Chapel-en-le-Frith in 1940

Our latest publication is a selection of photographs from the albums of Eric Young, formerly of Chapel-en-le-Frith.  The winter of 1939 / 1940 was one of the most severe on record and Eric Young's views show the town suffering from deep snow.  In the following summer, volunteers gathered on the cricket ground. We see photographs of air raid wardens, St.John's ambulancemen, nurses from the Red Cross and other orders and schoolchildren attending a large parade. The ambulances and mobile canteens operated by these organisations are also seen.

The booklet contains 24 pages and over 30 historic photographs. Price £2.00 from History Society meetings or £3.00 including postage from 34 Yeardsley Lane, Furness Vale, High Peak, Derbyshire SK23 7PN.  A Kindle edition is available from Amazon  http://amzn.to/1bJwJUP price £2.00

Glossop History

Here is a promising blog to follow. Glossop Tours : Glossop History features a growing number of articles about Glossop's past.  The latest post is a history of Dinting Station, part of a series on the local railway.

http://glossoptours.blogspot.com/

The Regimental mascot

Our local infantry regiment was The Sherwood Foresters(Notts and Derby Regiment). It was formed in1881 and continued qith its headquarters in Derby until 1970 when it became part of the Mercian Regiment. Most local recruits joined the Foresters and this postcard from 1911 was published by Raphael Tuck & Co.

At the Barmote Court in Wirksworth

When the Barmote Court sat at the Moot Hall in Wirksworth last April, they were asked to award lead mining rights to Castleton's Treak Cliff Cavern. Although a tourist attraction, this show cave is also the source of the rare blue john, a semi precious stone. Although lead is no longer mined, they needed to establish their rights and thus ensure that nobody else might make a claim. 65lbs of lead ore was presented to the court in a wooden "freeing dish"

The Court sits just once a year and is presided over by the Barmaster. In attendance is the Steward who is a local solicitor or barrister, and the Lord of the Fields who represents the Crown. A jury of 12 local citizens is appointed. Before proceedings begin, the officials sit down to a meal of bread and cheese and beer and are offered clay pipes and tobacco. A brass measuring dish is chained to the wall and is engraved with inscriptions ” This dish was made the iiij day of October iiij yere of the reigne of Kyng Henry the viij before George Erle of Shrowesbury Steward of the kyngs most Honourable household and allso Steward of all honour of Tutbury by the assent and consent as well of all the Mynours as of all the Brenners within and adioyning the Lordshyp of Wyrkysworth Percell of the said honour. This Dishe to Remayne In the Moot Hall at Wyrkysworth hanging by a cheyne so as the Merchauntes or Mynours may have resorte to the same at all tymes to make mesure at the same ”.

The Moot Hall, Wirksworth as re-built in 1814

The Barmote Court is an ancient institution first established over 700 years ago. Each lead mining district once had it's own court and that at Wirksworth is the last remaining. Their responsibilities include awarding mining rights, overseeing disputes and ensuring that royalties are paid to the Duchy of Lancaster. It is the oldest industrial court in the land.

The lead mining region of Derbyshire equates approximately to that known as "The White Peak". It is called the King's or Queen's Field, an area of 115 square miles and is divided between the High Peak Hundred in the north and the Soke of the Wapentake of Wirksworth in the south. Wapentake is a Norse word for hundred, this being a division of a county. Each division had it's own court. That of the High Peak sat at Monyash until 1994 when the two were merged.

Lead is no longer mined in Derbyshire and the role of the Barmote Court is now largely ceremonial. The Court will next meet on Wednesday April 15th 2015 at the Old Moot Hall in Chapel Lane. Although a private establishment, the public are allowed to view the proceedings.

The Wirksman, a depiction of a lead miner

Furness Vale in Colour

This photograph from our archives has been digitally coloured.

