150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (27th DEC. 1871 - 2nd JAN. 1872)
This week's stories include the late-night scramble for cash in St Helens Market, the Sutton glassworker who was dreadfully gashed, the Newton man who threatened to stab his wife and child, the opening of the St Helens to Huyton railway line and the Greenall's carter who was run over by his own cart.
Saturday night was a very busy time in St Helens marketplace – with stallholders staying open until late to take as much cash as they could off newly-paid workers. On the 29th, Bridget Garvey appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions accused of stealing 35 shillings and a ring from Mary Millett. The theft had taken place in the market on the previous Saturday night and the St Helens Newspaper described the unusual manner of the 26-year-old's arrest:
"It appeared from the evidence of Mrs. Millett, who resides in Waterloo-street, and keeps a stall in the market, that on Saturday night, about eleven o’clock, while attending to her business, the prisoner came to the stall. Her presence was not desired, and she was ordered away, Mrs. Millett giving her a push to emphasise the order. Thereupon the woman put her hand into the pocket of the witness, dexterously and rapidly, and drew out 35s. and a ring.
"The act was observed by Mrs. Millett who grasped the thief to detain her, but in this she was obstructed by a man not in custody, who had been seen speaking to the prisoner. Garvey, finding she was not going to escape by any direct means, dashed the money right into the heart of the crowd which had gathered. The flash of silver was sufficient to cause the strongest agitation. Men and women scrambled as if life depended on the scramble, rolling over, pushing, pulling, dragging up the mud, and indulging in very unreasonable epithets.
"The ruse did not succeed in giving Garvey a chance of escape, and when the police came she was handed into custody. The scramble for the money was ostensibly for the purpose of returning it to Mrs. Millett, and that lady received 10s. as the result of a most diligent search by fifty pairs of eyes. Peter Spencer, marine store dealer, deposed to having found the ring after it had been thrown away. The prisoner denied her guilt, and was sent for trial."
I suppose recovering ten shillings out of thirty-five that had been chucked into a crowd late at night in semi-darkness was not a bad return. But the ruse proved ultimately successful, as three weeks later at Kirkdale Quarter Sessions, Bridget Garvey was cleared of the charge.
At Newton Petty Sessions on the 30th, Robert Valentine of Mercer Street in Newton-le-Willows was charged with using threatening language to his wife. It was alleged that the 26-year-old had at 3am been drunkenly carrying an open clasp knife and threatening to stab anyone who came near. Valentine also said he would stab his wife Jane and baby James and had to be taken into custody by the police. He was bound over to keep the peace for twelve months.
On New Year's Day, the seventh annual festival of the Band of Hope was held in the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Haydock when 300 persons sat down to tea and later enjoyed some entertainment. During the speeches it was revealed that 370 persons had signed the pledge since the formation of the temperance group in December 1864.
I've mentioned on a few occasions how frightened horses could prove dangerous to the public – as well as to those in the vehicles they were hauling. Unexpected sights and sounds could easily spook a nervous nag, as it did with John Bond's horses. The carter was employed by Greenall's brewery and had been driving a waggon from Warrington. Upon reaching Bold Mill, Bond's horses took fright and being unable to slow them down, he took the decision to jump off his rig. However, a wheel passed over his body and fatally injured him. At Bond's inquest on the 28th, the usual verdict of accidental death was returned.
The new 5¼-mile-long St Helens to Huyton line finally opened for passenger trains on January 1st 1872. Previously passengers travelling from St Helens to Liverpool had to change at St Helens Junction and the new line reduced the travelling time from an average one hour to thirty-five minutes. Intermediate stations were provided at Prescot and Thatto Heath, with a further station at Eccleston Park opening in 1891.
The people of Prescot would have found the new line a great boon, as previously they had to travel to Huyton station to get the train or ride by horse-driven omnibus to Liverpool or St Helens. More than 1,500 passengers were reported as travelling between Liverpool, Prescot, Thatto Heath and St Helens on the line's first day of operation.
Kennette and Volier "the great sensational gymnastic artistes – a great sensation wherever they appear" opened at the St Helens Theatre Royal New Concert Hall from the 1st. That is the building we know – or knew – as The Citadel. Also on the bill was Mons. Rivalli ("Fire prince"); Charlie Oswald ("The laughing comic"); W. Lorenzo ("Negro comedian and juggler") and Miss Foster ("Serio-comic and dancer").
