150 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 29 JUNE - 5 JULY 1876
This week's many stories include the violent highway hat robbery in Bold, the boys in the Whiston Workhouse Band are stopped from playing at local events, the barmaid that served a drunken man, the larking in Waterloo Street that led to a knife attack and the 1,000 working class folk that went on a day trip to Rhyl.
We begin with a huge fire that broke out at David Gamble's Chemical Works at Gerards Bridge. The blaze was thought to have originated through what was described as over-friction in the grinding mill and the total estimated damage was a whopping £12,000.
The St Helens Newspaper was published on July 1st and reported on the latest meeting of the Prescot Guardians. They were the folk that ran Whiston Workhouse, which took in paupers from the St Helens district. There were currently 390 persons living inside the house of which 145 were children. That compared to 372 in the corresponding period in 1875.
The Workhouse Band had only fairly recently been formed and had played at the opening of the new St Helens Town Hall and their performance and behaviour had both been praised. As a result organisations wanted to hire the band to play at their events. One might have thought that the guardians would have been delighted to give the lads the opportunity of performing for others and bring more credit to the institution. But that was not the case.
The St Helens Athletic Sports was holding their annual gathering on July 15th and their secretary had written to the guardians inviting their band to attend. The Master of the workhouse was called into their meeting and asked his opinion and he said he disapproved of the band going anywhere except where their own children could participate in the enjoyment. But the workhouse children never went anywhere except, perhaps, to a panto once a year if they were lucky.
A guardian named Morton remarked that if they granted every application of this kind, they'd be making a regular trade of it. And a guardian called Archer said such outings gave the boys too much liberty and a Mr Leatherbarrow agreed. He said he saw no reason why these boys who were paupers should be allowed so much freedom and "elevated higher than the children of the working classes" whose parents had to contribute financially to those in the workhouse via the poor rate.
When a vote was taken on the matter, there was only one guardian in favour of allowing the band to play at the Athletic Sports. The United Free Methodists had also applied to hire the workhouse band. And even though their schoolteachers had said they would guarantee that the boys would be properly supervised, not a single guardian was in favour of the Methodists' application.
Bridgewater Street used to be just south of Bridge Street and Peter Fildes kept a beerhouse there. He appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions charged with supplying liquor to a man named Michael Keegan who was already intoxicated. PCs Archer and Doig told the court that they had been on duty in Liverpool Road on the previous Saturday night when they saw Keegan stagger into Fildes' beerhouse.
They said they had followed him inside and witnessed a barmaid serve the man with a quart of beer and be paid for it. The police said they immediately called the landlord's attention to the matter and it was reported that he had "censured the girl for what she had done". Keegan had subsequently appeared in court and pleaded guilty to being drunk and been fined.
The beerhouse keeper's solicitor said the police should have arrested the man when they first saw that he was drunk and not waited until he purchased alcohol in order to obtain a conviction against the landlord. The magistrates convicted Peter Fildes but they only inflicted a penalty of £2 and costs on him and said they would not endorse his licence.
Although the working classes who got drunk and caused trouble were the ones that regularly made the newspapers, there were many others that were law abiding. In a rare glimpse into the lives of such respectable working class folk, who rarely made the news, the Newspaper described how on last week's Race Friday holiday 1,000 working people had travelled to Rhyl. The paper wrote:
"Amongst the perpetual “din” that we hear of the immorality and drunkenness of the town, it is a pleasing thing to turn for a moment to the bright side of the picture, and see what has been done, and is still doing, by pious and benevolent persons for the reclamation of the wicked and profane, and in connection with this we know of few more striking instance [sic] than the Working Men's Bible Class connected with St. Thomas's Church.
"On the occasion of the opening of the new town hall, the visitors from a distance – including the Mayor's invited guests – were perfectly astonished at seeing some 480 sturdy sons of toil who were not ashamed to join in that demonstration as Bible readers and Bible students, instead of, as they might have been, only lounging and loafing about public house corners as mere passive spectators of the scene.
