FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (29th July - 4th August 1969)
This week's stories include the hooligans in St Peter's churchyard, the Reginald Road householders who burnt their rates demands, the Mormons' plans to build a chapel in Four Acre, there's a temporary reprieve for town centre parking charges and a claim that Shakespeare performed at Bold Hall.
We begin on the 30th at a Town Council meeting when the councillors approved plans for a Ministry of Transport Driving Test Centre off Lord Street. The two storey premises would house a driving vehicle along with offices for examiners and cost about £20,000, with the scheme expected to be completed within two years.
Fifty residents from the Reginald Road area were in attendance at the meeting and at its conclusion lobbied councillors about the so-called "gipsy camp" on their doorstep. After unsuccessfully attempting to persuade council officials to take back their rates demands, the householders returned to their homes and burned them.
Most of the fifty to sixty caravans on the site had been there since last September and local residents had regularly complained about the travellers' behaviour. However the council had now found a permanent site for the gipsies, which they hoped would resolve the long-running wrangle but for the time being were keeping its location secret.
The Guardian reported on the 31st that 40 pieces of glassware representing techniques spanning more than 2,500 years of glass manufacture had been added to the Pilkington Glass Museum in Prescot Road.
A few days ago St Helens Corporation's Water Engineer E. K. Astin had told the Liverpool Echo that the hosepipe ban in the town would remain until the end of August. That had been introduced because of a massive water leak caused by the collapse of a road in Ashton that carried the Rivington Aqueduct.
The St Helens Reporter said the burst of the aqueduct had created for the Corporation's Water Department "one of its gravest crises for many years". However from midnight on the 30th the water ban was unexpectedly lifted as water levels in the reservoirs had risen far faster than anticipated.
Although much of the shortage had initially been exacerbated by the hot weather, the start of the school holidays had led to many families going away on holiday leading to a reduction in consumption. In the Haydock area, for example, people holidaying had contributed to a 20% drop in water usage during the past week. Businesses and the St Helens public were also said to have responded well to the "save our water" plea that the council had made.
The St Helens Reporter was published on August 1st and revealed that motorists would have a temporary reprieve from paying car parking charges in the town. St Helens was one of only a few Lancashire towns that offered free parking on the Corporation-owned car parks in Birchley Street, Water Street and on the Ring Road.
However that would not continue for long as proposals had been drawn up to introduce fees, with the scale of charges starting at one shilling for a 2-hour stay. The scheme was due to take effect in September but at a council meeting this week the plans were temporarily withdrawn. This was because some members said they had not received a copy of a report into the charges but there was also criticism of a concession scheme.
Liberal councillor Bill Shepherd slammed the plan saying they were creating first and second-class citizens – those motorists given concessionary parking rates and those having to pay the full amount. There was also criticism of a private firm being commissioned to run the scheme rather than the Corporation.
In another story the Vicar of St Peter's in Parr told the Reporter how his churchyard had been invaded by hooligans who had been using it as a playground and even as a campsite. Fences and walls had been pulled down within hours of being erected and a stone statue worth over £250 (about £4,000 in today's money) had been wrenched off its pedestal and smashed to pieces.
Rev. Thorne told the paper that on one occasion vandals had set light to the grass and charred many of the graves' headstones. Youths had also been found camping in the cemetery having pitched their tents over the headstones and then slept on the graves. The vicar added that every morning local factory workers took a short cut through the churchyard and used the graves as stepping-stones.
Rev. Thorne had recently appealed to parishioners to help clear the 3 ft. high grass in his graveyard but had met with a very poor response. "We haven't the money to pay to have the grass cut", he said. "It would take at least 25 men. I make a constant appeal for people to come along three times a year and cut the grass. But everyone is apparently too keen on their TV and bingo to be bothered about it."
The Reporter also stated that during the first six months of the year almost 1,000 more copies of the paper had been sold each week. Its average total weekly sales at 7d a copy had now been audited at 35,170.
They also revealed that the Mormons – or Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – were planning to build a chapel near Four Acre Lane. A spokesman said they had been offered a site on a 99-year lease and hoped to have the chapel open by late 1970.
Currently the Mormons had between 60 and 70 "very strong" members in St Helens and the cost of building the church would be around £30,000 - £40,000. Their congregation would meet this amount as each member had pledged a tenth of their income to the church
A detailed letter in the St Helens Reporter from historian T. A. Owen argued that William Shakespeare in his early twenties had "trod the boards" at Bold Hall. "The written facts are highly suggestive", said Mr Owen from Eccleston who believed that the playwright had used the name William Shakeshaft. "We should acclaim the fact, and be proud of it", wrote Mr Owen. "Shakespeare served an apprenticeship to immortal fame, in part, at least here in the St. Helens district."
The Reporter also described how angry mothers in Juddfield Street in Haydock had threatened to barricade it against cars and buses, claiming that the traffic was a constant threat to their children's safety. The problem was mainly caused by motorists using the street as a shortcut to and from the East Lancashire Road.
