A Royal Visit to Crewe 24th September

David Cooke kicked off our new season by a talk on the visit by King George V and Queen Mary to Crewe and North Staffordshire in 1913. David described the visit of the royal couple and in particular the industries they visited. It is salutary to realise how nearly all of that local manufacturing, especially the major railway engine works at Crewe and the extensive factories in the Potteries, has disappeared in the last century or perhaps even in our lifetimes.

Welcome to new 2016/2017 season

We have just finalised next year's programme. Details can be found by clicking on the 'Programme 2016/2017 ' tab above. The first talk is on Thursday 22nd September.

Heritage Open Days and Chester Heritage Festival

Heritage Open Days are opportunities to visit places not normally open to the public.

There is a national scheme, which co-ordinates events over the country, and a local Chester festival.

The national scheme kicks off on September 8th with some 5000 events. Details can be found on https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/ You can search this site for local events. I noted some 65 places to visit within 10 miles of Tarporley.

CW&C and Chester Civic Trust have extended the Open Day theme by organising a Chester Heritage Festival (3rd - 11th September). This Festival includes a week of talks, film showings and tours. Please see http://historyandheritage.westcheshiremuseums.co.uk/ for more information.

Visit to Arley Hall 29th June

The weather wasn't kind for our summer outing. The rain was persistent and it was cold. However the 25 society members who came to Arley Hall are a tough lot. Maybe we spent rather too much time in the coffee shop in the morning, but we enjoyed an informal guided tour around the Hall after lunch. And there was a brief window of sunshine later when we could at least sample the gardens and admire the superb deep herbaceous borders.

 

AGM 18th May

The Society held its AGM on 18 May, attended by some 18 members.
Draft minutes can be found by clicking on minutes but the main points were:

• The Society had a successful year with 59 paid up members
• Funds had increased by £166 so fees were being kept the same
• Bob Welch was elected the new Chairman
• Paul Bujac (Secretary) and Anita Langford (Treasurer) were re-elected
• The committee members are:
  Neville Carr
  Doug Haynes
  Andrew Needham
  Marianne Young
  Trish Welch
  Tom Platt
  David Hallam
• A visit to Arley House had been arranged 

  The meeting finished with a quiz devised by Bob Welch.

The Lion Salt Works 28th April

Some 28 members and friends enjoyed a guided tour around the recently restored Lion Salt Works at Marston near Northwich. These works opened originally in 1894 and produced salt by the traditional open pan process until 1986.The site was then purchased by Vale Royal Borough Council and run as a working museum for some time but it deteriorated and became unsafe. In 1993, a charitable Trust was set up to restore the museum, and with help from local authorities and grants of £10M, the site has been transformed to show the history of both the Lion Salt Works and local salt making. It was a cold day, not a day for too much loitering, and a marked change from the hot sweaty smoke filled conditions endured by the workers. 

The members did however brave the heavy and cold April showers to make it to the Salt Barge pub across the road for an excellent lunch.

The history of the Bibby Line 24th March

The evening's speaker was Christina Spencer who gave us a personal insight into the Bibby Line, regarded as the oldest privately owned shipping line in the world. Christina has worked for the Company for many years and is now the archivist. Bibby Line was founded in 1807 and has been involved in all aspects of international shipping. The Company has now diversified and interests also include financial services and haulage.
The Bibby Line website gives more details of their history.