The Friends of Lancashire Archives NEWSLETTER · 2019-12-01 · Your FLA donations help to purchase...

The Friends of Lancashire Archives

Reading through this Newsletter is a

really rewarding experience – not only

is it so attractively put together and

edited (thanks Maggy, for another

great issue) but it is so full of news

and features about the work of the

archive service and the diversity of

projects and activities which the

Friends are developing. We really are

thriving and being able to focus on our

core ‘mission’, that of supporting and

enhancing the work of Lancashire

Archives. What’s so gratifying is that

the response from members and non-

members alike has been so

enthusiastic and positive and, now that

we have a degree of financial security,

we can think about being more

ambitious in our future projects.

The conservation dimension to the

work of the archive service is always

fascinating, as well as being essential in

helping to protect and preserve the

archives for posterity. There’s still

plenty to do, but over the past couple

of years I have noted that at

Lancashire Archives I simply don’t

come across the (how shall I put this?)

less than exemplary instances of

archive storage and conservation

practice that I’ve encountered in some

other record offices.

Elsewhere, I’ve seen boxes so over-

stuffed with bundles that the lid won’t

stay on; a lovely 14th century

‘Friends’ continue to support an excellent service

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

From the Chair page 1

New Events leaflet 2

Volunteers update 3

New Humidifier 4

Abbott’s at Stained

Glass Museum

5

Margaret Bainbridge

Obituary

6-7

Membership Matters 8

Slaidburn walk 9

Events round-up 10

Feature: Graceancestry

Blog

11

Booking forms 12-13

‘Burnley Memories’

event

16

New Horrocks Video 14

Westfield Memorial

Village Walk

15

NEWSLETTER

illuminated text encased in thick

melinex for protection, but with the

bottom crudely turned over and

folded so that it could be crammed

into an archive box; and some

beautiful medieval deeds thoughtfully

provided (by someone a good few

years ago) with summaries of the

contents, each of these being written

on a slip of paper fixed to the

relevant deed with strips of sticking

plaster!

That small collection had actually

been dealt with by an archivist – it

was in card folders annotated with

record office references - but he or

she had evidently not thought fit to

remove the horrible fixtures.

Charity Registration Number

518611

Easter Quarter, 2017

Alan Crosby, FLA Chair

Below: we don’t do this!…….sticking plaster has

been used to attach document summaries

elsewhere.

Fr iends of f Lancashi re Archives

money needed to finish cataloguing the archive and

to encourage people to use it.

In these and other ways the Friends are very active

in publicising and promoting the work of the

archive service – I’m always amazed that even local

and family historians are sometimes quite unaware

of what the record office has to offer, and how

easy it is to use it. There’s an assumption by some

people that you need to book, you need to be an

expert, or that only selected individuals are allowed

the privilege of using the resources of the record

office. We all know that the exact opposite is true

– but it’s a message that needs to be highlighted

whenever possible.

(Continued from front page)

Future plans for one-off major projects go

alongside the continuing need to contribute to the

daily work of the archive service. It’s good to

know, for example, that the humidification

membrane which Zoe writes about on page 4 will

have a long life since, as she says, it can be washed

and re-used. And we know that once a collection

has been catalogued with the help of FLA funds,

the information goes on-line and it’s going to be

much more accessible for public use. Paul

Swarbrick has produced a really great promotional

video for the Horrockses collection, which we

hope will have a widespread impact (the Friends

on YouTube!) and help to raise the remaining

Friends fund new Talks and events leaflet

Jacquie Crosby

A huge thank you to the Friends for funding the

publication of the Lancashire Archives Talks and

Events brochure for the next 6 months. They

include family history talks, sessions on how to use

the record office and creative workshops as well as

the next Café Archive on 7 July.

Pick up a copy in the searchroom

Or download it from our website via the link on this

page: http://www.flarchives.co.uk/events.html

or email [email protected] for an

electronic version.

News le tter

1st June sees the start of National Volunteer

Week and as usual we will be making a special

effort to thank all our volunteers for their hard

work and dedication. Last year we had to suspend

volunteering for 6 months while we restructured

our service and developed a new programme.