A Letter From Australia

 Geoff Baker, born in Furness Vale has written from Melbourne, Victoria

 

My grandfather Noel Baker and grandmother Winifred Baker lived at 200 Buxton Road Furness Vale, their son Walter Baker is my father, Noel was a traffic inspector working at Gowhole (what his duties were I do not know), Noel died on 16th August 1942 aged 55 years.(1887-1942) My father Walter served in the 8th army in Egypt during the war, on return from the war he courted and married my mother Alice Shepley of 17 Eaves Knoll Road New Mills who worked for the New Mills Co-op society, my father was employed on the railway at Gowhole as a goods guard, they both came to live with my widowed grandmother at 200 Buxton Road. I was born in the front room of that address on 4th May 1947. It must have been approximaetly 1950 my parents and I moved to 9 Hockerley Lane Whaley Bridge when my father became station master there, I do not remember how long we lived there, other than I do remember starting school there must have been around 1952 at Whaley Bridge primary school. My grandmother arranged to take in a boarder, Bill Bosten the local constable in Furness Vale, and 200 Buxton Road became  the local police station. Bill Bosten was there for many years I think until about 1962/3.

Approx 1953 my mother, father and I relocated again and took up residence in the station masters house at Hyde North, my father became station master there, and later station master at Pinxton although we still lived at Hyde North.

My grandmother Winifred Baker of 200 Buxton Road Furness Vale died in 1972 at Stepping Hill Hospital.

Approx 1957 my mother and father bought a bakery business and residence in Moss Street Blackburn and left the railways.

During I think 1966 my father again joined the railways in the district inspectors office based in Preston that's about the time I joined the merchant Navy as a Radio Officer, I stayed in the service for  years before emigrated to Melbourne Australia, where I lived until 2012 before I retired to live on Camiguin Island in the Philippines, I am currently back in Melbourne I have been here the whole of 2014 up to date, receiving cancer treatment, I hope to be able to return home to Camiguin in April or May this year.

My mother and father retired to Thornton Cleveley's around 1982, my father passed away 20th October 1996 in Blackpool (1917-1996) my mother came with me back to Australia, she passed away 19th May 1999 in Leongatha Victoria. (1909-1999).

During my whole school life, during school holidays I always stayed at my Grandmothers, and used to work on Longhurst farm helping in those days Joseph Barber, that was always a very happy time for me.

I had to come to England a number of time's after the death of my father, one trip in 1977, I did a tour of the places I used to live, I called in 200 Buxton Road, but no one was home, I looked at Gowhole, Longhurst farm which is living accomodation what was cow sheds, I even had a couple of pints at the Soldier Dick, checked out Hyde North, Blackburn, and returned to Blackpool with very mixed feelings for what I saw, I have no desire to return, but do love reading about the area which I miss, except the weather.

 

 

Longhurst Farm

Just another thing you might be interested in, in the early 1960's Jo Barber was quite severly injured, a cow jumped on him in the byre whilst he was feeding hay, I am not sure if Joe ever worked the farm again, I remember his daughter and son in  law came back from New Mills to run the place for a while, thats about the time when I moved on to other things.

regards

Geoff Baker

1940 Volunteers

   The air raid wardens of Chapel-en-le-Frith 

The Peveril of the Peak and The Duke of Devonshire

The Carl's Cam website has a feature on stagecoach routes. The A6 through Furness Vale was the road for a number of services linking such places as Manchester, Stockport, Buxton, Liverpool, Sheffield, Nottingham and London. The timetables show that in the 1850's nine coaches passed in each direction every day. New Mills had just two coaches a day to Stockport and Manchester. The website also includes maps of the principle routes and a detailed map for Cheshire.
http://www.carlscam.com/coach.htm

The journeys were slow; Buxton to Manchester took 3 hours at a speed of less than 9 mph and fares were beyond the pocket of the working man.

 

The Duke of Devonshire Buxton - Manchester,   daily
08:00	18:30		Buxton, the Cheshire Cheese
09:00	17:05		Whaley Bridge
09:20	16:40		Disley
10:10	15:50		Stockport
11:00	15:00		Manchester, the Talbot
			26 miles,     3 hrs,     8.7 mph.

The Peveril of the Peak coach at The Peacock, Islington on the 23 hour journey from London to Manchester

Furness Vale Brickworks, A note from the past

Last summer a message appeared on the Whaley Bridge Forum posted by "Goneaway":

" Iam long gone from the Whaley Bridge area - about 60 years - however I did come across a notebook of my father's which contained working details of the R.E. Knowles Fireclay works at the end and just after the WW2 and only of interest to a very small niche audience. It may be that niche audience reads this forum. It was more than a bit tatty but I have put the pages together and scanned them. They can be found at the following link :....."

The link unfortunately is no longer active but David Kitching has kindly sent a copy of the document which will be printed for the History Society archives.

