, the prisoners could far more conveniently be transferred within the same building.
The St Helens Newspaper on the 29th gave a very detailed account of what was simply referred to as the workhouse Christmas Tree. The annual event had taken place this year on the 13th and, as I have often said, it was an oddity that mid-January rather than December was always chosen. And it was a big day in the lives of the 420 inmates of Whiston Workhouse, including over 150 children, with many presents handed out from the tree.
Eighty-six persons had donated cash or gifts to enable the event to take place, including the Countess of Derby at Knowsley Hall and the Hon Mrs Stapleton Bretherton of Rainhill Hall. In a rather contradictory manner, it was reported that the paupers had "all behaved themselves exceedingly well, and it said a good deal for the management and discipline of the [work]house, that out of a total of 420 in the house, only about a dozen were excluded for bad conduct."
After the Christmas tree handouts had been completed, which usually took a couple of hours, the twenty members of the St Helens Amateur Christy Minstrels performed an entertainment that went down well. The day, however, had been plagued by people from outside trying to get into the small, crowded hall, often by claiming they were related to the children in the workhouse.
In the evening as many as 260 such persons had attempted to gain admission and some who were not entitled to be present were said to have successfully got inside to see the show. The organisers said next year they would consider issuing tickets in advance to authorised visitors.
The St Helens Petty Sessions this week heard how two men had emptied the till at the Victoria Vaults in Sutton. The pub in Ellamsbridge Road is now known as The Little Pig and on December 6th Thomas Davies and William Ray had engaged lodgings there. After ordering and paying for two glasses of ale, the men were briefly left alone while a barmaid called Miss Pilkington went into the kitchen.
The young woman said she soon afterwards heard money "jinking" in the bar and returned to the room but saw nothing suspicious. Miss Pilkington went back to the kitchen but then heard the sound of money for a second time and upon going into the bar saw that the till was missing. The woman was the daughter of the landlady and she called her mother – but the two men successfully made their escape.
The empty till was found in another part of the bar with about 30 shillings missing. Thomas Davies pleaded guilty to the theft after being arrested in Liverpool and was sentenced to three months imprisonment. His partner William Ray had, at the Kirkdale Quarter Sessions a few days before, been sent to prison for 12 months for his part in the offence.
The George and Dragon in Smithy Brow in St Helens, within the Parr Street district of the town, also featured in the news this week. There were often stories of landlords and landladies being attacked by their customers – often after refusing drunken ones more beer. Or, the windows of their hostelries would have a stone put through them.
In the case of the landlady of the George and Dragon, Sarah Neil had received from Margaret Rourke what was described as a severe blow to her breast. The latter had come storming into her pub and started abusing one of her customers. Mrs Neil said she had told her to stop but as the woman refused to cease her berating, Mrs Rourke was ordered to leave the house. As a result she transferred her anger to the landlady and struck her.
Margaret Rourke failed to turn up to court, which was foolish as she could not give her version of what had occurred. But the woman had been nine times previously convicted and so probably thought she had no chance of persuading the magistrates that she was as innocent as the day was long. And so in absentia, Margaret was fined £2 and costs or would have to serve a month in prison, which is likely to have been what happened. "A Virago At Smithy Brow" was the St Helens Newspaper's headline to their report.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Rainford ploughing match, the fire at the Friends Meeting House, the overlaid baby in Waterloo Street, the Valentine cards on sale and the black singers from Nashville singing slave hymns in the Volunteer Hall.
This week's many stories include the opening of the new St Helens police station and courthouse, the workhouse Christmas Tree celebration, the theft of a till from the Victoria Vaults in Sutton and the virago that attacked the landlady of a Smithy Brow pub.
Getting paid could be a huge problem for doctors and sometimes medics refused to turn out unless a down payment was made.
Proving liability to pay could also be tricky and people could be reluctant to summon a doctor for someone else in case they got lumbered with the bill.
