150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (28 AUGUST - 3 SEPT 1873)
This week's many stories include the exhausted nag hauling three tons of sand up Croppers Hill, the Parr defamation case, the 13-year-old boy whipped and imprisoned for theft, the different court treatments for two different boot thieves and the Liverpool Road window smasher that had a heavy price to pay.
In 1872 a new Licensing Act had for the first time established a framework for opening hours for public houses and beerhouses. That was in the hope that curtailing drinking hours – coupled with stricter punishments for offenders – would reduce drunkenness. On weekdays, including Saturdays, licensed houses could not open their doors before 7am and they needed to close at 11 pm. On Sundays they had to shut an hour earlier.
Last week the head of St Helens Police had given the licensing magistrates statistics that revealed that the new Act had not reduced drunken behaviour in the town. And this week the St Helens Newspaper had these comments to make:
"It was hoped that the heavier punishment, and greater stringency of the law, would repress to some extent the ravening passion for drink which is the curse of a portion of our people. No one expects that sobriety is about to grow spontaneously. The habits of intoxication must be eradicated by some external means, and an Act of Parliament which has that aim, must be received with gratitude."
Of course, if many of the working-class in St Helens did not have such horrible jobs and nothing else to do at night other than drink, then there would likely have been less drunkenness to complain about.
John Halligan does not appear to have been very bright. The 17-year-old coal miner appeared in the St Helens Petty Sessions this week charged with theft. The court heard how Halligan had gone into Osborne (or Osman) Heneman's shoe shop in Baldwin Street in St Helens (pictured above in later years) to select and price up a pair of boots. He told Mr Heneman that he would return for them – which he did, but not to buy them.
Shortly afterwards the shoe shop owner discovered that the boots had disappeared and Halligan immediately became the prime suspect. The Newspaper wrote: "They were found subsequently on Halligan's feet, the wearer being in the enjoyment of a promenade through Greenbank when taken into custody."
The man was committed for trial at the next Liverpool Assizes. But before being taken down to the cells, Halligan faced a second charge of stealing another pair of boots from the same tradesman. In that case he had given the stolen footwear to a young woman called Logan and asked her to pawn them for him, saying he wanted to raise some cash to pay a court fine for some relative. He was sent for trial on that charge as well and at Liverpool Assizes was sent to prison for six months.
Another boot thief in the Petty Sessions was Maria Fisher from Haydock. But she was described as "respectable", and that made all the difference in court. She was not committed for trial at the assizes. The St Helens magistrates dismissed her case even though she had pawned the boots in her own name at Mary Bardsley's premises in Liverpool Road after stealing them from Scales and Salter's shop in Church Street. Mrs Fisher claimed that she had bought the boots from the firm but folk didn't pay for new shoes and then immediately go and pawn them. A shop assistant denied in court that he had sold them to the woman but she was still discharged.
Having to climb up steep Croppers Hill – or Combshop Brow as it was sometimes known – was quite a trial for horses hauling goods. If repeat journeys had to be made, some carters would overload their animals in order to get the job done faster. But if the poor horse had to keep stopping to take a rest, then little time was actually saved. In court this week Joseph Makin was charged with ill-treating a horse by overloading it.
PC Harrison gave evidence that he'd seen the animal being driven up Combshop Brow laden with three tons of sand. When the top of the hill was reached, the horse was utterly exhausted. A man called Dagnall of Liverpool Road told the magistrates that he had remonstrated with Makin about the state of his animal – but had only received foul language in return. The horse, he said, had to stop on the brow nine times to rest itself. Makin was fined 10 shillings and costs for his cruelty.
There were the usual silly female squabbles in court. If one of the women at war had had an illegitimate child, then solicitors liked to bring that out in the hearing – despite it rarely being relevant. Eliza Hidden was summoned to the Petty Sessions by Ellen Forshaw and accused of using false and defamatory language to her in Parr. Ellen said the woman had called her the "foulest of names" and had cast a bowl of vinegar into her face.
Mrs Hidden's solicitor asked Ellen whether it was true that she had had two illegitimate children. To that she was reported as saying that only one child still lived and "commanded my love". The defence case was that a young man named Isaac Harrison had been seeing both Ellen and Mrs Hidden's sister, and the row had been caused by Harrison's presence in the defendant's house.