This is the notebook of Felix DeBass one of the investors in R. E. Knowles when the present company was incorporates in 1944

Many of the notes from c1945 are technical and include details such as recipes for firebricks, porcelain, glazes etc. There is production and cost data and much information whilst of historical value, is not an exciting read. Of more interest are the tables showing output from Furness Clough and Diglee pits, 1721 tons in 1945 and from the Brickworks. There are details of wages paid to the miners and brick workers, some of whose names are still familiar. One mineworker was paid 17 shillings and 10pence halfpenny per shift, plus 4 shillings and 6 pence timekeeping bonus. He worked 7 shifts per week so his wage for 1944 was quite good. A new electric kiln was commissioned in 1946 and at its overnight trial lasting 11 hours, reached a temperature of 600° C and consumed 606 units of electricity or 910 kilowatts.

The notebook will be available at future Society Meetings.

Britain From Above

This website features thousands of historical aerial photographs archived in a searchable database.  Although there are no images of Furness Vale, our neighbouring communities are well represented.

This is Waterside Mill in Disley taken in 1946. Some of the buildings are painted in camouflage colours to hide them from wartime bombers. In the background is Bowater's mill standing alongside the canal.
http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/eaw001584?search=disley&ref=7

New Mills in 1952.  In the centre of the picture is the bus station. The railway to Hayfield disappears into the background. There are vehicles in Albion Road and Market Street but otherwise the roads are empty.
http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/download/EAW043351

Taxal Lodge in 1937.  This house built in 1904 was the home of the Jodrells until 1950 when it became a special school. It was famed for the gardens which Mrs Cotton Jodrell regularly opened to the public.
http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/download/EPW054325

Horwich End in 1937 with Botany Bleachworks in the right foreground and Macclesfield Road on the left. Behind the gasworks are the Shalcross railway sidings, full of wagons.
http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/download/EPW054325

Here is the Rising Sun with St. Thomas's Church in the background. This is in 1927 long before the roundabout was constructed. A Stockport tram has just arrived  at the terminus as another can be seen leaving at the top of the picture. Torkington Lodge and Estate were still in private hands and were not purchased by the Council until1935.
http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/download/EPW019189

This is just a small selection of images. It is well worth visiting the website and exploring the locations that interest you. Low resolution photos may be downloaded from the site or purchased as larger, high quality photos.
http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/

Sleep Tight

A HISTORY OF SOME OLD ENGLISH SAYINGS AND CUSTOMS Compiled by Flo Deems ::: ::: ::: Where did some of these old English sayings come from that we've heard all of our lives, but maybe never really thought about their origins? After all, we do know what they mean, right? "SLEEP TIGHT" - back in the 1500s and maybe even before then, some people could afford to sleep on wooden framed beds so they were off of the floor. These frames had heavy ropes tied from side to side that supported the mattress. Over time the ropes would stretch, so they'd have to tighten them. Hence the saying, "Sleep tight." Later added to that was: "Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite." "PISS POOR" - They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in the same pot to collect as much urine as possible. Why? Because once a day, someone from the family took the pot to the tannery and sold the urine. If a family had to do this to survive financially, they were called "Piss poor." "DIDN'T HAVE A POT TO PISS IN" - Worse than the above were some people who were too poor to buy even the pot to collect their urine. And so they were the poorest and lowest of the low. BRIDAL BOUQUETS - Although not a saying, here's the origin of the wedding custom of having the bride carry a bouquet - Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May! So they still smelled somewhat good in June. However, since they were starting to smell again, brides carried a bouquet of flowers, hoping to hide their body odor. "DON'T THROW THE BABY OUT WITH THE BATH WATER!" - Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of bathing in the nice clean hot water. Then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children could take their turn in the big bath tub. Last of all came the babies! By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. "IT'S RAINING CATS AND DOGS!" - Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. CANOPY BEDS - Related to this situation is how canopy beds were developed. With roofs like these, there was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. So people constructed beds with tall posts over which a sheet could be hung to offer some protection. "DIRT POOR" - Floors in many houses were simply the dirt that the house had been built upon. Only the wealthy could afford stone or slate floors. THE NURSERY RHYME: "Pease porridge hot, Pease porridge cold, Pease porridge in the pot Nine days old." - In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung on a long iron arm over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not have much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving the leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme. "BRING HOME THE BACON" - Sometimes people could obtain pork and this would be a special occasion. So when they had guests, they would hang up their slab of bacon to show off. This was a sign of comparative wealth, when a man could "bring home the bacon." "CHEW THE FAT" - Whenever a family did have some bacon and had guests, they would cut off some to share with their guests. They would sit around the fire and "chew the fat." TOMATOES WERE CONSIDERED POISONOUS! - This delicious fruit that masquerades as a veggie was considered poisonous for about 400 years. Those with money had plates made of pewter, which in those days had a high lead content. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, eventually causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes. "UPPER CRUST" - Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust. "HOLDING A WAKE" - Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. "SAVED BY THE BELL" - also "A DEAD RINGER" - and "THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT" - England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive! So they would tie a long string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer. Now, aren't you glad you know the origins of these sayings and customs? And aren't you glad we live in modern times? Even if bed bugs have made a come-back! ::: ::: :::Back to Index Website design and background image Copyright © 2009-2014 All rights reserved. Tone By Tone Dot Net You are using Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; U; Intel Mac OS X 10_5_8; en-us) AppleWebKit/531.22.7 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Safari/531.22.7 and coming from 208.87.227.250