"And we are glad to carry the picture still a little further by stating that the members of this class and their friends, sweethearts, wives, &c., had on Friday their third annual excursion into the country, clear of the racing [at the controversial Newton Races] and all its concomitants, the place selected on the present occasion being the charming little watering place, Rhyl." A special train consisting of 25 carriages had conveyed the one thousand travellers.
At the St Helens Petty Sessions this week, three Irish labourers were charged with violent assault and robbery. They were all related, with Martin and Patrick McDonough being brothers (aged 22 & 25) and Martin McDonough senior (45) being their uncle. Their victims were Charles Williams, George Slagg and Thomas Westwood, who, being out of work, were walking from Warrington to Liverpool, via Bold, and hoping to find a job.
The threesome called in at the Bold Arms, where they ate some cheese and enjoyed a glass of beer. The three McDonoughs who were sitting in the room got up and left the house and their three victims did the same ten minutes later. The latter had walked about a quarter of a mile from the pub when they came across the McDonoughs who immediately commenced a violent attack upon them.
Two of them were knocked unconscious and given a good kicking. Thomas Westwood fled into a field but fell and was badly kicked. However, he was soon able to go for help. The McDonoughs did not make off with much; just their victims' hats and a few clothes and they did not get far. PC Mennie, who was stationed at Bold, found the robbers sitting on Bold Bridge and wearing the stolen hats. In court they were committed to take their trial at the next Kirkdale Quarter Sessions where they were found guilty of committing robbery with violence and they each received 18 months in prison.
In another case in St Helens Petty Sessions, Joseph Wilds was charged with unlawfully wounding John Carroll in Waterloo Street. The pair had been friends and had been "larking", as the St Helens Newspaper put it. The 21-year-old Wilds lost his temper and struck his mate with a knife, saying that he would "pull his puddings out" before he left the town.
Carroll informed PC Doig who apprehended Wilds and he gave the excuse that he had not stabbed John but he had been cutting tobacco and his mate had fallen against his knife. That was a commonly used excuse and after being committed for trial at the sessions at Kirkdale, the sailor was sent to prison for 6 months.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the St Helens woman who robbed children, the ban on ratepayers attending Council meetings, the thief's attack on a crippled man, royalty stays at the Raven and the controversial banquet for the night soil men.
We begin with a huge fire that broke out at David Gamble's Chemical Works at Gerards Bridge. The blaze was thought to have originated through what was described as over-friction in the grinding mill and the total estimated damage was a whopping £12,000.
The Workhouse Band had only fairly recently been formed and had played at the opening of the new St Helens Town Hall and their performance and behaviour had both been praised. As a result organisations wanted to hire the band to play at their events. One might have thought that the guardians would have been delighted to give the lads the opportunity of performing for others and bring more credit to the institution. But that was not the case.
The St Helens Athletic Sports was holding their annual gathering on July 15th and their secretary had written to the guardians inviting their band to attend. The Master of the workhouse was called into their meeting and asked his opinion and he said he disapproved of the band going anywhere except where their own children could participate in the enjoyment. But the workhouse children never went anywhere except, perhaps, to a panto once a year if they were lucky.
A guardian named Morton remarked that if they granted every application of this kind, they'd be making a regular trade of it. And a guardian called Archer said such outings gave the boys too much liberty and a Mr Leatherbarrow agreed. He said he saw no reason why these boys who were paupers should be allowed so much freedom and "elevated higher than the children of the working classes" whose parents had to contribute financially to those in the workhouse via the poor rate.
When a vote was taken on the matter, there was only one guardian in favour of allowing the band to play at the Athletic Sports. The United Free Methodists had also applied to hire the workhouse band. And even though their schoolteachers had said they would guarantee that the boys would be properly supervised, not a single guardian was in favour of the Methodists' application.
Bridgewater Street used to be just south of Bridge Street and Peter Fildes kept a beerhouse there. He appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions charged with supplying liquor to a man named Michael Keegan who was already intoxicated. PCs Archer and Doig told the court that they had been on duty in Liverpool Road on the previous Saturday night when they saw Keegan stagger into Fildes' beerhouse.
