150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 28 OCT - 3 NOV 1874
This week's many stories include the St Helens man that stabbed his wife for protesting about him wasting money on drink, the huge fire at the Sutton Sheeting Works at St Helens Junction, the miners riot at Haydock in protest at strike-breaking knobsticks, two workers constructing the new Town Hall are injured and Dromgoole's Newspaper goes hi-tech through using a gas boiler to power their presses.
We begin on the 28th when John Lavin appeared in court in St Helens charged with stabbing his wife. The 23-year-old was reported to have been drinking for several days and pawning household goods to obtain the money to buy his booze. Understandably, Lavin's wife Ann was not best pleased and had annoyed her husband by trying to stop him from wasting what little they had. Two days prior to the court appearance she had met John outside the Feathers Inn in Westfield Street (pictured above in later years) and walked with him towards their home. As the couple were nearing their residence, Lavin struck his wife on the arm with a sharp object and then stabbed her in the breast. The latter cut made a flesh wound nearly an inch and a half in depth. When arrested Lavin was found to be in possession of a knife and the St Helens magistrates committed him for trial at the next assizes where he would be sentenced to 6 months in prison.
Also in court this week was Hugh McCabe who was charged with stabbing Thomas Riley. Both men worked for Marsh's Alkali Works and they'd had a quarrel that led to blows being exchanged. McCabe had then pulled out a knife and stabbed Reilly in his shoulder and he was also committed to the assizes for trial.
Steam is hardly state-of-the art to us these days. But during the 19th century it was considered revolutionary. In the printing industry the introduction of steam-powered rotary presses allowed printing to take place on an industrial scale. In 1869 the St Helens Newspaper's owner, Bernard Dromgoole, published this advert in his paper:
"B. A. Dromgoole respectfully calls attention to the fact that the Printing Office now contains every modern appliance for executing cheaply and expeditiously every description of letterpress printing. From the smallest card, circular, or billhead to the largest posting bills for the walls. By the introduction of three cylinder machines, worked by steam power, ten thousand, twenty thousand, or one hundred thousand bills can now be printed in an incredibly short space of time, and at a very considerable reduction in price."
But steam-power had its drawbacks as it was messy, potentially dangerous and the required boiler took time to get up to speed. This week's paper published on the 31st revealed that Dromgoole had gone hi-tech by purchasing the first gas engine in St Helens that would drive seven of his printers. The advert said:
"The advantages of this engine as compared [with] steam engines, are: That it can be started at a moment's notice and will at once give out its full power; the attendance required is merely nominal; as there is no boiler, there can be no boiler explosion; no fuel is used, gas comes in of itself and is said to be the most economical small moto [sic] yet invented." However, Dromgoole was still retaining his steam engine – just in case something went wrong, or so it seemed!
The St Helens Newspaper also described how "one of the most destructive fires with which this neighbourhood has been visited for many years" had taken place at St Helens Junction. The blaze had occurred on the previous Saturday at the Sutton Sheeting Works, which formerly had been the Sutton Sheds for storing and maintaining locomotives. The works now made and repaired tarpaulin sheets for use on goods trains and also stored a wide range of other materials needed for railway purposes. The Newspaper wrote: "The place was a perfect depot and storehouse".
Most workers in St Helens finished their working week around noon on Saturdays. As it was 3pm when the blaze was spotted, there was no one on site and so it was not known how the fire had started. The fire brigade focused on confining the conflagration to the two buildings in which it first appeared, which they did successfully. As might be expected, the fire was quite a spectacle and thirteen police constables were needed along with an inspector to hold back a large crowd of sightseers.
In the early 1870s adverts appeared in British newspapers offering travel through to California in just twenty days. Half of that time would be spent journeying overland from Canada via a new railway line and alternative routes were also available. At the Engineer's Hall in Croppers Hill from the 31st, what was described as "Vocal And Musical Illustrations" were performed as part of a presentation called "America And Overland Route To California". There were three bands of ticket prices from 6p to 2 shillings, which no doubt reflected distance from the front of the hall.