The inquest on a Sutton glassworker named Fred Newton took place on the 1st. The hearing was held at the Locomotive Inn (aka the Roundhouse) on the corner of Peckers Hill Road and Ellamsbridge Road. A large number of accidents took place at plate glassworks when large sheets of glass were being taken from room to room for grinding, smoothing or polishing. Large sheets of glass up to 15 feet long also had to be conveyed onto railway wagons and that could prove a dangerous business.
Newton worked at Sutton Glass Works and his body was described as having been "dreadfully gashed" when he walked into a large pointed sheet of plate glass as it was being carried. Death occurred with twenty minutes with "Fearful Accident At Sutton Glassworks" being the St Helens Newspaper's headline to their report.
And finally, the Liverpool Mail published a long article this week about the almost-miraculous recovery of the Prince of Wales (pictured above). The future King Edward VII had endured a serious attack of typhoid, the same disease that had killed his father ten years earlier. The Mail was one of a number of newspapers that passed comment on the prince's improvement and linked it to Christmas and the New Year.
The newspapers also pointed out that the prince's recovery had boosted support for the monarchy and seen off a movement in support of Republicanism and Communism in Britain. It's interesting comparing the fawning style of the Liverpool Mail with what newspapers would likely write today if Prince Charles suffered a serious illness. This is part of their lengthy piece:
"Christmas, with all its customary celebrations both sacred and secular, its family reunions, its friendly gatherings, and its universal merrymakings from the Sovereign in her Palace, down through all ranks and conditions, to the Paupers in the Workhouses, has just been observed with a chastened joyousness and an inexpressible thankfulness for the especial mercies of Divine Providence vouchsafed not only to England's stricken Prince and his Royal Mother and his nobleminded and gentle Wife and all his loving Relatives; but to all the Peoples, Tribes, and Tongues which compose this mighty British Empire.
"The great and loyal heart of this great England had throbbed with deepest sympathies for the critical condition of the Queen's Eldest Son, hovering day after day almost within the valley of the Shadow of Death; a suppliant Empire besought the Almighty to spare him; and their supplications have been both mercifully heard and answered thus far.
"Besides all this, besides recent anxieties already submerged in present mercies, the entire Country hails, in this bringing back of England's Prince from the very jaws of death as it were, an auspicious omen that, for many a long year, this Empire will not be afflicted with that civil strife and those terrible calamities – not to mention desolating foreign war – which have unhappily befallen a neighbouring and friendly Empire."
The last comments referenced the Franco-Prussian war and subsequent destruction of much of Paris – which the Preston Chronicle also reflected on this week: "The long shadows have come, and are slowly melting away; Eighteen Hundred and Seventy One sits in the grey twilight of Time; a faint rim of light flickers up from its setting sun; and in a short period all that remains of the old year will have disappeared for ever. The red hand of War was busy when 1871 came in; the angel of Peace holds sway over Christendom at its departure.
"During its earlier career, the year witnessed the siege, of the fairest city in Europe – the pacification of a mighty army, whose mission was to ruin or vanquish it; the removal of that army and the occupation of that city by a horde of freebooters, whose aim was plunder, and murder, and general spoliation; the signal defeat of these barbarians; and the erection of a [French] Republic upon the ashes of a great Empire."
Next week's stories will include the Rainford lodger scandal, the raging smallpox and measles epidemics in St Helens, the police sergeant found drunk in Liverpool Road, the curious drunken death in Cross Street and the punch up at a Prescot ball.
Saturday night was a very busy time in St Helens marketplace – with stallholders staying open until late to take as much cash as they could off newly-paid workers. On the 29th, Bridget Garvey appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions accused of stealing 35 shillings and a ring from Mary Millett. The theft had taken place in the market on the previous Saturday night and the St Helens Newspaper described the unusual manner of the 26-year-old's arrest:
"It appeared from the evidence of Mrs. Millett, who resides in Waterloo-street, and keeps a stall in the market, that on Saturday night, about eleven o’clock, while attending to her business, the prisoner came to the stall. Her presence was not desired, and she was ordered away, Mrs. Millett giving her a push to emphasise the order. Thereupon the woman put her hand into the pocket of the witness, dexterously and rapidly, and drew out 35s. and a ring.