The Bench dismissed the case but Ellen Forshaw had brought a second charge against a man called William Dickson accusing him of slandering her. But before he could be questioned, solicitor Thomas Swift exploded with anger about the previous dismissal and his expectation that the charge against Dickson would receive the same treatment, saying:
"Are we to understand that this is no longer a court of law and justice – that the poor may be defamed with impunity – that when they come here, redress is not afforded – and that a woman must suffer the deepest wound a man can inflict? Is the man to be told that he can go back to Parr, parade the streets, and blacken the character of the woman?"
Isaac Harrison then appeared as a witness and – according to the Newspaper – "blushingly announced" that he was willing to marry Ellen Forshaw but had been put off by what William Dickson had been saying about her. But the latter claimed never to have spoken to the woman at all until she had attacked him. Eventually Dickson was ordered to find sureties for two months to guarantee his good behaviour and the affair was brought to a close.
Michael Mulvey appeared in court charged with breaking a window of the New Inn in Greenbank. The incident had occurred on the previous Saturday night after the pub's landlord had refused to serve him beer on three occasions. The last time that occurred, Mulvey had walked out of the pub muttering to himself and shortly afterwards threw a large piece of slag through a window.
The total amount of the fine, damages and costs that Mulvey was ordered to pay came to £5 10 shillings – or he had to serve two months in prison. That was probably 3 or 4 weeks wages and so he almost certainly went to gaol. The New Inn was in Liverpool Road and it closed in 1929.
Denis Feigh was one of the most notorious characters in St Helens during the 1870s. Not that his offences were in themselves particularly serious. In fact he was a bit of a comical character whose crimes were mainly drunkenness and minor theft – although there was a serious consequence to his activities. Denis's notoriety meant his three sons John, James and Patrick had no chance in life and they would often be brought to court charged with begging or stealing.
This week Patrick (who was aged about 14) was charged with stealing several straps and belts from a market stall belonging to William Walsh of Tontine Street. He told the court that other boys had given them to him but as a member of the Feigh family he had no chance of being believed. Patrick's mother had around 20 convictions herself and the whole family were considered a very bad lot. And so the boy was sentenced to a month in prison and ordered to be whipped.
And finally on the 30th, the second Newton-le-Willows Athletic Sports took place on the cricket field. The Band of the Lancashire Hussars was in attendance and there were nearly 250 entries for the many athletics contests.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
This Week's stories will include the Rainford girl who accused two men of slandering her, the unfit fish that was cried for sale in Greenbank, the strange theft in the Black Bull in Church Street and a sequel to the disgusting savagery case.
In 1872 a new Licensing Act had for the first time established a framework for opening hours for public houses and beerhouses. That was in the hope that curtailing drinking hours – coupled with stricter punishments for offenders – would reduce drunkenness. On weekdays, including Saturdays, licensed houses could not open their doors before 7am and they needed to close at 11 pm. On Sundays they had to shut an hour earlier.
Last week the head of St Helens Police had given the licensing magistrates statistics that revealed that the new Act had not reduced drunken behaviour in the town. And this week the St Helens Newspaper had these comments to make:
"It was hoped that the heavier punishment, and greater stringency of the law, would repress to some extent the ravening passion for drink which is the curse of a portion of our people. No one expects that sobriety is about to grow spontaneously. The habits of intoxication must be eradicated by some external means, and an Act of Parliament which has that aim, must be received with gratitude."
Of course, if many of the working-class in St Helens did not have such horrible jobs and nothing else to do at night other than drink, then there would likely have been less drunkenness to complain about.
Shortly afterwards the shoe shop owner discovered that the boots had disappeared and Halligan immediately became the prime suspect. The Newspaper wrote: "They were found subsequently on Halligan's feet, the wearer being in the enjoyment of a promenade through Greenbank when taken into custody."
The man was committed for trial at the next Liverpool Assizes. But before being taken down to the cells, Halligan faced a second charge of stealing another pair of boots from the same tradesman. In that case he had given the stolen footwear to a young woman called Logan and asked her to pawn them for him, saying he wanted to raise some cash to pay a court fine for some relative. He was sent for trial on that charge as well and at Liverpool Assizes was sent to prison for six months.
Another boot thief in the Petty Sessions was Maria Fisher from Haydock. But she was described as "respectable", and that made all the difference in court. She was not committed for trial at the assizes. The St Helens magistrates dismissed her case even though she had pawned the boots in her own name at Mary Bardsley's premises in Liverpool Road after stealing them from Scales and Salter's shop in Church Street. Mrs Fisher claimed that she had bought the boots from the firm but folk didn't pay for new shoes and then immediately go and pawn them. A shop assistant denied in court that he had sold them to the woman but she was still discharged.
