Christmas and medieval festivals

Christmas came early to the Society this year. We had decided to hold our festive meeting on December 4th to avoid clashes in busy calendars.

We were very pleased to welcome back Tom Hughes who led us through a calendar year of seasonal festivals. These festivals reflected both Church and the rural life of ploughing, sowing and harvesting, and even the odd hanging. Not only did Tom entertain us with music on contemporary instruments, he discovered a troupe of mummers in the audience.

The evening ended with mulled wine and punch, and home-made pies and gingerbread. Many thanks to those who provided these refreshments.

British Association for Local History (BALH)

Bob Welch reminds us that our Society is a member of BALH. The BALH has just launched a new website http://www.balh.org.uk/. This website is a comprehensive introduction to the Association, its activities and publications. Well worth a visit.

BALH also produces a regular Newsletter. Click on Newsletter for the December issue.

Christmas Event 4th December

We are holding our December meeting earlier this year to avoid the busy pre Christmas rush.

Tom Hughes, who gave a fascinating talk on bagpipes last year, is coming to tell us about Tudor Christmas Fairs and Festivities.

We hope to round off the evening with some seasonal refreshments.

We would like to know numbers for catering. If you didn't put your name down on the list last Thursday, please let me (paul.bujac@virgin.net) know if you are coming.

Lion Salt Works Volunteer event Tuesday 9th December

Kerry Fletcher's talk on Middlewich emphasised how important salt has been to the history and economy of Cheshire. Significant efforts are being made to preserve and develop this heritage.

Andrew Needham reminds us about one major project. The Lion Salt Works is an historic open-pan salt making site that is being restored and transformed into a unique heritage attraction. Located in the village of Marston, close to the town of Northwich, the site lies adjacent to the Trent and Mersey Canal and is close to the historic Anderton Boat Lift. A substantial part of the site is a Scheduled Monument.

The Salt Works project team are inviting people to their first volunteer event on Tuesday 9th Decemebr at 11am. The team note:

'This event will be an informal social meeting to discuss the potential roles available for volunteers at the Lion Salt Works and Weaver Hall Museum and to sign up to your interested areas.  It will be an opportunity to meet with members of staff and other volunteers and hear about the exciting new opportunities and future plans at both sites over a cup of tea and mince pie.

If you would like to attend this event could you please email Lorna Kernahan (Lorna.Kernahan@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk)  by Friday 5^th December.  If you are interested in volunteering with us but cannot make this event we will be running another event in January 2015'.  

For more details of the project go to http://lionsaltworks.org/
or see Northwich Guardian 

Middlewich and Salt 27th November

One of the enjoyable aspects of our talks is discovering more about local communities. Kerry Fletcher's talk took us around Middlewich, a town not that many miles away but one few of us have explored. Kerry, who is Heritage Development Officer for Middlewich Town Council, introduced us to the history of Middlewich and its salt production and trade.  Middlewich (or Middle Town) has been a key trading post and crossroads since the Iron Age. For some 200+ years, it was the main salt making site for the Romans. The opening of the canals gave the town a significant boost to trade and led to the setting up of its chemical industry. 

For those who would like to know more about Middlewich and its heritage, please go to the excellent website http://middlewich-heritage.org.uk/.

Chester Cathedral 7th October

A small group of Society members enjoyed a fascinating guided tour of Chester Cathedral. Even though I've lived in Cheshire for most of my life, I didn't appreciate the historic significance that the Cathedral had escaped the worst effects of the Dissolution of the Monasteries and thus has had an unbroken link back to its first construction in Norman times. We were fortunate to have a knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide (Nick Fry) who not only explained the history and the architecture but added a very human touch to our visit.

A smaller group stayed for lunch in the Refectory, a little disappointing menu but we enjoyed the piano playing and the atmosphere of a room that has been used for dining for centuries. An even smaller and braver group ventured to the top of the tower where, I was told later, the views were great. Photographs anyone?