"The act was observed by Mrs. Millett who grasped the thief to detain her, but in this she was obstructed by a man not in custody, who had been seen speaking to the prisoner. Garvey, finding she was not going to escape by any direct means, dashed the money right into the heart of the crowd which had gathered. The flash of silver was sufficient to cause the strongest agitation. Men and women scrambled as if life depended on the scramble, rolling over, pushing, pulling, dragging up the mud, and indulging in very unreasonable epithets.
"The ruse did not succeed in giving Garvey a chance of escape, and when the police came she was handed into custody. The scramble for the money was ostensibly for the purpose of returning it to Mrs. Millett, and that lady received 10s. as the result of a most diligent search by fifty pairs of eyes. Peter Spencer, marine store dealer, deposed to having found the ring after it had been thrown away. The prisoner denied her guilt, and was sent for trial."
I suppose recovering ten shillings out of thirty-five that had been chucked into a crowd late at night in semi-darkness was not a bad return. But the ruse proved ultimately successful, as three weeks later at Kirkdale Quarter Sessions, Bridget Garvey was cleared of the charge.
At Newton Petty Sessions on the 30th, Robert Valentine of Mercer Street in Newton-le-Willows was charged with using threatening language to his wife. It was alleged that the 26-year-old had at 3am been drunkenly carrying an open clasp knife and threatening to stab anyone who came near. Valentine also said he would stab his wife Jane and baby James and had to be taken into custody by the police. He was bound over to keep the peace for twelve months.
On New Year's Day, the seventh annual festival of the Band of Hope was held in the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Haydock when 300 persons sat down to tea and later enjoyed some entertainment. During the speeches it was revealed that 370 persons had signed the pledge since the formation of the temperance group in December 1864.
I've mentioned on a few occasions how frightened horses could prove dangerous to the public – as well as to those in the vehicles they were hauling. Unexpected sights and sounds could easily spook a nervous nag, as it did with John Bond's horses. The carter was employed by Greenall's brewery and had been driving a waggon from Warrington. Upon reaching Bold Mill, Bond's horses took fright and being unable to slow them down, he took the decision to jump off his rig. However, a wheel passed over his body and fatally injured him. At Bond's inquest on the 28th, the usual verdict of accidental death was returned.
The new 5¼-mile-long St Helens to Huyton line finally opened for passenger trains on January 1st 1872. Previously passengers travelling from St Helens to Liverpool had to change at St Helens Junction and the new line reduced the travelling time from an average one hour to thirty-five minutes. Intermediate stations were provided at Prescot and Thatto Heath, with a further station at Eccleston Park opening in 1891.
The people of Prescot would have found the new line a great boon, as previously they had to travel to Huyton station to get the train or ride by horse-driven omnibus to Liverpool or St Helens. More than 1,500 passengers were reported as travelling between Liverpool, Prescot, Thatto Heath and St Helens on the line's first day of operation.
Kennette and Volier "the great sensational gymnastic artistes – a great sensation wherever they appear" opened at the St Helens Theatre Royal New Concert Hall from the 1st. That is the building we know – or knew – as The Citadel. Also on the bill was Mons. Rivalli ("Fire prince"); Charlie Oswald ("The laughing comic"); W. Lorenzo ("Negro comedian and juggler") and Miss Foster ("Serio-comic and dancer").
The inquest on a Sutton glassworker named Fred Newton took place on the 1st. The hearing was held at the Locomotive Inn (aka the Roundhouse) on the corner of Peckers Hill Road and Ellamsbridge Road. A large number of accidents took place at plate glassworks when large sheets of glass were being taken from room to room for grinding, smoothing or polishing. Large sheets of glass up to 15 feet long also had to be conveyed onto railway wagons and that could prove a dangerous business.
Newton worked at Sutton Glass Works and his body was described as having been "dreadfully gashed" when he walked into a large pointed sheet of plate glass as it was being carried. Death occurred with twenty minutes with "Fearful Accident At Sutton Glassworks" being the St Helens Newspaper's headline to their report.
The newspapers also pointed out that the prince's recovery had boosted support for the monarchy and seen off a movement in support of Republicanism and Communism in Britain. It's interesting comparing the fawning style of the Liverpool Mail with what newspapers would likely write today if Prince Charles suffered a serious illness. This is part of their lengthy piece:
"Christmas, with all its customary celebrations both sacred and secular, its family reunions, its friendly gatherings, and its universal merrymakings from the Sovereign in her Palace, down through all ranks and conditions, to the Paupers in the Workhouses, has just been observed with a chastened joyousness and an inexpressible thankfulness for the especial mercies of Divine Providence vouchsafed not only to England's stricken Prince and his Royal Mother and his nobleminded and gentle Wife and all his loving Relatives; but to all the Peoples, Tribes, and Tongues which compose this mighty British Empire.