They said they had followed him inside and witnessed a barmaid serve the man with a quart of beer and be paid for it. The police said they immediately called the landlord's attention to the matter and it was reported that he had "censured the girl for what she had done". Keegan had subsequently appeared in court and pleaded guilty to being drunk and been fined.
The beerhouse keeper's solicitor said the police should have arrested the man when they first saw that he was drunk and not waited until he purchased alcohol in order to obtain a conviction against the landlord. The magistrates convicted Peter Fildes but they only inflicted a penalty of £2 and costs on him and said they would not endorse his licence.
Although the working classes who got drunk and caused trouble were the ones that regularly made the newspapers, there were many others that were law abiding. In a rare glimpse into the lives of such respectable working class folk, who rarely made the news, the Newspaper described how on last week's Race Friday holiday 1,000 working people had travelled to Rhyl. The paper wrote:
"Amongst the perpetual “din” that we hear of the immorality and drunkenness of the town, it is a pleasing thing to turn for a moment to the bright side of the picture, and see what has been done, and is still doing, by pious and benevolent persons for the reclamation of the wicked and profane, and in connection with this we know of few more striking instance [sic] than the Working Men's Bible Class connected with St. Thomas's Church.
"On the occasion of the opening of the new town hall, the visitors from a distance – including the Mayor's invited guests – were perfectly astonished at seeing some 480 sturdy sons of toil who were not ashamed to join in that demonstration as Bible readers and Bible students, instead of, as they might have been, only lounging and loafing about public house corners as mere passive spectators of the scene.
"And we are glad to carry the picture still a little further by stating that the members of this class and their friends, sweethearts, wives, &c., had on Friday their third annual excursion into the country, clear of the racing [at the controversial Newton Races] and all its concomitants, the place selected on the present occasion being the charming little watering place, Rhyl." A special train consisting of 25 carriages had conveyed the one thousand travellers.
At the St Helens Petty Sessions this week, three Irish labourers were charged with violent assault and robbery. They were all related, with Martin and Patrick McDonough being brothers (aged 22 & 25) and Martin McDonough senior (45) being their uncle. Their victims were Charles Williams, George Slagg and Thomas Westwood, who, being out of work, were walking from Warrington to Liverpool, via Bold, and hoping to find a job.
The threesome called in at the Bold Arms, where they ate some cheese and enjoyed a glass of beer. The three McDonoughs who were sitting in the room got up and left the house and their three victims did the same ten minutes later. The latter had walked about a quarter of a mile from the pub when they came across the McDonoughs who immediately commenced a violent attack upon them.
Two of them were knocked unconscious and given a good kicking. Thomas Westwood fled into a field but fell and was badly kicked. However, he was soon able to go for help. The McDonoughs did not make off with much; just their victims' hats and a few clothes and they did not get far. PC Mennie, who was stationed at Bold, found the robbers sitting on Bold Bridge and wearing the stolen hats. In court they were committed to take their trial at the next Kirkdale Quarter Sessions where they were found guilty of committing robbery with violence and they each received 18 months in prison.
In another case in St Helens Petty Sessions, Joseph Wilds was charged with unlawfully wounding John Carroll in Waterloo Street. The pair had been friends and had been "larking", as the St Helens Newspaper put it. The 21-year-old Wilds lost his temper and struck his mate with a knife, saying that he would "pull his puddings out" before he left the town.
Carroll informed PC Doig who apprehended Wilds and he gave the excuse that he had not stabbed John but he had been cutting tobacco and his mate had fallen against his knife. That was a commonly used excuse and after being committed for trial at the sessions at Kirkdale, the sailor was sent to prison for 6 months.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the St Helens woman who robbed children, the ban on ratepayers attending Council meetings, the thief's attack on a crippled man, royalty stays at the Raven and the controversial banquet for the night soil men.
