FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 25 - 31 MARCH 1974
This week's stories include the opening of the new Four Acre Library, the football pitches at Brown Edge that were situated on top of a reservoir, the lengthy queues to claim bus passes, the high level of burglary detection, Fairfield House in Crank becomes a nursing home, a reminiscence of old Billinge, Kwik Save's new store in Reginald Road, the high number of single parent families and there's victory for the Chain Lane Ratepayers Association in their lengthy dangerous flues dispute.
We begin on the 25th when Saints coach Jim Challinor handed in his resignation. The 38-year-old had spent four years at Knowsley Road and as well as coaching Saints ran his own sports shop in Warrington.
For two evenings from the 25th the Theatre Royal hosted the Dubliners. In 1971 two of the group's sold-out concerts in St Helens had been cancelled at the last minute because of an IRA dispute. The theatre's manager, James Lovelace, had asked the popular folk group not to perform any Irish rebel songs – but they had refused to bow to what they saw as censorship. "I felt that some people might take offence because the Ulster situation is so critical at the moment", Mr Lovelace explained at the time.
In the past the different councils tended to have different eligibility rules for free bus travel for the elderly. Minimum ages could vary; some provided discounts on fares rather than enabled totally free travel and some gave out tokens instead of an actual pass. But one common factor was that passes and tokens needed to be collected from council offices at set times. And this year the expansion of St Helens Council's administrative area through local government reorganisation – as well as the town losing its own Transport Department – had created extra complications with the dole out.
That, according to the St Helens Newspaper on the 26th, had led to massive queues at Lincoln House. George Harmon of Link Avenue in Blackbrook told the paper: "The queue was so long that I went back three more times. Altogether I waited three hours. When I finally got to see a clerk, I was told my 67-year-old wife didn't qualify because she was not drawing a state pension."
Currently St Helens was within Lancashire Constabulary, which with its 7,000-strong force was the largest outside of London. But within a matter of days policing was going to be reorganised to fit in with the new administrative boundaries created by the local government shake-up and St Helens would come under Merseyside Police.
Stanley Parr was the Chief Constable of Lancashire and very much a St Helens man after attending Allanson Street School and studying at the Gamble Institute. His father Thomas had served on the St Helens police force for thirty years and was a long-time resident of Robins Lane.
This week the Chief Constable released his report for 1973, which revealed that burglaries in Lancashire had gone down by 8% on the previous year with their detection rate being 46%. That compares with a burglary detection rate on Merseyside during the year 2021 to 2022 of just 5%. Chief Constable Parr also described how more resources were going to be put into putting bobbies back on the beat, arguing that the police had been losing touch with the public.
It was announced this week that Fairfield House in Crank with its 4½ acres of gardens was going to become a nursing home. It would be known as the Guy Pilkington Memorial after the long-serving director of the glass empire that had lived there and loved its tranquil surroundings. His son David Pilkington said: "We hope that in time it will become more than a nursing home. Our aim is to establish a community, where residents of all ages and backgrounds will come for recuperation and rest."
In 1972 hundreds of residents on the new Chain Lane estate in Blackbrook were told to switch off their gas boilers after a potential killer in their central heating systems was detected. North Sea gas conversion inspectors had discovered that the residents' flues were capable of allowing deadly fumes to blow back into their homes. The North Western Gas Board blamed the builders, Daleholme Estates, for having badly installed the flues. But the developers denied responsibility, claiming their work conformed to building regulations and then later blamed the Gas Board and St Helens Corporation.
Homeowners on the estate were concerned that they might have to pay bills of up to £30 (about £450 in today's money) to rectify the problem. The Chairman of the Chain Lane Ratepayers Association, Alan Williams, said at the time: "We want to know who is responsible. Everyone is saying it is nothing to do with them. We don't know who is going to fix the flues, when it is going to be done or who is going to pay for it. And in the meantime, residents are without heating or hot water."