Nick Fry will be giving a talk on 'Treasures of Chester Cathedral' for Tarvin Civic Trust on Tuesday 13th January at the Tarvin Community Centre at 8pm. Visitors are welcome.

Owain Glyndwr 25th September

At the first meeting of the 2014-2015 Season, Idris Evans gave an informative and highly entertaining talk on “Owain Glyndwr, The last Prince of Wales”.

He explained how the man who came from a wealthy and privileged family in North Wales, was educated by monks, came to unite the whole of Wales under his leadership and told of his early successes against the English. However, eventually the might of England prevailed and Owain disappeared to become a story of myth and legend.

Bob Welch

Heritage Open Days

This September English Heritage are, once more, promoting their Heritage Days. These events provide an opportunity to explore historic buildings, often those not usually open to the public and free of charge.

The events take place 11 - 14 September. 

Chester Civic Trust and CW&C have organised a comprehensive set of visits. For a  programme see http://www.talkingwestcheshire.org/pdf/HODS_2014.pdf

The English Heritage Open days site has information about events and places throughout England.

Next year's programme

I know it's still just August and the weather is more like autumn than summer. But our new Society year starts in a few weeks with the first talk on Thursday 25th September.

The speaker is Idris Evans who will tell us about the Last Prince of Wales. Members should remember Idris who came in January last year and captivated us with his story telling about drovers.

Di Carr has been very busy working on this year's programme. Click on the new page Programme 2014/2015

Bunbury Mill Family History September 7th

Bunbury Mill are holding an event on the afternoon (2 - 4 pm) on Sunday September 7th. The Mill Trust are inviting people who, or their family, have had some connection with the mill and who would like to share any data or who like to learn more about their ancestry.

Click on Poster for more information.

Are there any Society members who can help?

Historic Maps

I've just come across a website (from the National Library of Scotland) which allows you to look at historic maps overlaid on the current satellite view. Click on http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/index.cfm

Search for a place, choose a Category and Map Group, and then adjust the transparency to see the old overlaid on the modern. Maps are available from end of 19th Century to 1960s. As well as OS maps, there are some other maps such as 'local accessibilty' in 1942 or the railway system in 1946.

The Library has now also added First World War trench maps for Belgium and France.

Port Sunlight visit and other photos

Neville has sent me some photos of our Society outings. The most recent are from the visit to Port Sunlight and the Lady Lever Art Gallery.

You can also catch up on memories from the Christmas tour of Peckforton Castle and last summer's visit to Dorfold Hall by clicking on photolink

You can run a slide show by clicking on the first photo.

If anyone else has a record of such events, then if they send me the photos, I would be happy to post them on this weblog.

Cheshire Local History Association

Our Society is also a member of the CLHA. Their next quarterly meeting is on 8th July in Frodsham. Click on agenda and minutes of last meeting.

Please also note that the CLHA is holding its annual History Day on 25th October in Winsford on 'Legacies of Conflict in Cheshire'. Click on Day for more details and an application form.

BALH Newsletter

Our Society is a member of the British Association for Local History. Bob Welch has passed on the link to the latest BALH newsletter. Please click on BALH

Request for any information on the Winterbothams at Tarporley

We have had a request from someone carrying out research. He asks:

I am wondering if anyone in your society could tell me anything about the Winterbotham family of Tarporley. The context of my question is that I am in the process of editing the dairies of the industrialist Sir Francis Joseph (1870-1951) who lived much of his life in Alsager. In the 1930s there are several references to visiting friends the Winterbothams at Tarporley. Often the diary entries indicate exactly where the person lived and sometimes what he did but in this case no such luck so far.

Sir Francis Joseph.was the head of the coal factor and colliery owner Settle Speakman. He was also a director of several companies including the LMS Railway, Imperial Airways, BSA, RTZ, Midland Bank etc.

