IN 1837 Charles Whetstone and William Cooke demonstrated the needle telegraph system to send messages on the London Bimingham railway system. The Magnetic Telegraph Company approached John Pender, a Scot who had moved to Manchester and become a succesful cotton merchant, for funds and in 1856 he invested in the company and joined …
Category: Previous Events and Lectures
Pamela Nanson: The Treasure Trove of Historical Events
From a delve into her archive box.
Jenny Barrett: Birth of a Nation
In 1989 Sheffield City Council backed protest about the screening of DW Griffith’s film ‘The Birth of a Nation'(1915) for fear of racist repercussions. The manager of the cinema was quoted as saying that it was so old nobody would take it seriously. Then in 1993 when the film was scheduled for broadcast …
Richard Houghton: HMS Ringtail
There is no such bird as ‘Ringtail’ The Royal Naval Air Squadron was formed in 1914 and had 2 Squadrons on the Western Front in 1915 and as at today is active in Afghanistan. The base was built on the outskirts of Burscough in 1942 and was celebrated in 2013 as part of …
Richard Houghton: HMS Ringtail
We are grateful to the speaker for agreeing at short notice to deliver this talk as Mrs Pam Nanson was unable to give her programmed talk that evening now deferred to 27th January 2014. Royal Navy Air squadron HMS Ringtail was set up at Burscough in1942. The RNAS was set up in 1914 …
Michael Murphy: British Women in Wartime
Mr Murphy recounted how Boadicea (Boudica) had killed with her daughters and Iceni tribes people 60000 roman soldiers on her march from Norfolk to London but upon the impending return of the Roman Legions from the North she and her daughters took poison A bronze statue of her was errected in London in …
Ken Pye: Prehistoric and Pagan Liverpool
Liverpool did not appear in the Doomsday book,and its postal address was at one time ‘near Ormskirk’. Mr Pye described fossilised remains from before the last ice age that were found in Stourton quarry. He talked about the prehistoric forrests of Meols and the ancient port of Meols and its importance to both Roman …
Rev Sylvia Jacquest: Memories of old Aughton and Arcana Objecta Cognosite
The paper ‘Memories of Old Aughton’ was written by Miss Marjorie Holmes in 1978 and was read by Reverend Sylvia Jacquest The article was an extract from a talk given by Miss Holmes in 1978 to St Michaels Fellowship. She recalled how her family had moved from Liverpool in 1907 to take up …
Visit to Stockport Hat Museum
[October 30 2013; 9.45 am] The society will be travelling to Stockport by coach and there are some seats available to both members and non members departing Ormskirk 9.45am return approx 4pm. This will be a very interesting visit arrangements have been made for coffee and lunch . Contact Mrs Benson 01695 570299 for …
Nora Walmsley: The King and I
The Sultan of Brunei is the king of the country and the muslim spiritual leader of its 250,000 people as have been his ancestors for 700years. Mrs Norma Walmesley was the tutor to the Sultans children, after the second world war Churchill restored parts of Borneo to the country. The King has an incredible income …
Dr Rob Philpott: The Huxley Viking Silver Hoard
Dr Philpot will describe and discuss the hoard of 22 Viking silver bracelets discovered in Cheshire in 2004 which is now held in museums in Chester and Liverpool.
Mr Aldon Ferguson: Burtonwood and the Berlin Airlift, Social Evening
In 1948 RAF Burtonwood was being handed over to the USAF by the RAF to act as the maintenance and support base for the USAF in Europe at the beginning of the Cold War. The Russian blockade of Berlin precipitated a rush to reopen the base to support the Air Lift to supply …
Nigel Neill: The Lathom Remount, AGM
Steven Spielerg’s film of Michael Mopurgo’s book and stage play “War Horse” featured an aspect of WW1 which had been largely forgotten. Considering the reliance of all sides in the conflict on horse transport and the British Government’s reported spending of £67.5 million on purchasing, training and delivering horses to the theatres of war, …
Brian Perrett: The Roman Invasion of Anglesey
Although the Roman conquest of Britain was far from complete it was essential they should subdue Anglesey for two important reasons. First they were reluctant to advance northwards while surviving druids and their supporters held a secure base on their left flank and secondly they wanted possession of the valuable copper which was …
Roger Mitchell: The Country House in the 20th Century
This lecture covers not only the houses built in the 20th Century but also how their owners adapted to a changing world.