This week it was announced that Daleholme Estates had finally settled and agreed to pay a total of £11,500 compensation to 330 householders. Each would receive an average of £35. However, there were 578 homes on the estate and the Chain Lane Ratepayers Association said those that had not joined the original litigation were now coming forward wanting them to bring a fresh case on their behalf.
The Reporter on the 29th described how members of the outgoing St Helens County Borough Council had inspected one of their "finest achievements". That was a covered reservoir at Brown Edge in Thatto Heath. The satisfied members of the council's Water Committee unveiled a plaque to its chairman of many years, Alderman Jack Henebery, who later said: "Mission accomplished. I'm very pleased the County Borough has finished what it started."
The £530,000 scheme was described as one of the most ambitious and unusual in the country because perched above 20 million gallons of water were several football pitches. The roof of the reservoir was constructed on top of concrete pillars and the Corporation's Parks Department would soon be adding top soil and undertaking grassing work. The town's Water Engineer, Fraser Millar, had previously said: "We have merged an essential service with an amenity." What were described as the "million-gallon footballers" that would play on the pitches, were expected to mainly come from schools located near to the 5-acre site.
In 1974 there were still folk alive who recalled life at the turn of the century. One was Tom Lowe who was pictured in the Reporter outside a former shop in Billinge that was set to be demolished to make way for a housing estate. The 80-year-old reminisced of the days when he and his pals used to call in there on their way to and from school.
"The shop opened in 1888 as a grocer's, and 70 years ago it changed to a fish and chip shop," said Tom. "It used to sell sweets and fruit, too, and we would stop there on our way to school and buy aniseed sticks – my favourite toffee. The building must be close on 100 years old, so you can imagine our feelings of regret to see it go." Tom added that he felt very sad to see the gradual transformation of the charming village of Billinge from a clutch of old stone-built houses to a maze of modern estates and buildings.
The Reporter also described how the Mayor of St Helens, Cllr Harry Williams, had opened the new Four Acre Library. Harry was from Sutton Manor and recalled the days when the only library serving the area was a wooden hut that had burnt down. Since then the service had operated out of Gartons Lane and 5,000 volumes had been transferred from there to the new site and 6,000 more books added. Also relocated from the old library had been Dinky, a zebra finch belonging to assistant librarian Margaret Wilcox who was said to "bleep" a welcome to customers.
The new library must have been one of the first municipal buildings in St Helens to feature a ramp for disabled visitors and it also included a covered pram and cycle park. Local community groups were invited to use the premises on weekday evenings after 7:30 pm. The building has since been expanded and is now known as the Chester Lane Community Centre.
The paper also mentioned that Radio Rentals was opening a new 1,200 square feet service unit with a staff of sixteen on the site of the former Lea Green Colliery. And Kwik Save had a large advert promoting their new store in Reginald Road. They wrote: "Only the unique Kwik Save system cuts food prices to a permanent low discount level all the time. No stamps. No gimmicks. Just top quality national brands at permanent low prices." Giant Surf was priced at 17p; Crosse & Blackwell 15½ oz soup was 7p; ¼lb Typhoo Tea was 7p and 1lb of Horlicks cost 27½p.
It was also claimed this week that there were about 1,500 single parent families residing within the St Helens area of which two-thirds were living in poverty. On average each had three children and the voluntary workers group who made the claim said they wanted to help single parents to help themselves by forming their own club.
The Emmanuel United Reformed Church at the Holt in Rainhill made the painful decision to close down this week. Dwindling attendances and lack of finances had led to its decision to shut at the end of June, although its church services and Sunday School would continue until then.
And finally a short entertainment guide. On the 29th the Fairey Band performed at the Theatre Royal under their new, shortened name. The ensemble had been formed by aircraft factory workers and originally had been called the Fairey Aviation Brass Band. And on the following evening folk duo Miki and Griff performed in Corporation Street.