Having to climb up steep Croppers Hill – or Combshop Brow as it was sometimes known – was quite a trial for horses hauling goods. If repeat journeys had to be made, some carters would overload their animals in order to get the job done faster. But if the poor horse had to keep stopping to take a rest, then little time was actually saved. In court this week Joseph Makin was charged with ill-treating a horse by overloading it.
PC Harrison gave evidence that he'd seen the animal being driven up Combshop Brow laden with three tons of sand. When the top of the hill was reached, the horse was utterly exhausted. A man called Dagnall of Liverpool Road told the magistrates that he had remonstrated with Makin about the state of his animal – but had only received foul language in return. The horse, he said, had to stop on the brow nine times to rest itself. Makin was fined 10 shillings and costs for his cruelty.
There were the usual silly female squabbles in court. If one of the women at war had had an illegitimate child, then solicitors liked to bring that out in the hearing – despite it rarely being relevant. Eliza Hidden was summoned to the Petty Sessions by Ellen Forshaw and accused of using false and defamatory language to her in Parr. Ellen said the woman had called her the "foulest of names" and had cast a bowl of vinegar into her face.
Mrs Hidden's solicitor asked Ellen whether it was true that she had had two illegitimate children. To that she was reported as saying that only one child still lived and "commanded my love". The defence case was that a young man named Isaac Harrison had been seeing both Ellen and Mrs Hidden's sister, and the row had been caused by Harrison's presence in the defendant's house.
The Bench dismissed the case but Ellen Forshaw had brought a second charge against a man called William Dickson accusing him of slandering her. But before he could be questioned, solicitor Thomas Swift exploded with anger about the previous dismissal and his expectation that the charge against Dickson would receive the same treatment, saying:
"Are we to understand that this is no longer a court of law and justice – that the poor may be defamed with impunity – that when they come here, redress is not afforded – and that a woman must suffer the deepest wound a man can inflict? Is the man to be told that he can go back to Parr, parade the streets, and blacken the character of the woman?"
Isaac Harrison then appeared as a witness and – according to the Newspaper – "blushingly announced" that he was willing to marry Ellen Forshaw but had been put off by what William Dickson had been saying about her. But the latter claimed never to have spoken to the woman at all until she had attacked him. Eventually Dickson was ordered to find sureties for two months to guarantee his good behaviour and the affair was brought to a close.
Michael Mulvey appeared in court charged with breaking a window of the New Inn in Greenbank. The incident had occurred on the previous Saturday night after the pub's landlord had refused to serve him beer on three occasions. The last time that occurred, Mulvey had walked out of the pub muttering to himself and shortly afterwards threw a large piece of slag through a window.
The total amount of the fine, damages and costs that Mulvey was ordered to pay came to £5 10 shillings – or he had to serve two months in prison. That was probably 3 or 4 weeks wages and so he almost certainly went to gaol. The New Inn was in Liverpool Road and it closed in 1929.
Denis Feigh was one of the most notorious characters in St Helens during the 1870s. Not that his offences were in themselves particularly serious. In fact he was a bit of a comical character whose crimes were mainly drunkenness and minor theft – although there was a serious consequence to his activities. Denis's notoriety meant his three sons John, James and Patrick had no chance in life and they would often be brought to court charged with begging or stealing.
This week Patrick (who was aged about 14) was charged with stealing several straps and belts from a market stall belonging to William Walsh of Tontine Street. He told the court that other boys had given them to him but as a member of the Feigh family he had no chance of being believed. Patrick's mother had around 20 convictions herself and the whole family were considered a very bad lot. And so the boy was sentenced to a month in prison and ordered to be whipped.
And finally on the 30th, the second Newton-le-Willows Athletic Sports took place on the cricket field. The Band of the Lancashire Hussars was in attendance and there were nearly 250 entries for the many athletics contests.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
This Week's stories will include the Rainford girl who accused two men of slandering her, the unfit fish that was cried for sale in Greenbank, the strange theft in the Black Bull in Church Street and a sequel to the disgusting savagery case.
This week's many stories include the exhausted nag hauling three tons of sand up Croppers Hill, the Parr defamation case, the 13-year-old boy whipped and imprisoned for theft, the different court treatments for two different boot thieves and the Liverpool Road window smasher that had a heavy price to pay.