The major court case of the week took place in Newton on the 31st when Robert Lewis and James Tatlock faced this charge: "That having on Friday, October 23rd, at Haydock, together with divers other persons, to the number of 1,500 and more, unlawfully and riotously assembled to disturb the public peace to the terror and alarm of Her Majesty's subjects."
They were all coal miners and the alleged riot was in connection with the current strike and so-called "knobsticks" that were still working. Police Sergeant William Gardner gave evidence of having seen over 2,000 colliers gathered in Haydock, led by a fife and drum band, with miners agent Robert Lewis in charge. The crowd formed a procession at the Hare and Hounds Inn with about 30 or 40 of the men brandishing thick cudgels in the air.
The march stopped at the Ram's Head pub, near where there was a mine called the Ram Colliery and they waited for strike-breakers to appear. The sergeant stated that when the crowd saw some of these men coming up from the pit, a rush was made at some high fencing that divided the highway from the colliery yard. A good deal of "hooting, shouting, and stone-throwing" took place and between 100 and 150 of the protesters managed to scramble over the fence.
As the police went to bring them back, stones were thrown. After 20 minutes the sergeant said Robert Lewis gave instructions for the men in the procession to leave. As they did so more stones were thrown and the windows in the houses of three of the knobstick miners were smashed. Lewis, the sergeant claimed, did nothing to stop the stone throwing or the rowdiness and claimed not to have witnessed what had taken place.
"The riot created great alarm at Haydock," concluded Sergeant Gardner, "and persons called upon myself to afford them protection." Sgt James Lee also gave evidence of James Tatlock having assisted Robert Lewis in forming the procession. The accused men's solicitor told the magistrates that the prosecution had not successfully made out a case of riot against his clients but he would be willing to advise them to plead guilty to a charge of breach of the peace.
But rioting was much more serious than breaching the peace and despite several witnesses giving evidence that Robert Lewis had given instructions for the men not to cause any trouble, the magistrates committed both defendants to take their trial at the next Kirkdale assizes.
They were both allowed bail but had to find three sureties totalling £70 each. But they didn't have long to wait for their trial as the next quarter sessions was scheduled for early November and on the 7th the jury acquitted both men of rioting, seemingly, because they had not participated personally in any riotous act.
When the new St Helens Town Hall was opened in 1876 it was stated that there had been no accidents in its construction. That, if true, would have been quite remarkable, as few buildings of any size that were built in St Helens during the 19th century, and for much of the 20th, did not result in at least injuries to the workmen.
But the claim was not correct as on November 3rd two bricksetters were hurt after a platform or scaffold gave way. They were hurled some distance from the upper storeys of the town hall on to flooring beams below. One man named Burns had a leg injured and the other called Bristol sustained severe cuts to his head.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include a claim that St Helens had become notorious for its wickedness, the end of the miners strike, Father Nugent comes to the Volunteer Hall, the pistol lark in Baxters Lane and the Greenbank purring of a woman.
We begin on the 28th when John Lavin appeared in court in St Helens charged with stabbing his wife. The 23-year-old was reported to have been drinking for several days and pawning household goods to obtain the money to buy his booze. Understandably, Lavin's wife Ann was not best pleased and had annoyed her husband by trying to stop him from wasting what little they had. Two days prior to the court appearance she had met John outside the Feathers Inn in Westfield Street (pictured above in later years) and walked with him towards their home. As the couple were nearing their residence, Lavin struck his wife on the arm with a sharp object and then stabbed her in the breast. The latter cut made a flesh wound nearly an inch and a half in depth. When arrested Lavin was found to be in possession of a knife and the St Helens magistrates committed him for trial at the next assizes where he would be sentenced to 6 months in prison.