The pubs of Manchester

This website will take you on a tour of hundreds of Manchester's pubs, many long since forgotten. Many entries are well illustrated with a brief history. There is a good list of useful links to related sites.

You will come across pub names such as the Engineers and Filecutters Arms,  the Greengrocers Arms and the Isonomy Inn, all three close together in Ancoats and the Bundle of Sticks in Boundary Street East. Visit the City's medieval pubs, most long demolished and read about some of the characters who ran or frequented these hostelries.

Learn also about some of the breweries that have long since gone our of business. Kay's of Ardwick, Cronshaw's of Hulme and Groves and Whitnall for exampe.

http://pubs-of-manchester.blogspot.com/

The Band On The Wall, an Historical Archive

One of Manchester's premier music venues, The Band On The Wall has operated as a jazz club since the mid 1970's. This was formerly a public house, The George and Dragon , Swan Street. The pub first opened its doors in 1803 although the building has undergone many changes since then.  As far back as the 1930's the pub boasted a stage on which musicians regularly performed and it was at that time the nickname "Band On The Wall" was first coined.  The adjoining building, now the venue's cafe bar "Picturehouse" has been in the same ownership as the pub since the early 20th century, if not longer. It has had many roles since it was built in 1865 including conversion to a picture house in 1915.

The George & Dragon as a Wilson's house.

The Band On The Wall website has a superb archive. This documents the meticulously researched history of the building and adjoining Picturehouse.

Early days as a music venue

Swan Street is in one of Manchester's oldest districts, an area with a fascinating history.  The archive tells the story of the neighbourhood. Smithfield Market, Little Italy, Ancoats and New Cross all feature as do violent gangs such as the Scuttlers. The music heritage of Manchester is a strong feature of this archive; "Broadsides", cheap song sheets were printed in the area and the Ancoats Brotherhood was founded by Charles Rowley to bring serious music to the streets.

Smithfield Market

This website is highly recommended, it makes fascinating reading. If jazz music is also to your taste then there is even more of interest.  http://bandonthewall.org/archive/

Coming Home

Beth Kucera has an antique business in Madison, Wisconsin.  Visiting England six years ago, she and her husband came across a cup commemorating the hundredth anniversary of methodism in Furness Vale.

The cup itself is now more than a hundred years old and Beth is very kindly donating it to the History Society. We hope to be able to show this cup at a meeting in the near future.

Do take a look at Beth's own blog. Amongst her wide range of topics she often writes about Britain and our history and the pages of her website contain a great number of interesting stories.

http://www.ladyantiquedealer.blogspot.ie/

I Vow To Thee Thy Country

Twenty one young men went away to war and never returned.  Their names appear on the War Memorial in Furness Vale and this book tells their story.  Their war records and where possible,  personal backgrounds have been carefully researched by Rowena Clarke for publication by the History Society.  

This volume is now available as an electronic book from Amazon Kindle:

bit.ly/IVowToTheeMyCountry 

A print version is in preparation and will soon be available for purchase. 

The Diary of James Clegg 1679 - 1755

 James Clegg was a doctor and nonconformist preacher who lived at Ford near Chapel-en-le-Frith in the 18th century. He wrote every day in his diary and recorded many fascinating events from his life and from the neighbourhood. The diary was edited in the late 19th century and published as "Extract from the diary of James Clegg".