In 1872 a new Licensing Act had for the first time established a framework for opening hours for public houses and beerhouses. That was in the hope that curtailing drinking hours – coupled with stricter punishments for offenders – would reduce drunkenness.
On weekdays, including Saturdays, licensed houses could not open their doors before 7am and they needed to close at 11 pm. On Sundays they had to shut an hour earlier.
Last week the head of St Helens Police had given the licensing magistrates statistics that revealed that the new Act had not reduced drunken behaviour in the town.
And this week the St Helens Newspaper had these comments to make:
"It was hoped that the heavier punishment, and greater stringency of the law, would repress to some extent the ravening passion for drink which is the curse of a portion of our people. No one expects that sobriety is about to grow spontaneously.
"The habits of intoxication must be eradicated by some external means, and an Act of Parliament which has that aim, must be received with gratitude."
Of course, if many of the working-class in St Helens did not have such horrible jobs and nothing else to do at night other than drink, then there would likely have been less drunkenness to complain about.
John Halligan does not appear to have been very bright. The 17-year-old coal miner appeared in the St Helens Petty Sessions this week charged with theft.
The court heard how Halligan had gone into Osborne (or Osman) Heneman's shoe shop in Baldwin Street in St Helens (pictured above in later years) to select and price up a pair of boots.
He told Mr Heneman that he would return for them – which he did, but not to buy them.
Shortly afterwards the shoe shop owner discovered that the boots had disappeared and Halligan immediately became the prime suspect. The Newspaper wrote:
"They were found subsequently on Halligan's feet, the wearer being in the enjoyment of a promenade through Greenbank when taken into custody."
The man was committed for trial at the next Liverpool Assizes. But before being taken down to the cells, Halligan faced a second charge of stealing another pair of boots from the same tradesman.
In that case he had given the stolen footwear to a young woman called Logan and asked her to pawn them for him, saying he wanted to raise some cash to pay a court fine for some relative.
He was sent for trial on that charge as well and at Liverpool Assizes was sent to prison for six months.
Another boot thief in the Petty Sessions was Maria Fisher from Haydock. But she was described as "respectable", and that made all the difference in court.
She was not committed for trial at the assizes. The St Helens magistrates dismissed her case even though she had pawned the boots in her own name at Mary Bardsley's premises in Liverpool Road after stealing them from Scales and Salter's shop in Church Street.
Mrs Fisher claimed that she had bought the boots from the firm but folk didn't pay for new shoes and then immediately go and pawn them. A shop assistant denied in court that he had sold them to the woman but she was still discharged.
Having to climb up steep Croppers Hill – or Combshop Brow as it was sometimes known – was quite a trial for horses hauling goods.
If repeat journeys had to be made, some carters would overload their animals in order to get the job done faster.
But if the poor horse had to keep stopping to take a rest, then little time was actually saved.
In court this week Joseph Makin was charged with ill-treating a horse by overloading it.
PC Harrison gave evidence that he'd seen the animal being driven up Combshop Brow laden with three tons of sand. When the top of the hill was reached, the horse was utterly exhausted.
A man called Dagnall of Liverpool Road told the magistrates that he had remonstrated with Makin about the state of his animal – but had only received foul language in return.
The horse, he said, had to stop on the brow nine times to rest itself. Makin was fined 10 shillings and costs for his cruelty.
There were the usual silly female squabbles in court. If one of the women at war had had an illegitimate child, then solicitors liked to bring that out in the hearing – despite it rarely being relevant.
Eliza Hidden was summoned to the Petty Sessions by Ellen Forshaw and accused of using false and defamatory language to her in Parr.
Ellen said the woman had called her the "foulest of names" and had cast a bowl of vinegar into her face.
Mrs Hidden's solicitor asked Ellen whether it was true that she had had two illegitimate children. To that she was reported as saying that only one child still lived and "commanded my love".
The defence case was that a young man named Isaac Harrison had been seeing both Ellen and Mrs Hidden's sister, and the row had been caused by Harrison's presence in the defendant's house.
The Bench dismissed the case but Ellen Forshaw had brought a second charge against a man called William Dickson accusing him of slandering her.