Bob Nicholson: America and the Victorians
Dr Nicholson has done research into jokes, slang and the press and his findings have been published in journals, newspapers and on radio. America and the Victorians Love it or hate it, America is here stay. Hollywood dominates our cinemas, U.S. pop stars rule the charts, a Starbucks sits on every high …
Peter Knowles: Anniversaries
Peter Knowles (Society member) will describe some remarkable people who have changed the world. Most of them lived and worked in the UK – many of them in the Midlands and North of England. What were their achievements and how have they benefitted us today?
Sunday Lunch at Briars Hall
Sunday lunch with guest speaker £16.00. 12.30 for 1.00 pm. Contact M Rogers for details.
Mr F Wood: Early Man, Social Evening
Mr Wood (Society member) in the space of just over one hour will describe the development of man over one million years.
John Hodson: The Douglas Navigation
Plans were developed in 1719 to make the River Douglas navigable up to Wigan which involved the construction of 13 locks on this tidal river. The “River” was used to transport coal and limestone. Mr Hodson resides in the Boat Master’s House.
Paul Kenyon: Lathom after the Stanleys
This talk will deal with the history of Lathom from 1725 to the present day.
Susan Clark: Soldier from the Sky
On November 21 1944 Edgar Clark, an RAF Flight Engineer seconded to the Royal Canadian Air Force and stationed in Yorkshire was killed when his Halifax bomber was shot down over Dusseldorf. This is the amazing story of the family’s research into the events of that night and the information they were able to …
Peter Holland: A History of St Josephs Seminary, Upholland
An illustrated talk on the history of UpHolland College from the laying of the foundation stone in 1880, the opening of the College in 1883, the extension of the quadrangle in the 1920s, the consecration of the chapel in 1930 and the closure as a seminary in the 1990s.
Alan Crosbie: Sex and Sin in 17th Century Lancashire
In the 17th Century the authorities sought to suppress what they regarded as inappropriate or immoral behaviour: adultery, fornication and the consequent problem of illegitimacy were of great concern. Cases where criminality or the Poor Law were involved would be dealt with by the Quarter Sessions and the Church courts had authority in …
14 March 2011, Cowkeepers in Liverpool from the Yorkshire Dales, Duncan Scott
Did you know that up until 1975 there were cowkeepers in Liverpool? Mr Scott had interviewed members of the Capstick family originally from and maintaining close links with Howgill in Cumbria. Some of them had moved to Liverpool in the early 1800s when there was not enough work and others in the family went as …
British Association for Local History Day Event
The British Association for Local History Day event in 2012 will be held this year at the Friends Meeting House in Mount Street Manchester on Saturday 16th June 10.30 – 4.30. The annual lecture will be given by Professor Karen Hunt of Keele university entitled The local and the everyday : inter-war women’s politics. Contact AM Rogers …
Clemency Fisher: The unusually Royal History of Toxteth Deer Park
Toxteth was once a Royal Deer Park, founded by King John in 1204. Being “beyond the pale” (the boundary palings) led to settlement by religious dissenters such as Puritans,with their strong artisan ethic. Toxteth became known for fine craftsmanship such as watchmaking and pottery and was the birthplace of Jeremiah Horrocks, the “Founder of …
Ormskirk and District Historical Society’s Annual Lunch
The Ormskirk and District Historical Society’s Annual Lunch will be held at Briars Hall Lathom with an after lunch speaker for full details please call AM Rogers Tel 01744 885922.
Dr John Virgoe: Causes of death in a rural southwest Lancashire community in the late 18th Century
From 1789 until 1801 the parish register of St Cuthberts, North Meols recorded the cause of death and the age of a large percentage of individuals dying in the parish. This information is examined and discussed in the context of the location of North Meols, other sources of information on causes of death and …
Mr John Dickinson: Misericords of NW England
A wife beating her husband with a ladle, a bare breasted mermaid and a noble griffin savaging a richly dressed man are just some of the intriguing images depicting the struggle between sin and virtue carved underneath choir stalls in major churches in the North West. A misericord – also known as a mercy …
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