150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 27 MAY - 2 JUNE 1874
This week's many stories include the highway robbery inside a Croppers Hill railway tunnel, more wife beating in St Helens, the disorderly blackguards in Liverpool Street, a poker assault in Market Street, the 2,000 children that marched to Sherdley Park and the St Helens Newspaper predicts that cremation will never prove popular.
We begin on the 27th when Martin Mullen appeared in the St Helens Petty Sessions to face a charge of committing highway robbery. Margaret Critchley was employed at Sutton Heath Colliery and told the court that on the previous Friday at 6:30am she had been walking through the railway tunnel under Croppers Hill to get to her work. Mullen had suddenly appeared and demanded a shilling from Margaret, threatening to kill her if she did not give him the money.
She added that her attacker produced a knife from his sleeve, made a stab at her throat and also slapped her face. Margaret also alleged that there had been an attempt at sexual assault – or, as it was reported – he "threw her down and tried to assault her feloniously". In the end Mullen helped himself to Margaret's breakfast and dinner that she was carrying and ran away.
Elizabeth Sharratt gave evidence that the man had also followed her up the tunnel that same morning before turning back and immediately afterwards she'd heard some shouting. Martin Mullen denied the charge against him but was convicted and sentenced to six months in prison with hard labour.
In a bizarre assault case that was heard on the 28th, there were two completely opposing accounts of what had occurred. Michael Foy was charged with stabbing Edward Scott and the latter told the court that on the previous day he and some other men had seen Foy running towards the canal at Gerards Bridge. Somebody shouted that the man had bitten someone's finger off and so they decided to pursue him.
But when they got near to Foy, Scott claimed that he had produced a knife and in order to get away from his pursuers Foy had stabbed him in the arm. However, the defence case was that Michael Foy had been set upon, beaten and kicked by Scott and other men and that he had drawn a knife to defend himself before jumping into the canal to escape from his attackers. The magistrates felt the charge had not been proved and so they dismissed it.
Patrick McCann was also in court charged with assaulting and unlawfully wounding a miner called James Grimes by hitting him over the temple with an iron poker. Grimes said he had been in the Market Gate Tavern in Market Street on the day in question. As he started to leave the inn McCann had flung a poker that struck him just above the eye and cut open his flesh. He claimed he had not given any provocation at all to the defendant and George and Elizabeth Dingsdale both corroborated his statement. The case was adjourned.
At the Prescot Board of Guardians meeting on the 28th it was revealed that the brook from which Whiston Workhouse drew its water supply was contaminated with sewage from the adjoining cottages.
On the following day under the headline "Wife Beating At St. Helens", the Liverpool Mercury wrote: "Yesterday a glass teazer, named Peter Waters, was charged at St. Helens with assaulting and ill-treating his wife. The woman appeared with a disfigured face, and gave a moving recital of ill-treatment she has endured during a married life of twelve months only. The accused was bound over for three months. This offence is becoming very common in the district – owing, probably, to the leniency of the punishment."
The St Helens Band of Hope temperance societies held a treat in Sherdley Park on the 30th. The annual event had been due to take place on Whit Monday but needed to be rescheduled through bad weather. Children were, as usual, the main participants and more than 2,000 assembled on wasteland at the top of Hardshaw Street before marching to Sherdley. The St Helens Newspaper said there had been a "wonderful congregation" of bands from Haydock, Warrington, Billinge, Prescot and elsewhere that had played on the long journey to Sutton.
The paper's report served as a reminder as to how rare it was for most children of the 1870s to see grass and also gave some insights into what the then private Sherdley Park was like, writing: "It is not so wooded, or as picture-que as parks generally are in the neighbourhood of more salubrious towns but it was a charming change for the children, and they gave themselves the utmost freedom when they felt the grass beneath their feet."
A choir contest was amongst the events that took place, although the Newspaper said a highlight for the youngsters had been watching balloon launching: "Great balloons went up at intervals, and were whirled aloft by the stiff breeze which blew, to the delight of the juvenile throng."
Often within old newspaper articles, I come across interesting details that were only mentioned in passing. In a court case concerning Peter McKinley, it was stated that the policeman that had brought a prosecution against the shopkeeper was the groom to Superintendent James Ludlam. PC Archer had no beat. His primary role in the force was to look after the horse that belonged to the boss of St Helens police, which Ludlam would have needed to ride to get round the district.