Then on the 31st it was all change at St Helens' two cinemas. The ABC Savoy was showing the Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland film 'Don't Look Now' and 'Tales of Mystery', starring Jane Fonda and Brigitte Bardot, replaced Clint Eastwood's 'Magnum Force' at the Capitol.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the new local government reorganisation, the problem of glue sniffing in St Helens, the new cafe at Sherdley Park Golf Club and the plans for a water fountain in St Helens town centre.
We begin on the 25th when Saints coach Jim Challinor handed in his resignation. The 38-year-old had spent four years at Knowsley Road and as well as coaching Saints ran his own sports shop in Warrington.
In the past the different councils tended to have different eligibility rules for free bus travel for the elderly. Minimum ages could vary; some provided discounts on fares rather than enabled totally free travel and some gave out tokens instead of an actual pass. But one common factor was that passes and tokens needed to be collected from council offices at set times. And this year the expansion of St Helens Council's administrative area through local government reorganisation – as well as the town losing its own Transport Department – had created extra complications with the dole out.
That, according to the St Helens Newspaper on the 26th, had led to massive queues at Lincoln House. George Harmon of Link Avenue in Blackbrook told the paper: "The queue was so long that I went back three more times. Altogether I waited three hours. When I finally got to see a clerk, I was told my 67-year-old wife didn't qualify because she was not drawing a state pension."
Currently St Helens was within Lancashire Constabulary, which with its 7,000-strong force was the largest outside of London. But within a matter of days policing was going to be reorganised to fit in with the new administrative boundaries created by the local government shake-up and St Helens would come under Merseyside Police.
Stanley Parr was the Chief Constable of Lancashire and very much a St Helens man after attending Allanson Street School and studying at the Gamble Institute. His father Thomas had served on the St Helens police force for thirty years and was a long-time resident of Robins Lane.
This week the Chief Constable released his report for 1973, which revealed that burglaries in Lancashire had gone down by 8% on the previous year with their detection rate being 46%. That compares with a burglary detection rate on Merseyside during the year 2021 to 2022 of just 5%. Chief Constable Parr also described how more resources were going to be put into putting bobbies back on the beat, arguing that the police had been losing touch with the public.
It was announced this week that Fairfield House in Crank with its 4½ acres of gardens was going to become a nursing home. It would be known as the Guy Pilkington Memorial after the long-serving director of the glass empire that had lived there and loved its tranquil surroundings. His son David Pilkington said: "We hope that in time it will become more than a nursing home. Our aim is to establish a community, where residents of all ages and backgrounds will come for recuperation and rest."
In 1972 hundreds of residents on the new Chain Lane estate in Blackbrook were told to switch off their gas boilers after a potential killer in their central heating systems was detected. North Sea gas conversion inspectors had discovered that the residents' flues were capable of allowing deadly fumes to blow back into their homes. The North Western Gas Board blamed the builders, Daleholme Estates, for having badly installed the flues. But the developers denied responsibility, claiming their work conformed to building regulations and then later blamed the Gas Board and St Helens Corporation.
Homeowners on the estate were concerned that they might have to pay bills of up to £30 (about £450 in today's money) to rectify the problem. The Chairman of the Chain Lane Ratepayers Association, Alan Williams, said at the time: "We want to know who is responsible. Everyone is saying it is nothing to do with them. We don't know who is going to fix the flues, when it is going to be done or who is going to pay for it. And in the meantime, residents are without heating or hot water."
This week it was announced that Daleholme Estates had finally settled and agreed to pay a total of £11,500 compensation to 330 householders. Each would receive an average of £35. However, there were 578 homes on the estate and the Chain Lane Ratepayers Association said those that had not joined the original litigation were now coming forward wanting them to bring a fresh case on their behalf.
The Reporter on the 29th described how members of the outgoing St Helens County Borough Council had inspected one of their "finest achievements". That was a covered reservoir at Brown Edge in Thatto Heath. The satisfied members of the council's Water Committee unveiled a plaque to its chairman of many years, Alderman Jack Henebery, who later said: "Mission accomplished. I'm very pleased the County Borough has finished what it started."