Also in court this week was Hugh McCabe who was charged with stabbing Thomas Riley. Both men worked for Marsh's Alkali Works and they'd had a quarrel that led to blows being exchanged. McCabe had then pulled out a knife and stabbed Reilly in his shoulder and he was also committed to the assizes for trial.
Steam is hardly state-of-the art to us these days. But during the 19th century it was considered revolutionary. In the printing industry the introduction of steam-powered rotary presses allowed printing to take place on an industrial scale. In 1869 the St Helens Newspaper's owner, Bernard Dromgoole, published this advert in his paper:
"B. A. Dromgoole respectfully calls attention to the fact that the Printing Office now contains every modern appliance for executing cheaply and expeditiously every description of letterpress printing. From the smallest card, circular, or billhead to the largest posting bills for the walls. By the introduction of three cylinder machines, worked by steam power, ten thousand, twenty thousand, or one hundred thousand bills can now be printed in an incredibly short space of time, and at a very considerable reduction in price."
But steam-power had its drawbacks as it was messy, potentially dangerous and the required boiler took time to get up to speed. This week's paper published on the 31st revealed that Dromgoole had gone hi-tech by purchasing the first gas engine in St Helens that would drive seven of his printers. The advert said:
"The advantages of this engine as compared [with] steam engines, are: That it can be started at a moment's notice and will at once give out its full power; the attendance required is merely nominal; as there is no boiler, there can be no boiler explosion; no fuel is used, gas comes in of itself and is said to be the most economical small moto [sic] yet invented." However, Dromgoole was still retaining his steam engine – just in case something went wrong, or so it seemed!
The St Helens Newspaper also described how "one of the most destructive fires with which this neighbourhood has been visited for many years" had taken place at St Helens Junction. The blaze had occurred on the previous Saturday at the Sutton Sheeting Works, which formerly had been the Sutton Sheds for storing and maintaining locomotives. The works now made and repaired tarpaulin sheets for use on goods trains and also stored a wide range of other materials needed for railway purposes. The Newspaper wrote: "The place was a perfect depot and storehouse".
Most workers in St Helens finished their working week around noon on Saturdays. As it was 3pm when the blaze was spotted, there was no one on site and so it was not known how the fire had started. The fire brigade focused on confining the conflagration to the two buildings in which it first appeared, which they did successfully. As might be expected, the fire was quite a spectacle and thirteen police constables were needed along with an inspector to hold back a large crowd of sightseers.
In the early 1870s adverts appeared in British newspapers offering travel through to California in just twenty days. Half of that time would be spent journeying overland from Canada via a new railway line and alternative routes were also available. At the Engineer's Hall in Croppers Hill from the 31st, what was described as "Vocal And Musical Illustrations" were performed as part of a presentation called "America And Overland Route To California". There were three bands of ticket prices from 6p to 2 shillings, which no doubt reflected distance from the front of the hall.
The major court case of the week took place in Newton on the 31st when Robert Lewis and James Tatlock faced this charge: "That having on Friday, October 23rd, at Haydock, together with divers other persons, to the number of 1,500 and more, unlawfully and riotously assembled to disturb the public peace to the terror and alarm of Her Majesty's subjects."
They were all coal miners and the alleged riot was in connection with the current strike and so-called "knobsticks" that were still working. Police Sergeant William Gardner gave evidence of having seen over 2,000 colliers gathered in Haydock, led by a fife and drum band, with miners agent Robert Lewis in charge. The crowd formed a procession at the Hare and Hounds Inn with about 30 or 40 of the men brandishing thick cudgels in the air.
The march stopped at the Ram's Head pub, near where there was a mine called the Ram Colliery and they waited for strike-breakers to appear. The sergeant stated that when the crowd saw some of these men coming up from the pit, a rush was made at some high fencing that divided the highway from the colliery yard. A good deal of "hooting, shouting, and stone-throwing" took place and between 100 and 150 of the protesters managed to scramble over the fence.
