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Historic Society of Lancashire & Cheshire

@historicsoclandc.bsky.social
74 followers 59 following 16 posts

Founded in 1848, we promote and celebrate the history of the Palatine counties of Lancashire and Cheshire, with public lectures, grants, prizes and our annual peer-reviewed journal, Transactions. www.hslc.org.uk

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Historic Society of Lancashire & Cheshire @historicsoclandc.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
theatkinson.co.uk/events/herit... Friday 11 September 2026 13:00 - 14:00 The Studio at the Atkinson, Southport Free, drop in talk by Dr Julia Paul Donations welcome.
theatkinson.co.uk
Heritage Open Days: Where Do You Get Your News From? - The Atkinson
Dr Julia Paul presents the local memories captured from interviews so far from her project Behind the Headlines of Southport’s Newspapers.
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Ste Lingard @stelingard.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
It is worrying to hear of the threat to #JodrellBank. Apart from its scientific contribution, it is a cultural and physical reference point for generations, hereabouts. Less well known, the #LovellTelescope uses turret parts from #FirstWorldWar battleships HMS Revenge & HMS Royal Sovereign. 📷 mine
A colour photo of part of the Lovell Telescope, the top of one of the supporting towers and the supporting skeleton beneath the dish. It is a grey day, and the dominant colours are white, grey and black.
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The Local Mythstorian @elilewislycett.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
In the pamphlet boom of the 1700s there were few more popular topics than the ‘Cheshire prophet’. The farm hand that foretold the future has fascinated folklore for 300 years: but could the most incredible part of his story actually be based in fact? LINK: thelocalmythstorian.com/the-hungry-p...
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Historic Society of Lancashire & Cheshire @historicsoclandc.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
The video of our most recent talk is now available: Race, Obsolescence and the Management of 'Surplus' Populations in Postwar Liverpool, by @samwetherell.bsky.social of the University of York youtu.be/QjPKfJjtn3c?...
youtu.be
Race, Obsolescence and the Management of 'Surplus' Populations in Postwar Liverpool
YouTube video by Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire
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Robb Robinson @robb51.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Privileged to be presenting the prestigious Mike Stammers Memorial Lecture for Centre for Port and Maritime History at the Museum of Liverpool on the 6th May 2026. Looking at forgotten but vital role of fishermen and fishing communities all around the coasts of the British Isles in the Great War.
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Historic Society of Lancashire & Cheshire @historicsoclandc.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Race, Obsolescence and the Management of ‘Surplus’ Populations in Postwar Liverpool Free talk, all welcome, Wed 11 March, 2pm, after the society's annual general meeting, Liverpool Central Library, Fourth Floor Meeting Room by Dr Sam Wetherell @samwetherell.bsky.social, University of York 1/5
Black and white photo of mixed heritage family, children playing, parents talking, at door of house
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Historic Society of Lancashire & Cheshire @historicsoclandc.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
This year's volume of our peer-reviewed history journal covering Lancashire and Cheshire from all historical periods is now available, in print and online www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/toc/10.3828/...
liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk
Contents | Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire 174,
Policing in Liverpool before the arrival of the ‘New Police’ in 1836 has been routinely characterised as one of manifest inefficiency, corruption, and drunkenness with signs of police effectiveness ignored. This revisionist paper argues that the ...
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Historic Society of Lancashire & Cheshire @historicsoclandc.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Only 4 days left to apply for our grants, for education activities (£300), publications (£500) and research (£500), deadline 31 October. For activities related to the history of Lancashire & Cheshire (inc Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Furness). www.hslc.org.uk/grants-prize...
hslc.org.uk
Research Grants - The Historic Society of Lancashire & Cheshire
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Andrew Hobbs @drewhobbs.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
Are earlier journals dismissed as "antiquarian"? Surely articles such as "Cotton and the cotton trade" (David Lamb, vol 2, 1850) or "Cowley, and the poets of the seventeenth century" (David Buxton, vol 7, 1854) count as history? These hierarchies of prestige & geography are so tedious.