Since the end of September our 48 volunteers

have met on Mondays and given us 2490 hours of

their time. This is equivalent to two and a half

members of staff (which in financial terms would

cost £50,000 over a year).

The volunteers have finished listing the Preston

Building Plans and are now working on the

Accrington Plans. Others are working on disputed

wills or typing up the lists of wills etc., flattened all

those years ago by the Will Flatteners, so that we

have a comprehensive index of probate records

held here. Yet others are continuing indexing the

Whittingham Hospital reception orders or ,

cleaning, repackaging and relisting the early

Lancaster Coroners' records. And yet another is

helping with archive stock-taking. So a huge range

of projects directly supporting the work of the

archives. Staff and archive users are indebted to

them all.

A lot of our Friends are also volunteers and Anna

Watson now runs a new, small volunteer project

specifically for FLA members – indexing the

Blackburn Workhouse registers. A few volunteers

are also working for the Lancashire Online Parish

Clerk undertaking a similar task with the Burnley

Workhouse registers. These will all provide a rich

source of information for family historians.

One of the other new volunteering projects we

support is the Lancashire Crew List project funded

by the Federation of Family History Societies. This

will also provide a rich source of names – from

around the world - as foreign seamen joined the

crews of our Lancashire-registered ships from

ports as far apart as St Johns in Newfoundland and

Calcutta.

Elsewhere in this newsletter (page 11) you can find

a link to Grace Tabern's blog about the project.

However, as archives service manager, I must point

out that the document she uses, covered with

sellotape is not one of the archives held here! By a

very strange co-incidence it's an account book for

subscriptions for building the 18th school in the

West Riding village of Grenoside, where I grew up,

and I guess it is in private hands rather than

Sheffield Archives!

Volunteers update

Jacquie Crosby

Lancashire Archives is a sticky-tape-free zone!

Your FLA donations help to purchase a new humidifier


It can be easily washed and re-used and is inert.

Most importantly the new membrane has a much

smaller pore size - approximately 0.2 micron -

which gives a very high air flow. This in turn allows

water and organic solvents penetrate this

membrane as vapour rather than as a liquid,

allowing conservators greater control of the

humidification process and reducing any risk to the

documents.

The photograph shows fused parchment pages in a

book. A humidified section of the membrane has

been applied to the affected area of parchment and

a layer of polyester placed on top to retain

moisture. The membrane will slowly and gently

humidify the parchment, so that a conservator can

then separate the fused leaves.

Thanks to the Friends of Lancashire Archives, we

have been able to purchase a new humidification

membrane for use in archive conservation

treatments. This membrane can be used to gently

humidify documents to enable flattening and to

help separate fused material. The humidification

membrane is particularly suited for use on paper

and parchment items and will be especially useful

in the conservation of delicate tracing plans.

For many years conservators have used Gore-Tex

for humidification purposes. Like Gore-Tex, this

new humidification membrane from Porelle

(Hydra-air PTFE) is made of expanded PTFE

laminated to a 100% non-woven polyester.

Unlike membranes used previously in archive

conservation it has unique oil-resistant properties.

Zoe Kennington, archive conservator

News le tter

In 2016 Lancashire Archives received the Business

Archives Council cataloguing grant, funding a

freelance archivist to catalogue the records of

stained glass manufacturers, Abbott and Company

of Lancaster.

Work on the catalogue began in October 2016

and is nearing completion. The catalogue will be

available to the public in the near future, via the

Archives' online catalogue, LANCAT.

In December 2016 the Friends of Lancashire

Archives generously paid for me to travel to the

Stained Glass Museum in Ely, in order to meet the

curator and learn more about stained glass.

During the visit I was shown around the museum's

exhibition, which includes an original closed glass

kiln from the Abbott and Company premises in

Lancaster. I met with Jasmine Allen, the curator of

the museum who took the time to give me advice,

provide specialist knowledge and answer some

questions which had arisen about the stained

glass-making process as I worked on the

catalogue.