McKinley was accused of causing an obstruction outside his Bridge Street premises by leaving a number of boxes outside. But his solicitor was the fiery Thomas Swift who told the Bench that there was not a "tittle" of evidence against his client and he accused Supt Ludlam of sending his groom to watch the shop because of some unpleasantness between the pair. In the end the magistrates decided to dismiss the case.
"We do not anticipate that cremation can ever become popular," wrote the St Helens Newspaper on the 30th. They described how a Cremation and Urn Society had recently been formed in London and wondered: "What is meant by the word “urn”? It seems to suggest that if dead bodies are consumed by fire, the ashes will be saved for preservation."
In fact it was not until 1885 that the first modern cremations were allowed in this country. That was because the Home Office had concerns that people might be poisoned or otherwise killed and then cremated to destroy the evidence.
In its report describing a St Helens Petty Sessions hearing on June 1st, the St Helens Newspaper stated that a "free fight" had broken out in Market Street, "in the course of which some heads and faces were broken". The case concerned Matthew Vose who was charged with wilfully breaking a glass window belonging to James Leonard.
The latter reported hearing a tremendous crash while asleep and when he rose he said he found Matthew Vose "bombarding the windows with stones". But the defendant claimed mistaken identity during a bust up in the street and the case was dismissed.
Under the headline "Disorderly Blackguards", the Newspaper wrote this about trouble in Liverpool Street (pictured above): "Patrick Caine was charged with being drunk on the highway and assaulting James and Mary Quirk, husband and wife. The Quirks keep a beerhouse in Liverpool-street, and they alleged that on last Saturday night the defendant and others came into the house, and wanted to stop a song which was going on. The landlord interfered, and threatened to put him out.
"Caine threw out a defiance at once to the whole tribe of Quirks, and then the struggle commenced. The Quirks were winning, and Caine was forced as far as the door, when he threw a piece of slag from his pocket and gave the landlord a heavy blow on the cheek, which laid it open. He also struck Mrs. Quirk, and with his fist knocked her down. Police-constable 24 said that he apprehended the defendant for being drunk, and he was exceedingly disorderly. Witness said Mr. Quirk had received a severe wound and bled profusely.
"Defendant denied the assault on Quirk and his wife and called his brother Michael Caine, who could not tell by what means Quirk had received the wound in his face, though he professed to be acquainted with the whole affair. He [Patrick Caine] was fined 5s. and costs for drunkenness, and ordered to pay 19s. 6d. in each of the assault cases. The complainant Quirk applied for an information against Michael Caine, the brother of the defendant, who had used threats against him for prosecuting in the case. The magistrates ordered him to find sureties."
They had strange values in the 1870s, with dodging a train fare seen just as serious – if not more so – than violence. John Smith had only travelled from St Helens Junction to the St Helens station without a ticket but despite it being his first offence and appealing to be lightly punished, he was handed a 20-shilling fine plus costs. In total that may have amounted to 30 shillings and for many men it would have been the best part of a fortnight's wages. If he wasn't able to raise the money, Smith would have to serve a month in prison.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the begging letter impostor, criticism of the "shameful" bricks used to build the new Town Hall, the pit sinker killed at Whiston and why houses in the higher parts of the town had a disrupted water supply.
We begin on the 27th when Martin Mullen appeared in the St Helens Petty Sessions to face a charge of committing highway robbery. Margaret Critchley was employed at Sutton Heath Colliery and told the court that on the previous Friday at 6:30am she had been walking through the railway tunnel under Croppers Hill to get to her work. Mullen had suddenly appeared and demanded a shilling from Margaret, threatening to kill her if she did not give him the money.
She added that her attacker produced a knife from his sleeve, made a stab at her throat and also slapped her face. Margaret also alleged that there had been an attempt at sexual assault – or, as it was reported – he "threw her down and tried to assault her feloniously". In the end Mullen helped himself to Margaret's breakfast and dinner that she was carrying and ran away.