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Andrew Hobbs @drewhobbs.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
The EHR is not "the oldest journal of historical scholarship in the English-speaking world" as its publisher claims. There were scores of history journals in English before 1886. For example, the Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire & Cheshire, est 1849 @historicsoclandc.bsky.social‬
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Keele Forensics @keeleforensics.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
‼️PUBLICATION ALERT‼️ Huge congrats to alumnus Saskia Caddell who's masters research has been published in Nantwich Museum Journal 2025. With Drs Chris Aris and Amber Collings, Saskia worked on developing methods to identify if cremated remains were human and then produce biological profiles.
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Historic Society of Lancashire & Cheshire @historicsoclandc.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
Don't worry if you missed Dr Lewis Darwen's talk on 'Strikers and "knobticks": violence and intimidation during the Preston Strike and LockOut, 1853-54 Catch up here: youtu.be/zJO_e-HzZG4?...
youtu.be
Strikers and ‘Knobsticks’: Intimidation & Violence During the Preston Strike and Lock-Out 1853–1854
YouTube video by Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire
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Historic Society of Lancashire & Cheshire @historicsoclandc.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
Was the Preston Lock-Out and Strike of 1853-54 as peaceful as Charles Dickens and other commentators thought? Dr Lewis Darwen challenges the accepted story, in a free online talk on Wed 23 April at 2pm. www.hslc.org.uk/featured-eve...
hslc.org.uk
APRIL 2025 LECTURE: STRIKERS AND 'KNOBSTICKS' - INTIMIDATION AND VIOLENCE DURING THE PRESTON STRIKE & LOCKOUT OF 1853-1854 - The Historic Society of Lancashire & Cheshire
Dr Lewis Darwen presents a new perspective on the 1853-1854 Preston Strike and Lockout. Previously remembered for the peaceful conduct of the operatives involved, the reality for many was far more com...
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Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
Lines of washing hang between tenements on Sloop St, Barrow-in-Furness. Photo by Edward Sankey and sons, who photographed north-west England 1885-1970s (Sankey Archive).
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Mark Crail @markcrail.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
#FamilyHistory I launched the Trade Union Ancestors website in 2006, then rather neglected it. But I have now overhauled it and added new and previously lost content - including all the trade union ‘family trees’ I first put together 20 years ago. It’s here… www.unionancestors.co.uk
unionancestors.co.uk
Welcome to Trade Union Ancestors - Trade Union Ancestors
Trade Union Ancestors provides trade union history resources to help family historians find their ancestors in the trade union movement
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Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
Ashton Canal, Ancoats, Manchester, 1978.
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The Family History Society of Cheshire 🌾🌳 @fhsofcheshire.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
The March edition of the Cheshire Ancestor is now available to download from the @fhsofcheshire.bsky.social website Full of news, articles, events and more... Direct link 👉 www.fhsc.org.uk/new-cheshire... Thanks as always to @macchistorian.bsky.social & the team for all their hard work
a laptop with the cover page of the Cheshire Ancestor on the screen, a pair of glasses rests on the keyboard and a cup of tea in a Welsh Dragon mug in on the side
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Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
I'll be talking about 'Made in Manchester' at Halliwell Local History Society, Bolton, Tues March 25th 7.30, St Peter’s Parish Centre, Church Road. Visitors welcome, £2.50.
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Midland History Journal @midlandhistory.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
Does your research cover any aspect of the history of the Midlands from Roman times to the present day? If so, we want to hear from you! Please consider submitting an article for publication in our journal - further details can be found here: www.tandfonline.com/journals/ymd...
tandfonline.com
Midland History
Midland History publishes on the history of the English Midlands region and historical comparisons with other areas.
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The Local Mythstorian @elilewislycett.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
The Crown Inn in Lower Peover, Cheshire, is not just your average historic pub. It’s apparently one of the most haunted pubs in the region! A jilted bride and a mischievous phantom have made their presence known so much that it has recently been covered by the Manchester Evening News! #ghosts
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Victorian Commons @victoriancommons.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
A reminder that the application deadline for a fully-funded PhD studentship on Irish MPs in the 19th century - working with the University of Sheffield and the History of Parliament - is 12 noon on 5 March. Full details in the links here: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2025/02/04/n...
victoriancommons.wordpress.com
NEW PhD Studentship on Irish MPs available
The University of Sheffield and the History of Parliament are offering a fully-paid PhD studentship on Irish MPs in the Victorian Commons. Deadline for applications: 12 noon 5 March 2025. Full deta…
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Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
Oswald Mosley formed the 'New Party' #OTD 1931. It soon became the British Union of Fascists. Mosleys were feudal lords of the manor of Manchester for more than 200 years from 1596. Mosley Street, West Mosley Street and Lower Mosley Street are named after them.
