IOO YEARS AGO THIS WEEK 15 - 21 APRIL 1924
This week's many stories include the concert in aid of the proposed Sutton Manor basilica, the mischievous youths in Church Street, the Nutgrove Road undertaker accused of being a drunkard, the police gambling raid in Devon Street, the Whiston bobby that rescued a dog from the bottom of a deep mineshaft and the delays and inconvenience created by the relaying of tramlines in Croppers Hill.
The weekly Sunday evening parading by young people in Church Street was still popular – and so were the habits of mischievous youths. As anti-social behaviour went it was pretty much on the mild side, involving jostling, pushing into girls and passing lewd remarks. However, their behaviour was considered sufficiently annoying for undercover police officers to go on duty to nab offenders.
As a result 17-year-old Frank Lea from Traverse Street and Edward Butler of Duke Street appeared in court this week charged with obstructing the free passage of the Church Street footway. The Chairman of the Bench said they were determined to put a stop to such rowdyism and the two lads were both fined 10 shillings.
A century ago, as well as the usual road maintenance, inconvenience was often caused by the widening of the highways and the relaying of tramlines. A meeting of the St Helens Highways Committee on the 16th heard that the latter was causing problems for pedestrians on Croppers Hill and Prescot Road. Paving stones were being left on the footpaths causing obstructions and Councillor Dodd complained that even the mixing of cement was taking place on pavements.
The councillor added that in Westfield Street they had undertaken the tramway relaying in about three weeks – but it had already taken six months along Croppers Hill. Cllr. Dodd said he was prepared to move a resolution that if things were not put right within ten days the Town Clerk should issue proceedings for obstruction against the contractor. The Borough Engineer admitted that the Croppers Hill works was taking a long time, but said its contractor had been handicapped. That had been because the council's Tramways Committee had decided to continue running trams while the improvement work took place.
The St Helens Reporter was published on the 18th and described how the fourth annual meeting of the St Helens and District branch of the RSPCA had been held in the Town Hall. PC John Barber of Whiston was awarded the society's silver medal for rescuing a dog from the bottom of a deep mineshaft that had been almost filled with water. An analysis of fines for cruelty to animals handed down at St Helens and Prescot courts was described at the meeting and it was revealed that the latter had been the more severe.
Being an undertaker was not a full-time occupation for most men, with many taking on other jobs, including being a joiner, publican or taxi driver. Thomas Wilcock from Nutgrove Road supplemented his undertaking duties by being a picture framer and his wife ran a confectionery business. We learn this from the Reporter's detailed account of his wife Mary's application in St Helens Police Court for a separation order from her husband.
As usual all the details of the claims and counterclaims were revealed in the report, which must have been very embarrassing for the couple, particularly the husband. Mary Wilcock alleged that for the last two years Thomas had neglected his work and taken to drink, only rising late in the morning and going out until late at night. She said her husband only worked at the business when he felt inclined and customers got so tired of waiting for their pictures to be framed that they'd take them back unframed.
Thomas Wilcock denied the claims of drunkenness and, as was often the case, put the blame for the trouble on his wife's family after her father and sister had come to live with them. The 49-year-old said his wife had never complained until his in-laws had moved in and if it had not been for her family they would still be as happy today as when first married.
The magistrates spent a long time considering the case but the couple had been married for twenty years and had a son aged nine. They were more minded to grant separation orders if the couple had been wed a long time. In the end they granted the order with maintenance payments of 15 shillings a week with Mary to also have custody of their child. It was another case that should have been dealt with in private.
An editorial in the Reporter about the new scale of what we would call benefit payments to the unemployed contained an insight into the cost of sending children to be educated at Cowley. Their annual school fees were stated as fifteen or twenty pounds per head, the difference probably determined by whether the pupil was male or female. There were far more facilities for the boys than girls and so the parents of the latter paid less.
Discrimination also extended to the unemployment pay for 14-year-olds leaving school without a job. The boys would now receive 7s 6d a week, with the girls 6 shillings. The rationale for the discrepancy was no doubt that females in the workplace received less money than males and so deserved less dole.
