Underground Manchester
Keith Warrender 25 January 2010
Keith Warrender 25 January 2010
For the first meeting of the New Year members were treated to an interesting presentation on some of the tunnels and caverns which exist below Manchester by Mr. Warrender who is the author of two books on the subject.
The first type of tunnels which he discussed were the canal tunnels – the Manchester and Salford Junction Canal which mainly ran through a tunnel from the River Irwell and which was, unlike most canal tunnels, lit (by gas). This tunnel was used, after draining, as an air-raid shelter during the second world war. Another canal tunnel, which connected with the River Medlock, was known as the Dukes Tunnel. Many of the tunnels which were discussed seemed to have no obvious reason for their existence but the photographs showed that they, in the main, exhibited a high standard of workmanship. The tunnels below Victoria Station, culverting the River Irk, were seen to remain in good condition. The Victoria Arches, again used as shelters in the second world war, were described in some detail as was the involvement of one William Connell in the discovery of some of the artefacts found under Manchester. Speculation about the existence of a tunnel running under Deansgate was discussed. The presentation finished with an audiovisual sequence about the “Guardian” tunnel system built during the cold war as part of the system for protecting the communications in Britain in the event of a nuclear war. A very interesting evening, with high quality photographs and commentary, was concluded with a short discussion session.
The first type of tunnels which he discussed were the canal tunnels – the Manchester and Salford Junction Canal which mainly ran through a tunnel from the River Irwell and which was, unlike most canal tunnels, lit (by gas). This tunnel was used, after draining, as an air-
Mrs. Bradshaw’s third visit to the society lived up to our expectations as she again took us back in history and evoked our own memories of sweets.
She described the way in which the history of sweetmeats and confectionary in general had developed from the roman use of honey, through the sugared almonds of the 12th century and the marchpain, also based on almonds, leading to the herbal use of sweets as curealls in the 17th Century. Sugared almonds are still popular, of course, and in France are still given as gifts to wedding guests. The way in which these are presented to children who go to history days at Tatton Park was described with some interesting, and funny, anecdotes. How the various sweets can be manufactured by the children, while avoiding the actual ingredients used in the past, was detailed and examples of what can be produced were shown. The history of sweets and the use of refined sugar was extended into the 20th century and the experience of Mrs Bradshaw in making lollipops from boiled toffee was most amusing. The fact that the North West of England led the way in the manufacture of boiled sweets, many of which are still available, was underlined by the listing of many familiar sweets.
Again a most interesting and amusing presentation from Mrs. Bradshaw.
She described the way in which the history of sweetmeats and confectionary in general had developed from the roman use of honey, through the sugared almonds of the 12th century and the marchpain, also based on almonds, leading to the herbal use of sweets as curealls in the 17th Century. Sugared almonds are still popular, of course, and in France are still given as gifts to wedding guests. The way in which these are presented to children who go to history days at Tatton Park was described with some interesting, and funny, anecdotes. How the various sweets can be manufactured by the children, while avoiding the actual ingredients used in the past, was detailed and examples of what can be produced were shown. The history of sweets and the use of refined sugar was extended into the 20th century and the experience of Mrs Bradshaw in making lollipops from boiled toffee was most amusing. The fact that the North West of England led the way in the manufacture of boiled sweets, many of which are still available, was underlined by the listing of many familiar sweets.
Again a most interesting and amusing presentation from Mrs. Bradshaw.