The Stained Glass Museum has amongst its

collections several records relating to Abbott and

Company which, following the visit, the museum

has kindly offered to transfer to Lancashire

Archives as a gift. This will not only enhance the

collection held at Lancashire Archives but will also

ensure that as much of the collection as possible

remains together.

As a result of the visit Lancashire Archives has not

only acquired further records, but has also

developed a good working relationship with the

Stained Glass Museum and has benefited from

specialist advice and knowledge, all of which has

aided the cataloguing of this important collection. I

would personally like to thank the Friends for

their support in making this visit possible.

Abbott and Company at the Stained Glass Museum

Above: an example of one of some 1,200 stained glass designs

held at Lancashire Archives (DDAB/3/4/1206)

Above right: one of the kilns used by Abbott and Company in

Lancaster is on permanent display at the Stained Glass

Museum.

Lindsey Sutton (Freelance Archivist)

If you enjoyed this article, you might also

be interested in archivist Vicci McCann's

free talk about the archive to be held at

Lancaster City Museum on Friday 9 June at

1.00pm.

To book a place phone: 01524 64637.

Dr. Margaret Nora Bainbridge (1924-2016):

An appreciation


at Lancaster University which she credited with

giving her insights into broader contexts, issues and

ranges of sources. She traced many of her family

connections in the coal mining communities of East

Lothian and the fishing communities of Fife, and

spent time interviewing people about their

memories of family, work and community. She also

explored local history in the Lancaster area, and

one of her major research projects was that of the

Lancaster-built ship, Abram, which sailed first to the

West Indies and then became a whaler from Hull

and later Kirkcaldy. This was a particular fascination

for her since one of her ancestors had died on

board in the Arctic in the 1850s and she travelled

to Scotland and London to research the ship but, as

Incorporating personal recollections and a

biography compiled by Margaret Ledwith, with

Helen Easton, Margaret’s longstanding friends and

neighbours in Lancaster.

Margaret Bainbridge, who has left FLA a very

generous bequest, was born in Barrow-in-Furness

but spent most of her adult life away, particularly

in Turkey, London and Lancaster. Margaret

studied at Edinburgh and Cambridge, taught in

various parts of the country, and then spent time

in Turkey in the 1950s working as an English

tutor. On her return she became the Turkish

expert at SOAS (the London School of Oriental

and African Studies) where she taught the

language and wrote definitive guides to the

grammar. As a talented musician she also actively

engaged in the city’s cultural activities even singing

with the BBC choir.

It was in retirement that she developed a love of

local history. Moving back north after her father’s

tragic death (killed by car outside their house) she

and her mother settled in Lancaster where

Margaret felt she would have the opportunity to

study, to take courses and to attend concerts. She

began, as so many people do, with family history

but registered for the Diploma in Local History in

the then Centre for North West Regional Studies

By Michael Winstanley

News le tter

she increasingly realised her ambition to write all

this up might be frustrated by advancing years, she

engaged Rob David and myself to extend the

research and write up the results. These were

published in 2013 as The West Indies and the Arctic

in the Age of Sail; Voyages of Abram, 1806-62

(CNWRS, 2013). Her notes on this, and other

ships and families associated with Lancaster’s

trade, have been deposited at the Regional

Heritage Centre. These include notes made from

sources in Lancashire Archives.

Margaret’s house on Aldcliffe Road was a treasure

trove, full of papers, photos and tapes, and in her

80s she began to find future homes for them: her

vast archival collection on Turkey went to the

Skilliter Centre for Ottoman Studies, Newnham

College, Cambridge where she had studied; a large

collection of local photographs and some family

papers were given to Cumbria Archives in

Barrow, detailing her father’s work as a chauffeur

and her own wartime diary, which has been

digitised and is regularly used for educational work

with schools (BDX 555). Since her death other

material has been deposited at the Regional

Heritage Centre at Lancaster University, National

Library of Scotland, Cambridge and Barrow

Archive Centre. In every case she has made

generous provision for them to be sorted and

catalogued.