Elizabeth Sharratt gave evidence that the man had also followed her up the tunnel that same morning before turning back and immediately afterwards she'd heard some shouting. Martin Mullen denied the charge against him but was convicted and sentenced to six months in prison with hard labour.
In a bizarre assault case that was heard on the 28th, there were two completely opposing accounts of what had occurred. Michael Foy was charged with stabbing Edward Scott and the latter told the court that on the previous day he and some other men had seen Foy running towards the canal at Gerards Bridge. Somebody shouted that the man had bitten someone's finger off and so they decided to pursue him.
But when they got near to Foy, Scott claimed that he had produced a knife and in order to get away from his pursuers Foy had stabbed him in the arm. However, the defence case was that Michael Foy had been set upon, beaten and kicked by Scott and other men and that he had drawn a knife to defend himself before jumping into the canal to escape from his attackers. The magistrates felt the charge had not been proved and so they dismissed it.
Patrick McCann was also in court charged with assaulting and unlawfully wounding a miner called James Grimes by hitting him over the temple with an iron poker. Grimes said he had been in the Market Gate Tavern in Market Street on the day in question. As he started to leave the inn McCann had flung a poker that struck him just above the eye and cut open his flesh. He claimed he had not given any provocation at all to the defendant and George and Elizabeth Dingsdale both corroborated his statement. The case was adjourned.
At the Prescot Board of Guardians meeting on the 28th it was revealed that the brook from which Whiston Workhouse drew its water supply was contaminated with sewage from the adjoining cottages.
On the following day under the headline "Wife Beating At St. Helens", the Liverpool Mercury wrote: "Yesterday a glass teazer, named Peter Waters, was charged at St. Helens with assaulting and ill-treating his wife. The woman appeared with a disfigured face, and gave a moving recital of ill-treatment she has endured during a married life of twelve months only. The accused was bound over for three months. This offence is becoming very common in the district – owing, probably, to the leniency of the punishment."
The St Helens Band of Hope temperance societies held a treat in Sherdley Park on the 30th. The annual event had been due to take place on Whit Monday but needed to be rescheduled through bad weather. Children were, as usual, the main participants and more than 2,000 assembled on wasteland at the top of Hardshaw Street before marching to Sherdley. The St Helens Newspaper said there had been a "wonderful congregation" of bands from Haydock, Warrington, Billinge, Prescot and elsewhere that had played on the long journey to Sutton.
The paper's report served as a reminder as to how rare it was for most children of the 1870s to see grass and also gave some insights into what the then private Sherdley Park was like, writing: "It is not so wooded, or as picture-que as parks generally are in the neighbourhood of more salubrious towns but it was a charming change for the children, and they gave themselves the utmost freedom when they felt the grass beneath their feet."
A choir contest was amongst the events that took place, although the Newspaper said a highlight for the youngsters had been watching balloon launching: "Great balloons went up at intervals, and were whirled aloft by the stiff breeze which blew, to the delight of the juvenile throng."
Often within old newspaper articles, I come across interesting details that were only mentioned in passing. In a court case concerning Peter McKinley, it was stated that the policeman that had brought a prosecution against the shopkeeper was the groom to Superintendent James Ludlam. PC Archer had no beat. His primary role in the force was to look after the horse that belonged to the boss of St Helens police, which Ludlam would have needed to ride to get round the district.
McKinley was accused of causing an obstruction outside his Bridge Street premises by leaving a number of boxes outside. But his solicitor was the fiery Thomas Swift who told the Bench that there was not a "tittle" of evidence against his client and he accused Supt Ludlam of sending his groom to watch the shop because of some unpleasantness between the pair. In the end the magistrates decided to dismiss the case.
"We do not anticipate that cremation can ever become popular," wrote the St Helens Newspaper on the 30th. They described how a Cremation and Urn Society had recently been formed in London and wondered: "What is meant by the word “urn”? It seems to suggest that if dead bodies are consumed by fire, the ashes will be saved for preservation."
In fact it was not until 1885 that the first modern cremations were allowed in this country. That was because the Home Office had concerns that people might be poisoned or otherwise killed and then cremated to destroy the evidence.
In its report describing a St Helens Petty Sessions hearing on June 1st, the St Helens Newspaper stated that a "free fight" had broken out in Market Street, "in the course of which some heads and faces were broken". The case concerned Matthew Vose who was charged with wilfully breaking a glass window belonging to James Leonard.
