Local History

'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)

Convenor: Chris Whitefoot

Group leader: Mark Child

To contact Chris or Mark 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.

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; and the Moravian Settlement in Droylsden.

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 British Legion
9 MarSheila ThomasQueen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee
23 MarPossible outing
6 AprAndy ScuttPomona
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 Sherlocktba
15 JunGeorge WaterhouseHistory of the County Palatinate in early maps
29 JunPossible outing
13 JulAlan CorbettWalkden: a glimpse of the past
27 JulBetty BakerExtracts from Josey Britton’s letters
10 AugNo meeting
24 AugNo meeting
7 SepJudith GibsonLife as a Salford girl
21 SepMargaret RobertsEccles before and after the motorway
5 OctMary McBrideWilliam Cowherd: a vegetarian pioneer
19 OctDavid RoughleyGerrards
2 Novtba
16 Novtba
30 NovDavid PeaseA famous opera singer died in Manchester?
14 Dectba

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.