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Category: Social History

Julian To Gregorian Calendars

Julian To Gregorian Calendars

It’s likely you will have come across dates where the transcribed year appears a little ambiguous, written in the format 1748/49. The reason for this isn’t (usually) that the transcriber struggled to read the date, but rather that the year is being displayed using both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. In 1752, England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland adopted the Gregorian Calendar (the calendar we use today), prior to that the Julian Calendar was used. When reading old records, it’s important…

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Ministry of Labour Instructions Centres

Ministry of Labour Instructions Centres

In 1934 my grandfather worked at Bourne Transfer Instructional Centre in Lincolnshire. This was one of many work camps set up by the Ministry Of Labour to retrain unemployed young men. At Bourne, the men spent much of their time clearing the ground, which was owned by the Forestry Commission, prior to re-afforestation. Although grandad may not have learnt much about agriculture here, it did give him a taste for working on the land, which was something he did until the…

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Llanberis Castle Hotel

Llanberis Castle Hotel

Built in the mid 19th century, the Castle Hotel is located on High Street in Llanberis. It closed in the 1980s and fell into disrepair before being completely renovated and converted into a shop and flats. Slide the arrows to compare the images When the hotel was sold 1861, it appears there were no buildings across from it because it boasted views of Llyn Padarn and Dinorwic Quarry. The hotel, gardens, coach house and stables were sold again in 1883,…

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Mason Street, Bolton

Mason Street, Bolton

In the late 19th century, my 3 x great grandfather William Higginson owned four houses on Mason Street in Bolton, numbers 78, 80, 82 & 84. He lived at number 82 with his family and rented out the other three houses. William was a sawyer in a wood mill, so I’m curious as to how he ended up owning four houses and what happened to them. This post is to try and help me get my own thoughts and research…

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Bolton St Peter & St Paul RC Church

Bolton St Peter & St Paul RC Church

Just a brief history of the church and school that many of my relatives used. Parish records are partially available on Lancs Online Parish Clerk website – https://www.lan-opc.org.uk/Bolton-le-Moors/Great-Bolton/peterpaul/index.html History

Winter Hill Mass Trespass

Winter Hill Mass Trespass

My grandad told me many times that his father and uncle where at the mass trespass at Winter Hill near Bolton in 1896. As this is the 125th anniversary, it seems like a good time to write a brief post about the event.

Euxton Catholics

Euxton Catholics

One branch of my maternal family, the Higginson were Catholics from Euxton in Lancashire. Euxton was home to two of Lancashire’s oldest Catholic families, the Andertons and the Molyneuxs. The Molyneuxs were the biggest landowners in the area, while the Andertons initially leased and later purchased Euxton Hall from them. Euxton Hall History 1489 – Hugh Anderton (1466 – 1503) took a lease of Euxton Hall from the Molyneux family. Early 16th century – new manor house built by James…

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Vanished Streets Of Bolton

Vanished Streets Of Bolton

While researching my family history, I found that some of the streets people had lived on in Bolton no longer existed. I compiled a list and then used census searches to locate surrounding streets that still exist, along Old Maps Online, to pinpoint their locations. This is by no means a complete list of all Bolton’s lost streets and if you would like me to add any others, let me know. I will be adding to the list as I…

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