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The Family History Society of Cheshire 🌾🌳 @fhsofcheshire.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
@fhsofcheshire.bsky.social's #FridayRoundUp @thegenealogist.bsky.social have released over 5 million Directory Records primarily focusing on the post World War II era Link to news item with full details www.thegenealogist.co.uk/news/
thegenealogist.co.uk
News | TheGenealogist
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Victorian Commons @victoriancommons.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
Born #OnThisDay 1785 John Hodson Kearsley. Conservative MP for Wigan in the 1830s, he was nicknamed ‘the Walking Beer Barrel’. Find out why in our blog: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2024/09/18/t...
victoriancommons.wordpress.com
The Walking Beer Barrel: John Hodson Kearsley and parliamentary debates in the 1830s
Our latest blog from our Assistant Editor Dr Kathryn Rix uses our biography of the Wigan MP John Hodson Kearsley – a forgotten figure today but a well-known Commons character in his time – to explo…
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Hannah Barker @historyhannahb.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
So excited to see ‘Faith in the Town’ (co-authored my me, @kategibson Jeremy Gregory and Carys Brown & published in Open Access form (free to read) today by @oxfordunipress.bsky.social. Want to know how religious faith was woven through urban life in northern English towns 1740-1830? Then read on …
academic.oup.com
Faith in the Town: Lay Religion in Northern England, 1740–1830
Abstract. Faith in the Town explores the ways in which religious faith affected the lives of men, women, and children in the increasingly urban and industr
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The Portico Library @porticolibrary.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
www.instagram.com/p/DGlXqMPINQ...
instagram.com
mcrwire on Instagram: "🎭🖼️ REUNITED: This spring, The @porticolibrary will stage a series of unmissable experimental events around its unique spaces and…"
🎭🖼️ REUNITED: This spring, The @porticolibrary will stage a series of unmissable experimental events around its unique spaces and renowned collections to support their ongoing Reunited project, a visionary £9 million transformation which will renovate and reimagine all parts of the building to create one of the UK’s most accessible, sustainable and dynamic historic libraries.In celebration of International Women’s Day on Sat 8 Mar, The Portico hosts an illuminating talk which explores the work of forgotten women writers and artists from the library’s archive. Led by Creative Producer and cultural historian Dr. Debbie Challis, Hidden in Print will transport guests on a journey through the illustrations, reading habits and friends of mid-Victorian artist, Ann Mary Severn Newton, alongside the lives of the trailblazing writers she both knew and admired who forged a different path for themselves and railed against submissiveness and domesticity.On Thu 20 Mar, Dr. Rose Roberto joins The Portico to examine the inestimable literary legacy of beloved artist, Kate Greenaway, whose work influenced generations of children and left a lasting impact on the industry. For nearly seven decades, the Library Association’s Kate Greenaway Medal recognised the best illustrated children’s books, but in 2022, they quietly removed her name from the award, sparking widespread condemnation from across the literary spectrum and beyond.On Sat 22 Mar, visitors are invited to participate in the free Under Construction pop-up display, which offers comprehensive insights into the progress made to ‘reunite’ The Portico, as well as the chance to delve into the library’s history and collections.For full further programme details and to book tickets to all events check the link in bio 🔗
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Mark Walters @mark-walters.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Dropped into Caergwrle Castle, Flintshire to see the new Cadw info panels after the previous ones were vandalised in 2023. Good at explaining the late 13th c. history of its construction under Dafydd ap Gruffudd & disuse, but nothing about the hillfort in which it lies (best seen on the lidar pic).