Using your own house for betting purposes was a risky business as it was considered a more serious offence than gambling on the street. The police seemed to have little difficulty in accessing a property neighbouring the suspected betting house in order to observe all the comings and goings. However, to carry out a successful swoop, the bobbies needed to rapidly get from their place of surveillance to the target of their raid.
Sometimes those running the gambling operation learnt that the police were on their way and would bolt their door to delay their entrance. Those few seconds before the door was broken down allowed them time to attempt to destroy the evidence. The Reporter described how that had occurred in a case in St Helens Police Court when William and Mary Twiss of Devon Street had been charged with using their house for purposes of betting.
Chief Inspector Roe stated that the police had been observing gambling operations at the Twiss's home for three days and during that period 108 persons had been counted entering and leaving by the back door. When they raided the house the police found the door bolted against them and they needed to force an entry.
Inside they found Mrs Twiss in her kitchen with a large number of papers burning on the fire. However, 27 slips were recovered intact concerning 70 bets that had been made on that day. Although William Twiss was not on the scene at the time of the raid, an agreement was made that he would plead guilty in court if the charge against his wife was withdrawn and he was fined £15.
In 1916 a small Roman Catholic chapel was constructed in Gartons Lane to serve the expanding mining villages of Sutton Manor and Clock Face. In 1923 Fr Ralph Holden took over as minister and it became his dream to build a basilica dedicated to the newly canonised Thérèse of Lisieux. This week on the 20th a concert featuring mainly local singers took place to raise funds for the grand new Sutton Manor church.
It was Easter Sunday and the weather was fine which meant the attendance inside was only moderate. During an interval Fr Holden thanked all for having made the concert a success but admitted having a big burden to face in raising the necessary funds for his ambitious project. But Fr Holden said they were making good progress and he appealed for members of other parishes to help him in the "great work that was going on".
However, there were many setbacks and it was not until 1931 before the foundation stone could be laid and a further 28 years elapsed before St Theresa of the Child Jesus could be opened. And financial cutbacks meant a somewhat less grandiose place of worship than had been originally intended was built, seven years after the death of its founding priest.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include a Rainhill man's curious ham fraud, the stand-up fight in Liverpool Road, the Ravenhead Colliery miner killed by a bolt that fell down the pit shaft and the Cowley Street man's violent attack that he claimed was a matter of honour.
As a result 17-year-old Frank Lea from Traverse Street and Edward Butler of Duke Street appeared in court this week charged with obstructing the free passage of the Church Street footway. The Chairman of the Bench said they were determined to put a stop to such rowdyism and the two lads were both fined 10 shillings.
A century ago, as well as the usual road maintenance, inconvenience was often caused by the widening of the highways and the relaying of tramlines. A meeting of the St Helens Highways Committee on the 16th heard that the latter was causing problems for pedestrians on Croppers Hill and Prescot Road. Paving stones were being left on the footpaths causing obstructions and Councillor Dodd complained that even the mixing of cement was taking place on pavements.
The councillor added that in Westfield Street they had undertaken the tramway relaying in about three weeks – but it had already taken six months along Croppers Hill. Cllr. Dodd said he was prepared to move a resolution that if things were not put right within ten days the Town Clerk should issue proceedings for obstruction against the contractor. The Borough Engineer admitted that the Croppers Hill works was taking a long time, but said its contractor had been handicapped. That had been because the council's Tramways Committee had decided to continue running trams while the improvement work took place.
The St Helens Reporter was published on the 18th and described how the fourth annual meeting of the St Helens and District branch of the RSPCA had been held in the Town Hall. PC John Barber of Whiston was awarded the society's silver medal for rescuing a dog from the bottom of a deep mineshaft that had been almost filled with water. An analysis of fines for cruelty to animals handed down at St Helens and Prescot courts was described at the meeting and it was revealed that the latter had been the more severe.
Being an undertaker was not a full-time occupation for most men, with many taking on other jobs, including being a joiner, publican or taxi driver. Thomas Wilcock from Nutgrove Road supplemented his undertaking duties by being a picture framer and his wife ran a confectionery business. We learn this from the Reporter's detailed account of his wife Mary's application in St Helens Police Court for a separation order from her husband.