"The great and loyal heart of this great England had throbbed with deepest sympathies for the critical condition of the Queen's Eldest Son, hovering day after day almost within the valley of the Shadow of Death; a suppliant Empire besought the Almighty to spare him; and their supplications have been both mercifully heard and answered thus far.
"Besides all this, besides recent anxieties already submerged in present mercies, the entire Country hails, in this bringing back of England's Prince from the very jaws of death as it were, an auspicious omen that, for many a long year, this Empire will not be afflicted with that civil strife and those terrible calamities – not to mention desolating foreign war – which have unhappily befallen a neighbouring and friendly Empire."
The last comments referenced the Franco-Prussian war and subsequent destruction of much of Paris – which the Preston Chronicle also reflected on this week: "The long shadows have come, and are slowly melting away; Eighteen Hundred and Seventy One sits in the grey twilight of Time; a faint rim of light flickers up from its setting sun; and in a short period all that remains of the old year will have disappeared for ever. The red hand of War was busy when 1871 came in; the angel of Peace holds sway over Christendom at its departure.
"During its earlier career, the year witnessed the siege, of the fairest city in Europe – the pacification of a mighty army, whose mission was to ruin or vanquish it; the removal of that army and the occupation of that city by a horde of freebooters, whose aim was plunder, and murder, and general spoliation; the signal defeat of these barbarians; and the erection of a [French] Republic upon the ashes of a great Empire."
Next week's stories will include the Rainford lodger scandal, the raging smallpox and measles epidemics in St Helens, the police sergeant found drunk in Liverpool Road, the curious drunken death in Cross Street and the punch up at a Prescot ball.
This week's stories include the late-night scramble for cash in St Helens Market, the Sutton glassworker who was dreadfully gashed, the Newton man who threatened to stab his wife and child, the opening of the St Helens to Huyton railway line and the Greenall's carter who was run over by his own cart.
Saturday night was a very busy time in St Helens marketplace – with stallholders staying open until late to take as much cash as they could off newly-paid workers.
On the 29th, Bridget Garvey appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions accused of stealing 35 shillings and a ring from Mary Millett.
The theft had taken place in the market on the previous Saturday night and the St Helens Newspaper described the unusual manner of the 26-year-old's arrest:
"It appeared from the evidence of Mrs. Millett, who resides in Waterloo-street, and keeps a stall in the market, that on Saturday night, about eleven o’clock, while attending to her business, the prisoner came to the stall.
"Her presence was not desired, and she was ordered away, Mrs. Millett giving her a push to emphasise the order.
"Thereupon the woman put her hand into the pocket of the witness, dexterously and rapidly, and drew out 35s. and a ring.
"The act was observed by Mrs. Millett who grasped the thief to detain her, but in this she was obstructed by a man not in custody, who had been seen speaking to the prisoner.
"Garvey, finding she was not going to escape by any direct means, dashed the money right into the heart of the crowd which had gathered.
"The flash of silver was sufficient to cause the strongest agitation. Men and women scrambled as if life depended on the scramble, rolling over, pushing, pulling, dragging up the mud, and indulging in very unreasonable epithets.
"The ruse did not succeed in giving Garvey a chance of escape, and when the police came she was handed into custody.
"The scramble for the money was ostensibly for the purpose of returning it to Mrs. Millett, and that lady received 10s. as the result of a most diligent search by fifty pairs of eyes.
"Peter Spencer, marine store dealer, deposed to having found the ring after it had been thrown away. The prisoner denied her guilt, and was sent for trial."
I suppose recovering ten shillings out of thirty-five that had been chucked into a crowd late at night in semi-darkness was not a bad return.
But the ruse proved ultimately successful, as three weeks later at Kirkdale Quarter Sessions, Bridget Garvey was cleared of the charge.
At Newton Petty Sessions on the 30th, Robert Valentine of Mercer Street in Newton-le-Willows was charged with using threatening language to his wife.