As the police went to bring them back, stones were thrown. After 20 minutes the sergeant said Robert Lewis gave instructions for the men in the procession to leave. As they did so more stones were thrown and the windows in the houses of three of the knobstick miners were smashed. Lewis, the sergeant claimed, did nothing to stop the stone throwing or the rowdiness and claimed not to have witnessed what had taken place.
"The riot created great alarm at Haydock," concluded Sergeant Gardner, "and persons called upon myself to afford them protection." Sgt James Lee also gave evidence of James Tatlock having assisted Robert Lewis in forming the procession. The accused men's solicitor told the magistrates that the prosecution had not successfully made out a case of riot against his clients but he would be willing to advise them to plead guilty to a charge of breach of the peace.
But rioting was much more serious than breaching the peace and despite several witnesses giving evidence that Robert Lewis had given instructions for the men not to cause any trouble, the magistrates committed both defendants to take their trial at the next Kirkdale assizes.
They were both allowed bail but had to find three sureties totalling £70 each. But they didn't have long to wait for their trial as the next quarter sessions was scheduled for early November and on the 7th the jury acquitted both men of rioting, seemingly, because they had not participated personally in any riotous act.
When the new St Helens Town Hall was opened in 1876 it was stated that there had been no accidents in its construction. That, if true, would have been quite remarkable, as few buildings of any size that were built in St Helens during the 19th century, and for much of the 20th, did not result in at least injuries to the workmen.
But the claim was not correct as on November 3rd two bricksetters were hurt after a platform or scaffold gave way. They were hurled some distance from the upper storeys of the town hall on to flooring beams below. One man named Burns had a leg injured and the other called Bristol sustained severe cuts to his head.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include a claim that St Helens had become notorious for its wickedness, the end of the miners strike, Father Nugent comes to the Volunteer Hall, the pistol lark in Baxters Lane and the Greenbank purring of a woman.
This week's many stories include the St Helens man that stabbed his wife for protesting about him wasting money on drink, the huge fire at the Sutton Sheeting Works, the miners riot at Haydock in protest at strike-breaking knobsticks, two workers constructing the new Town Hall are injured and Dromgoole's Newspaper goes hi-tech through using a gas boiler to power their presses.
We begin on the 28th when John Lavin appeared in court in St Helens charged with stabbing his wife.
The 23-year-old was reported to have been drinking for several days and pawning household goods to obtain the money to buy his booze.
Understandably, Lavin's wife Ann was not best pleased and had annoyed her husband by trying to stop him from wasting what little they had. Two days prior to the court appearance she had met John outside the Feathers Inn in Westfield Street (pictured above in later years) and walked with him towards their home.
As the couple were nearing their residence, Lavin struck his wife on the arm with a sharp object and then stabbed her in the breast. The latter cut made a flesh wound nearly an inch and a half in depth.
When arrested Lavin was found to be in possession of a knife and the St Helens magistrates committed him for trial at the next assizes where he would be sentenced to 6 months in prison.
Also in court this week was Hugh McCabe who was charged with stabbing Thomas Riley.
Both men worked for Marsh's Alkali Works and they'd had a quarrel that led to blows being exchanged.
McCabe had then pulled out a knife and stabbed Reilly in his shoulder and he was also committed to the assizes for trial.
Steam is hardly state-of-the art to us these days. But during the 19th century it was considered revolutionary.
In the printing industry the introduction of steam-powered rotary presses allowed printing to take place on an industrial scale.
In 1869 the St Helens Newspaper's owner, Bernard Dromgoole, published this advert in his paper:
"B. A. Dromgoole respectfully calls attention to the fact that the Printing Office now contains every modern appliance for executing cheaply and expeditiously every description of letterpress printing.
"From the smallest card, circular, or billhead to the largest posting bills for the walls. By the introduction of three cylinder machines, worked by steam power, ten thousand, twenty thousand, or one hundred thousand bills can now be printed in an incredibly short space of time, and at a very considerable reduction in price."