The St Helens Reporter described an unusual planning application made by R. Birchall from School Cottages in School Lane, Rainhill. The Whiston Planning and Development Committee granted Mr Birchall permission to build a 40 ft. x 20 ft. swimming pool, 18 brick pigsties and four horseboxes. I don't think the pool was for the pigs!
The Liverpool Echo reported on the 1st that the Rev. Frederick Whitlock – the minister at Haresfinch Congregational Church for the past nine years – was to retire at the end of the year.
Cliff Bennett and his Band appeared at the Plaza Theatre Club during the evenings of the 1st and 2nd, having dropped 'Rebel Rousers' from the name of his group. For seven days from the 3rd the western 'Mackennas Gold' starring Gregory Peck, Omar Sharif and Telly Savalas was screened at the ABC Savoy. On the following day Disney's 'Lady and the Tramp' was shown at the Capitol for the first of a three-day run.
The Echo also stated on that day that Pilkingtons had sold 45,000 sq. ft. of wired glass for the 67 lights of BOAC's 747 jet hanger at Heathrow Airport. This was currently under construction and when completed would cover 3½ acres.
To end here are some stories that were in the national newspapers. The Daily Mirror reported that nearly 200 people had demanded their money back after a concert by Scott Walker. The paper wrote: "The row blew up at the ABC Theatre in Blackpool on Sunday. An angry crowd claimed that the star's act was rubbish and complained that he had sung one song twice." Scott Walker's press agent blamed his performance on the medication that he was taking for headaches.
The head of Radio 1 and 2 ordered his DJs to cut down on the number of requests in their shows, with some given quotas. Sam Costa was told he could only play eight requests in his daily two-hour show on Radio 2.
A head and deputy head of an approved school in Surrey – who had been removed from their positions in 1967 through the "unnecessary severity" of their canings – were told they could be headmasters again.
The Mirror featured a photo of Honey, a large computer used to calculate viewing figures for ITV. It took Honey two days to work out the stats from information supplied electronically by a panel of viewers. I expect today's mobile phones could do the calculations in an instant!
There was much sympathy for Penny, a newborn baby whose parents had disowned her after discovering she was a "mongol" child – as down syndrome was then routinely called. Penny's heartless parents had left her in a Birmingham maternity unit where she would remain until foster parents could be found for her.
And finally the halfpenny ceased to be legal tender this week, although there were many of them still about. In fact the Royal Mint estimated that 940 million coins had yet to be returned to them. It was believed that many people were hoarding ha’pennies because they thought they would be valuable in twenty years time.
Next week's stories will include the gangs of marauding dogs that roamed St Helens' parks, a 49-year-old Lowe House priest quits the priesthood to marry a 19-year-old woman, Pilkington's Gala and Parade takes place, anger at bus cuts in Haydock and the Pilkington Glass Museum shows off its new additions spanning 2,500 years.
We begin on the 30th at a Town Council meeting when the councillors approved plans for a Ministry of Transport Driving Test Centre off Lord Street. The two storey premises would house a driving vehicle along with offices for examiners and cost about £20,000, with the scheme expected to be completed within two years.
Fifty residents from the Reginald Road area were in attendance at the meeting and at its conclusion lobbied councillors about the so-called "gipsy camp" on their doorstep. After unsuccessfully attempting to persuade council officials to take back their rates demands, the householders returned to their homes and burned them.
Most of the fifty to sixty caravans on the site had been there since last September and local residents had regularly complained about the travellers' behaviour. However the council had now found a permanent site for the gipsies, which they hoped would resolve the long-running wrangle but for the time being were keeping its location secret.
The Guardian reported on the 31st that 40 pieces of glassware representing techniques spanning more than 2,500 years of glass manufacture had been added to the Pilkington Glass Museum in Prescot Road.
A few days ago St Helens Corporation's Water Engineer E. K. Astin had told the Liverpool Echo that the hosepipe ban in the town would remain until the end of August. That had been introduced because of a massive water leak caused by the collapse of a road in Ashton that carried the Rivington Aqueduct.
The St Helens Reporter said the burst of the aqueduct had created for the Corporation's Water Department "one of its gravest crises for many years". However from midnight on the 30th the water ban was unexpectedly lifted as water levels in the reservoirs had risen far faster than anticipated.
Although much of the shortage had initially been exacerbated by the hot weather, the start of the school holidays had led to many families going away on holiday leading to a reduction in consumption. In the Haydock area, for example, people holidaying had contributed to a 20% drop in water usage during the past week. Businesses and the St Helens public were also said to have responded well to the "save our water" plea that the council had made.
The St Helens Reporter was published on August 1st and revealed that motorists would have a temporary reprieve from paying car parking charges in the town. St Helens was one of only a few Lancashire towns that offered free parking on the Corporation-owned car parks in Birchley Street, Water Street and on the Ring Road.
However that would not continue for long as proposals had been drawn up to introduce fees, with the scale of charges starting at one shilling for a 2-hour stay. The scheme was due to take effect in September but at a council meeting this week the plans were temporarily withdrawn. This was because some members said they had not received a copy of a report into the charges but there was also criticism of a concession scheme.