The £530,000 scheme was described as one of the most ambitious and unusual in the country because perched above 20 million gallons of water were several football pitches. The roof of the reservoir was constructed on top of concrete pillars and the Corporation's Parks Department would soon be adding top soil and undertaking grassing work. The town's Water Engineer, Fraser Millar, had previously said: "We have merged an essential service with an amenity." What were described as the "million-gallon footballers" that would play on the pitches, were expected to mainly come from schools located near to the 5-acre site.
In 1974 there were still folk alive who recalled life at the turn of the century. One was Tom Lowe who was pictured in the Reporter outside a former shop in Billinge that was set to be demolished to make way for a housing estate. The 80-year-old reminisced of the days when he and his pals used to call in there on their way to and from school.
"The shop opened in 1888 as a grocer's, and 70 years ago it changed to a fish and chip shop," said Tom. "It used to sell sweets and fruit, too, and we would stop there on our way to school and buy aniseed sticks – my favourite toffee. The building must be close on 100 years old, so you can imagine our feelings of regret to see it go." Tom added that he felt very sad to see the gradual transformation of the charming village of Billinge from a clutch of old stone-built houses to a maze of modern estates and buildings.
The Reporter also described how the Mayor of St Helens, Cllr Harry Williams, had opened the new Four Acre Library. Harry was from Sutton Manor and recalled the days when the only library serving the area was a wooden hut that had burnt down. Since then the service had operated out of Gartons Lane and 5,000 volumes had been transferred from there to the new site and 6,000 more books added. Also relocated from the old library had been Dinky, a zebra finch belonging to assistant librarian Margaret Wilcox who was said to "bleep" a welcome to customers.
The new library must have been one of the first municipal buildings in St Helens to feature a ramp for disabled visitors and it also included a covered pram and cycle park. Local community groups were invited to use the premises on weekday evenings after 7:30 pm. The building has since been expanded and is now known as the Chester Lane Community Centre.
The paper also mentioned that Radio Rentals was opening a new 1,200 square feet service unit with a staff of sixteen on the site of the former Lea Green Colliery. And Kwik Save had a large advert promoting their new store in Reginald Road. They wrote: "Only the unique Kwik Save system cuts food prices to a permanent low discount level all the time. No stamps. No gimmicks. Just top quality national brands at permanent low prices." Giant Surf was priced at 17p; Crosse & Blackwell 15½ oz soup was 7p; ¼lb Typhoo Tea was 7p and 1lb of Horlicks cost 27½p.
It was also claimed this week that there were about 1,500 single parent families residing within the St Helens area of which two-thirds were living in poverty. On average each had three children and the voluntary workers group who made the claim said they wanted to help single parents to help themselves by forming their own club.
The Emmanuel United Reformed Church at the Holt in Rainhill made the painful decision to close down this week. Dwindling attendances and lack of finances had led to its decision to shut at the end of June, although its church services and Sunday School would continue until then.
And finally a short entertainment guide. On the 29th the Fairey Band performed at the Theatre Royal under their new, shortened name. The ensemble had been formed by aircraft factory workers and originally had been called the Fairey Aviation Brass Band. And on the following evening folk duo Miki and Griff performed in Corporation Street.
Then on the 31st it was all change at St Helens' two cinemas. The ABC Savoy was showing the Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland film 'Don't Look Now' and 'Tales of Mystery', starring Jane Fonda and Brigitte Bardot, replaced Clint Eastwood's 'Magnum Force' at the Capitol.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the new local government reorganisation, the problem of glue sniffing in St Helens, the new cafe at Sherdley Park Golf Club and the plans for a water fountain in St Helens town centre.