But steam-power had its drawbacks as it was messy, potentially dangerous and the required boiler took time to get up to speed.
This week's paper published on the 31st revealed that Dromgoole had gone hi-tech by purchasing the first gas engine in St Helens that would drive seven of his printers. The advert said:
"The advantages of this engine as compared [with] steam engines, are:
"That it can be started at a moment's notice and will at once give out its full power; the attendance required is merely nominal; as there is no boiler, there can be no boiler explosion; no fuel is used, gas comes in of itself and is said to be the most economical small moto [sic] yet invented."
However, Dromgoole was still retaining his steam engine – just in case something went wrong, or so it seemed!
The St Helens Newspaper also described how "one of the most destructive fires with which this neighbourhood has been visited for many years" had taken place at St Helens Junction.
The blaze had occurred on the previous Saturday at the Sutton Sheeting Works, which formerly had been the Sutton Sheds for storing and maintaining locomotives.
The works now made and repaired tarpaulin sheets for use on goods trains and also stored a wide range of other materials needed for railway purposes. The Newspaper wrote: "The place was a perfect depot and storehouse".
Most workers in St Helens finished their working week around noon on Saturdays.
As it was 3pm when the blaze was spotted, there was no one on site and so it was not known how the fire had started.
The fire brigade focused on confining the conflagration to the two buildings in which it first appeared, which they did successfully.
As might be expected, the fire was quite a spectacle and thirteen police constables were needed along with an inspector to hold back a large crowd of sightseers.
In the early 1870s adverts appeared in British newspapers offering travel through to California in just twenty days.
Half of that time would be spent journeying overland from Canada via a new railway line and alternative routes were also available.
At the Engineer's Hall in Croppers Hill from the 31st, what was described as "Vocal And Musical Illustrations" were performed as part of a presentation called "America And Overland Route To California".
There were three bands of ticket prices from 6p to 2 shillings, which no doubt reflected distance from the front of the hall.
The major court case of the week took place in Newton on the 31st when Robert Lewis and James Tatlock faced this charge:
"That having on Friday, October 23rd, at Haydock, together with divers other persons, to the number of 1,500 and more, unlawfully and riotously assembled to disturb the public peace to the terror and alarm of Her Majesty's subjects."
They were all coal miners and the alleged riot was in connection with the current strike and so-called "knobsticks" that were still working.
Police Sergeant William Gardner gave evidence of having seen over 2,000 colliers gathered in Haydock, led by a fife and drum band, with miners agent Robert Lewis in charge.
The crowd formed a procession at the Hare and Hounds Inn with about 30 or 40 of the men brandishing thick cudgels in the air.
The march stopped at the Ram's Head pub, near where there was a mine called the Ram Colliery and they waited for strike-breakers to appear.
The sergeant stated that when the crowd saw some of these men coming up from the pit, a rush was made at some high fencing that divided the highway from the colliery yard.
A good deal of "hooting, shouting, and stone-throwing" took place and between 100 and 150 of the protesters managed to scramble over the fence.
As the police went to bring them back, stones were thrown. After 20 minutes the sergeant said Robert Lewis gave instructions for the men in the procession to leave.
As they did so more stones were thrown and the windows in the houses of three of the knobstick miners were smashed.
Lewis, the sergeant claimed, did nothing to stop the stone throwing or the rowdiness and claimed not to have witnessed what had taken place.
"The riot created great alarm at Haydock," concluded Sergeant Gardner, "and persons called upon myself to afford them protection."
Sgt James Lee also gave evidence of James Tatlock having assisted Robert Lewis in forming the procession.
The accused men's solicitor told the magistrates that the prosecution had not successfully made out a case of riot against his clients but he would be willing to advise them to plead guilty to a charge of breach of the peace.