This week's many stories include the violent highway hat robbery in Bold, the boys in the Whiston Workhouse Band are stopped from playing at local events, the barmaid that served a drunken man, the larking in Waterloo Street that led to a knife attack and the 1,000 working class folk that went on a day trip to Rhyl.
We begin with a huge fire that broke out at David Gamble's Chemical Works at Gerards Bridge.
The blaze was thought to have originated through what was described as over-friction in the grinding mill and the total estimated damage was a whopping £12,000.
The St Helens Newspaper was published on July 1st and reported on the latest meeting of the Prescot Guardians. They were the folk that ran Whiston Workhouse, which took in paupers from the St Helens district.
There were currently 390 persons living inside the house of which 145 were children. That compared to 372 in the corresponding period in 1875.
The Workhouse Band had only fairly recently been formed and had played at the opening of the new St Helens Town Hall and their performance and behaviour had both been praised.
As a result organisations wanted to hire the band to play at their events.
One might have thought that the guardians would have been delighted to give the lads the opportunity of performing for others and bring more credit to the institution. But that was not the case.
The St Helens Athletic Sports was holding their annual gathering on July 15th and their secretary had written to the guardians inviting their band to attend.
The Master of the workhouse was called into their meeting and asked his opinion and he said he disapproved of the band going anywhere except where their own children could participate in the enjoyment.
But the workhouse children never went anywhere except, perhaps, to a panto once a year if they were lucky.
A guardian named Morton remarked that if they granted every application of this kind, they'd be making a regular trade of it.
And a guardian called Archer said such outings gave the boys too much liberty and a Mr Leatherbarrow agreed.
He said he saw no reason why these boys who were paupers should be allowed so much freedom and "elevated higher than the children of the working classes" whose parents had to contribute financially to those in the workhouse via the poor rate.
When a vote was taken on the matter, there was only one guardian in favour of allowing the band to play at the Athletic Sports.
The United Free Methodists had also applied to hire the workhouse band. And even though their schoolteachers had said they would guarantee that the boys would be properly supervised, not a single guardian was in favour of the Methodists' application.
Bridgewater Street used to be just south of Bridge Street and Peter Fildes kept a beerhouse there.
He appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions charged with supplying liquor to a man named Michael Keegan who was already intoxicated.
PCs Archer and Doig told the court that they had been on duty in Liverpool Road on the previous Saturday night when they saw Keegan stagger into Fildes' beerhouse.
They said they had followed him inside and witnessed a barmaid serve the man with a quart of beer and be paid for it.
The police said they immediately called the landlord's attention to the matter and it was reported that he had "censured the girl for what she had done".
Keegan had subsequently appeared in court and pleaded guilty to being drunk and been fined.
The beerhouse keeper's solicitor said the police should have arrested the man when they first saw that he was drunk and not waited until he purchased alcohol in order to obtain a conviction against the landlord.
The magistrates convicted Peter Fildes but they only inflicted a penalty of £2 and costs on him and said they would not endorse his licence.
Although the working classes who got drunk and caused trouble were the ones that regularly made the newspapers, there were many others that were law abiding.
In a rare glimpse into the lives of such respectable working class folk, who rarely made the news, the Newspaper described how on last week's Race Friday holiday 1,000 working people had travelled to Rhyl. The paper wrote:
"Amongst the perpetual “din” that we hear of the immorality and drunkenness of the town, it is a pleasing thing to turn for a moment to the bright side of the picture, and see what has been done, and is still doing, by pious and benevolent persons for the reclamation of the wicked and profane, and in connection with this we know of few more striking instance [sic] than the Working Men's Bible Class connected with St. Thomas's Church.
"On the occasion of the opening of the new town hall, the visitors from a distance – including the Mayor's invited guests – were perfectly astonished at seeing some 480 sturdy sons of toil who were not ashamed to join in that demonstration as Bible readers and Bible students, instead of, as they might have been, only lounging and loafing about public house corners as mere passive spectators of the scene.
"And we are glad to carry the picture still a little further by stating that the members of this class and their friends, sweethearts, wives, &c., had on Friday their third annual excursion into the country, clear of the racing [at the controversial Newton Races] and all its concomitants, the place selected on the present occasion being the charming little watering place, Rhyl."