Sweet Memories
Janet Bradshaw 22nd February 2010
Janet Bradshaw 22nd February 2010
This was a lecture illustrated by a large number of exhibits from Mr. Stockton’s collection of artefacts made from cast iron. He started by tracing the history of cast iron through the problems created by the fact that originally charcoal was used as the fuel for smelting the ore to Abraham Darby’s use of the furnace at Coalbrookdale using coke which overcame the supply problem. Mr. Stockton described the skills involved in the manufacture of the items on display, the designers, pattern makers and moulders were all skilled men who combined to produce the finished article. The earliest item on display was a civil war (?) cannonball discovered near Bolton which was not of the highest standard of finish, but, as was pointed out, if it was coming towards you the smoothness of the finish would not be a concern! Most of the items were of a domestic nature, door stops (properly called door porters), decorative items many commemorating famous people or events including one statuette of Blind Jack of Knaresborough, and more useful items such as a fob watch holder. There were also several items who use was of a more speculative nature and were thought to be used advertising in shop windows. The finish required on the base and reverse of the door porters was illustrated by the smoothness of several of these large, heavy pieces. There were a couple of industrial items in Mr. Stockton’s collection including one from a cotton mill which was an oil drip collector for the overhead shafting used to drive the machinery. This was, given the mundane use to which it was put, attractively
designed and well finished. One other piece of domestic equipment on display was a charcoal fired iron which was not only large and obviously quite hot when in used but was handed – this example was right handed – a left handed user would have been burnt quite easily! An interesting evening with members joining in trying to guess some of the uses to which the exhibits may have been put when first manufactured.
designed and well finished. One other piece of domestic equipment on display was a charcoal fired iron which was not only large and obviously quite hot when in used but was handed – this example was right handed – a left handed user would have been burnt quite easily! An interesting evening with members joining in trying to guess some of the uses to which the exhibits may have been put when first manufactured.
Cast Iron – The Victorian Plastic
Cliff Stockton
29th March 2010
Cliff Stockton
29th March 2010
There was a slightly different format to this evening’s meeting as Mr. Watson positively encouraged audience participation. We were given a “crib sheet” with some of the meanings of old Norse and Anglo-Saxon words which are to be found in many of the place names in England. He then gave examples of current place names, and the members and guests had to work out what the original meaning of the place name could be. Some were easy, most were not! We were also taken on an imaginary journey across the Pennines and shown how the place names could be used to find the way, using descriptions of features of the landscape. We learned that most of the names are “monogenetic”, coming from a single language source, but some are “polygenetic”, where there is a mixture of sources as the population developed and possibly didn’t understand the original naming. One classic example of this is Pendle Hill, which actually means “hill hill hill”. Most of the examples which Mr. Watson gave were northern, mainly Lancashire and Yorkshire, with a few from southern England.
Moving further afield we encountered Celtic influences in the naming both of places and geographic features which appear in the place names. The final influence on place names came with Norman French, which did not however have a great influence in our area. Mr. Watson concluded his fascinating talk with a large selection of local place names and their derivation including, naturally, Audenshaw – “Aldwins field. “
Origin of Place Names
Peter Watson
26th April 2010
Peter Watson
26th April 2010
The talk on Robertsons, the jam factory which existed from 1890 until very recently, by Mrs Ward gave an interesting insight into both the history and the organisation of the company. Mrs Ward, as she said was a woman in a mans world and was employed at Robertsons from the early 1970s. She outlined the history of the company from its origins in Paisley to the demise, through several takeovers, of the local plant. She also traced the growth of the trade mark of the “golly” and the story of the development of the golly badges, collected not only by children but also many adults and which now can fetch up to £1000 at auction. Not only labels and badges but there were many other items which carried the golly trade mark, hot air balloons, yachts and the corporate aeroplane. Mrs Ward outlined the programme of a typical year and the different areas of the world which supplied the raw ingredients – starting the year with oranges from Seville, moving on through lemons from Sicily, to the more local soft fruit from specific areas of the U.K. and Ireland (all the blackberries used were wild and came from Eire) and on to the Christmas fare of Mincemeat and Christmas Puddings. Amusing anecdotes about the various suppliers were told, as were some of the problems encountered with both the weather and H.M. Customs. Mrs. Ward concluded her talk with a description of the various owners who had bought Robertsons over the last few years and the effect of the changes in retail marketing and buying on the company and its products. An interesting talk illustrated by a number of photographs of personnel over the years on a local concern.
Robertons
Audrey Ward
24th May 2010
Audrey Ward
24th May 2010