In St Helens County Court (pictured above) on the 26th a case was heard in which a man had seemingly repudiated his agreement to pay a doctor's bill upon seeing how high the amount was.
Dr James Ricketts of Cotham Street had brought an action against a Bold farmer called Joseph Almond for non-payment of his bill for medical services.
One of Almond's workmen called Ledger had had an accident on the railway and been taken to St Helens Cottage Hospital where he was attended by Dr Ricketts.
The latter amputated one of Ledger's arms and continued to attend the man for a month on the promise that Joseph Almond would pay for the treatment.
But when Dr Ricketts submitted his bill for the considerable sum of £9 18 shillings, the farmer refused to cough up.
Almond denied agreeing to pay and said his worker had money of his own and a wife and two brothers able to assist him.
As Dr Ricketts had no proof of Almond's consent to pay, his action was dismissed.
In 1871 Colonel Robert Bruce, the Lancashire Chief Constable, had written to St Helens Council from his offices in Preston complaining of the "utterly inadequate condition" of St Helens police station at the old Town Hall in New Marketplace.
That was since three fires had taken place necessitating the building of a new Town Hall in what became Corporation Street, although the old police station had largely escaped the flames.
The new municipal building was going to incorporate a police station and courtroom but by August 1875 Colonel Bruce was getting impatient at the delay, writing this letter to the Council:
"There still, however, seems no immediate prospect of the borough having a police station completed, and in the meantime the police are subjected to the very greatest straits and inconveniences, and the cells are in so bad a condition that they cannot be responsible for the safety of prisoners committed to their charge.
"I beg to call your attention to the matter, and to hope that some steps may at once be taken to expedite the completion of the police station proposed to be let to the county."
The answer that was sent to Col Bruce was that the contractors were working with "every possible diligence" and they hoped that in a "very short time" the new premises would be ready to hand over to the police.
That time arrived on the 28th of this week when the new police station and courtroom were officially opened.
The Town Hall was still several months away from being completed but in view of Col Bruce's concerns, priority had being given to the completion of the station and courtroom.
Magistrate William Pilkington formally opened the new premises and congratulated everyone on the "completion and opening of so convenient a court-room" and said it would be the "study" of the magistrates to administer justice there with fairness and impartiality.
Since the fire the hearings in the St Helens Petty Sessions had been held in the County Court in East Street, necessitating the escorting of prisoners from the old police station to court.
But now when hearings took place, the prisoners could far more conveniently be transferred within the same building.
The St Helens Newspaper on the 29th gave a very detailed account of what was simply referred to as the workhouse Christmas Tree.
The annual event had taken place this year on the 13th and, as I have often said, it was an oddity that mid-January rather than December was always chosen.
And it was a big day in the lives of the 420 inmates of Whiston Workhouse, including over 150 children, with many presents handed out from the tree.
Eighty-six persons had donated cash or gifts to enable the event to take place, including the Countess of Derby at Knowsley Hall and the Hon Mrs Stapleton Bretherton of Rainhill Hall.
In a rather contradictory manner, it was reported that the paupers had "all behaved themselves exceedingly well, and it said a good deal for the management and discipline of the [work]house, that out of a total of 420 in the house, only about a dozen were excluded for bad conduct."
After the Christmas tree handouts had been completed, which usually took a couple of hours, the twenty members of the St Helens Amateur Christy Minstrels performed an entertainment that went down well.
The day, however, had been plagued by people from outside trying to get into the small, crowded hall, often by claiming they were related to the children in the workhouse.
In the evening as many as 260 such persons had attempted to gain admission and some who were not entitled to be present were said to have successfully got inside to see the show.
The organisers said next year they would consider issuing tickets in advance to authorised visitors.
The St Helens Petty Sessions this week heard how two men had emptied the till at the Victoria Vaults in Sutton.
The pub in Ellamsbridge Road is now known as The Little Pig and on December 6th Thomas Davies and William Ray had engaged lodgings there.
