Lancashire Family History & Heraldry Society
lfhhs.org.uk
Registered Charity No. 513437
Preston Branch
NEWSLETTER JANUARY – FEBRUARY 2018
Good evening to you all and welcome back to Kingsfold after the Festive break, for our first meeting of 2018. Tonight we shall be entertained and informed by Ron Drakeford, who will be presenting the history and story of the Penwortham War Memorial on Penwortham Hill. Ron and his dedicated group of friends look after the town’s memorial to those who fell in the first and second world wars and are to be commended on their endeavours in looking after it to such a high standard.
Preceding Ron tonight will be our Annual General Meeting where you can have your say on the workings of the Branch and even volunteer to come on the Committee. We meet about four times per year in a sociable atmosphere where the programme of speakers are arranged and other matters family history related are discussed and brought forward, under the umbrella of the Society as a whole. So if you feel you may have something to offer, please make yourself known to any committee member.
As you leave tonight look up and with a bit of luck, clouds permitting, you will be able to view a ‘Super Moon’ when it will be at the closest point to us for a while and look somewhat larger and up to 30% brighter. There will also be a lunar eclipse, but you will have to be in the south and west Pacific quadrant to see it!
An exhibition entitled 'Views of Institutional Life: Voices from Brockhall & Calderstones is running at Clitheroe Castle Museum until 24th February. On Saturday 10th February at 2pm, a free talk is being given there about the exhibition, which concerns the history of the institutionsand lives of the residents. To book this, phone 01200-424-568. Further information on this website :- www.lancslearningdisabilityinstitutions.org.uk (Bob Dobson)
Our Chorley Research Centre will be open as usual every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10am – 4pm and Saturdays 10 & 17th February from 12 – 4pm to help you with your research. Best to call 01257-231-600 (when open) or e.mail before you go. Web site at www.cfhrc.com Always best to take your documentation with you when you go to any of the centres. Don’t rely on your memory, you’re sure to forget something relevant.
The Chorley computer club (not for technical matters) will also be open on the third Monday of each month (February 19th) from 7.30pm, to point you in the right direction for your research. There is a charge of £2.50. Again, best to ring first.
Last year, Branch members started on a help desk scenario in conjunction with the Lancashire Archives on the second Friday of each month from 10am – 12 noon. So if you have any problems doing your research, please come down and we’ll see if we can help. The next sessions are the 9th February and 9th March and will hopefully continue throughout the year. Lots of things happening this year at The Archives. Checkout their web-site at:- http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/events.aspx?keywords=&organiser=8555544504&location=&date=Future There’s a lot happening between now and March. Many events free.
The FaceBook site Catholic Life and History in Preston, South Ribble and Chorley has anote about Preston's Forgotten Cemetery - that belonged to StWilfrid's Church. You can read about it at -
https://www.lep.co.uk/lifestyle/nostalgia/preston-s-forgotten-cemetery-1-8912949
The article mentions the transcriptions of St Wilfrid's SacramentalRegisters that were done several years ago by a team led by our ownMargaret Purcell. These transcripts were published by the church andcopies can be obtained from our Sales Office at The Straits.
The Society has copies of the printed transcript of the Parishcensuses for St Wilfrid RC Church, Preston, that supply information forthe period when the sacramental registers had disappeared. Thesetranscripts were produced by a team led by Margaret Purcell.
The transcripts of the extant parish registers for St Wilfrid's werealso produced by Margaret Purcell's team and have been published on DVDby the Catholic Family History Society. This disc is available fromGenfair
https://www.genfair.co.uk/product_list.php?sid=227&page=69957
Ref: CAT-D-011. It includes -
Baptisms: 1768 - 1803 and 1813 - 1899
Marriages: 1769 - 1803, 1813 - 1829, and 1836 - 1899
Death/Burials: 1768 - 1803, 1817 - 1854, and 1891 - 1915
The deaths/burial 1891 – 1915 will record funerals with the burials
taking place elsewhere. (Jim Lancaster)
The Research Centre at the Straits, Oswaldtwistle, is open on Thursdays and the first Saturday of the month (3rd February) between 1 – 5pm. Call on 01254-239-919 or researchcentre @lfhhs.org.uk
A reminder that the University Centre at Blackburn College is holding a symposium on The Talbot Photographic Archive between 10-4pm on 24/25th February. It consists mainly of thousands of Blackburn related images between 1935-1995 but will also provide you with an insight of what a typical northern industrial town looked like. E.mail or Mobile07914-545-597
I have been forwarded a certified copy of a birth certificate dated 5th July, 1867, of George, the son of William Connor, an illiterate journeyman gardener, and Ellen, lately Moran, formerly Kennedy, (though her alternative name on LancsBMD is shown as Kinnegan) of 13 Cragg’s Row, Preston, which is surplus to requirements. William and Ellen had a Registrar’s wedding in 1865. Young George appears to have died the same year and also to be the only child of the relevant names in the Preston area during the 1860’s and 70’s. It has not been possible with the available information to trace William and Ellen on the 1871 Census.