If anyone has any information or any potential sources or contacts, please comment on this post or email me (paul.bujac@virgin.net) and I'll pass these on.

Visit to Port Sunlight 27th June

Members visited Port Sunlight Museum and the Lady Lever Gallery. Report and hopefully pictures to follow.

Tilstone Fearnall School Project.

Following the AGM Derek Marshall presented the research work that a small group of Tiverton members has been carrying out. This group has looked at the history of Tilstone Fearnall School. This school was built in about 1840 with the support of Lord Tollemache but closed in the 1990s and is now a private house. It was the school for local children including many from Tiverton until Tarporley Secondary Modern was built when it then became a primary school.

It was pleasing to see many of the audience had been pupils at the school and a lively discussion ensued. The project group had gathered a significant amount of data, documents and photographs. The Society Committee will work with the group to see how best to archive this information and make it more available.

AGM 22nd May 2014

The Society held its AGM on 22nd May. This was well attended with numbers boosted by several local visitors who had come to see the presentation on Tilstone Fearnall  School.

The main points from the AGM were:

• A review of the past year by Neville Carr, Chairman. Membership was healthy  and members had enjoyed a full and varied programme of talks and visits. (See this weblog for more details of these events). Neville thanked all the people who had helped the Society over the year, particularly those retiring Committee members.
• A financial summary by Bob Welch, Treasurer, which showed that income exceeded outgoings by some £300 and we had some £1700+ in the bank. It was agreed that subscriptions should remain at £10 pa.

• A new Committee was elected but with old faces. The Chair, Secretary and Treasurer continue in their posts. Di Carr and Ann Wall are retiring from the Committee having been there since the Society was originally founded. Chris Caplin volunteered to join the Committee.

• Di Carr presented the outline  of next year's programme. This will be developed and published before our September meeting.

Port Sunlight Visit Friday 27th June

Updated details of this visit are shown on the Port Sunlight Tour page

Some places are still available

Tilstone Fearnall School Project and AGM

The next meeting is Thursday 22nd May. This is the AGM but the main item here will be an illustrated presentation of the findings of a group of members based in Tiverton who researched Tilstone Fearnall Primary School. It will include a display of photographs and extracts from the school log book. The group have researched extensively at the records office and have interviewed former pupils and staff. This will be an interesting insight into local school life and includes memories of some of our own members.

Memories of Port Sunlight 24th April

Once again an excellent talk and a packed hall. Joan Colwell gave us a very human insight into Port Sunlight and the Lever family. Joan's mother worked for Lord Lever's sisters and Joan was brought up in the village.

Cheshire Archives and Local Studies

The Record Office, which covers both CW&C and Cheshire East  has just published their Spring newsletter. Click on newsletter to view. This document is a rich miscellany of archive data including Asylums, medical history, family history, world war 1, amongst others.

The Record Office can be found at  http://archives.cheshire.gov.uk/ . They are currently seeking the public's view on a new site.

John Hess and George Ormerod

The Society was treated to an expert talk on 27 March when John Hess talked about the life of George Ormerod. Ormerod is best know for his history of Cheshire, first published in 1819. John gave us a fascinating insight into George Ormerod's life sharing his views as to why and how Ormerod, a rich young gentlemen, devoted so much energy into this history.

For those who want to know about this history, please follow this link to the online version of the book.

Cheshire Local History Association Meetings

The CLHA AGM will be held at 11 am on Tuesday 15 April in the Done Room in Tarporley. After the meeting Peter Willis will be talking on 'Memories of Tarporley'. Follow link for more details of meeting and minutes

Note also a talk by Clare Pye on that Tuesday April 15 evening. Clare, who gave us such an interesting talk on the Civil War, will be talking about Tabley Chapel. For details follow link

Finally a late notice about a Hargrave and Huxley Historical Group on Monday 14 April, 7:30 pm; a talk on Grosvenor Park and Overleigh Cemetery, Chester. For details follow link

King Edward VII memorial service

One of our weblog readers has sent us a photocopy of the order of service for a memorial to King Edward VII held in the Wesleyan Church presumably Tarporley. The lady found it in her late father's papers. Her father was the Rev Harold Leah Swindells, the Congregational minister at Farndon, Barton & Tattenhall. Click on order of service to see this document.  

