January
In January 1898 there’s a story of ‘How John lost his boots,’ and how much moral attitudes have changed over 120 years !
There was a fire at Conisborough brickyard and wholesale window smashing by a Conisborough butcher
Henry Baker is in the news with a successful court case against the Railway, a forerunner of what was to be a regular occurrence in later times
Neighbours are at variance as an old quarrel resurrects
and young boys are to receive a taste of the birch rod after stealing a hundredweight of coal
A number of obituaries are reported including George Kilner
and there are adverts for a Denaby bone setter who is plying his trade at the Coffee Tavern in Barnsley
February
In February 1898 the villages were agog with the scandal of the Denaby doctor and his amorous adventures and the court case for maintenance was published in full
Another detailed revelation was that of a drunken family ejected from their cottage in Denaby and their treatment with ‘horrible cruelty’ of their 10 year old daughter
Sergeant Brown is assaulted at the Eagle and Child,
The Parish Council debate covers a Fire Brigade Bill, dangerous Clifton Hill and election of a New Town Crier
A miner gets a months hard labour for theft, there is another Fatal Accident at Denaby Pit and more cruelty to a Pit Pony
March
In March 1898 the Denaby & Cadeby Collieries made a Debenture Stock Offer and their Prospectus informs us the Strength of their Assets
In Equipment, Workmen’s Houses, Shops, Schools, Public Hotels, Steamships etc
There’s another death, more accidents and a brutal attack on a Miner
and the appeal against leaving work after a man dies after he leaves the pit, fails
The School Board give the Attendance Officer an increase and faces an Irate Parent, after her son is sent back three years
There are Court cases over gambling, highway robbery, colliery rules, cruelty to a pony,obscene language and illegal pawning
And the Conisborough Hero jumps into action again when a young boy’s clothes are set alight
April
In April 1898 the ‘Times’ editorial called for ‘Home Rule for Conisborough’
after the Council defined the Ward boundaries for the Urban District – and the powerful Colliery Company scuppered the proposal !
And they win their Court Case for a significant Rate reduction
There was a case under the Factories Act where a under 16 year old had worked for 14 1/2 hours – and the firm was fined £1 !
There were two industrial deaths during the month
With a 60 year old foreman crushed to death and a young woman at Kilner’s cut by a piece of glass and died through blood poisoning
There are the usual cases of being on licensed premises, petty theft (with imprisonment) and domestic aggression
And the Parish Church reach the Cup Final
May
In May 1898 we follow a party of trippers from the Fox Inn as they spend a day in London and we experience a slight taste of the entertainment they experienced
A child’s death through an overdose of Children’s preservative is the subject of a Conisborough inquest
We show a verbatim report of the Parish Council meeting – with editorial and Ivanhoe comments
In the courts there are serious allegations against the police, drunkedness, assaults and highway robbery, swine fever and running down cases !
Denaby Parish Church win the Mexborough Cup Final but Conisborough Cricket Club continue their poor results
June
In June 1898 the case for Urban Powers for Conisborough was the subject of a major County Council Inquiry
Everybody of importance was present, either in favour of the Conisborough proposal
or the Denaby proposal – supported by the Collieries
or to do nothing at all – which the Doncaster Parish Council supported
Kilner’s celebrate their Jubiliee
An expedition from Conisborough go in search of the truth of the stories of “Bill Lindholme’s Duck Stone.”
Some youths are in trouble for Oiling a Colliery Brake and there’s fracas at the Fox Inn and a Gamekeeper is wounded.
St Albans at Denaby is opened with support through Subsscriptions through wages
and the Eagle and Child is benefitting through engaging singers each week
July
In July 1898 there was another fatality at Denaby Main when a fall of roof killed a well known church man
£100 is to be spent of books at the Institute and the Conisborough Feast brings Tuby’s attractions,including John Chambers the armless carpenter
The Sheffield Deacons Fraternal relates the history of Conisborough Castle and a beautifully fine day sees the Hospital Demonstration
There’s a review of the Progress at Denaby Main, with the New Churches and Institute
But the Feast weekend brings assaults and fights at Conisborough including a brutal assault and Colliers with penal servitude
The Conisborough Cricket team sink to a new low when Hickleton dismiss them for a paltry 14!
August
In August 1898 the Urban Powers question was raised again
Making a dam in the brook was a possible solution, as water in the well is nearly empty and not fit to drink
Feasts are held at Burcroft and Cadeby, with locals at Burcroft having to pay to leave
The Temperance Mission does well at Denaby but the Post Office is difficult to find at Conisbro’
There are assaults and ‘ructions’ at New Conisborough and other minor cases
The Conisborough Cricket Team continues to lose, while the Denaby Football team celebrate winning the South Yorkshire Cup.
September
In September 1898 the court heard a number of cases from Conisborough and Denaby
A wife gained a separation order after husband mistreats her,
A bus conductor was assaulted, and the case of assault between neighbours dismissed
There were riotous scenes outside the Castle Inn and several cases of drunkenness
A pony went missing and poachers were caught and there was a sad case of a Mail Cart Driver’s suicide
Ghostly sounds were heard at the Hilltop and the Baptist Chapel at the Lightnings is nearing completion
The Castle Fishing Club held its annual supper with songs and the Parish Council debated the Pinder and Pinder’s house, the North Cliff Footpath, Cemetery and Sewage
October
In October 1898 there was good news for Miners as the owners conceded the wage advance, although some pit top workers were concerned about their increase
There’s news of the death of the first Mason employed at Cadeby colliery and of an horrific accident to a young boy playing at ball beside the railway
The new Baptist chapel at the Fastenings is opened and there’s a new organist and choirmaster at Conisborough Parish Church
The Conisborough School Board debate the caretakers wages and payment for the School Extension
A man returning from gaol discovers his wife and another man had taken his furniture, which sends them to the Assizes
whilst a Denaby miner gets one months imprisonment with hard labour for poaching
November
In November 1898 there’s another burning fatality at Conisborough
and a Denaby man is cured by Doctor Williams Pink Pills for Pale People
there is a serious fire at Clifton and more assaults on the police, with prison sentences for the offenders
Men are brought before the bench for betting with sympathy from the Judge
The Collieries and parish council put in objections to urban powers for Conisborough and a New schools caretaker is appointed
The post office gets a lamp with derision from Ivanhoe, and something called ‘toothache cure’ is amusing the locals
December
In December 1898 there were accidents at Cadeby colliery, as a man was eating his breakfast with a pocket knife and another man whose hand was caught between a rope and a drum
Housebuilding is apace with another block of houses at the Lightnings and over 1200 houses owned by the colliery at Denaby
New lamps for the fire engine cause a stir at the council
There’s a concert at the Baptist Chapel and we feature songs from the evening
The Sick and Dividing Societies have their ‘divis’ and grand dinners and Ivanhoe’s Conisborough notes relate local news
about marriage, the cricket club, St Peter’s football team, billiards, foot races and holly leaves and berries
– and about his personal experience with a street musician !