As this short note makes clear, Margaret led a full

and interesting life, but she never lost her affection

for the Morecambe Bay area. She also recognised

and treasured the value of archives and this has

been reflected in her generous donations to

various bodies, including FLA and Friends of

Cumbria Archives. She was a private person,

however, never seeking, but often actively

shunning publicity and recognition. It is not clear

whether she would really appreciate even this

short appreciation of her life, but as a talented

linguist, teacher, musician and researcher it is the

very least she deserves. We are very grateful to

her for both her collections of archival records

and her generous support for local history in the

area and the work of the archive service.

Membership Matters


Welcome to our new members

As the spring flowers have burst into bloom, so has our membership. Since the last newsletter we have

welcomed 9 new members:

Mrs & Mrs John Pearson of Goosnargh

Marion Hutchinson of Clitheroe

Dr Eleanor Fisher of Lancaster

Mrs Sandra Scanlan of Ashton

Dr Graham Cooper of Grindleton

Dr Stephen Lloyd of Knowsley Park

Mrs Dian Holme of Higher Walton

Mrs Grace Tabern of Barrow Nook

Mr Peter Newsham of Fulwood

Membership

Sadly we have been notified of the death of Brian Rhodes of Longridge.

A further 3 members have resigned; we thank them for their support over the years.

Our headcount now stands at 202 memberships, equating to 230 individuals.

Renewals

We still have a handful of outstanding renewals; reminders have been sent to the individuals concerned.

Payments for Events and Membership

We are in the process of improving our payment systems for event bookings and membership

applications and renewals. We will offer the payment by PayPal through our website which will enable

payments to be made to us by credit and debit cards or by PayPal account, if you have one. We hope to

have this up and running in the next few weeks and will advise you all when it is available.

As ever, please let me know if you would prefer to receive your newsletter by email.

[email protected]

News le tter

This afternoon walk will be led by Chris Spencer to mark the 300th Anniversary of the founding of

Brennand’s Endowed School, Slaidburn.

It will be a stroll of about 3 to 4 miles, mainly on the flat, although with some gentle inclines and stiles

along the way.

Walking through Slaidburn village and its array of 18th century cottages, surrounded by beautiful English

countryside, we’ll pass by Brennand’s Endowed School, founded in 1717 through the Will of John

Brennand of Pain Hill in Slaidburn, gentleman, and erected shortly thereafter.

Brennand endowed the new school with the payment of £80 per annum to the headmaster and usher,

secured on his farms now known as Pain Hill, Crawshaw, Parrock Head, Burn Side, Laytham’s,

Huntington’s and Higher Stony Bank.

We’ll then take the public footpaths across the fields to Pain Hill farm, then on to Parrock Head and Laytham’s. On the gentle descent back into Slaidburn, we’ll pass by the track to Burn Side and then see

Woodhouse or Ellerbeck Hall which was later added to the school lands.

Please see the booking form for further details.

A Walk by the Slaidburn School Lands

Saturday 15 July 2017

Events


The 2017 programme is proving very popular and work is well underway on developing next year's

programme.

Anna Watson's February workshop on the ecclesiastical records of the Archdeaconry of Richmond was

fully booked and received many plaudits including:

I attended the workshop yesterday and would like to thank Anna Watson for her excellent presentation which I am

sure was enjoyed by everyone. The sources of information she enlarged upon were a revelation and it was clear

that she had much more up her sleeve. I for one would very much enjoy attending more workshops run by Anna.

Many thanks for a very informative afternoon on Tuesday – hopefully you will be running another session soon!

Friends will be pleased to know that Anna has agreed to run two workshops in 2018.

Alan Crosby's workshop on Quarter Session records in April was equally enjoyed:

Just a quick note to thank you for a great day yesterday. The talk was very interesting, very humorous in parts, very

informative and time just flew by. I have never known 5 hours pass so quickly and I hope we get the chance to

come on future talks. The Hot Cross buns and biscuits were greatly appreciated.

For the archive service the great value of these workshops is that they make people aware of some of

the lesser known and under-used archive collections. I hope they will inspire people to visit and to

explore them for their own research.