The book is out of copyright and in the public domain.
 It can be downloaded in a variety of formats to read on computer or Kindle from the California Digital Library https://archive.org/details/extractsfromdiar00clegiala

The following are a few extracts:

7 June 1711 Clegg recorded that after 6 or 7 very hot days the wind turned to the west bringing with it a great blac accompanied by continuously rumbling thunder and flashes of lightning. A violent wind arose, one of the greatest tempest ever known in these parts. Stones fell, 8 or 9 inches across, bluish in hue. Solid ice, very hard and irregular in shape accompanied by continual flashes of fire did an abundance of damage to houses crops and timber which lay in its course. It began in Macclesfield following a straight line through Hough and Heafield (Hayfield) . Ducks, hares, geese and pigeons were killed in multitudes. Trees were stripped of their bark and others ruined leaving a dismal site thereafter.

July 14 1730 I went to Buxton to meet Mrs Adcroft and some Manchester friends and thence with them to Tideswell where I dined ans settled some matters with Mr Eccles and Mrs Cresswell relating to ye Commission of Enquiry as to her daughter Alice's idiocy. July 16th the Commission was opened at Town Head. Mr Cheetham, Mr Parr and I were Commissioners (in lunacy). The jury were sworn, witnesses were examined and Alice Hill was found and presented an idiot. This was done to prevent her being stolen away and ruined by a worthless fellow who had attempted it, and to secure her estate for her use while she lives and for her right heirs after. Many censures pass on this proceeding but knowing my intention in it to be just and right I have no reason to regard em.

August 27th 1731 An horrid and barbarous murdering was committed near Dane Bridge in the road between Macclesfield and Leek some time ago; one Nadin murdered Mr Buck a grazier, at the instigation of Buck's wife it is supposed, with whom he had lived in adultery. And now the said Nadin is condemned and to be gibbeted. August 31st. I had promised to visit Madame Jackson at Ashford. My way thither (from Macclesfield) lay near Leek and this being ye day appointed for ye execution of Nadin, Mr Culcheth and Mr Eaton & etc went along with me that way. He was brought to Leek the night before; we met him on the common the gibbet was erected on. The Sheriff Mr Drakeford , whom I knew, came first with his men, then ye clergyman yt had assisted ye criminal , then the man who carried theirons he was to hang in; then came the prisoner, then the gaoler and last ye hangman. Ye curate of Leek spent an hour in praying and exhorting him then the 51 st psalm was sung, and after some time ye executioner did his office.

August 18th 1732 At home all day, began to reap ye wheat. One Ffurness came to me to desire my assistance in recovering a daughter lately perverted to the Romish religion, which I readily promised, leaving it to them to appoint the time and place. Nov 21st I met an emissary of ye church of Rome at Sheffield. Some of that persuasion had seduced ye daughter of Luke ffurness to that persuasion and at ye request of ye father I had promised to meet any of that party and debate ye matters in controversy before ye daughter and other witnesses. The debate lasted near 5 hours about 20 were present. Most of the company were fully satisfied but ye young woman seemed obstinate after all. I had my fears about this dispute, lest a good cause should suffer through bad management, but God assisted me and I had reason to be thankful.

 The abuse of Church money by the churchwardens seems to have created quite a scandal in the parish. Certainly the accounts rendered by them disclose some curious items of expenditure which could not with reason be debited as Church expenditure.

Their loyalty was superabundant to judge by the Royal birthdays it was thought necessary to celebrate. Look at the following items in the churchwardens account for 1731:-
June 11. Spent upon our bellringers and freeholders in our parish being the King's inaugurans £0.5.0  
July 17 spent at rush bearing £0. 4. 4
Oct 23 spent upon the King's Coronation Day £0. 5. 0
Oct 30 spent as usual being the King's birthday £0. 5. 0
Oct 28 spent as usual being the Princese Anne's birthday £0.5.0
Dec 7 spent as usual being Princess Louisa's birthday £0. 5. 0
Jan 19 spent as usual being Prince Frederick's birthday £0 .5. 0
Mar 1 spent as usual being Her Majesty's birthday £0 .5. 0
May 29 spent as usual being the King's restoration £0. 5. 0
May 30 spent as usual being Princess Chalolina's birthday £0. 5. 0
No.Date. Paid for a fox head £0. 1. 0
No.Date. Paid for 6 badger's heads £0. 6. 0
No.Date. Paid for hedgehogs and ravens £1. 4. 3
No.Date. Paid for 6 sacrament dinners as usual £0. 6. 0
Dec 30 Paid Geo. Bramwell the Saxon, one years wages £0.10.0