As usual all the details of the claims and counterclaims were revealed in the report, which must have been very embarrassing for the couple, particularly the husband. Mary Wilcock alleged that for the last two years Thomas had neglected his work and taken to drink, only rising late in the morning and going out until late at night. She said her husband only worked at the business when he felt inclined and customers got so tired of waiting for their pictures to be framed that they'd take them back unframed.
Thomas Wilcock denied the claims of drunkenness and, as was often the case, put the blame for the trouble on his wife's family after her father and sister had come to live with them. The 49-year-old said his wife had never complained until his in-laws had moved in and if it had not been for her family they would still be as happy today as when first married.
The magistrates spent a long time considering the case but the couple had been married for twenty years and had a son aged nine. They were more minded to grant separation orders if the couple had been wed a long time. In the end they granted the order with maintenance payments of 15 shillings a week with Mary to also have custody of their child. It was another case that should have been dealt with in private.
An editorial in the Reporter about the new scale of what we would call benefit payments to the unemployed contained an insight into the cost of sending children to be educated at Cowley. Their annual school fees were stated as fifteen or twenty pounds per head, the difference probably determined by whether the pupil was male or female. There were far more facilities for the boys than girls and so the parents of the latter paid less.
Discrimination also extended to the unemployment pay for 14-year-olds leaving school without a job. The boys would now receive 7s 6d a week, with the girls 6 shillings. The rationale for the discrepancy was no doubt that females in the workplace received less money than males and so deserved less dole.
Using your own house for betting purposes was a risky business as it was considered a more serious offence than gambling on the street. The police seemed to have little difficulty in accessing a property neighbouring the suspected betting house in order to observe all the comings and goings. However, to carry out a successful swoop, the bobbies needed to rapidly get from their place of surveillance to the target of their raid.
Sometimes those running the gambling operation learnt that the police were on their way and would bolt their door to delay their entrance. Those few seconds before the door was broken down allowed them time to attempt to destroy the evidence. The Reporter described how that had occurred in a case in St Helens Police Court when William and Mary Twiss of Devon Street had been charged with using their house for purposes of betting.
Chief Inspector Roe stated that the police had been observing gambling operations at the Twiss's home for three days and during that period 108 persons had been counted entering and leaving by the back door. When they raided the house the police found the door bolted against them and they needed to force an entry.
Inside they found Mrs Twiss in her kitchen with a large number of papers burning on the fire. However, 27 slips were recovered intact concerning 70 bets that had been made on that day. Although William Twiss was not on the scene at the time of the raid, an agreement was made that he would plead guilty in court if the charge against his wife was withdrawn and he was fined £15.
In 1916 a small Roman Catholic chapel was constructed in Gartons Lane to serve the expanding mining villages of Sutton Manor and Clock Face. In 1923 Fr Ralph Holden took over as minister and it became his dream to build a basilica dedicated to the newly canonised Thérèse of Lisieux. This week on the 20th a concert featuring mainly local singers took place to raise funds for the grand new Sutton Manor church.
It was Easter Sunday and the weather was fine which meant the attendance inside was only moderate. During an interval Fr Holden thanked all for having made the concert a success but admitted having a big burden to face in raising the necessary funds for his ambitious project. But Fr Holden said they were making good progress and he appealed for members of other parishes to help him in the "great work that was going on".
However, there were many setbacks and it was not until 1931 before the foundation stone could be laid and a further 28 years elapsed before St Theresa of the Child Jesus could be opened. And financial cutbacks meant a somewhat less grandiose place of worship than had been originally intended was built, seven years after the death of its founding priest.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include a Rainhill man's curious ham fraud, the stand-up fight in Liverpool Road, the Ravenhead Colliery miner killed by a bolt that fell down the pit shaft and the Cowley Street man's violent attack that he claimed was a matter of honour.
This week's many stories include the concert in aid of the proposed Sutton Manor basilica, the mischievous youths in Church Street, the Nutgrove Road undertaker accused of being a drunkard, the police gambling raid in Devon Street, the Whiston bobby that rescued a dog from the bottom of a deep mineshaft and the delays and inconvenience created by the relaying of tramlines in Croppers Hill.