The latter reported hearing a tremendous crash while asleep and when he rose he said he found Matthew Vose "bombarding the windows with stones". But the defendant claimed mistaken identity during a bust up in the street and the case was dismissed.
"Caine threw out a defiance at once to the whole tribe of Quirks, and then the struggle commenced. The Quirks were winning, and Caine was forced as far as the door, when he threw a piece of slag from his pocket and gave the landlord a heavy blow on the cheek, which laid it open. He also struck Mrs. Quirk, and with his fist knocked her down. Police-constable 24 said that he apprehended the defendant for being drunk, and he was exceedingly disorderly. Witness said Mr. Quirk had received a severe wound and bled profusely.
"Defendant denied the assault on Quirk and his wife and called his brother Michael Caine, who could not tell by what means Quirk had received the wound in his face, though he professed to be acquainted with the whole affair. He [Patrick Caine] was fined 5s. and costs for drunkenness, and ordered to pay 19s. 6d. in each of the assault cases. The complainant Quirk applied for an information against Michael Caine, the brother of the defendant, who had used threats against him for prosecuting in the case. The magistrates ordered him to find sureties."
They had strange values in the 1870s, with dodging a train fare seen just as serious – if not more so – than violence. John Smith had only travelled from St Helens Junction to the St Helens station without a ticket but despite it being his first offence and appealing to be lightly punished, he was handed a 20-shilling fine plus costs. In total that may have amounted to 30 shillings and for many men it would have been the best part of a fortnight's wages. If he wasn't able to raise the money, Smith would have to serve a month in prison.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the begging letter impostor, criticism of the "shameful" bricks used to build the new Town Hall, the pit sinker killed at Whiston and why houses in the higher parts of the town had a disrupted water supply.
This week's many stories include the highway robbery inside a Croppers Hill railway tunnel, more wife beating in St Helens, the disorderly blackguards in Liverpool Street, a poker assault in Market Street, the 2,000 children that marched to Sherdley Park and the St Helens Newspaper predicts that cremation will never prove popular.
We begin on the 27th when Martin Mullen appeared in the St Helens Petty Sessions to face a charge of committing highway robbery.
Margaret Critchley was employed at Sutton Heath Colliery and told the court that on the previous Friday at 6:30am she had been walking through the railway tunnel under Croppers Hill to get to her work.
Mullen had suddenly appeared and demanded a shilling from Margaret, threatening to kill her if she did not give him the money.
She added that her attacker produced a knife from his sleeve, made a stab at her throat and also slapped her face.
Margaret also alleged that there had been an attempt at sexual assault – or, as it was reported – he "threw her down and tried to assault her feloniously".
In the end Mullen helped himself to Margaret's breakfast and dinner that she was carrying and ran away.
Elizabeth Sharratt gave evidence that the man had also followed her up the tunnel that same morning before turning back and immediately afterwards she'd heard some shouting.
Martin Mullen denied the charge against him but was convicted and sentenced to six months in prison with hard labour.
In a bizarre assault case that was heard on the 28th, there were two completely opposing accounts of what had occurred.
Michael Foy was charged with stabbing Edward Scott and the latter told the court that on the previous day he and some other men had seen Foy running towards the canal at Gerards Bridge.
Somebody shouted that the man had bitten someone's finger off and so they decided to pursue him.
But when they got near to Foy, Scott claimed that he had produced a knife and in order to get away from his pursuers Foy had stabbed him in the arm.
However, the defence case was that Michael Foy had been set upon, beaten and kicked by Scott and other men and that he had drawn a knife to defend himself before jumping into the canal to escape from his attackers.
The magistrates felt the charge had not been proved and so they dismissed it.
Patrick McCann was also in court charged with assaulting and unlawfully wounding a miner called James Grimes by hitting him over the temple with an iron poker.
Grimes said he had been in the Market Gate Tavern in Market Street on the day in question.
As he started to leave the inn McCann had flung a poker that struck him just above the eye and cut open his flesh.
He claimed he had not given any provocation at all to the defendant and George and Elizabeth Dingsdale both corroborated his statement. The case was adjourned.