This week's stories include the opening of the new Four Acre Library, the football pitches at Brown Edge that were situated on top of a reservoir, the lengthy queues to claim bus passes, the high level of burglary detection, Fairfield House in Crank becomes a nursing home, a reminiscence of old Billinge, Kwik Save's new store in Reginald Road and there's victory for the Chain Lane Ratepayers Association in their lengthy dangerous flues dispute.
We begin on the 25th when Saints coach Jim Challinor handed in his resignation.
The 38-year-old had spent four years at Knowsley Road and as well as coaching Saints ran his own sports shop in Warrington.
For two evenings from the 25th the Theatre Royal hosted the Dubliners. In 1971 two of the group's sold-out concerts in St Helens had been cancelled at the last minute because of an IRA dispute.
The theatre's manager, James Lovelace, had asked the popular folk group not to perform any Irish rebel songs – but they had refused to bow to what they saw as censorship.
"I felt that some people might take offence because the Ulster situation is so critical at the moment", Mr Lovelace explained at the time.
In the past the different councils tended to have different eligibility rules for free bus travel for the elderly.
Minimum ages could vary; some provided discounts on fares rather than enabled totally free travel and some gave out tokens instead of an actual pass.
But one common factor was that passes and tokens needed to be collected from council offices at set times.
And this year the expansion of St Helens Council's administrative area through local government reorganisation – as well as the town losing its own Transport Department – had created extra complications with the dole out.
That, according to the St Helens Newspaper on the 26th, had led to massive queues at Lincoln House. George Harmon of Link Avenue in Blackbrook told the paper:
"The queue was so long that I went back three more times. Altogether I waited three hours. When I finally got to see a clerk, I was told my 67-year-old wife didn't qualify because she was not drawing a state pension."
Currently St Helens was within Lancashire Constabulary, which with its 7,000-strong force was the largest outside of London.
But within a matter of days policing was going to be reorganised to fit in with the new administrative boundaries created by the local government shake-up and St Helens would come under Merseyside Police.
Stanley Parr was the Chief Constable of Lancashire and very much a St Helens man after attending Allanson Street School and studying at the Gamble Institute.
His father Thomas had served on the St Helens police force for thirty years and was a long-time resident of Robins Lane.
This week the Chief Constable released his report for 1973, which revealed that burglaries in Lancashire had gone down by 8% on the previous year with their detection rate being 46%.
That compares with a burglary detection rate on Merseyside during the year 2021 to 2022 of just 5%.
Chief Constable Parr also described how more resources were going to be put into putting bobbies back on the beat, arguing that the police had been losing touch with the public.
It was announced this week that Fairfield House in Crank with its 4½ acres of gardens was going to become a nursing home.
It would be known as the Guy Pilkington Memorial after the long-serving director of the glass empire that had lived there and loved its tranquil surroundings.
His son David Pilkington said: "We hope that in time it will become more than a nursing home. Our aim is to establish a community, where residents of all ages and backgrounds will come for recuperation and rest."
In 1972 hundreds of residents on the new Chain Lane estate in Blackbrook were told to switch off their gas boilers after a potential killer in their central heating systems was detected.
North Sea gas conversion inspectors had discovered that the residents' flues were capable of allowing deadly fumes to blow back into their homes.
The North Western Gas Board blamed the builders, Daleholme Estates, for having badly installed the flues.
But the developers denied responsibility, claiming their work conformed to building regulations and then later blamed the Gas Board and St Helens Corporation.
Homeowners on the estate were concerned that they might have to pay bills of up to £30 (about £450 in today's money) to rectify the problem.
The Chairman of the Chain Lane Ratepayers Association, Alan Williams, said at the time:
"We want to know who is responsible. Everyone is saying it is nothing to do with them. We don't know who is going to fix the flues, when it is going to be done or who is going to pay for it. And in the meantime, residents are without heating or hot water."
This week it was announced that Daleholme Estates had finally settled and agreed to pay a total of £11,500 compensation to 330 householders. Each would receive an average of £35.
However, there were 578 homes on the estate and the Chain Lane Ratepayers Association said those that had not joined the original litigation were now coming forward wanting them to bring a fresh case on their behalf.