Jan 23 1741 rid to Fford. Dined with Mr. Bagshaw. We were treated with an ananas or pineapple, of a most delicious taste and flavour, the growth of the High Peak and ripe on the 23rd January in an hard winter.

Jan 25 1743 I set out for home ( from Buxton ) leaving son Benjamin to bath in ye well and drink the waters this week to cleanse him from ye itch and scorbutic humours.

 St.Anne's Well - 18th century

Nov 30 1745 sent two men to assist in making trenches to obstruct the roads around Waley but in my thought it could not Answer any good purpose but was very bad for travellers (to delay the advancing soldiers of the Jacobite Rebellion)

Marvellous Machines

Rowland Emett 1906 - 1990 was a draughtsman, artist, cartoonist and most famously a creator of "things" as he called his fanciful machines. 

 During the 40's; 50's and 60's his work appeared regularly in Punch magazine. He was to become famous in the United States after a feature in Life magazine and many examples of his work are to be found in museums and institutes in that country.  Many of his designs were for trains, often drawn by locomotives with odd names and exaggerated features. His Far Tottering and Oyster Creek Railway was re-created for the Festival of Britain of 1951. It continued to operate until 1975. 

Many of Emett's designs were actually built and some of these machines work today. One famous creation is the clock in Nottingham's Victoria Centre.

William Heath Robinson 1872 - 1944 was also a cartoonist although his early work was that of a book illustrator.

 The term "heath robinson" came to be used during the first world war to describe a makeshift device or repair. Like Emmet, Heath Robinson designed fanciful machines, often to conduct absurd operations such as rejuvinating stale scones or removing warts from the top of ones head. His work appeared in a varieety of magazines as well as being commissioned to illustrate advertising campaigns.

My Life in Print

A regular visitor to our meetings is Alan Proctor. Alan was born and bred in Hawk Green, Marple and his article "Recollections of a village" tells his account of life in the community. This is a well illustrated and fascinating story and Alan talks of the shops, some of the characters, the cricket team and of wartime among many other topics.
Read this story on the Marple-uk.com website :  http://www.marple-uk.com/hawk-green-village-recollections.htm

 

Old Maps

A superb resource for  those interested in exploring old maps is the web site Old Maps Online http://www.oldmapsonline.org

Searching for "Furness Vale" returned a huge number of maps of Cheshire from different periods. This map of 1843 is from the Ordnance Survey first series at a scale of 1:63360. There is a zoom facility view the map in detail.  http://visionofbritain.org.uk/iipmooviewer/iipmooviewer_new.html?map=first_edition/lm_81

Hadar

Narrowboat Hadar is visiting Furness Vale this weekend.

Built in 2007, Hadar is a replica of a "Star" class boat of the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company. This freight operator was in existence between 1934 and 1949 when their assets were nationalised. Theirs was one of the larger canal fleets which at it's peak consisted of 186 pairs of boats.  The original "Star" class was built at Yarwoods boat yard at Northwich in the mid 30's; all of those boats being named after stars although the name "Hadar" was not used at the time. This boat has an extended cabin to provide extra living space which reducing her cargo capacity to 8 tons.

Haymaking

Some photographs have a wealth of detail.  This picture is undated and labelled on the reverse "Haymaking, Furness Vale". The location is not recorded although the buildings in the background look familiar.

George Tomlinson has made these observations:

On the ground is a stone jar and a decorated mug. Could this commemmorate Queen Victoria?

The man in the centre carries a large wooden handled rake. Behind him can be seen the ownership plate on the cart. The name is Charles Saxby of Disley.  Saxby was owner of Furness Vale Printworks.

 In his hand is a stone jar encased in a basket. It was a tradition at harvest that ale or cider be supplied to the workers and perhaps that is what it contains.

The man to his right has his trousers tied with rope !

The man to his left carries a metal dish perhaps for the horse.

Note that they all wear hats, even the smallest child.