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Chairman’s Notes

We look forward to meeting you at our venue in Altrincham Methodist Church, Woodlands Road. We have a varied programme of talks and meetings are Tuesdays at 7:30pm. Visitors are always welcome. Dates and talks for 2008/9 are being arranged and we will change to the third Tuesday in the month where possible to avoid clashes with other Altrincham societies.

Talks for 2007/8

September 11, Derek Slater, Words
October 9, Norman Redhead, The Work of the Greater Manchester Archaeology Unit
November 6, Paul Booth, The Black Prince's Cattle Farm in Macclesfield Forest
December 4, Christmas Party
January 15, David George, Textile Villages
February 12, Alan Scolefield, Ringway Airport in Wartime
March 11, Dr Tom Driver, Medieval Cheshire Churches
April 8, Joe Griffiths, Historical Lymm & District
May 20, Various, Projects Update & AGM.

Talks for 2008/9

The dates for 2008/9 have been changed to the third Tuesday in the month where possible to avoid clashing with other Altrincham societies: Sept 16, Oct 21, Nov 18, Dec 9, Jan 20, Feb 17, Mar 17, Apr 21, May 19 (Easter is Apr 12). See the Events page.

Projects

Derek Bates is collecting material on the demolition of property in the Altrincham area.
Don Bayliss is investgating Grey/Stamford holdings in Lancashire, Staffordshire & Leicestershire.
Don Bayliss is writing parts of a book on Dunham Massey.
Don Bayliss is assisting with parts of a book on Broadheath.
Hilda Bayliss is writing Contributions of the Court Leet to the 7th centenary celebrations of Altrincham receiving its charter.
Stephen Birchall is writing The Early Years of Baptists in the Altrincham area.
David Eastwood is investigating The Civil War in Cheshire.
David Eastwood is writing parts of a book on Dunham Massey.
David Eastwood is researching the 10th Earl of Stamford.
Keith Gowing is writing on Kearns Ltd, machine tool makers.
Colin Graham is investigating early Labour Party history in the Altrincham district.
Jill Groves is writing parts of a book on Dunham Massey.
Chris Hill is writing parts of a book on Dunham Massey.
David Miller is writing parts of a book on Hale.
David Miller is writing parts of a book on Dunham Massey.
Sue Nichols is writing The History of St. Anne’s Home.
Hazel Pryor is investigating The Gardening Industry around Altrincham.
Hazel Pryor is recording the effect of the demolition of property in the Altrincham area.
Dr. Alan Turner is investigating Ley Lines.
Nine members are researching the history of eight farms in Dunham Massey to accompany reports for the National Trust by the Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit.

Publications

Members are invited to submit articles of about 1000-2000 words (two to four typed pages) for the next Journal. Longer papers are also invited for publication and addition to the society’s archive. Members have contributed a number of papers, including ‘A Walk Around Broadheath’ by Bernard Champness, and ‘H W Kearns & Co., the Early Days’ by Keith Gowing. Bernard Champness has also written various papers including ‘A History of Hale Moss’ & ‘The Elitex Site’ and ‘Some Notes of Tilghmans & George Richards’. Hazel Pryor has published her book ‘Altrincham Gardeners Society’ and David Eastwood has published his book ‘The Booths of Dunham Massey’. Jill Groves has published ‘Hale Wills’ which will also be available on CD-ROM later. Doug Rendell has published his book 'Photographers in the Altrincham area'. Don Bayliss has published 'A Town in Crisis - Altrincham in the Mid-Nineteenth Century'. The society has assisted with the publication of a book by Margaret Thompson on local Art Metalworkers Hugh & Brian Wallis. Sue Nichols has been researching the history of St. Anne’s Home and will publish a book on her findings. Ex-committee member Frank Bamford has written a book on Oldfield Brow School. Journal 27 edited by Jill Groves is available £1 to members, £1.50 to others. Journal 28 is being prepared and will be available in September.

Charity Status

The society has successfully applied to register as a Charitable Trust to take financial advantage of reclaiming Income Tax from members’ subscriptions and bidding for Lottery funding.

Visits 2007/8

Three visits have been arranged:
1. A talk and tour of the restored Town Hall by Peter Noble, the regeneration manager for Altrincham Town Centre Partnership, on Wednesday October 17th 2007 in the Council Chamber.
2. A walkabout with Lymm History Society on Wednesday April 16th 2008. 20 members turned out to sample this very historic town led by Joe Griffiths of Lymm Local History Society.
3. A visit to a Dunham Massey farm, hopefully while the Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit are working there for the National Trust. Details to be announced.
Thanks to Colin Graham for arranging them.

The Town Hall

The Friends of Altrincham Town Hall led by David Eastwood have helped to save its demolition and the destruction of its historical Council Chamber, panelling and leaded lights. Three small public meeting rooms holding about 25 people people have been built on the ground floor as part of the refurbishment, together with exhibition space. Renovations started in May 2005 and the Town Hall reopened in September 2006. The rest of the site has being developed for offices and apartments, which funded the Town Hall work.

Dunham Massey Farmsteads

The Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit (GMAU) run by our President Dr Mike Nevell has won the contract to carry out an archaeological study of eight farmsteads in Dunham Massey owned by the National Trust. AHS has been invited to join the project to research the history of the farmsteads to back up the archaeological work. The project was initiated on 31 October 2007 and nears completion in April 2008.

History Society Website

We have had 18,000 visitors to the website since it was set up in October 2002. Access it via www.altynet.com . Ideas for improving the site include adding a section with old photographs of the area, and putting articles from the journal on-line. Other suggestions welcomed. Our email address is althistsoc@btinternet.com .

Committee

The committee for 2007/8 consists of Dr. Mike Nevell (President), Ron Higginbottam (Vice-President), Dr. Don Bayliss (Chairman), Colin Graham (Vice-Chairman), Roy Griffiths (Treasurer), David Miller (Secretary, 0161 926 8334), Hilda Bayliss, Jill Groves, Chris Hill and Hazel Pryor.

Membership of the Society

Membership for 2008/9 is £8 per person, £15 per couple, covering eight talks on varied subjects. We always welcome visitors (£2 per lecture) and new members. If you are interested in attending lectures or being more active in the society please contact the secretary via email or phone, or see the website.

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