Marple Local History Society Programme 2015/16

[MLHS]

History of Brentwood Recuperative Centre, 1937-70

Tucked away at the top of Church Lane and recently redeveloped as Brentwood Villas, it would be all too easy to walk past number 137 without a second glance. But hidden beneath the modern exterior are the memories of the 3,600 mothers and their children who walked through the doors of the Brentwood Recuperative Centre for Mothers and Children from 1937 to 1970. The Centre first started as a holiday home for the wives of unemployed workers in South East Lancashire and North East Cheshire in 1937. It was transformed during the Second World War to become a nationally renowned residential home for the rehabilitation of “tired mothers” and “problem families” until it finally closed its doors in 1970.

Our speaker, Michael Lambert, is currently using the records of Brentwood to write his PhD thesis at Lancaster University on ‘“Problem families” and the post-war welfare state in the north west of England, 1943-74.’ The organisation which ran Brentwood, Lancashire Community Council, now known as Community Futures, recently renamed their headquarters in Preston as “Brentwood House” in memory of the role the Centre played. Michael recounts everyday life in the Centre and for those who came, with particular emphasis on the role that Marple and its citizens played in helping Brentwood to attain national significance.

http://www.marplelocalhistorysociety.org.uk/society-meetings/meetings-2015-2016.htm

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[MLHS]

Whitworth Park: Pleasure, Play & Politics

Whitworth Park, Manchester, opened in 1890 as part of the Whitworth Institute, a park that would counteract the malaises of inner city life. The 18 acre park boasted a boating lake, pavilion, observatory, bandstand, elaborate flowerbeds and many other features. It was intended to promote health and well-being, and to provide clean air and an access to nature in the midst of a growing industrial city.
During the last century, as well as providing the closest green space to the city centre, the park took on new roles, as a venue for political marches and civil rights rallies, providing space to remember war dead, and aiding the Civil Defence of the city during the Second World War.

The Whitworth Park Community Archaeology and History Project took place between 2011 and 2015. During this time, the material, social and the natural history of the park were investigated through archaeological survey and excavation, archival research and oral history. The project was collaboration between the University of Manchester Department of Archaeology, The Manchester Museum, the Whitworth Art Gallery, Friends of Whitworth Park and the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relation Resource Centre. It was supported by grant of £39,700 by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
In a change of speaker, Ruth Colton will deliver the Society's talk in March, ‘Whitworth Park: Pleasure, Play & Politics.’ Ruth, who acted as Project Assistant on the project, and has recently completed her PhD, which focused on the interaction of children with late-Victorian and Edwardian public parks, found that there was a rowdy side to the life of parks during that period. Part of the tale to be told, during ‘Whitworth Park: Pleasure, Play & Politics’

The rowdy side of Victorian Parks, Daily Telegraph article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/10161782/Victorian-children-every-bit-as-unruly-as-todays-research-finds.html

Meetings are held at the Marple Methodist Church, doors open at 7.15pm, with the meeting commencing at 7.45pm. The evening is concluded with refreshments.

[MLHS]

Manchester Housing in the 19th century

During the 18th century the population of Manchester grew almost tenfold, from 10,000 to 89,000. Growth was unabated in the 19th century, doubling between 1801 and 1821, and doubled again by 1851 to 400,000. At the turn of the 20th century, Manchester's population stood at 700,000, only London and Glasgow had a greater population
This expansion came at a price for those who moved into the city in search of regular work and higher wages. In the early 19th century city planning was in its infancy and much of the new workers’ housing was erected with little regard to quality. The provision of clean water, sewerage and waste removal was left largely in the hands of private companies and was woefully inadequate to the population’s needs. Hardly surprisingly, Manchester was hit badly by the cholera epidemic of 1831-32. Many homes remained without clean piped water and flushing toilets until the end of the century. The death rate was high, particularly amongst infants and children, and the city was only able to maintain its growth through the continuous influx of new migrants.

Population growth of Manchester 1801 to 2011

Mike Nevell, a landscape and industrial archaeologist and Head of Archaeology at the University of Salford, will enlighten us on living conditions of these 19th workers, who flocked into Manchester, in search of a better life.

Meetings are held at the Marple Methodist Church, doors open at 7.15pm, with the meeting commencing at 7.45pm, the evening is concluded with refreshments.

[MLHS]

Neil Mullinuex's report on Judith Wilshaw's 'Compstall and Cooperation' talk, given to the Society recently, is now on the Local History website.
can be found here..http://www.marplelocalhistorysociety.org.uk/society-meetings/meetings-2015-2016/231-18th-january-2016-judith-wilshaw-compstall-and-cooperation-2.html

The homepage has also recently been updated.

[MLHS]

The Lily Water Wheel at Compstall Mills.
Said to be the largest waterwheel in the country at the time of its installation in 1838.

Compstall settlement, which lies at the confluence of the River Goyt and Gregg Brook was developed by the Andrews family as a mill village, from around 1820, the family owned Compstall Mill and Printworks.
With the survival of most of the workers’ housing and contemporary buildings, Compstall forms an uncompromised and important example of a complete industrial settlement from the early period of the Industrial Revolution.
The Andrew family and their employees created a cloth manufacturing and finishing establishment which was one of the first examples in the Industrial Revolution of vertical integration in the textile industry. Raw cotton was spun into thread, which was woven into cloth and then bleached and transformed into printed fabric. All these processes were carried out in a single group of buildings. Judith will take us on a journey, throwing light on a dark January night, on the history of this early industrial area.

Monday, January 18th at 7.45pm in Marple Methodist Church, doors open 7.15pm.
The meeting is followed by refreshments.
www.marplelocalhistorysociety.org.uk/

[MLHS]

Marple Local History Society Programme for 2015/16

     21st September 2015: -  Bernard Dennis – History of the English Longbow

    19th October: - Donald Reid – Along the Packhorse Trails

    16th November: -  Ian Morison – The Story of Jodrell Bank

    14th December: - Norman Redhead – Marple Lime Kilns

    18th January 2016: - Judith Wilshaw – Compstall Retrospective

    15th February: - Mike Nevell – Housing in 19C Manchester

    21st March:-  Sian Jones – Whitworth Park History & Excavations

    18th April: -  AGM & Michael Lambert - Brentwood

Venue and Location
The meetings take place in Marple Methodist Church on Church Lane in Marple.  Postcode: SK6 7AY
Doors open 7:15pm ready for the meeting at 7:45. Access is via the main entrance on Church Lane (opposite Mount Drive) and the meetings will be held in the church itself on the ground floor.

Subscriptions
The annual subscription for the Society is £10 for 8 meetings. This also allows participation in the Society's trips.

more information can be found on the MLHS website:
http://www.marplelocalhistorysociety.org.uk/

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This thread is for the latest Marple Local History Society Programme.