The Reporter on the 29th described how members of the outgoing St Helens County Borough Council had inspected one of their "finest achievements". That was a covered reservoir at Brown Edge in Thatto Heath.
The satisfied members of the council's Water Committee unveiled a plaque to its chairman of many years, Alderman Jack Henebery, who later said: "Mission accomplished. I'm very pleased the County Borough has finished what it started."
The £530,000 scheme was described as one of the most ambitious and unusual in the country because perched above 20 million gallons of water were several football pitches.
The roof of the reservoir was constructed on top of concrete pillars and the Corporation's Parks Department would soon be adding top soil and undertaking grassing work.
The town's Water Engineer, Fraser Millar, had previously said: "We have merged an essential service with an amenity."
What were described as the "million-gallon footballers" that would play on the pitches, were expected to mainly come from schools located near to the 5-acre site.
In 1974 there were still folk alive who recalled life at the turn of the century. One was Tom Lowe who was pictured in the Reporter outside a former shop in Billinge that was set to be demolished to make way for a housing estate.
The 80-year-old reminisced of the days when he and his pals used to call in there on their way to and from school.
"The shop opened in 1888 as a grocer's, and 70 years ago it changed to a fish and chip shop," said Tom.
"It used to sell sweets and fruit, too, and we would stop there on our way to school and buy aniseed sticks – my favourite toffee. The building must be close on 100 years old, so you can imagine our feelings of regret to see it go."
Tom added that he felt very sad to see the gradual transformation of the charming village of Billinge from a clutch of old stone-built houses to a maze of modern estates and buildings.
The Reporter also described how the Mayor of St Helens, Cllr Harry Williams, had opened the new Four Acre Library.
Harry was from Sutton Manor and recalled the days when the only library serving the area was a wooden hut that had burnt down.
Since then the service had operated out of Gartons Lane and 5,000 volumes had been transferred from there to the new site and 6,000 more books added.
Also relocated from the old library had been Dinky, a zebra finch belonging to assistant librarian Margaret Wilcox who was said to "bleep" a welcome to customers.
The new library must have been one of the first municipal buildings in St Helens to feature a ramp for disabled visitors and it also included a covered pram and cycle park.
Local community groups were invited to use the premises on weekday evenings after 7:30 pm.
The building has since been expanded and is now known as the Chester Lane Community Centre.
The paper also mentioned that Radio Rentals was opening a new 1,200 square feet service unit with a staff of sixteen on the site of the former Lea Green Colliery.
And Kwik Save had a large advert promoting their new store in Reginald Road. They wrote:
"Only the unique Kwik Save system cuts food prices to a permanent low discount level all the time. No stamps. No gimmicks. Just top quality national brands at permanent low prices."
Giant Surf was priced at 17p; Crosse & Blackwell 15½ oz soup was 7p; ¼lb Typhoo Tea was 7p and 1lb of Horlicks cost 27½p.
It was also claimed this week that there were about 1,500 single parent families residing within the St Helens area of which two-thirds were living in poverty.
On average each had three children and the voluntary workers group who made the claim said they wanted to help single parents to help themselves by forming their own club.
The Emmanuel United Reformed Church at the Holt in Rainhill made the painful decision to close down this week.
Dwindling attendances and lack of finances had led to its decision to shut at the end of June, although its church services and Sunday School would continue until then.
And finally a short entertainment guide. On the 29th the Fairey Band performed at the Theatre Royal under their new, shortened name.
The ensemble had been formed by aircraft factory workers and originally had been called the Fairey Aviation Brass Band.
And on the following evening folk duo Miki and Griff performed in Corporation Street. Then on the 31st it was all change at St Helens' two cinemas.