At the Prescot Board of Guardians meeting on the 28th it was revealed that the brook from which Whiston Workhouse drew its water supply was contaminated with sewage from the adjoining cottages.
On the following day under the headline "Wife Beating At St. Helens", the Liverpool Mercury wrote:
"Yesterday a glass teazer, named Peter Waters, was charged at St. Helens with assaulting and ill-treating his wife.
"The woman appeared with a disfigured face, and gave a moving recital of ill-treatment she has endured during a married life of twelve months only.
"The accused was bound over for three months. This offence is becoming very common in the district – owing, probably, to the leniency of the punishment."
The St Helens Band of Hope temperance societies held a treat in Sherdley Park on the 30th.
The annual event had been due to take place on Whit Monday but needed to be rescheduled through bad weather.
Children were, as usual, the main participants and more than 2,000 assembled on wasteland at the top of Hardshaw Street before marching to Sherdley.
The St Helens Newspaper said there had been a "wonderful congregation" of bands from Haydock, Warrington, Billinge, Prescot and elsewhere that had played on the long journey to Sutton.
The paper's report served as a reminder as to how rare it was for most children of the 1870s to see grass and also gave some insights into what the then private Sherdley Park was like, writing:
"It is not so wooded, or as picture-que as parks generally are in the neighbourhood of more salubrious towns but it was a charming change for the children, and they gave themselves the utmost freedom when they felt the grass beneath their feet."
A choir contest was amongst the events that took place, although the Newspaper said a highlight for the youngsters had been watching balloon launching:
"Great balloons went up at intervals, and were whirled aloft by the stiff breeze which blew, to the delight of the juvenile throng."
Often within old newspaper articles, I come across interesting details that were only mentioned in passing.
In a court case concerning Peter McKinley, it was stated that the policeman that had brought a prosecution against the shopkeeper was the groom to Superintendent James Ludlam.
PC Archer had no beat. His primary role in the force was to look after the horse that belonged to the boss of St Helens police, which Ludlam would have needed to ride to get round the district.
McKinley was accused of causing an obstruction outside his Bridge Street premises by leaving a number of boxes outside.
But his solicitor was the fiery Thomas Swift who told the Bench that there was not a "tittle" of evidence against his client and he accused Supt Ludlam of sending his groom to watch the shop because of some unpleasantness between the pair.
In the end the magistrates decided to dismiss the case.
"We do not anticipate that cremation can ever become popular," wrote the St Helens Newspaper on the 30th.
They described how a Cremation and Urn Society had recently been formed in London and wondered:
"What is meant by the word “urn”? It seems to suggest that if dead bodies are consumed by fire, the ashes will be saved for preservation."
In fact it was not until 1885 that the first modern cremations were allowed in this country.
That was because the Home Office had concerns that people might be poisoned or otherwise killed and then cremated to destroy the evidence.
In its report describing a St Helens Petty Sessions hearing on June 1st, the St Helens Newspaper stated that a "free fight" had broken out in Market Street, "in the course of which some heads and faces were broken".
The case concerned Matthew Vose who was charged with wilfully breaking a glass window belonging to James Leonard.
The latter reported hearing a tremendous crash while asleep and when he rose he said he found Matthew Vose "bombarding the windows with stones".
But the defendant claimed mistaken identity during a bust up in the street and the case was dismissed.
Under the headline "Disorderly Blackguards", the Newspaper wrote this about trouble in Liverpool Street (pictured above):
"Patrick Caine was charged with being drunk on the highway and assaulting James and Mary Quirk, husband and wife.
"The Quirks keep a beerhouse in Liverpool-street, and they alleged that on last Saturday night the defendant and others came into the house, and wanted to stop a song which was going on. The landlord interfered, and threatened to put him out.
"Caine threw out a defiance at once to the whole tribe of Quirks, and then the struggle commenced.
"The Quirks were winning, and Caine was forced as far as the door, when he threw a piece of slag from his pocket and gave the landlord a heavy blow on the cheek, which laid it open.
"He also struck Mrs. Quirk, and with his fist knocked her down. Police-constable 24 said that he apprehended the defendant for being drunk, and he was exceedingly disorderly. Witness said Mr. Quirk had received a severe wound and bled profusely.
