LOCAL historian and regular contributor Stephen Wainwright examines the origins of a well known advertising slogan and one of the town's most famous companies.

"The phrase 'Worth a guinea a box' helped make Beecham's a household name and arguably put St Helens on the map. The two became synonymous, more so than coal mining and glass making. "James Sexton served as MP for St Helens between 1918 and 1931 and nothing would annoy him more than the suggestion that St Helens was a 'pill town'. In his autobiography he recalled an incident in the Commons when a fellow MP, who he referred to as a "young sprig of the nobility" said in a debate "St Helens. Isn't that where the pills come from?" Sexton said this prompted a 'little outburst' from him and he educated the questioner about the other merits of the Lancashire town.

"In a recording of movie pioneer George Groves in Los Angeles in 1974 the only St Helens industry he mentions is Beecham's. The Oscar winner, who had been born over a barber's in Duke Street, described how in his youth 'Worth a guinea a box' had been posted and painted on all the buildings along the railroad tracks.

"But where did the phrase come from. When Thomas Beecham arrived in St Helens at the end of 1858 he made pills at 12 Milk Street not far from where the Citadel is now. These were sold by mail order and on St Helens Market for 6d. per box. Ellen Butler is believed to have been the source of the slogan. In James Brockbank's History of St Helens, published in 1896 he describes Mrs Butler approaching Beecham's simple stall telling him his pills had done her so good they were "worth a guinea a box".

"According to documents lodged by SmithKline Beecham in St Helens Local History and Archives Library 'she would enthusiastically repeat the phrase to anyone who would listen'. But the documents cast some doubt on her true identity.

"In 1931 Beecham's ran a series of adverts in newspapers all over the world. One recreated a young and attractive Mrs Butler approaching Thomas Beecham although some creative license was used. The only Ellen Butler listed in the 1861 census was 58, some 30 years older than in the advert.

"James Sexton was a young boy when Beecham was selling his pills on the market. In his autobiography he said his family kept a stall next to the pill maker who stood on a large cask when making his pitch. "A placard was often hung around his neck listing the benefits of the pills ending with the words 'Who did it. Why, Beecham's Pills'.

"Beecham's postal pill business grew rapidly and wholesalers were soon appointed to boost distribution. He was soon able to stop selling them on the market and in 1863 took over premises on Westfield Street. By 1890 the firm was making nine million pills a day and spending £100,000 a year on advertising with 'Worth a guinea a box' as its strapline.

"That's the equivalent of more than £6m today.

"In their obituary of Beecham in 1907 the Daily Mirror said 'Worth a guinea a box was the making of the business and the foundation of a huge fortune' although the massive advertising did give St Helens its 'pill town' reputation."