A special train consisting of 25 carriages had conveyed the one thousand travellers.
At the St Helens Petty Sessions this week, three Irish labourers were charged with violent assault and robbery.
They were all related, with Martin and Patrick McDonough being brothers (aged 22 & 25) and Martin McDonough senior (45) being their uncle.
Their victims were Charles Williams, George Slagg and Thomas Westwood, who, being out of work, were walking from Warrington to Liverpool, via Bold, and hoping to find a job.
The threesome called in at the Bold Arms, where they ate some cheese and enjoyed a glass of beer.
The three McDonoughs who were sitting in the room got up and left the house and their three victims did the same ten minutes later.
The latter had walked about a quarter of a mile from the pub when they came across the McDonoughs who immediately commenced a violent attack upon them.
Two of them were knocked unconscious and given a good kicking. Thomas Westwood fled into a field but fell and was badly kicked. However, he was soon able to go for help.
The McDonoughs did not make off with much; just their victims' hats and a few clothes and they did not get far.
PC Mennie, who was stationed at Bold, found the robbers sitting on Bold Bridge and wearing the stolen hats.
In court they were committed to take their trial at the next Kirkdale Quarter Sessions where they were found guilty of committing robbery with violence and they each received 18 months in prison.
In another case in the St Helens Petty Sessions, Joseph Wilds was charged with unlawfully wounding John Carroll in Waterloo Street.
The pair had been friends and had been "larking", as the St Helens Newspaper put it.
The 21-year-old Wilds lost his temper and struck his mate with a knife, saying that he would "pull his puddings out" before he left the town.
Carroll informed PC Doig who apprehended Wilds and he gave the excuse that he had not stabbed John but he had been cutting tobacco and his mate had fallen against his knife.
That was a commonly used excuse and after being committed for trial at the sessions at Kirkdale, the sailor was sent to prison for 6 months.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the St Helens woman who robbed children, the ban on ratepayers attending Council meetings, the thief's attack on a crippled man, royalty stays at the Raven and the controversial banquet for the night soil men.
We begin with a huge fire that broke out at David Gamble's Chemical Works at Gerards Bridge.
The blaze was thought to have originated through what was described as over-friction in the grinding mill and the total estimated damage was a whopping £12,000.
There were currently 390 persons living inside the house of which 145 were children. That compared to 372 in the corresponding period in 1875.
The Workhouse Band had only fairly recently been formed and had played at the opening of the new St Helens Town Hall and their performance and behaviour had both been praised.
As a result organisations wanted to hire the band to play at their events.
One might have thought that the guardians would have been delighted to give the lads the opportunity of performing for others and bring more credit to the institution. But that was not the case.
The St Helens Athletic Sports was holding their annual gathering on July 15th and their secretary had written to the guardians inviting their band to attend.
The Master of the workhouse was called into their meeting and asked his opinion and he said he disapproved of the band going anywhere except where their own children could participate in the enjoyment.
But the workhouse children never went anywhere except, perhaps, to a panto once a year if they were lucky.
A guardian named Morton remarked that if they granted every application of this kind, they'd be making a regular trade of it.
And a guardian called Archer said such outings gave the boys too much liberty and a Mr Leatherbarrow agreed.
He said he saw no reason why these boys who were paupers should be allowed so much freedom and "elevated higher than the children of the working classes" whose parents had to contribute financially to those in the workhouse via the poor rate.
When a vote was taken on the matter, there was only one guardian in favour of allowing the band to play at the Athletic Sports.
The United Free Methodists had also applied to hire the workhouse band. And even though their schoolteachers had said they would guarantee that the boys would be properly supervised, not a single guardian was in favour of the Methodists' application.
Bridgewater Street used to be just south of Bridge Street and Peter Fildes kept a beerhouse there.
He appeared in St Helens Petty Sessions charged with supplying liquor to a man named Michael Keegan who was already intoxicated.