The ABC Savoy was showing the Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland film 'Don't Look Now' and 'Tales of Mystery', starring Jane Fonda and Brigitte Bardot, replaced Clint Eastwood's 'Magnum Force' at the Capitol.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the new local government reorganisation, the problem of glue sniffing in St Helens, the new cafe at Sherdley Park Golf Club and the plans for a water fountain in St Helens town centre.
We begin on the 25th when Saints coach Jim Challinor handed in his resignation.
The 38-year-old had spent four years at Knowsley Road and as well as coaching Saints ran his own sports shop in Warrington.
The theatre's manager, James Lovelace, had asked the popular folk group not to perform any Irish rebel songs – but they had refused to bow to what they saw as censorship.
"I felt that some people might take offence because the Ulster situation is so critical at the moment", Mr Lovelace explained at the time.
In the past the different councils tended to have different eligibility rules for free bus travel for the elderly.
Minimum ages could vary; some provided discounts on fares rather than enabled totally free travel and some gave out tokens instead of an actual pass.
But one common factor was that passes and tokens needed to be collected from council offices at set times.
And this year the expansion of St Helens Council's administrative area through local government reorganisation – as well as the town losing its own Transport Department – had created extra complications with the dole out.
That, according to the St Helens Newspaper on the 26th, had led to massive queues at Lincoln House. George Harmon of Link Avenue in Blackbrook told the paper:
"The queue was so long that I went back three more times. Altogether I waited three hours. When I finally got to see a clerk, I was told my 67-year-old wife didn't qualify because she was not drawing a state pension."
Currently St Helens was within Lancashire Constabulary, which with its 7,000-strong force was the largest outside of London.
But within a matter of days policing was going to be reorganised to fit in with the new administrative boundaries created by the local government shake-up and St Helens would come under Merseyside Police.
Stanley Parr was the Chief Constable of Lancashire and very much a St Helens man after attending Allanson Street School and studying at the Gamble Institute.
His father Thomas had served on the St Helens police force for thirty years and was a long-time resident of Robins Lane.
This week the Chief Constable released his report for 1973, which revealed that burglaries in Lancashire had gone down by 8% on the previous year with their detection rate being 46%.
That compares with a burglary detection rate on Merseyside during the year 2021 to 2022 of just 5%.
Chief Constable Parr also described how more resources were going to be put into putting bobbies back on the beat, arguing that the police had been losing touch with the public.
It was announced this week that Fairfield House in Crank with its 4½ acres of gardens was going to become a nursing home.
It would be known as the Guy Pilkington Memorial after the long-serving director of the glass empire that had lived there and loved its tranquil surroundings.
His son David Pilkington said: "We hope that in time it will become more than a nursing home. Our aim is to establish a community, where residents of all ages and backgrounds will come for recuperation and rest."
In 1972 hundreds of residents on the new Chain Lane estate in Blackbrook were told to switch off their gas boilers after a potential killer in their central heating systems was detected.
North Sea gas conversion inspectors had discovered that the residents' flues were capable of allowing deadly fumes to blow back into their homes.
The North Western Gas Board blamed the builders, Daleholme Estates, for having badly installed the flues.
But the developers denied responsibility, claiming their work conformed to building regulations and then later blamed the Gas Board and St Helens Corporation.
Homeowners on the estate were concerned that they might have to pay bills of up to £30 (about £450 in today's money) to rectify the problem.
The Chairman of the Chain Lane Ratepayers Association, Alan Williams, said at the time:
"We want to know who is responsible. Everyone is saying it is nothing to do with them. We don't know who is going to fix the flues, when it is going to be done or who is going to pay for it. And in the meantime, residents are without heating or hot water."
This week it was announced that Daleholme Estates had finally settled and agreed to pay a total of £11,500 compensation to 330 householders. Each would receive an average of £35.
However, there were 578 homes on the estate and the Chain Lane Ratepayers Association said those that had not joined the original litigation were now coming forward wanting them to bring a fresh case on their behalf.
The Reporter on the 29th described how members of the outgoing St Helens County Borough Council had inspected one of their "finest achievements". That was a covered reservoir at Brown Edge in Thatto Heath.
