Hilary's Local and Family History

29/05/2025

Continuing the Middleton thread: this is the view as you enter the grounds from the car park. Parts of this church are remnants of the original Norman church and the wooden edifice on top of the tower was to house bells without adding to the weight and the stress of the building. The grass gives a clue, too, the sunniest May for many a year! I’ll post another photo from Middleton tomorrow. www.middletonparishchurch.org.uk,

28/05/2025

Roses, history and sunshine - definitely worth sharing with you these lovely roses snapped when I was at St Leonard's, parish church of Middleton, last week 🌸

Last week I made a surprise (to me) visit to the Parish Church of Middleton with some colleagues. It was a beautiful day, I couldn't resist these roses, the grounds - the old churchyard - were beautifully and lovingly kept with family-history treasures everywhere, and inside was full of history-treasures. I'll post another picture another time. Do visit, Friday afternoons seems to be a good time! I'll add another post tomorrow.
Their website is www.middletonparishchurch.org.uk — well worth a look.

23/03/2025

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ai-and-the-effects-on-family-photography-tickets-1128834848419?aff=oddtdtcreator

A talk with Stephen Gill

19/09/2024

Everyone in NE Wales seemed to know someone as family, friend, neighbour, or a friend of a friend, who suffered a terrible loss in the Gressford Colliery disaster.

On the morning of 22 September 1934, a deadly explosion ripped through the Gresford Coal mine in North Wales. Our records tell the story of Emily Capper and her desperate campaign to recover the bodies of the victims, including that of her son.

31/12/2023

The restoration of a 'Lady' at Ordsall Hall in Salford

https://artuk.org/discover/stories/the-restoration-of-a-lady-at-ordsall-hall-in-salford

30/06/2023

Interested in Martine History try this great site
The Society for Nautical Research, founded in 1910, is the world’s premier maritime history society. It publishes The Mariner’s Mirror, the leading international journal of maritime history, and also plays an important role in preserving and promoting the maritime heritage of the UK.

https://snr.org.uk/about/

03/06/2023

25/09/2022

Shop-Coolness and Counter-Cleanliness’: The Legacy of the Maypole Dairy Co From this site you can look back at lots of shops no longer on the high street.

https://buildingourpast.com/2016/03/25/shop-coolness-and-counter-cleanliness-the-legacy-of-the-maypole-dairy-co/

25/09/2022

Manchester Central Library also has a help desk open Monday to Friday 10-30 till 3-30 plus the 1921 census is free.

29/07/2022

There is nothing quite like a paper map, opening it out and being able to see the larger picture. I bought my first Alan Godfrey maps in about 2003 when I would have them delivered to my mother's house, she then had a couple of days to identify her family's addresses in Liverpool before I arrived for our weekly shopping trip and a few hours of following in her footsteps in the maps. If we hadn't already caught up first with a few phone calls!

Indexes to seven more maps (827 street and building references) have now been added covering:

Whalley Range 1916
Urmston 1926
Flixton 1904
Trafford Park 1905
Eccles 1905
Walkden South 1908
Chorlton cm Hardy South 1905

Thanks to Hilary Hartigan for these.

12/07/2022

Our second talk on 20th July will be online via Zoom, at 7.30pm, allowing more of our members and visitors to attend a quarterly talk. Our evening talk will be 'John Balshaw's Jigge - Revelry, Royalty and Restoration in Lancashire' by Dr Jenni Hyde. Our speaker has researched a small volume found in the British Library containing the 'Jigge' which is a play, set to music, evidently written at the end of the Civil War. This is also the story of research into the area around Brindle in Lancashire, looking at families who were living there during the Civil War. You will hear about family and local research, the history of the 'Jigge' and the challenges of transcribing the secretary hand and building the context of the documents. For more information visit https://mlfhs.uk/manchester/events/meetings where there is a link to the Eventbrite booking form.