PCs Archer and Doig told the court that they had been on duty in Liverpool Road on the previous Saturday night when they saw Keegan stagger into Fildes' beerhouse.
They said they had followed him inside and witnessed a barmaid serve the man with a quart of beer and be paid for it.
The police said they immediately called the landlord's attention to the matter and it was reported that he had "censured the girl for what she had done".
Keegan had subsequently appeared in court and pleaded guilty to being drunk and been fined.
The beerhouse keeper's solicitor said the police should have arrested the man when they first saw that he was drunk and not waited until he purchased alcohol in order to obtain a conviction against the landlord.
The magistrates convicted Peter Fildes but they only inflicted a penalty of £2 and costs on him and said they would not endorse his licence.
Although the working classes who got drunk and caused trouble were the ones that regularly made the newspapers, there were many others that were law abiding.
In a rare glimpse into the lives of such respectable working class folk, who rarely made the news, the Newspaper described how on last week's Race Friday holiday 1,000 working people had travelled to Rhyl. The paper wrote:
"Amongst the perpetual “din” that we hear of the immorality and drunkenness of the town, it is a pleasing thing to turn for a moment to the bright side of the picture, and see what has been done, and is still doing, by pious and benevolent persons for the reclamation of the wicked and profane, and in connection with this we know of few more striking instance [sic] than the Working Men's Bible Class connected with St. Thomas's Church.
"On the occasion of the opening of the new town hall, the visitors from a distance – including the Mayor's invited guests – were perfectly astonished at seeing some 480 sturdy sons of toil who were not ashamed to join in that demonstration as Bible readers and Bible students, instead of, as they might have been, only lounging and loafing about public house corners as mere passive spectators of the scene.
"And we are glad to carry the picture still a little further by stating that the members of this class and their friends, sweethearts, wives, &c., had on Friday their third annual excursion into the country, clear of the racing [at the controversial Newton Races] and all its concomitants, the place selected on the present occasion being the charming little watering place, Rhyl."
A special train consisting of 25 carriages had conveyed the one thousand travellers.
At the St Helens Petty Sessions this week, three Irish labourers were charged with violent assault and robbery.
They were all related, with Martin and Patrick McDonough being brothers (aged 22 & 25) and Martin McDonough senior (45) being their uncle.
Their victims were Charles Williams, George Slagg and Thomas Westwood, who, being out of work, were walking from Warrington to Liverpool, via Bold, and hoping to find a job.
The threesome called in at the Bold Arms, where they ate some cheese and enjoyed a glass of beer.
The three McDonoughs who were sitting in the room got up and left the house and their three victims did the same ten minutes later.
The latter had walked about a quarter of a mile from the pub when they came across the McDonoughs who immediately commenced a violent attack upon them.
Two of them were knocked unconscious and given a good kicking. Thomas Westwood fled into a field but fell and was badly kicked. However, he was soon able to go for help.
The McDonoughs did not make off with much; just their victims' hats and a few clothes and they did not get far.
PC Mennie, who was stationed at Bold, found the robbers sitting on Bold Bridge and wearing the stolen hats.
In court they were committed to take their trial at the next Kirkdale Quarter Sessions where they were found guilty of committing robbery with violence and they each received 18 months in prison.
In another case in the St Helens Petty Sessions, Joseph Wilds was charged with unlawfully wounding John Carroll in Waterloo Street.
The pair had been friends and had been "larking", as the St Helens Newspaper put it.
The 21-year-old Wilds lost his temper and struck his mate with a knife, saying that he would "pull his puddings out" before he left the town.
Carroll informed PC Doig who apprehended Wilds and he gave the excuse that he had not stabbed John but he had been cutting tobacco and his mate had fallen against his knife.
That was a commonly used excuse and after being committed for trial at the sessions at Kirkdale, the sailor was sent to prison for 6 months.
St Helens Newspaper courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the St Helens woman who robbed children, the ban on ratepayers attending Council meetings, the thief's attack on a crippled man, royalty stays at the Raven and the controversial banquet for the night soil men.