But rioting was much more serious than breaching the peace and despite several witnesses giving evidence that Robert Lewis had given instructions for the men not to cause any trouble, the magistrates committed both defendants to take their trial at the next Kirkdale assizes.
They were both allowed bail but had to find three sureties totalling £70 each.
But they didn't have long to wait for their trial as the next quarter sessions was scheduled for early November and on the 7th the jury acquitted both men of rioting, seemingly, because they had not participated personally in any riotous act.
When the new St Helens Town Hall was opened in 1876 it was stated that there had been no accidents in its construction.
That, if true, would have been quite remarkable, as few buildings of any size that were built in St Helens during the 19th century, and for much of the 20th, did not result in at least injuries to the workmen.
But the claim was not correct as on November 3rd two bricksetters were hurt after a platform or scaffold gave way.
They were hurled some distance from the upper storeys of the town hall on to flooring beams below.
One man named Burns had a leg injured and the other called Bristol sustained severe cuts to his head.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include a claim that St Helens had become notorious for its wickedness, the end of the miners strike, Father Nugent comes to the Volunteer Hall, the pistol lark in Baxters Lane and the Greenbank purring of a woman.
We begin on the 28th when John Lavin appeared in court in St Helens charged with stabbing his wife.
The 23-year-old was reported to have been drinking for several days and pawning household goods to obtain the money to buy his booze.
Understandably, Lavin's wife Ann was not best pleased and had annoyed her husband by trying to stop him from wasting what little they had. Two days prior to the court appearance she had met John outside the Feathers Inn in Westfield Street (pictured above in later years) and walked with him towards their home.
As the couple were nearing their residence, Lavin struck his wife on the arm with a sharp object and then stabbed her in the breast. The latter cut made a flesh wound nearly an inch and a half in depth.
When arrested Lavin was found to be in possession of a knife and the St Helens magistrates committed him for trial at the next assizes where he would be sentenced to 6 months in prison.
Also in court this week was Hugh McCabe who was charged with stabbing Thomas Riley.
Both men worked for Marsh's Alkali Works and they'd had a quarrel that led to blows being exchanged.
McCabe had then pulled out a knife and stabbed Reilly in his shoulder and he was also committed to the assizes for trial.
Steam is hardly state-of-the art to us these days. But during the 19th century it was considered revolutionary.
In the printing industry the introduction of steam-powered rotary presses allowed printing to take place on an industrial scale.
In 1869 the St Helens Newspaper's owner, Bernard Dromgoole, published this advert in his paper:
"B. A. Dromgoole respectfully calls attention to the fact that the Printing Office now contains every modern appliance for executing cheaply and expeditiously every description of letterpress printing.
"From the smallest card, circular, or billhead to the largest posting bills for the walls. By the introduction of three cylinder machines, worked by steam power, ten thousand, twenty thousand, or one hundred thousand bills can now be printed in an incredibly short space of time, and at a very considerable reduction in price."
But steam-power had its drawbacks as it was messy, potentially dangerous and the required boiler took time to get up to speed.
This week's paper published on the 31st revealed that Dromgoole had gone hi-tech by purchasing the first gas engine in St Helens that would drive seven of his printers. The advert said:
"The advantages of this engine as compared [with] steam engines, are:
"That it can be started at a moment's notice and will at once give out its full power; the attendance required is merely nominal; as there is no boiler, there can be no boiler explosion; no fuel is used, gas comes in of itself and is said to be the most economical small moto [sic] yet invented."
However, Dromgoole was still retaining his steam engine – just in case something went wrong, or so it seemed!
The St Helens Newspaper also described how "one of the most destructive fires with which this neighbourhood has been visited for many years" had taken place at St Helens Junction.
The blaze had occurred on the previous Saturday at the Sutton Sheeting Works, which formerly had been the Sutton Sheds for storing and maintaining locomotives.
The works now made and repaired tarpaulin sheets for use on goods trains and also stored a wide range of other materials needed for railway purposes. The Newspaper wrote: "The place was a perfect depot and storehouse".