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Mike Sanders @bronterre1.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/the-ballad... The ever brilliant @jenniferballads.bsky.social is crowdfunding her new album. If you can afford to make a donation please do.
crowdfunder.co.uk
The Ballad of the Gatekeeper album
Jennifer Reid is a performer of Industrial Revolution work song, Lancashire dialect and clog steps. This is her new album.
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Jennifer Reid @jenniferballads.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/the-ballad...
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History and Heritage Yorkshire @handhyorkshire.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Probably dating from c.1904 This ceramic map showing the routes of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway is located inside an entrance to Victoria Station, Manchester. From 1847 to 1923, the L&YR ran most of the trains
Probably dating from c.1904 This ceramic map showing the routes of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway is located inside the Hunts Bank entrance of Victoria Station, Manchester
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Cheshire Local History Association @clha.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
Mini-series, Cheshire portrayed in Art. An iconic image today of #Beeston Castle, Cheshire by Irish artist George Barret Sr RA. It was painted c1770 in oils and graces the cover of "The New Historical Atlas of Cheshire", published 2001. #Cheshire #Art #Paintings #castles
A colour painting in oils of a view from below of Beeston Castle. In typical 1770s style it shows ruined walls, trees, a bridge, a distant view, a beautiful sky and figures of people in the foreground.
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Brodie Waddell @brodiewaddell.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
'The Lancashire Plague Petitions: Life after the Plague in Early Modern England' by @rach-anderson.bsky.social in the AHR. Finding 'resilience' in local petitions, with photos & transcriptions. The latest addition to the #PowerOfPetitioning bibliography 🗃️: petitioning.history.ac.uk/2019/05/13/p...
Screenshot of 

Rachel Anderson, The Lancashire Plague Petitions: Life after the Plague in Early Modern England, The American Historical Review, Volume 129, Issue 4, December 2024, Pages 1640–1667, https://doi.org/10.1093/ahr/rhae465. Abstract: Historians typically explore the resilience of past societies in terms of large-scale outcomes like population levels. In contrast, this paper explores the process of recovering from outbreaks of plague in smaller communities, households, and even by individuals. In doing so, it examines resilience on a micro-level in terms of the economic, emotional, and practical concerns of individuals following a period of crisis. This paper showcases six early modern petitions, each transcribed here in full, providing insight into the responses of communities to severe outbreaks of epidemic disease. These sources reveal the practical measures required to foster resilience: each petition demonstrates a series of unique needs and essential interventions. The usual systems of relief proved inadequate when faced with the unprecedented demands of plague. This made the bonds between friends and neighbors crucial to the survival of their communities. Only when these bonds were pushed to their breaking point did early modern people turn to authorities. These petitions show us when and why those points were reached.
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Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
I'll be talking about 'Made in Manchester' at Leyland Historical Society, Lancashire, Monday March 3rd 7.30pm. South Ribble Civic Centre, Shield Room, Banqueting Suite, West Paddock. Visitors welcome, £5. (Pic is Leyland Festival, started in 1889.) www.leylandhistoricalsociety.co.uk/meetings.html
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Dr Angela Buckley @drangelabuckley.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
This week's post on my Sleuthing Adventures blog (for all subscribers) is a less well-known historical case of serial poisoning committed by two sisters in Liverpool. They killed at least four members of their family with arsenic and possibly many more... drangelabuckley.substack.com/p/serial-kil...
drangelabuckley.substack.com
Serial killer sisters
The Liverpool poisoners
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Sam Wetherell @samwetherell.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
My book - Liverpool and the Un-Making of Britain - is out today! Here is a thread I made earlier of extraordinary facts about the city's history to get everyone excited.
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Victorian Commons @victoriancommons.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Using census and electoral registration data, @martinspychal.bsky.social explores varying levels of enfranchisement across 19thC England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, answering the complicated question of how many people could vote after 1832: victoriancommons.wordpress.com/2025/02/25/h...
victoriancommons.wordpress.com
How many people could vote in the UK after the 1832 Reform Act?