The weekly Sunday evening parading by young people in Church Street was still popular – and so were the habits of mischievous youths.
As anti-social behaviour went it was pretty much on the mild side, involving jostling, pushing into girls and passing lewd remarks.
However, their behaviour was considered sufficiently annoying for undercover police officers to go on duty to nab offenders.
As a result 17-year-old Frank Lea from Traverse Street and Edward Butler of Duke Street appeared in court this week charged with obstructing the free passage of the Church Street footway.
The Chairman of the Bench said they were determined to put a stop to such rowdyism and the two lads were both fined 10 shillings.
A century ago, as well as the usual road maintenance, inconvenience was often caused by the widening of the highways and the relaying of tramlines.
A meeting of the St Helens Highways Committee on the 16th heard that the latter was causing problems for pedestrians on Croppers Hill and Prescot Road.
Paving stones were being left on the footpaths causing obstructions and Councillor Dodd complained that even the mixing of cement was taking place on pavements.
The councillor added that in Westfield Street they had undertaken the tramway relaying in about three weeks – but it had already taken six months along Croppers Hill.
Cllr. Dodd said he was prepared to move a resolution that if things were not put right within ten days the Town Clerk should issue proceedings for obstruction against the contractor.
The Borough Engineer admitted that the Croppers Hill works was taking a long time, but said its contractor had been handicapped.
That had been because the council's Tramways Committee had decided to continue running trams while the improvement work took place.
The St Helens Reporter was published on the 18th and described how the fourth annual meeting of the St Helens and District branch of the RSPCA had been held in the Town Hall.
PC John Barber of Whiston was awarded the society's silver medal for rescuing a dog from the bottom of a deep mineshaft that had been almost filled with water.
An analysis of fines for cruelty to animals handed down at St Helens and Prescot courts was described at the meeting and it was revealed that the latter had been the more severe.
Being an undertaker was not a full-time occupation for most men, with many taking on other jobs, including being a joiner, publican or taxi driver.
Thomas Wilcock from Nutgrove Road supplemented his undertaking duties by being a picture framer and his wife ran a confectionery business.
We learn this from the Reporter's detailed account of his wife Mary's application in St Helens Police Court for a separation order from her husband.
As usual all the details of the claims and counterclaims were revealed in the report, which must have been very embarrassing for the couple, particularly the husband.
Mary Wilcock alleged that for the last two years Thomas had neglected his work and taken to drink, only rising late in the morning and going out until late at night.
She said her husband only worked at the business when he felt inclined and customers got so tired of waiting for their pictures to be framed that they'd take them back unframed.
Thomas Wilcock denied the claims of drunkenness and, as was often the case, put the blame for the trouble on his wife's family after her father and sister had come to live with them.
The 49-year-old said his wife had never complained until his in-laws had moved in and if it had not been for her family they would still be as happy today as when first married.
The magistrates spent a long time considering the case but the couple had been married for twenty years and had a son aged nine.
They were more minded to grant separation orders if the couple had been wed a long time.
In the end they granted the order with maintenance payments of 15 shillings a week with Mary to also have custody of their child. It was another case that should have been dealt with in private.
An editorial in the Reporter about the new scale of what we would call benefit payments to the unemployed contained an insight into the cost of sending children to be educated at Cowley.
Their annual school fees were stated as fifteen or twenty pounds per head, the difference probably determined by whether the pupil was male or female.
There were far more facilities for the boys than girls and so the parents of the latter paid less.
Discrimination also extended to the unemployment pay for 14-year-olds leaving school without a job. The boys would now receive 7s 6d a week, with the girls 6 shillings.
The rationale for the discrepancy was no doubt that females in the workplace received less money than males and so deserved less dole.
Using your own house for betting purposes was a risky business as it was considered a more serious offence than gambling on the street.
The police seemed to have little difficulty in accessing a property neighbouring the suspected betting house in order to observe all the comings and goings.