It was alleged that the 26-year-old had at 3am been drunkenly carrying an open clasp knife and threatening to stab anyone who came near.
Valentine also said he would stab his wife Jane and baby James and had to be taken into custody by the police. He was bound over to keep the peace for twelve months.
On New Year's Day, the seventh annual festival of the Band of Hope was held in the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Haydock when 300 persons sat down to tea and later enjoyed some entertainment.
During the speeches it was revealed that 370 persons had signed the pledge since the formation of the temperance group in December 1864.
I've mentioned on a few occasions how frightened horses could prove dangerous to the public – as well as to those in the vehicles they were hauling.
Unexpected sights and sounds could easily spook a nervous nag, as it did with John Bond's horses.
The carter was employed by Greenall's brewery and had been driving a waggon from Warrington.
Upon reaching Bold Mill, Bond's horses took fright and being unable to slow them down, he took the decision to jump off his rig.
However, a wheel passed over his body and fatally injured him. At Bond's inquest on the 28th, the usual verdict of accidental death was returned.
The new 5¼-mile-long St Helens to Huyton line finally opened for passenger trains on January 1st 1872.
Previously passengers travelling from St Helens to Liverpool had to change at St Helens Junction and the new line reduced the travelling time from an average one hour to thirty-five minutes.
Intermediate stations were provided at Prescot and Thatto Heath, with a further station at Eccleston Park opening in 1891.
The people of Prescot would have found the new line a great boon, as previously they had to travel to Huyton station to get the train or ride by horse-driven omnibus to Liverpool or St Helens.
More than 1,500 passengers were reported as travelling between Liverpool, Prescot, Thatto Heath and St Helens on the line's first day of operation.
Kennette and Volier "the great sensational gymnastic artistes – a great sensation wherever they appear" opened at the St Helens Theatre Royal New Concert Hall from the 1st. That is the building we know – or knew – as The Citadel.
Also on the bill was Mons. Rivalli ("Fire prince"); Charlie Oswald ("The laughing comic"); W. Lorenzo ("Negro comedian and juggler") and Miss Foster ("Serio-comic and dancer").
The inquest on a Sutton glassworker named Fred Newton took place on the 1st. The hearing was held at the Locomotive Inn (aka the Roundhouse) on the corner of Peckers Hill Road and Ellamsbridge Road.
A large number of accidents took place at plate glassworks when large sheets of glass were being taken from room to room for grinding, smoothing or polishing.
Large sheets of glass up to 15 feet long also had to be conveyed onto railway wagons and that could prove a dangerous business.
Newton worked at Sutton Glass Works and his body was described as having been "dreadfully gashed" when he walked into a large pointed sheet of plate glass as it was being carried.
Death occurred with twenty minutes with "Fearful Accident At Sutton Glassworks" being the St Helens Newspaper's headline to their report.
And finally, the Liverpool Mail published a long article this week about the almost-miraculous recovery of the Prince of Wales (pictured above).
The future King Edward VII had endured a serious attack of typhoid, the same disease that had killed his father ten years earlier.
The Mail was one of a number of newspapers that passed comment on the prince's improvement and linked it to Christmas and the New Year.
The newspapers also pointed out that the prince's recovery had boosted support for the monarchy and seen off a movement in support of Republicanism and Communism in Britain.
It's interesting comparing the fawning style of the Liverpool Mail with what newspapers would likely write today if Prince Charles suffered a serious illness. This is part of their lengthy piece:
"Christmas, with all its customary celebrations both sacred and secular, its family reunions, its friendly gatherings, and its universal merrymakings from the Sovereign in her Palace, down through all ranks and conditions, to the Paupers in the Workhouses, has just been observed with a chastened joyousness and an inexpressible thankfulness for the especial mercies of Divine Providence vouchsafed not only to England's stricken Prince and his Royal Mother and his nobleminded and gentle Wife and all his loving Relatives; but to all the Peoples, Tribes, and Tongues which compose this mighty British Empire.
"The great and loyal heart of this great England had throbbed with deepest sympathies for the critical condition of the Queen's Eldest Son, hovering day after day almost within the valley of the Shadow of Death; a suppliant Empire besought the Almighty to spare him; and their supplications have been both mercifully heard and answered thus far.