As part of our new series of ‘explainer’ articles, aimed at clarifying the workings of the United Kingdom’s historic political system, Dr Martin Spychal examines how many people could vote in…
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Bob Moore @pastfinderhistory.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
Promenade on Chester's Roman/Saxon/Medieval/Georgian/Victorian eastern defensive wall. With the cathedral in the background. #Chester #chesterwalls #cheshire #defensively #history
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lazlouzala123.bsky.social @lazlouzala123.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Chester Cathedral court room #Chester #Cathedral #court #room #treavel #history #photography #Cheshire
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The Local Mythstorian @elilewislycett.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
Our parish churches are beacons of local history, and I find the civil war era most fascinating of all. St. Andrew’s in Tarvin, Cheshire: where the exterior walls are peppered with musket shot, evidence of a Parliamentarian massacre from 1644. #tarvin #musketshot #cheshirehistory
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The Local Mythstorian @elilewislycett.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
LIVE EVENT - May 15th, The Grange Theatre, Cheshire: The History of Witchcraft In Cheshire...really looking forward to this brand new talk. You can turn up on the night from 7pm, and find out more here: northwich-heritage.org.uk/heritage4/in... #witchcraft #cheshirehistory #folklore #grangetheatre
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'kin @notharlock.poast.ing · 22/02/2025
Euler diagram of the British Isles. Taken from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Administrative_geography_of_the_United_Kingdom#History - the article has a full description of the diagram's content and further context.
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Northern History @northernhistory.bsky.social · 23/10/2024
We'd like to invite submissions to the Gordon Forster Essay Prize. This prize is open to postgraduate students and ECRs. The winner will receive £200 and their essay will be considered for publication in the journal. Deadline: 1 March 2025. Please repost! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
Gordon Forster Essay Prize 2025
Published in Northern History (Vol. 61, No. 2, 2024)
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Historic Society of Lancashire & Cheshire @historicsoclandc.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
Green Belts in Merseyside: A Bourgeois Conspiracy Against the Urban Proletariat?! That's the title of our next lecture, at the Liverpool Athenaeum, Wed 19 March, 3pm by Professor John Sturzaker FRTPI, Ebenezer Howard Professor of Planning at the University of Hertfordshire
Mugshot photo of Professor John Sturzaker
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Historic Society of Lancashire & Cheshire @historicsoclandc.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
This month's talk was by Professor Paul Salveson on "Rockets, Lions and Planets: the significance of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway", which celebrates the 200th anniversary of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 2030. You can watch it here youtu.be/eZzuNNHnfuQ?...
youtu.be
Paul Salveson, Rockets, Lions and Planets: the significance of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway
YouTube video by Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire
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Ste Lingard @stelingard.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
Aerial view of St. Wilfrid's Church, #Ribchester, from 1949. It is inside the site of Bremetenacum, a Roman fort that guarded a crossing of the Ribble. My crude highlight shows the fort's approximate extent & that the river has eroded around 1/3 of it. #RomanFortThursday #RomanBritain #Lancashire
A black and white aerial photograph, showing a church set in fields by a river. A yellow highlight forms a rectangle around it, including part of the river. Historic England Archive, EAW022384.
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Centre for the History of People, Place & Community @chppc.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
There are a few new additions to this online archive. 1. A recording of our recent event on community history in action in Lancashire. A brilliant session focusing on the community heritage work of Global Link Lancaster: www.history.ac.uk/podcasts/doc...
history.ac.uk
From documenting dissent to mapping migration: community heritage in action
Recorded on 22 January 2025
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Angus Willson @anguswillson.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
From the loft "cultural archive": Signed poster for Charity Folk / Jazz Concert featuring Bill Tidy and Roger Westbrook. 16 June 1976, at Edge Hill College of Higher Education, Ormskirk, Lancashire. #music Loved "The Cloggies" in Private Eye. Link to Spotify follows.
Poster Folk / Jazz Concert featuring Bill Tidy and Roger Westbrook. 16 June 1976.
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Historic Society of Lancashire & Cheshire @historicsoclandc.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
Most of this year's journal is open-access, and it's full of new research on one of the biggest industrial disputes of the 19th century, the Preston Strike and Lock-Out of 1853-54 -- inspiration for Dickens's Hard Times & Gaskell's North and South. www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/toc/transact...
liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk
Contents | Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire 173,
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