But before he could be questioned, solicitor Thomas Swift exploded with anger about the previous dismissal and his expectation that the charge against Dickson would receive the same treatment, saying:
"Are we to understand that this is no longer a court of law and justice – that the poor may be defamed with impunity – that when they come here, redress is not afforded – and that a woman must suffer the deepest wound a man can inflict?
"Is the man to be told that he can go back to Parr, parade the streets, and blacken the character of the woman?"
Isaac Harrison then appeared as a witness and – according to the Newspaper – "blushingly announced" that he was willing to marry Ellen Forshaw but had been put off by what William Dickson had been saying about her.
But the latter claimed never to have spoken to the woman at all until she had attacked him.
Eventually Dickson was ordered to find sureties for two months to guarantee his good behaviour and the affair was brought to a close.
Michael Mulvey appeared in court charged with breaking a window of the New Inn in Greenbank.
The incident had occurred on the previous Saturday night after the pub's landlord had refused to serve him beer on three occasions.
The last time that occurred, Mulvey had walked out of the pub muttering to himself and shortly afterwards threw a large piece of slag through a window.
The total amount of the fine, damages and costs that Mulvey was ordered to pay came to £5 10 shillings – or he had to serve two months in prison.
That was probably 3 or 4 weeks wages and so he almost certainly went to gaol. The New Inn was in Liverpool Road and it closed in 1929.
Denis Feigh was one of the most notorious characters in St Helens during the 1870s. Not that his offences were in themselves particularly serious.
In fact he was a bit of a comical character whose crimes were mainly drunkenness and minor theft – although there was a serious consequence to his activities.
Denis's notoriety meant his three sons John, James and Patrick had no chance in life and they would often be brought to court charged with begging or stealing.
This week Patrick (who was aged about 14) was charged with stealing several straps and belts from a market stall belonging to William Walsh of Tontine Street.
He told the court that other boys had given them to him but as a member of the Feigh family he had no chance of being believed.
Patrick's mother had around 20 convictions herself and the whole family were considered a very bad lot. And so the boy was sentenced to a month in prison and ordered to be whipped.
And finally on the 30th, the second Newton-le-Willows Athletic Sports took place on the cricket field.
The Band of the Lancashire Hussars was in attendance and there were nearly 250 entries for the many athletics contests.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
This Week's stories will include the Rainford girl who accused two men of slandering her, the unfit fish that was cried for sale in Greenbank, the strange theft in the Black Bull in Church Street and a sequel to the disgusting savagery case.
In 1872 a new Licensing Act had for the first time established a framework for opening hours for public houses and beerhouses. That was in the hope that curtailing drinking hours – coupled with stricter punishments for offenders – would reduce drunkenness.
On weekdays, including Saturdays, licensed houses could not open their doors before 7am and they needed to close at 11 pm. On Sundays they had to shut an hour earlier.
Last week the head of St Helens Police had given the licensing magistrates statistics that revealed that the new Act had not reduced drunken behaviour in the town.
And this week the St Helens Newspaper had these comments to make:
"It was hoped that the heavier punishment, and greater stringency of the law, would repress to some extent the ravening passion for drink which is the curse of a portion of our people. No one expects that sobriety is about to grow spontaneously.
"The habits of intoxication must be eradicated by some external means, and an Act of Parliament which has that aim, must be received with gratitude."
Of course, if many of the working-class in St Helens did not have such horrible jobs and nothing else to do at night other than drink, then there would likely have been less drunkenness to complain about.
John Halligan does not appear to have been very bright. The 17-year-old coal miner appeared in the St Helens Petty Sessions this week charged with theft.
He told Mr Heneman that he would return for them – which he did, but not to buy them.
Shortly afterwards the shoe shop owner discovered that the boots had disappeared and Halligan immediately became the prime suspect. The Newspaper wrote:
"They were found subsequently on Halligan's feet, the wearer being in the enjoyment of a promenade through Greenbank when taken into custody."
The man was committed for trial at the next Liverpool Assizes. But before being taken down to the cells, Halligan faced a second charge of stealing another pair of boots from the same tradesman.
In that case he had given the stolen footwear to a young woman called Logan and asked her to pawn them for him, saying he wanted to raise some cash to pay a court fine for some relative.
He was sent for trial on that charge as well and at Liverpool Assizes was sent to prison for six months.
Another boot thief in the Petty Sessions was Maria Fisher from Haydock. But she was described as "respectable", and that made all the difference in court.