However, to carry out a successful swoop, the bobbies needed to rapidly get from their place of surveillance to the target of their raid.
Sometimes those running the gambling operation learnt that the police were on their way and would bolt their door to delay their entrance.
Those few seconds before the door was broken down allowed them time to attempt to destroy the evidence.
The Reporter described how that had occurred in a case in St Helens Police Court when William and Mary Twiss of Devon Street had been charged with using their house for purposes of betting.
Chief Inspector Roe stated that the police had been observing gambling operations at the Twiss's home for three days and during that period 108 persons had been counted entering and leaving by the back door.
When they raided the house the police found the door bolted against them and they needed to force an entry.
Inside they found Mrs Twiss in her kitchen with a large number of papers burning on the fire. However, 27 slips were recovered intact concerning 70 bets that had been made on that day.
Although William Twiss was not on the scene at the time of the raid, an agreement was made that he would plead guilty in court if the charge against his wife was withdrawn and he was fined £15.
In 1916 a small Roman Catholic chapel was constructed in Gartons Lane to serve the expanding mining villages of Sutton Manor and Clock Face.
In 1923 Fr Ralph Holden took over as minister and it became his dream to build a basilica dedicated to the newly canonised Thérèse of Lisieux.
This week on the 20th a concert featuring mainly local singers took place to raise funds for the grand new Sutton Manor church.
It was Easter Sunday and the weather was fine which meant the attendance inside was only moderate.
During an interval Fr Holden thanked all for having made the concert a success but admitted having a big burden to face in raising the necessary funds for his ambitious project.
But Fr Holden said they were making good progress and he appealed for members of other parishes to help him in the "great work that was going on".
However, there were many setbacks and it was not until 1931 before the foundation stone could be laid and a further 28 years elapsed before St Theresa of the Child Jesus could be opened.
And financial cutbacks meant a somewhat less grandiose place of worship than had been originally intended was built, seven years after the death of its founding priest.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include a Rainhill man's curious ham fraud, the stand-up fight in Liverpool Road, the Ravenhead Colliery miner killed by a bolt that fell down the pit shaft and the Cowley Street man's violent attack that he claimed was a matter of honour.
As anti-social behaviour went it was pretty much on the mild side, involving jostling, pushing into girls and passing lewd remarks.
However, their behaviour was considered sufficiently annoying for undercover police officers to go on duty to nab offenders.
As a result 17-year-old Frank Lea from Traverse Street and Edward Butler of Duke Street appeared in court this week charged with obstructing the free passage of the Church Street footway.
The Chairman of the Bench said they were determined to put a stop to such rowdyism and the two lads were both fined 10 shillings.
A century ago, as well as the usual road maintenance, inconvenience was often caused by the widening of the highways and the relaying of tramlines.
A meeting of the St Helens Highways Committee on the 16th heard that the latter was causing problems for pedestrians on Croppers Hill and Prescot Road.
Paving stones were being left on the footpaths causing obstructions and Councillor Dodd complained that even the mixing of cement was taking place on pavements.
The councillor added that in Westfield Street they had undertaken the tramway relaying in about three weeks – but it had already taken six months along Croppers Hill.
Cllr. Dodd said he was prepared to move a resolution that if things were not put right within ten days the Town Clerk should issue proceedings for obstruction against the contractor.
The Borough Engineer admitted that the Croppers Hill works was taking a long time, but said its contractor had been handicapped.
That had been because the council's Tramways Committee had decided to continue running trams while the improvement work took place.
The St Helens Reporter was published on the 18th and described how the fourth annual meeting of the St Helens and District branch of the RSPCA had been held in the Town Hall.
PC John Barber of Whiston was awarded the society's silver medal for rescuing a dog from the bottom of a deep mineshaft that had been almost filled with water.
An analysis of fines for cruelty to animals handed down at St Helens and Prescot courts was described at the meeting and it was revealed that the latter had been the more severe.
Being an undertaker was not a full-time occupation for most men, with many taking on other jobs, including being a joiner, publican or taxi driver.
Thomas Wilcock from Nutgrove Road supplemented his undertaking duties by being a picture framer and his wife ran a confectionery business.