"Besides all this, besides recent anxieties already submerged in present mercies, the entire Country hails, in this bringing back of England's Prince from the very jaws of death as it were, an auspicious omen that, for many a long year, this Empire will not be afflicted with that civil strife and those terrible calamities – not to mention desolating foreign war – which have unhappily befallen a neighbouring and friendly Empire."
The last comments referenced the Franco-Prussian war and subsequent destruction of much of Paris – which the Preston Chronicle also reflected on this week:
"The long shadows have come, and are slowly melting away; Eighteen Hundred and Seventy One sits in the grey twilight of Time; a faint rim of light flickers up from its setting sun; and in a short period all that remains of the old year will have disappeared for ever.
"The red hand of War was busy when 1871 came in; the angel of Peace holds sway over Christendom at its departure.
"During its earlier career, the year witnessed the siege, of the fairest city in Europe – the pacification of a mighty army, whose mission was to ruin or vanquish it; the removal of that army and the occupation of that city by a horde of freebooters, whose aim was plunder, and murder, and general spoliation; the signal defeat of these barbarians; and the erection of a [French] Republic upon the ashes of a great Empire."
Next week's stories will include the Rainford lodger scandal, the raging smallpox and measles epidemics in St Helens, the police sergeant found drunk in Liverpool Road, the curious drunken death in Cross Street and the punch up at a Prescot ball.
Saturday night was a very busy time in St Helens marketplace – with stallholders staying open until late to take as much cash as they could off newly-paid workers.
On the 29th, Bridget Garvey appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions accused of stealing 35 shillings and a ring from Mary Millett.
The theft had taken place in the market on the previous Saturday night and the St Helens Newspaper described the unusual manner of the 26-year-old's arrest:
"It appeared from the evidence of Mrs. Millett, who resides in Waterloo-street, and keeps a stall in the market, that on Saturday night, about eleven o’clock, while attending to her business, the prisoner came to the stall.
"Her presence was not desired, and she was ordered away, Mrs. Millett giving her a push to emphasise the order.
"Thereupon the woman put her hand into the pocket of the witness, dexterously and rapidly, and drew out 35s. and a ring.
"The act was observed by Mrs. Millett who grasped the thief to detain her, but in this she was obstructed by a man not in custody, who had been seen speaking to the prisoner.
"Garvey, finding she was not going to escape by any direct means, dashed the money right into the heart of the crowd which had gathered.
"The flash of silver was sufficient to cause the strongest agitation. Men and women scrambled as if life depended on the scramble, rolling over, pushing, pulling, dragging up the mud, and indulging in very unreasonable epithets.
"The ruse did not succeed in giving Garvey a chance of escape, and when the police came she was handed into custody.
"The scramble for the money was ostensibly for the purpose of returning it to Mrs. Millett, and that lady received 10s. as the result of a most diligent search by fifty pairs of eyes.
"Peter Spencer, marine store dealer, deposed to having found the ring after it had been thrown away. The prisoner denied her guilt, and was sent for trial."
I suppose recovering ten shillings out of thirty-five that had been chucked into a crowd late at night in semi-darkness was not a bad return.
But the ruse proved ultimately successful, as three weeks later at Kirkdale Quarter Sessions, Bridget Garvey was cleared of the charge.
At Newton Petty Sessions on the 30th, Robert Valentine of Mercer Street in Newton-le-Willows was charged with using threatening language to his wife.
It was alleged that the 26-year-old had at 3am been drunkenly carrying an open clasp knife and threatening to stab anyone who came near.
Valentine also said he would stab his wife Jane and baby James and had to be taken into custody by the police. He was bound over to keep the peace for twelve months.
On New Year's Day, the seventh annual festival of the Band of Hope was held in the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Haydock when 300 persons sat down to tea and later enjoyed some entertainment.
During the speeches it was revealed that 370 persons had signed the pledge since the formation of the temperance group in December 1864.
I've mentioned on a few occasions how frightened horses could prove dangerous to the public – as well as to those in the vehicles they were hauling.
Unexpected sights and sounds could easily spook a nervous nag, as it did with John Bond's horses.
The carter was employed by Greenall's brewery and had been driving a waggon from Warrington.
Upon reaching Bold Mill, Bond's horses took fright and being unable to slow them down, he took the decision to jump off his rig.
However, a wheel passed over his body and fatally injured him. At Bond's inquest on the 28th, the usual verdict of accidental death was returned.
The new 5¼-mile-long St Helens to Huyton line finally opened for passenger trains on January 1st 1872.