"Defendant denied the assault on Quirk and his wife and called his brother Michael Caine, who could not tell by what means Quirk had received the wound in his face, though he professed to be acquainted with the whole affair.
"He [Patrick Caine] was fined 5s. and costs for drunkenness, and ordered to pay 19s. 6d. in each of the assault cases.
"The complainant Quirk applied for an information against Michael Caine, the brother of the defendant, who had used threats against him for prosecuting in the case. The magistrates ordered him to find sureties."
They had strange values in the 1870s, with dodging a train fare seen just as serious – if not more so – than violence.
John Smith had only travelled from St Helens Junction to the St Helens station without a ticket but despite it being his first offence and appealing to be lightly punished, he was handed a 20-shilling fine plus costs.
In total that may have amounted to 30 shillings and for many men it would have been the best part of a fortnight's wages. If he wasn't able to raise the money, Smith would have to serve a month in prison.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the begging letter impostor, criticism of the "shameful" bricks used to build the new Town Hall, the pit sinker killed at Whiston and why houses in the higher parts of the town had a disrupted water supply.
We begin on the 27th when Martin Mullen appeared in the St Helens Petty Sessions to face a charge of committing highway robbery.
Margaret Critchley was employed at Sutton Heath Colliery and told the court that on the previous Friday at 6:30am she had been walking through the railway tunnel under Croppers Hill to get to her work.
Mullen had suddenly appeared and demanded a shilling from Margaret, threatening to kill her if she did not give him the money.
She added that her attacker produced a knife from his sleeve, made a stab at her throat and also slapped her face.
Margaret also alleged that there had been an attempt at sexual assault – or, as it was reported – he "threw her down and tried to assault her feloniously".
In the end Mullen helped himself to Margaret's breakfast and dinner that she was carrying and ran away.
Elizabeth Sharratt gave evidence that the man had also followed her up the tunnel that same morning before turning back and immediately afterwards she'd heard some shouting.
Martin Mullen denied the charge against him but was convicted and sentenced to six months in prison with hard labour.
In a bizarre assault case that was heard on the 28th, there were two completely opposing accounts of what had occurred.
Michael Foy was charged with stabbing Edward Scott and the latter told the court that on the previous day he and some other men had seen Foy running towards the canal at Gerards Bridge.
Somebody shouted that the man had bitten someone's finger off and so they decided to pursue him.
But when they got near to Foy, Scott claimed that he had produced a knife and in order to get away from his pursuers Foy had stabbed him in the arm.
However, the defence case was that Michael Foy had been set upon, beaten and kicked by Scott and other men and that he had drawn a knife to defend himself before jumping into the canal to escape from his attackers.
The magistrates felt the charge had not been proved and so they dismissed it.
Patrick McCann was also in court charged with assaulting and unlawfully wounding a miner called James Grimes by hitting him over the temple with an iron poker.
Grimes said he had been in the Market Gate Tavern in Market Street on the day in question.
As he started to leave the inn McCann had flung a poker that struck him just above the eye and cut open his flesh.
He claimed he had not given any provocation at all to the defendant and George and Elizabeth Dingsdale both corroborated his statement. The case was adjourned.
At the Prescot Board of Guardians meeting on the 28th it was revealed that the brook from which Whiston Workhouse drew its water supply was contaminated with sewage from the adjoining cottages.
On the following day under the headline "Wife Beating At St. Helens", the Liverpool Mercury wrote:
"Yesterday a glass teazer, named Peter Waters, was charged at St. Helens with assaulting and ill-treating his wife.
"The woman appeared with a disfigured face, and gave a moving recital of ill-treatment she has endured during a married life of twelve months only.
"The accused was bound over for three months. This offence is becoming very common in the district – owing, probably, to the leniency of the punishment."
The St Helens Band of Hope temperance societies held a treat in Sherdley Park on the 30th.
The annual event had been due to take place on Whit Monday but needed to be rescheduled through bad weather.
Children were, as usual, the main participants and more than 2,000 assembled on wasteland at the top of Hardshaw Street before marching to Sherdley.