She was not committed for trial at the assizes. The St Helens magistrates dismissed her case even though she had pawned the boots in her own name at Mary Bardsley's premises in Liverpool Road after stealing them from Scales and Salter's shop in Church Street.
Mrs Fisher claimed that she had bought the boots from the firm but folk didn't pay for new shoes and then immediately go and pawn them. A shop assistant denied in court that he had sold them to the woman but she was still discharged.
Having to climb up steep Croppers Hill – or Combshop Brow as it was sometimes known – was quite a trial for horses hauling goods.
If repeat journeys had to be made, some carters would overload their animals in order to get the job done faster.
But if the poor horse had to keep stopping to take a rest, then little time was actually saved.
In court this week Joseph Makin was charged with ill-treating a horse by overloading it.
PC Harrison gave evidence that he'd seen the animal being driven up Combshop Brow laden with three tons of sand. When the top of the hill was reached, the horse was utterly exhausted.
A man called Dagnall of Liverpool Road told the magistrates that he had remonstrated with Makin about the state of his animal – but had only received foul language in return.
The horse, he said, had to stop on the brow nine times to rest itself. Makin was fined 10 shillings and costs for his cruelty.
There were the usual silly female squabbles in court. If one of the women at war had had an illegitimate child, then solicitors liked to bring that out in the hearing – despite it rarely being relevant.
Eliza Hidden was summoned to the Petty Sessions by Ellen Forshaw and accused of using false and defamatory language to her in Parr.
Ellen said the woman had called her the "foulest of names" and had cast a bowl of vinegar into her face.
Mrs Hidden's solicitor asked Ellen whether it was true that she had had two illegitimate children. To that she was reported as saying that only one child still lived and "commanded my love".
The defence case was that a young man named Isaac Harrison had been seeing both Ellen and Mrs Hidden's sister, and the row had been caused by Harrison's presence in the defendant's house.
The Bench dismissed the case but Ellen Forshaw had brought a second charge against a man called William Dickson accusing him of slandering her.
But before he could be questioned, solicitor Thomas Swift exploded with anger about the previous dismissal and his expectation that the charge against Dickson would receive the same treatment, saying:
"Are we to understand that this is no longer a court of law and justice – that the poor may be defamed with impunity – that when they come here, redress is not afforded – and that a woman must suffer the deepest wound a man can inflict?
"Is the man to be told that he can go back to Parr, parade the streets, and blacken the character of the woman?"
Isaac Harrison then appeared as a witness and – according to the Newspaper – "blushingly announced" that he was willing to marry Ellen Forshaw but had been put off by what William Dickson had been saying about her.
But the latter claimed never to have spoken to the woman at all until she had attacked him.
Eventually Dickson was ordered to find sureties for two months to guarantee his good behaviour and the affair was brought to a close.
Michael Mulvey appeared in court charged with breaking a window of the New Inn in Greenbank.
The incident had occurred on the previous Saturday night after the pub's landlord had refused to serve him beer on three occasions.
The last time that occurred, Mulvey had walked out of the pub muttering to himself and shortly afterwards threw a large piece of slag through a window.
The total amount of the fine, damages and costs that Mulvey was ordered to pay came to £5 10 shillings – or he had to serve two months in prison.
That was probably 3 or 4 weeks wages and so he almost certainly went to gaol. The New Inn was in Liverpool Road and it closed in 1929.
Denis Feigh was one of the most notorious characters in St Helens during the 1870s. Not that his offences were in themselves particularly serious.
In fact he was a bit of a comical character whose crimes were mainly drunkenness and minor theft – although there was a serious consequence to his activities.
Denis's notoriety meant his three sons John, James and Patrick had no chance in life and they would often be brought to court charged with begging or stealing.
This week Patrick (who was aged about 14) was charged with stealing several straps and belts from a market stall belonging to William Walsh of Tontine Street.
He told the court that other boys had given them to him but as a member of the Feigh family he had no chance of being believed.
Patrick's mother had around 20 convictions herself and the whole family were considered a very bad lot. And so the boy was sentenced to a month in prison and ordered to be whipped.
And finally on the 30th, the second Newton-le-Willows Athletic Sports took place on the cricket field.
The Band of the Lancashire Hussars was in attendance and there were nearly 250 entries for the many athletics contests.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
This Week's stories will include the Rainford girl who accused two men of slandering her, the unfit fish that was cried for sale in Greenbank, the strange theft in the Black Bull in Church Street and a sequel to the disgusting savagery case.