We learn this from the Reporter's detailed account of his wife Mary's application in St Helens Police Court for a separation order from her husband.
As usual all the details of the claims and counterclaims were revealed in the report, which must have been very embarrassing for the couple, particularly the husband.
Mary Wilcock alleged that for the last two years Thomas had neglected his work and taken to drink, only rising late in the morning and going out until late at night.
She said her husband only worked at the business when he felt inclined and customers got so tired of waiting for their pictures to be framed that they'd take them back unframed.
Thomas Wilcock denied the claims of drunkenness and, as was often the case, put the blame for the trouble on his wife's family after her father and sister had come to live with them.
The 49-year-old said his wife had never complained until his in-laws had moved in and if it had not been for her family they would still be as happy today as when first married.
The magistrates spent a long time considering the case but the couple had been married for twenty years and had a son aged nine.
They were more minded to grant separation orders if the couple had been wed a long time.
In the end they granted the order with maintenance payments of 15 shillings a week with Mary to also have custody of their child. It was another case that should have been dealt with in private.
An editorial in the Reporter about the new scale of what we would call benefit payments to the unemployed contained an insight into the cost of sending children to be educated at Cowley.
Their annual school fees were stated as fifteen or twenty pounds per head, the difference probably determined by whether the pupil was male or female.
There were far more facilities for the boys than girls and so the parents of the latter paid less.
Discrimination also extended to the unemployment pay for 14-year-olds leaving school without a job. The boys would now receive 7s 6d a week, with the girls 6 shillings.
The rationale for the discrepancy was no doubt that females in the workplace received less money than males and so deserved less dole.
Using your own house for betting purposes was a risky business as it was considered a more serious offence than gambling on the street.
The police seemed to have little difficulty in accessing a property neighbouring the suspected betting house in order to observe all the comings and goings.
However, to carry out a successful swoop, the bobbies needed to rapidly get from their place of surveillance to the target of their raid.
Sometimes those running the gambling operation learnt that the police were on their way and would bolt their door to delay their entrance.
Those few seconds before the door was broken down allowed them time to attempt to destroy the evidence.
The Reporter described how that had occurred in a case in St Helens Police Court when William and Mary Twiss of Devon Street had been charged with using their house for purposes of betting.
Chief Inspector Roe stated that the police had been observing gambling operations at the Twiss's home for three days and during that period 108 persons had been counted entering and leaving by the back door.
When they raided the house the police found the door bolted against them and they needed to force an entry.
Inside they found Mrs Twiss in her kitchen with a large number of papers burning on the fire. However, 27 slips were recovered intact concerning 70 bets that had been made on that day.
Although William Twiss was not on the scene at the time of the raid, an agreement was made that he would plead guilty in court if the charge against his wife was withdrawn and he was fined £15.
In 1916 a small Roman Catholic chapel was constructed in Gartons Lane to serve the expanding mining villages of Sutton Manor and Clock Face.
In 1923 Fr Ralph Holden took over as minister and it became his dream to build a basilica dedicated to the newly canonised Thérèse of Lisieux.
This week on the 20th a concert featuring mainly local singers took place to raise funds for the grand new Sutton Manor church.
It was Easter Sunday and the weather was fine which meant the attendance inside was only moderate.
During an interval Fr Holden thanked all for having made the concert a success but admitted having a big burden to face in raising the necessary funds for his ambitious project.
But Fr Holden said they were making good progress and he appealed for members of other parishes to help him in the "great work that was going on".
However, there were many setbacks and it was not until 1931 before the foundation stone could be laid and a further 28 years elapsed before St Theresa of the Child Jesus could be opened.
And financial cutbacks meant a somewhat less grandiose place of worship than had been originally intended was built, seven years after the death of its founding priest.
St Helens Reporter courtesy St Helens Archive Service at Eccleston Library
Next Week's stories will include a Rainhill man's curious ham fraud, the stand-up fight in Liverpool Road, the Ravenhead Colliery miner killed by a bolt that fell down the pit shaft and the Cowley Street man's violent attack that he claimed was a matter of honour.