The satisfied members of the council's Water Committee unveiled a plaque to its chairman of many years, Alderman Jack Henebery, who later said: "Mission accomplished. I'm very pleased the County Borough has finished what it started."
The £530,000 scheme was described as one of the most ambitious and unusual in the country because perched above 20 million gallons of water were several football pitches.
The roof of the reservoir was constructed on top of concrete pillars and the Corporation's Parks Department would soon be adding top soil and undertaking grassing work.
The town's Water Engineer, Fraser Millar, had previously said: "We have merged an essential service with an amenity."
What were described as the "million-gallon footballers" that would play on the pitches, were expected to mainly come from schools located near to the 5-acre site.
In 1974 there were still folk alive who recalled life at the turn of the century. One was Tom Lowe who was pictured in the Reporter outside a former shop in Billinge that was set to be demolished to make way for a housing estate.
The 80-year-old reminisced of the days when he and his pals used to call in there on their way to and from school.
"The shop opened in 1888 as a grocer's, and 70 years ago it changed to a fish and chip shop," said Tom.
"It used to sell sweets and fruit, too, and we would stop there on our way to school and buy aniseed sticks – my favourite toffee. The building must be close on 100 years old, so you can imagine our feelings of regret to see it go."
Tom added that he felt very sad to see the gradual transformation of the charming village of Billinge from a clutch of old stone-built houses to a maze of modern estates and buildings.
The Reporter also described how the Mayor of St Helens, Cllr Harry Williams, had opened the new Four Acre Library.
Harry was from Sutton Manor and recalled the days when the only library serving the area was a wooden hut that had burnt down.
Since then the service had operated out of Gartons Lane and 5,000 volumes had been transferred from there to the new site and 6,000 more books added.
Also relocated from the old library had been Dinky, a zebra finch belonging to assistant librarian Margaret Wilcox who was said to "bleep" a welcome to customers.
The new library must have been one of the first municipal buildings in St Helens to feature a ramp for disabled visitors and it also included a covered pram and cycle park.
Local community groups were invited to use the premises on weekday evenings after 7:30 pm.
The building has since been expanded and is now known as the Chester Lane Community Centre.
The paper also mentioned that Radio Rentals was opening a new 1,200 square feet service unit with a staff of sixteen on the site of the former Lea Green Colliery.
And Kwik Save had a large advert promoting their new store in Reginald Road. They wrote:
"Only the unique Kwik Save system cuts food prices to a permanent low discount level all the time. No stamps. No gimmicks. Just top quality national brands at permanent low prices."
Giant Surf was priced at 17p; Crosse & Blackwell 15½ oz soup was 7p; ¼lb Typhoo Tea was 7p and 1lb of Horlicks cost 27½p.
It was also claimed this week that there were about 1,500 single parent families residing within the St Helens area of which two-thirds were living in poverty.
On average each had three children and the voluntary workers group who made the claim said they wanted to help single parents to help themselves by forming their own club.
The Emmanuel United Reformed Church at the Holt in Rainhill made the painful decision to close down this week.
Dwindling attendances and lack of finances had led to its decision to shut at the end of June, although its church services and Sunday School would continue until then.
And finally a short entertainment guide. On the 29th the Fairey Band performed at the Theatre Royal under their new, shortened name.
The ensemble had been formed by aircraft factory workers and originally had been called the Fairey Aviation Brass Band.
And on the following evening folk duo Miki and Griff performed in Corporation Street. Then on the 31st it was all change at St Helens' two cinemas.
The ABC Savoy was showing the Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland film 'Don't Look Now' and 'Tales of Mystery', starring Jane Fonda and Brigitte Bardot, replaced Clint Eastwood's 'Magnum Force' at the Capitol.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include the new local government reorganisation, the problem of glue sniffing in St Helens, the new cafe at Sherdley Park Golf Club and the plans for a water fountain in St Helens town centre.