Hugh Doherty's lecture on Stephen, Count of Mortain was also very well received. Hugh left us wanting

to hear much much more about his work on Stephen and Tulketh Abbey and he has agreed to come

and give another lecture on this in October 2018.

Booking forms for the summer events can be found on pages 10-11 of this newsletter. Other FLA

events in 2017 are listed below. All these will take place at the Record Office. Booking forms for

autumn events will be available in the summer edition of the newsletter.

Friday 7 July 10.30am-12.30pm

Café Archive with family history surgery

Saturday 9 September 11.00am-3.30pm

Café Archive - Heritage Open Day

Tuesday 12 September 7.00pm FREE

FLA Members' AGM and Dr Mike Winstanley; Getting Away from it all: seaside resorts and the Lakes - The

growth of the day trip, seaside holiday and Lakeland tour

Continued on next page

Jacquie Crosby, FLA Events Co-ordinator

Monday 23 October 2.00-4.00pm FREE

Behind the Scenes event for FLA members only

Monday 27 November 10.30am-12.30pm

Café Archive - Lancashire Day

Friday 8 December 7.00pm £10

Dr Alan Crosby: Music in a Lancashire country house: Rufford Old Hall in the 1730s, followed by a cold buffet

supper with wine

News le tter

Contact FLA

The Friends of Lancashire Archives can be contacted via our website www.flarchives.co.uk

You may direct letters to any committee member via Lancashire Archives Bow Lane, Preston, Lancashire

PR1 2RE 01772 533039

New member put to the test!

Our membership secretary spotted this blog entry posted by

new member Grace Tabern, whose website is available at

http://www.graceancestry.co.uk

“It was with much trepidation that I arrived at the Lancashire Archives in Preston just a few week ago. I was not on a usual mission of seeking information on a clients family, no this time

it was different. This time I was there to be put to the test!

Though the room was a comfortable temperature, I have to

admit to beads of sweat forming on my brow and top lip, as I

took my seat along with several others. In front of each of

us lay a copy what looked like a forbidding and fiendishly complicated old document. Anxiety gripped my

brain as our examiner signalled for us to begin transcription of the paper. I picked it up, looked at it for a

few moments and then to my relief, my training kicked in and I went feverishly to work on the now

hapless and prostrate copy. Well within the prescribed time I was announcing to the archivist that I had

completed the task. To my mild embarrassment she gently chided my enthusiasm by jokingly reminding

me that it was not a race! “

Read more about Grace’s experience at the training session for transcribing crew lists at http://

www.graceancestry.co.uk/blog/29-testing-times-at-preston-archive

News le tter


Horrocks video

Anyone visiting the Friends website will find a link to a new 10-minute video on Horrocks. This exciting film has been created by Paul Swarbrick (with a little help from Gill Lawson) to help to promote the Horrockses archive collection and to help the Friends in their raising funds to finish cataloguing the collection. Paul has spent countless hours filming in the record office and then editing his film, adding text and selecting appropriate music . It is a gem and has already generated donations. We are indebted

to Paul for giving his time and expertise to do this for us.

You can see it at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJrUuwtW7ZU

News le tter

MEMORIES OF BURNLEY

MONDAY 15 MAY

2.00 - 4.00 pm

Burnley Library

Did you work in Burnley in the days of warm school milk,

baths once a week, and Pot Fair?

Lancashire Not Forgotten is recording memories from people with dementia and their families and carers.

Come along to our drop-in afternoon and share your memories of working in Burnley – we’d love to

hear them!

We’ve got plenty of old photos and objects from the past to look at whilst chatting, plus free

refreshments and an optional craft activity. All the memories will help create two pieces of textile art for

exhibition, and some will feature on our Lancashire Not Forgotten website.

Please note: the afternoon will be filmed, photographed and recorded, for sharing online.

Lancashire Not Forgotten is a heritage and arts project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. It is a collaboration between Lancashire County Council, Blackpool Council, and Blackburn with Darwen

Council.

To find out more about Lancashire Not Forgotten, please contact the Project Officer:

[email protected]

The Friends of Lancashire Archives NEWSLETTER · 2019-12-01 · Your FLA donations help to purchase...

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