So just out of the blue, we have a little piece of history from just before the First World War. The lady would is very happy to pass this on for safe keeping. Any suggestions?

BALH e_Newsletter

Bob Welch reminds us that our Society is a member of the British Association of Local History (BALH). The BALH has just started to publish their newsletter on-line. Please follow this link BALH newsletter March 2104 to see a fascinating set of articles.

Thursday 27 March - Change to programme

There is a change to our programme for 27th March. John Hess from the Cheshire Local History Society will be giving us an illustrated talk about George Ormerod the historian and author of 'The history of the county palatine and city of Chester.' As John lives in Ormerod's old home we think that this will be a particularly interesting and personal account of his life and work.

The Piper's Tale 27th February

A dry summary of Tom Hughes' talk would say how Tom described the development of bagpipes, from ancient times in Mesopotamia, across Europe to modern Cheshire makers, and their place in social history, particularly in medieval Cheshire, and with some examples of live music.

A more accurate summary would be to say how the audience were educated and entertained by someone with an obvious enthusiasm for this historic instrument. Tom tells a good tale, well illustrated by a range of bagpipes and traditional tunes. One won't forget Tom simultaneously playing and dancing, bringing Breughel's merry peasants to life in Tiverton. What was intriguing were the references to bagpipes in Cheshire. The county has a wealth of examples particularly Cathedral and Church carvings. The evening also somewhat put to bed the myth that Scotland is the only place for bagpipes.

A packed house - Folklore of the Sandstone Trail January 23rd

Bob Welch writes

 

As regards the meeting on Thursday last we had a packed house, or least we nearly ran out of chairs, of somewhere around 55 people to hear Johnny Gillett speak on "Legends of the Sandstone Trail". 

I am not sure where I start to describe the evening's events apart from to say that it was amazing.

Johnny is a Storyteller and his performance weaved ancient legends about the area with his own interpretations of the landscape and how it might have formed in ancient times. As such he explained how he had come to write 2 books around old local folk tales, one on Cheshire and one on Staffordshire. 

His formidable skills as a storyteller had the audience enthralled for well over an hour.

Cheshire Local History Association

The Society is a member of this Association and Doug Haynes is on the Executive Committee. The Association have recently published their new programme. Please click on CLHA Programme. I understand members of TB&DHS are welcome at these events. Of particular note is the talk by Peter Willis on 'Memories of Tarporley' to be given as part of the AGM on 15th April in the Done Room, Tarporley.

Peckforton Castle visit

About 20 members enjoyed a tour of this Gothic mansion on December 12th. Peckforton Castle was built of local sandstone between 1844 and 1850 for John Tollemache, the largest landowner in Cheshire at the time. Although its design is that of a medieval castle, it was built as a family home. The Tollemache's main house is however Helminghall in Suffolk and Peckforton was used only occasionally by the family. Since 1939, the Castle has been used as a hostel for children and then a film set, and is now a luxury hotel. Members had the chance to see all the main rooms, the cellar, now a bar, the private chapel and the restoration work following the major fire in 2011.The intriguing visit was completed by a bar meal.

For more details of the Castle see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peckforton_Castle#Later_history_and_present_use and http://www.peckfortoncastle.co.uk/

Pictures to follow

Folklore of the Sandstone Trail January 23rd

Our next meeting will be a talk by Johnny Gillett. Johnny is a storyteller and will engage us in folklore of Cheshire including stories about Beeston Castle, old Nell of Bunbury and Robin Hood's Tump.

As usual 7:30pm Tiverton Village Hall and all welcome.