Most workers in St Helens finished their working week around noon on Saturdays.
As it was 3pm when the blaze was spotted, there was no one on site and so it was not known how the fire had started.
The fire brigade focused on confining the conflagration to the two buildings in which it first appeared, which they did successfully.
As might be expected, the fire was quite a spectacle and thirteen police constables were needed along with an inspector to hold back a large crowd of sightseers.
In the early 1870s adverts appeared in British newspapers offering travel through to California in just twenty days.
Half of that time would be spent journeying overland from Canada via a new railway line and alternative routes were also available.
At the Engineer's Hall in Croppers Hill from the 31st, what was described as "Vocal And Musical Illustrations" were performed as part of a presentation called "America And Overland Route To California".
There were three bands of ticket prices from 6p to 2 shillings, which no doubt reflected distance from the front of the hall.
The major court case of the week took place in Newton on the 31st when Robert Lewis and James Tatlock faced this charge:
"That having on Friday, October 23rd, at Haydock, together with divers other persons, to the number of 1,500 and more, unlawfully and riotously assembled to disturb the public peace to the terror and alarm of Her Majesty's subjects."
They were all coal miners and the alleged riot was in connection with the current strike and so-called "knobsticks" that were still working.
Police Sergeant William Gardner gave evidence of having seen over 2,000 colliers gathered in Haydock, led by a fife and drum band, with miners agent Robert Lewis in charge.
The crowd formed a procession at the Hare and Hounds Inn with about 30 or 40 of the men brandishing thick cudgels in the air.
The march stopped at the Ram's Head pub, near where there was a mine called the Ram Colliery and they waited for strike-breakers to appear.
The sergeant stated that when the crowd saw some of these men coming up from the pit, a rush was made at some high fencing that divided the highway from the colliery yard.
A good deal of "hooting, shouting, and stone-throwing" took place and between 100 and 150 of the protesters managed to scramble over the fence.
As the police went to bring them back, stones were thrown. After 20 minutes the sergeant said Robert Lewis gave instructions for the men in the procession to leave.
As they did so more stones were thrown and the windows in the houses of three of the knobstick miners were smashed.
Lewis, the sergeant claimed, did nothing to stop the stone throwing or the rowdiness and claimed not to have witnessed what had taken place.
"The riot created great alarm at Haydock," concluded Sergeant Gardner, "and persons called upon myself to afford them protection."
Sgt James Lee also gave evidence of James Tatlock having assisted Robert Lewis in forming the procession.
The accused men's solicitor told the magistrates that the prosecution had not successfully made out a case of riot against his clients but he would be willing to advise them to plead guilty to a charge of breach of the peace.
But rioting was much more serious than breaching the peace and despite several witnesses giving evidence that Robert Lewis had given instructions for the men not to cause any trouble, the magistrates committed both defendants to take their trial at the next Kirkdale assizes.
They were both allowed bail but had to find three sureties totalling £70 each.
But they didn't have long to wait for their trial as the next quarter sessions was scheduled for early November and on the 7th the jury acquitted both men of rioting, seemingly, because they had not participated personally in any riotous act.
When the new St Helens Town Hall was opened in 1876 it was stated that there had been no accidents in its construction.
That, if true, would have been quite remarkable, as few buildings of any size that were built in St Helens during the 19th century, and for much of the 20th, did not result in at least injuries to the workmen.
But the claim was not correct as on November 3rd two bricksetters were hurt after a platform or scaffold gave way.
They were hurled some distance from the upper storeys of the town hall on to flooring beams below.
One man named Burns had a leg injured and the other called Bristol sustained severe cuts to his head.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include a claim that St Helens had become notorious for its wickedness, the end of the miners strike, Father Nugent comes to the Volunteer Hall, the pistol lark in Baxters Lane and the Greenbank purring of a woman.