Previously passengers travelling from St Helens to Liverpool had to change at St Helens Junction and the new line reduced the travelling time from an average one hour to thirty-five minutes.
Intermediate stations were provided at Prescot and Thatto Heath, with a further station at Eccleston Park opening in 1891.
The people of Prescot would have found the new line a great boon, as previously they had to travel to Huyton station to get the train or ride by horse-driven omnibus to Liverpool or St Helens.
More than 1,500 passengers were reported as travelling between Liverpool, Prescot, Thatto Heath and St Helens on the line's first day of operation.
Kennette and Volier "the great sensational gymnastic artistes – a great sensation wherever they appear" opened at the St Helens Theatre Royal New Concert Hall from the 1st. That is the building we know – or knew – as The Citadel.
Also on the bill was Mons. Rivalli ("Fire prince"); Charlie Oswald ("The laughing comic"); W. Lorenzo ("Negro comedian and juggler") and Miss Foster ("Serio-comic and dancer").
The inquest on a Sutton glassworker named Fred Newton took place on the 1st. The hearing was held at the Locomotive Inn (aka the Roundhouse) on the corner of Peckers Hill Road and Ellamsbridge Road.
A large number of accidents took place at plate glassworks when large sheets of glass were being taken from room to room for grinding, smoothing or polishing.
Large sheets of glass up to 15 feet long also had to be conveyed onto railway wagons and that could prove a dangerous business.
Newton worked at Sutton Glass Works and his body was described as having been "dreadfully gashed" when he walked into a large pointed sheet of plate glass as it was being carried.
Death occurred with twenty minutes with "Fearful Accident At Sutton Glassworks" being the St Helens Newspaper's headline to their report.
The future King Edward VII had endured a serious attack of typhoid, the same disease that had killed his father ten years earlier.
The Mail was one of a number of newspapers that passed comment on the prince's improvement and linked it to Christmas and the New Year.
The newspapers also pointed out that the prince's recovery had boosted support for the monarchy and seen off a movement in support of Republicanism and Communism in Britain.
It's interesting comparing the fawning style of the Liverpool Mail with what newspapers would likely write today if Prince Charles suffered a serious illness. This is part of their lengthy piece:
"Christmas, with all its customary celebrations both sacred and secular, its family reunions, its friendly gatherings, and its universal merrymakings from the Sovereign in her Palace, down through all ranks and conditions, to the Paupers in the Workhouses, has just been observed with a chastened joyousness and an inexpressible thankfulness for the especial mercies of Divine Providence vouchsafed not only to England's stricken Prince and his Royal Mother and his nobleminded and gentle Wife and all his loving Relatives; but to all the Peoples, Tribes, and Tongues which compose this mighty British Empire.
"The great and loyal heart of this great England had throbbed with deepest sympathies for the critical condition of the Queen's Eldest Son, hovering day after day almost within the valley of the Shadow of Death; a suppliant Empire besought the Almighty to spare him; and their supplications have been both mercifully heard and answered thus far.
"Besides all this, besides recent anxieties already submerged in present mercies, the entire Country hails, in this bringing back of England's Prince from the very jaws of death as it were, an auspicious omen that, for many a long year, this Empire will not be afflicted with that civil strife and those terrible calamities – not to mention desolating foreign war – which have unhappily befallen a neighbouring and friendly Empire."
The last comments referenced the Franco-Prussian war and subsequent destruction of much of Paris – which the Preston Chronicle also reflected on this week:
"The long shadows have come, and are slowly melting away; Eighteen Hundred and Seventy One sits in the grey twilight of Time; a faint rim of light flickers up from its setting sun; and in a short period all that remains of the old year will have disappeared for ever.
"The red hand of War was busy when 1871 came in; the angel of Peace holds sway over Christendom at its departure.
"During its earlier career, the year witnessed the siege, of the fairest city in Europe – the pacification of a mighty army, whose mission was to ruin or vanquish it; the removal of that army and the occupation of that city by a horde of freebooters, whose aim was plunder, and murder, and general spoliation; the signal defeat of these barbarians; and the erection of a [French] Republic upon the ashes of a great Empire."
Next week's stories will include the Rainford lodger scandal, the raging smallpox and measles epidemics in St Helens, the police sergeant found drunk in Liverpool Road, the curious drunken death in Cross Street and the punch up at a Prescot ball.