Convenor: Andy Scutt
The Local History group is extremely popular and membership is currently subject to a waiting list. Places will become available so please contact me if you’d like to be placed on the list or if you’d like any information about the group. You can get in touch with me by emailing members@salfordu3a.com.
Venue and date/time: We meet at 1.30-3.00pm (doors open 1pm) on alternate Wednesdays at Monton Unitarian Church Hall. There is a charge of £1pp to cover room hire and refreshments.
The main focus of the group is the history of the Salford and Greater Manchester area, with occasional forays further afield. All topics are researched and presented by the members of this very popular group.
Past topics have included Haigh Hall, Queen Victoria’s 1851 visit to Worsley, Salford Pals and Joseph Brotherton. The current year’s topics are detailed in the programme below.
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, Bramall Hall, Saltaire, Liverpool Cathedral, Speke Hall, Lion Salt Works, the Anderton Boat Lift and Port Sunlight.
Links you may be interested in
- Cottonopolis – a Greater Manchester u3a network booklet
- Our Salford mills survey
- A gallery of photos from our 2022 trip to the Avro Heritage Museum and Bramall Hall
- Memories from our second trip of 2022 to Saltaire in Yorkshire
- Lots of photos from our great day out to Liverpool in April 2023
Our books
Past and current members of the group have researched and published a number of books on diverse aspects of our local history:
- Church St Eccles by Helen Whickham and other group members
- A walk around Barton by Doreen and Eddie Rowbottom
- Industrial History of Eccles by Ronald Britton
- A Chronological History of Eccles by Doreen Rowbottom
- Treasures of Eccles, Past and Present by Doreen Rowbottom
- Pendleton: the Rise and Fall of a Northern Township by Don Lingard
- The Girls Who Walked Away by Anne McGarry
- A Brief History of Travel in Eccles, Barton and Patricroft since 1628 by Mark Child
- Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere by Mark Child
- Places of Worship, Past and Present (Clifton, Swinton and Pendlebury)
by David Roughley
2024 programme
| Date | Name | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Jan | Christmas meal at George’s, Worsley | |
| 24 Jan | Mark Child | John Dalton |
| 7 Feb | Paul Sherlock | Early Salford Mayors |
| 21 Feb | Peter Collier |  History of the harpsichord – a musical demonstration Video gallery |
| 6 Mar | Andy Scutt | Strangeways |
| 20 Mar | Martin Maynard | Pomona |
| 3 Apr | June Lomas | A tram journey through Salford |
| 17 Apr | Group outing to Port Sunlight Photo gallery | |
| 1 May | Brian Briggs | Disaster on the Manchester Ship Canal |
| 15 May | Rev. Anna Jarvis | Monton Unitarian Church Photo gallery |
| 29 May | Marjorie Gee / Amos Millington | Salford Royal Hospital |
| 12 Jun | Linda Veasey | Friedrich Engels – Condition of the Working Class |
| 26 Jun | Fiona Ellis | Pubs of Irlam and Cadishead |
| 10 Jul | Joyce Whitehead | The member for Eccles |
| 24 Jul | David Roughley | Forgotten railway stations |
| 7 Aug | George Waterhouse | The battle of Bexley Square |
| 21 Aug | Andy Scutt | Hanky Park |
| 28 Aug | Group outing to The Lake District | |
| 18 Sep | Anne McGarry | Elizabeth Wolstenholme Elmy |
| 2 Oct | Nicola/Sandra Hayton | Cellar dwellers |
| 16 Oct | Rick McGarry | Electricity comes to Eccles |
| 30 Oct | Paul Sherlock | 50 years of Age UK Salford |
| 13 Nov | Sheila Thomas | Eccles RFC and the Wesleyan Church |
| 27 Nov | Peter Wheeler | The Life and Times of Ben Purse |
| 11 Dec | Stan Sumara | Castlefield Before and After |
at the Salford Histories Festival, Oct 2022
You may also be interested in:
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.
Salford 