After ordering and paying for two glasses of ale, the men were briefly left alone while a barmaid called Miss Pilkington went into the kitchen.
The young woman said she soon afterwards heard money "jinking" in the bar and returned to the room but saw nothing suspicious.
Miss Pilkington went back to the kitchen but then heard the sound of money for a second time and upon going into the bar saw that the till was missing.
The woman was the daughter of the landlady and she called her mother – but the two men successfully made their escape.
The empty till was found in another part of the bar with about 30 shillings missing.
Thomas Davies pleaded guilty to the theft after being arrested in Liverpool and was sentenced to three months imprisonment.
His partner William Ray had, at the Kirkdale Quarter Sessions a few days before, been sent to prison for 12 months for his part in the offence.
The George and Dragon in Smithy Brow in St Helens, within the Parr Street district of the town, also featured in the news this week.
There were often stories of landlords and landladies being attacked by their customers – often after refusing drunken ones more beer. Or, the windows of their hostelries would have a stone put through them.
In the case of the landlady of the George and Dragon, Sarah Neil had received from Margaret Rourke what was described as a severe blow to her breast.
The latter had come storming into her pub and started abusing one of her customers.
Mrs Neil said she had told her to stop but as the woman refused to cease her berating, Mrs Rourke was ordered to leave the house. As a result she transferred her anger to the landlady and struck her.
Margaret Rourke failed to turn up to court, which was foolish as she could not give her version of what had occurred.
But the woman had been nine times previously convicted and so probably thought she had no chance of persuading the magistrates that she was as innocent as the day was long.
And so in absentia, Margaret was fined £2 and costs or would have to serve a month in prison, which is likely to have been what happened.
"A Virago At Smithy Brow" was the St Helens Newspaper's headline to their report.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Rainford ploughing match, the fire at the Friends Meeting House, the overlaid baby in Waterloo Street, the Valentine cards on sale and the black singers from Nashville singing slave hymns in the Volunteer Hall.
Getting paid could be a huge problem for doctors and sometimes medics refused to turn out unless a down payment was made.
Proving liability to pay could also be tricky and people could be reluctant to summon a doctor for someone else in case they got lumbered with the bill.
Dr James Ricketts of Cotham Street had brought an action against a Bold farmer called Joseph Almond for non-payment of his bill for medical services.
One of Almond's workmen called Ledger had had an accident on the railway and been taken to St Helens Cottage Hospital where he was attended by Dr Ricketts.
The latter amputated one of Ledger's arms and continued to attend the man for a month on the promise that Joseph Almond would pay for the treatment.
But when Dr Ricketts submitted his bill for the considerable sum of £9 18 shillings, the farmer refused to cough up.
Almond denied agreeing to pay and said his worker had money of his own and a wife and two brothers able to assist him.
As Dr Ricketts had no proof of Almond's consent to pay, his action was dismissed.
In 1871 Colonel Robert Bruce, the Lancashire Chief Constable, had written to St Helens Council from his offices in Preston complaining of the "utterly inadequate condition" of St Helens police station at the old Town Hall in New Marketplace.
That was since three fires had taken place necessitating the building of a new Town Hall in what became Corporation Street, although the old police station had largely escaped the flames.
The new municipal building was going to incorporate a police station and courtroom but by August 1875 Colonel Bruce was getting impatient at the delay, writing this letter to the Council:
"There still, however, seems no immediate prospect of the borough having a police station completed, and in the meantime the police are subjected to the very greatest straits and inconveniences, and the cells are in so bad a condition that they cannot be responsible for the safety of prisoners committed to their charge.
"I beg to call your attention to the matter, and to hope that some steps may at once be taken to expedite the completion of the police station proposed to be let to the county."
The answer that was sent to Col Bruce was that the contractors were working with "every possible diligence" and they hoped that in a "very short time" the new premises would be ready to hand over to the police.
That time arrived on the 28th of this week when the new police station and courtroom were officially opened.