Liberal councillor Bill Shepherd slammed the plan saying they were creating first and second-class citizens – those motorists given concessionary parking rates and those having to pay the full amount. There was also criticism of a private firm being commissioned to run the scheme rather than the Corporation.
In another story the Vicar of St Peter's in Parr told the Reporter how his churchyard had been invaded by hooligans who had been using it as a playground and even as a campsite. Fences and walls had been pulled down within hours of being erected and a stone statue worth over £250 (about £4,000 in today's money) had been wrenched off its pedestal and smashed to pieces.
Rev. Thorne told the paper that on one occasion vandals had set light to the grass and charred many of the graves' headstones. Youths had also been found camping in the cemetery having pitched their tents over the headstones and then slept on the graves. The vicar added that every morning local factory workers took a short cut through the churchyard and used the graves as stepping-stones.
Rev. Thorne had recently appealed to parishioners to help clear the 3 ft. high grass in his graveyard but had met with a very poor response. "We haven't the money to pay to have the grass cut", he said. "It would take at least 25 men. I make a constant appeal for people to come along three times a year and cut the grass. But everyone is apparently too keen on their TV and bingo to be bothered about it."
The Reporter also stated that during the first six months of the year almost 1,000 more copies of the paper had been sold each week. Its average total weekly sales at 7d a copy had now been audited at 35,170.
They also revealed that the Mormons – or Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – were planning to build a chapel near Four Acre Lane. A spokesman said they had been offered a site on a 99-year lease and hoped to have the chapel open by late 1970.
The completed Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Chester Lane, also known as Mormons
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Chester Lane
The Mormons Church in Chester Lane
A detailed letter in the St Helens Reporter from historian T. A. Owen argued that William Shakespeare in his early twenties had "trod the boards" at Bold Hall. "The written facts are highly suggestive", said Mr Owen from Eccleston who believed that the playwright had used the name William Shakeshaft. "We should acclaim the fact, and be proud of it", wrote Mr Owen. "Shakespeare served an apprenticeship to immortal fame, in part, at least here in the St. Helens district."
The Reporter also described how angry mothers in Juddfield Street in Haydock had threatened to barricade it against cars and buses, claiming that the traffic was a constant threat to their children's safety. The problem was mainly caused by motorists using the street as a shortcut to and from the East Lancashire Road.
The St Helens Reporter described an unusual planning application made by R. Birchall from School Cottages in School Lane, Rainhill. The Whiston Planning and Development Committee granted Mr Birchall permission to build a 40 ft. x 20 ft. swimming pool, 18 brick pigsties and four horseboxes. I don't think the pool was for the pigs!
The Liverpool Echo reported on the 1st that the Rev. Frederick Whitlock – the minister at Haresfinch Congregational Church for the past nine years – was to retire at the end of the year.
Cliff Bennett and his Band appeared at the Plaza Theatre Club during the evenings of the 1st and 2nd, having dropped 'Rebel Rousers' from the name of his group. For seven days from the 3rd the western 'Mackennas Gold' starring Gregory Peck, Omar Sharif and Telly Savalas was screened at the ABC Savoy. On the following day Disney's 'Lady and the Tramp' was shown at the Capitol for the first of a three-day run.
The Echo also stated on that day that Pilkingtons had sold 45,000 sq. ft. of wired glass for the 67 lights of BOAC's 747 jet hanger at Heathrow Airport. This was currently under construction and when completed would cover 3½ acres.
To end here are some stories that were in the national newspapers. The Daily Mirror reported that nearly 200 people had demanded their money back after a concert by Scott Walker. The paper wrote: "The row blew up at the ABC Theatre in Blackpool on Sunday. An angry crowd claimed that the star's act was rubbish and complained that he had sung one song twice." Scott Walker's press agent blamed his performance on the medication that he was taking for headaches.
The head of Radio 1 and 2 ordered his DJs to cut down on the number of requests in their shows, with some given quotas. Sam Costa was told he could only play eight requests in his daily two-hour show on Radio 2.
A head and deputy head of an approved school in Surrey – who had been removed from their positions in 1967 through the "unnecessary severity" of their canings – were told they could be headmasters again.
There was much sympathy for Penny, a newborn baby whose parents had disowned her after discovering she was a "mongol" child – as down syndrome was then routinely called. Penny's heartless parents had left her in a Birmingham maternity unit where she would remain until foster parents could be found for her.
And finally the halfpenny ceased to be legal tender this week, although there were many of them still about. In fact the Royal Mint estimated that 940 million coins had yet to be returned to them. It was believed that many people were hoarding ha’pennies because they thought they would be valuable in twenty years time.
Next week's stories will include the gangs of marauding dogs that roamed St Helens' parks, a 49-year-old Lowe House priest quits the priesthood to marry a 19-year-old woman, Pilkington's Gala and Parade takes place, anger at bus cuts in Haydock and the Pilkington Glass Museum shows off its new additions spanning 2,500 years.