Local History

Convenor: Andy Scutt

To contact Andy please email salfordu3a@gmail.com marking the subject line of your email ‘FAO: name/job title’.


Venue and date/time: We meet at 1.30-3.30pm on alternate Wednesdays at Monton Unitarian Church Hall.

Well-deserved flowers for Barbara Ashe and Chris Whitefoot in July 2022 in recognition of their many years of service to the group

'A crowded horse omnibus outside the Old Bull's Head Hotel in Church St Eccles, in 1872'' (Courtesy of Salford Local History Library)
‘A crowded horse omnibus outside the Old Bull’s Head Hotel in Church St Eccles, in 1872” (Taken from the Salford Local History Library Collection)

The main focus of the group is nineteenth and early twentieth century history of the Salford and Manchester region. We have a few invited talks but most topics are presented by the members of the group. Some present materials that they have researched, others introduce the discussion by reading articles on items of forgotten local history.

Past topics have included ‘Haigh Hall’, ‘Queen Victoria’s 1851 visit to Worsley’, ‘Salford Pals’ and ‘Irwell valley coal mines’. The group has also visited the following historical sites over recent years: Ordsall Hall; Eccles Parish Church; All Saints Church Barton; Chetham’s Library and School; Styal Village and Quarry Bank Mill; the Ellesmere Port Boat Museum; Erddig Hall; the Moravian Settlement in Droylsden; the Avro Museum at Woodford; Bramhall Hall; and Saltaire.

Links you may be interested in:

Past members of the group have researched and published a variety of books, which are listed below. Present members have completed a book entitled ‘A Brief History of Travel in Eccles, Barton and Patricroft since 1628’ which covers many of the events of the eighteenth and nineteenth century travel revolution, all within a few square miles of Lancashire. See Travel History Booklet by Mark Child for further information.

Other publications researched and published by the group are:

  1. ‘Church St Eccles’ by Helen Whickham and other group members
  2. ‘A walk around Barton’ by Doreen and Eddie Rowbottom
  3. ‘Industrial History of Eccles’ by Ronald Britton
  4. ‘A Chronological History of Eccles’ by Doreen Rowbottom
  5. ‘Treasures of Eccles, Past and Present’ by Doreen Rowbottom
  6. ‘Pendleton: the Rise and Fall of a Northern Township’ by Don Lingard
  7. ‘A Brief History of Travel in Eccles, Barton and Patricroft since 1628‘ by Mark Child
  8. ‘Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere’ by Mark Child

2022 programme

DateNameSubject
12 JanChristmas meal at George’s in Worsley
26 JanRick McGarryLocal explosions
9 FebMark ChildThe Bridgewater Estates
23 FebAlan CorbettWalkden Textile Mills
9 MarSheila Thomas
Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee
23 MarDavid RoughleyA whistle-stop tour of Manchester City Centre
*5 AprAndy ScuttFull-day outing to Avro Heritage Museum
and Bramhall Hall
(Note: this outing is on a Tuesday)
20 AprHazel Walker and
Marlene Walker		Mavis Hermione Sapple:
a Salford childhood
4 MayAnne McGarrySuffragists and Suffragettes
in Manchester and Salford
18 MayDavid Astbury
(guest lecturer)
Prince Albert: Consort and Manchester Man
1 JunPaul SherlockThe roots of Salford’s Mayoralty
15 JunGeorge WaterhouseHistory of the County Palatinate in early maps
29 JunAlan CorbettEccles cakes, wakes and guisings
13 JulAndy Scutt
Full day outing to Saltaire
27 JulBetty Baker and Anne McGarryLancashire at war
10 AugNo meeting
24 AugNo meeting
7 SepMark Child
James Nasmyth
21 SepSheila ThomasA walk along Deansgate
5 OctMary McBride
William Cowherd: a vegetarian pioneer
19 OctAndy ScuttManchester Streets and Manchester Men
Sat 29 Oct10:00-16:00 Local Histories Festival at Fletcher Hall, Swinton
2 NovHugh JonesA paranumismatic ramble around Salford and Manchester
16 NovAmos Millington
Manchester Cathedral and a history of its environs
30 NovDavid PeaseA famous opera singer died in Manchester?
14 DecDavid RoughleyA trip down Memory Lane, 1936 – 1957, looking at how music and dance evolved over those 21 years
* Tuesday

2021 programme

at the Local Histories Festival, Oct 2021

You may also be interested in:

Our group is one of several members of the Salford Forum of Local History Organisations. You can access their website here for details of all the groups that belong to this forum, including the Eccles and District History Society and the Age UK (Salford) local history group who meet regularly in Swinton.

Anyone wishing to explore the history of our area may be interested in viewing the extensive collection of books, documents, photographs and newspapers at the Salford Local History Library.