The Town Hall was still several months away from being completed but in view of Col Bruce's concerns, priority had being given to the completion of the station and courtroom.
Magistrate William Pilkington formally opened the new premises and congratulated everyone on the "completion and opening of so convenient a court-room" and said it would be the "study" of the magistrates to administer justice there with fairness and impartiality.
Since the fire the hearings in the St Helens Petty Sessions had been held in the County Court in East Street, necessitating the escorting of prisoners from the old police station to court.
But now when hearings took place, the prisoners could far more conveniently be transferred within the same building.
The St Helens Newspaper on the 29th gave a very detailed account of what was simply referred to as the workhouse Christmas Tree.
The annual event had taken place this year on the 13th and, as I have often said, it was an oddity that mid-January rather than December was always chosen.
And it was a big day in the lives of the 420 inmates of Whiston Workhouse, including over 150 children, with many presents handed out from the tree.
Eighty-six persons had donated cash or gifts to enable the event to take place, including the Countess of Derby at Knowsley Hall and the Hon Mrs Stapleton Bretherton of Rainhill Hall.
In a rather contradictory manner, it was reported that the paupers had "all behaved themselves exceedingly well, and it said a good deal for the management and discipline of the [work]house, that out of a total of 420 in the house, only about a dozen were excluded for bad conduct."
After the Christmas tree handouts had been completed, which usually took a couple of hours, the twenty members of the St Helens Amateur Christy Minstrels performed an entertainment that went down well.
The day, however, had been plagued by people from outside trying to get into the small, crowded hall, often by claiming they were related to the children in the workhouse.
In the evening as many as 260 such persons had attempted to gain admission and some who were not entitled to be present were said to have successfully got inside to see the show.
The organisers said next year they would consider issuing tickets in advance to authorised visitors.
The St Helens Petty Sessions this week heard how two men had emptied the till at the Victoria Vaults in Sutton.
The pub in Ellamsbridge Road is now known as The Little Pig and on December 6th Thomas Davies and William Ray had engaged lodgings there.
After ordering and paying for two glasses of ale, the men were briefly left alone while a barmaid called Miss Pilkington went into the kitchen.
The young woman said she soon afterwards heard money "jinking" in the bar and returned to the room but saw nothing suspicious.
Miss Pilkington went back to the kitchen but then heard the sound of money for a second time and upon going into the bar saw that the till was missing.
The woman was the daughter of the landlady and she called her mother – but the two men successfully made their escape.
The empty till was found in another part of the bar with about 30 shillings missing.
Thomas Davies pleaded guilty to the theft after being arrested in Liverpool and was sentenced to three months imprisonment.
His partner William Ray had, at the Kirkdale Quarter Sessions a few days before, been sent to prison for 12 months for his part in the offence.
The George and Dragon in Smithy Brow in St Helens, within the Parr Street district of the town, also featured in the news this week.
There were often stories of landlords and landladies being attacked by their customers – often after refusing drunken ones more beer. Or, the windows of their hostelries would have a stone put through them.
In the case of the landlady of the George and Dragon, Sarah Neil had received from Margaret Rourke what was described as a severe blow to her breast.
The latter had come storming into her pub and started abusing one of her customers.
Mrs Neil said she had told her to stop but as the woman refused to cease her berating, Mrs Rourke was ordered to leave the house. As a result she transferred her anger to the landlady and struck her.
Margaret Rourke failed to turn up to court, which was foolish as she could not give her version of what had occurred.
But the woman had been nine times previously convicted and so probably thought she had no chance of persuading the magistrates that she was as innocent as the day was long.
And so in absentia, Margaret was fined £2 and costs or would have to serve a month in prison, which is likely to have been what happened.
"A Virago At Smithy Brow" was the St Helens Newspaper's headline to their report.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the Rainford ploughing match, the fire at the Friends Meeting House, the overlaid baby in Waterloo Street, the Valentine cards on sale and the black singers from Nashville singing slave hymns in the Volunteer Hall.