Cragg’s Row still exists and is situated off Moor Lane, behind the B.T. tower block. It is currently in the news, as the Grade II listed, 18C., semi-derelict windmill, on Cragg’s Row, is the only remaining windmill in Preston, and is currently for sale. It can be seen at http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-64853927.html
and an aerial view of the surrounding area can be viewed at
http://www.windmillworld.com/millid/1095.htm
There are numerous other references to Cragg’s Row and the windmill on Google, just enter ‘ craggsrowpreston ’. The certificate is available free to any interested party.
Births on this day
1921Mario Lanza [Alfredo Arnold Cocozza], Italian-American actor and singerd.1959
1970Minnie Driver, British actress and singer-songwriter
1971Patrick Kielty, Northern Irish comedian and TV presenter
1981Justin Timberlake, singer-songwriter and actor, born in Memphis, Tennessee
On this day in history
1849Corn Laws abolished in Britain
1851AmericanGail Bordenannounces the invention of condensed milk
1865Congress passes the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery in America
1919The Battle of George Square takes place in Glasgow: troops deployed against protesters for fear of a Bolshevik uprising
Deaths on this day
1606Guy Fawkes, English Catholic conspirator who was convicted in the "Gunpowder Plot" to blow up the British Parliament, aged 35
1788[Bonnie Prince] Charles Edward Stuart, English pretender to throne ( 1745 Jacobite rebellion), dies at 67
1956A. A. Milne, English author of the Winnie-the-Pooh books, dies at 74
2006Moira Shearer, Scottish actress (The Red Shoes) and ballerina (b. 1926)
The National Archives has announced that it is seeking a supplier to digitise the England and Wales' 1921 census records.The supplier will digitise, transcribe and publish online, records from the census that was undertaken 97 years ago. Researchers will be able to search the online 1921 census in January 2022, at the earliest. The data gathered in June 1921 was protected by a 100-year non-disclosure rule, to protect confidentiality. Digitisation is expected to begin in May this year and the chosen company will be given a 10-year contract.
There has been a special edition of 'Lost Cousins' Newsletter please see:-
https://www.lostcousins.com/newsletters2/inside1939.htm
The background to the 1939 Register is explained, what its purpose was, andgoes on to explain some of its 'oddities', how it developed, and how touse it for family history purposes. Because of the detail that isprovided, it is quite a long newsletter, but well worth reading.
Please note that the Library Service in Bury has recently undergone massive change with 10 libraries closing. The four remaining libraries are Bury, Radcliffe, Prestwich and Ramsbottom but they are all on reduced hours and all are closed on a Monday, including Bury Archives.
I called in Bury Archives on Tuesday this week and was shocked at the low staffing level now – there is no longer a Family History Reference area with a member of staff to help – it has all been moved into the Archives. They are open Tuesday – Friday 10.00 – 3.30 pm and Saturdays 10.00 – 1.00 pm. An appointment is essential if you wish to view any items that are stored in the Archives, they are unable to get material out on demand. Tel. 0161 253 6782 email
And talking of Libraries, Lancashire C.C. has been true to their word, in re-opening libraries that were previously closed, where they could. Freckleton and Fulwood have now opened their doors, with Whalley and Barrowford also schedulaed in the future. I passed Lostock Hall recently and saw that they were busy re-stocking it with books, so not too long there then. The new manager here is Mandy, who used to work at Penwortham, so a good strong local connection.
Next month here at Kingsfold, we shall be receiving a presentation by Lady Milena Grenfell –Baines outlining the story of how she and her sister escaped Prague and the impending Holocaust in 1938 on the Kinderstransport. On that night we shall be meeting in the Chapel itself as there is the potential that we may have a larger than usual audience and our regular meeting room may not be big enough. You should make you way in through the main double doors to the right hand side of the Chapel not through the normal side entrance. We shall also be taking refreshments afterwards in what is known as the “50’s” room, across the corridor from the Chapel.
2018 PROGRAMME
Wed 31 Jan 2018 Ron Drakeford Penwortham War Memorial & AGM
Wed 28 Feb 2018 Lady Milena Grenfell-Baines The Last Train to Tomorrow
Wed 28 Mar 2018 Brian Jeffries Accrington Pipe Band
Sat 14 April, 2018 Workshop Leyland Museum
Wed 25 Apr 2018 Brenda Fox Ribble Valley
Wed 30 May 2018 John Garlington Robert Pateson
Wed 27 Jun 2018 Out Visit To be confirmed
Wed 25 Jul 2018 John Grimbaldeston Chickens in Lancashire
Wed 29 Aug 2018 Members Member’s own Research Night!
Wed 26 Sep 2018 Stephen Caunce You always remember your Co-op
Number - The Amazing Rise of the
Peoples Own Shops
Wed 31 Oct 2018 Dr Andrew Lewis Some thoughts on Medicines old and
new
Wed 28 Nov 2018 Members Jacob’s Join and Quiz night!
Wed 26 Dec 2018 No meeting this month Merry Christmas and a Happy New
Year to you all!
2ND Friday of each month, Lancashire Archives, 10 – 12noon, “help desk”
Stewart McLoughlin Secretary 01772-614457