The St Helens Newspaper said there had been a "wonderful congregation" of bands from Haydock, Warrington, Billinge, Prescot and elsewhere that had played on the long journey to Sutton.
The paper's report served as a reminder as to how rare it was for most children of the 1870s to see grass and also gave some insights into what the then private Sherdley Park was like, writing:
"It is not so wooded, or as picture-que as parks generally are in the neighbourhood of more salubrious towns but it was a charming change for the children, and they gave themselves the utmost freedom when they felt the grass beneath their feet."
A choir contest was amongst the events that took place, although the Newspaper said a highlight for the youngsters had been watching balloon launching:
"Great balloons went up at intervals, and were whirled aloft by the stiff breeze which blew, to the delight of the juvenile throng."
Often within old newspaper articles, I come across interesting details that were only mentioned in passing.
In a court case concerning Peter McKinley, it was stated that the policeman that had brought a prosecution against the shopkeeper was the groom to Superintendent James Ludlam.
PC Archer had no beat. His primary role in the force was to look after the horse that belonged to the boss of St Helens police, which Ludlam would have needed to ride to get round the district.
McKinley was accused of causing an obstruction outside his Bridge Street premises by leaving a number of boxes outside.
But his solicitor was the fiery Thomas Swift who told the Bench that there was not a "tittle" of evidence against his client and he accused Supt Ludlam of sending his groom to watch the shop because of some unpleasantness between the pair.
In the end the magistrates decided to dismiss the case.
"We do not anticipate that cremation can ever become popular," wrote the St Helens Newspaper on the 30th.
They described how a Cremation and Urn Society had recently been formed in London and wondered:
"What is meant by the word “urn”? It seems to suggest that if dead bodies are consumed by fire, the ashes will be saved for preservation."
In fact it was not until 1885 that the first modern cremations were allowed in this country.
That was because the Home Office had concerns that people might be poisoned or otherwise killed and then cremated to destroy the evidence.
In its report describing a St Helens Petty Sessions hearing on June 1st, the St Helens Newspaper stated that a "free fight" had broken out in Market Street, "in the course of which some heads and faces were broken".
The case concerned Matthew Vose who was charged with wilfully breaking a glass window belonging to James Leonard.
The latter reported hearing a tremendous crash while asleep and when he rose he said he found Matthew Vose "bombarding the windows with stones".
But the defendant claimed mistaken identity during a bust up in the street and the case was dismissed.
"Patrick Caine was charged with being drunk on the highway and assaulting James and Mary Quirk, husband and wife.
"The Quirks keep a beerhouse in Liverpool-street, and they alleged that on last Saturday night the defendant and others came into the house, and wanted to stop a song which was going on. The landlord interfered, and threatened to put him out.
"Caine threw out a defiance at once to the whole tribe of Quirks, and then the struggle commenced.
"The Quirks were winning, and Caine was forced as far as the door, when he threw a piece of slag from his pocket and gave the landlord a heavy blow on the cheek, which laid it open.
"He also struck Mrs. Quirk, and with his fist knocked her down. Police-constable 24 said that he apprehended the defendant for being drunk, and he was exceedingly disorderly. Witness said Mr. Quirk had received a severe wound and bled profusely.
"Defendant denied the assault on Quirk and his wife and called his brother Michael Caine, who could not tell by what means Quirk had received the wound in his face, though he professed to be acquainted with the whole affair.
"He [Patrick Caine] was fined 5s. and costs for drunkenness, and ordered to pay 19s. 6d. in each of the assault cases.
"The complainant Quirk applied for an information against Michael Caine, the brother of the defendant, who had used threats against him for prosecuting in the case. The magistrates ordered him to find sureties."
They had strange values in the 1870s, with dodging a train fare seen just as serious – if not more so – than violence.
John Smith had only travelled from St Helens Junction to the St Helens station without a ticket but despite it being his first offence and appealing to be lightly punished, he was handed a 20-shilling fine plus costs.
In total that may have amounted to 30 shillings and for many men it would have been the best part of a fortnight's wages. If he wasn't able to raise the money, Smith would have to serve a month in prison.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the begging letter impostor, criticism of the "shameful" bricks used to build the new Town Hall, the pit sinker killed at Whiston and why houses in the higher parts of the town had a disrupted water supply.