15 Friday Jun 2018
Posted in Books, General Information, History
In aid of the Diocese of Nottingham, Sick and Retired Priests Fund, Canon Anthony Dolan has published Good News for the East Midlands – An account of the background to and the story of, the Diocese of Nottingham.
The book can be ordered from the address on the poster above, or from the website.
10 Sunday Jun 2018
Posted in Books, History, Publications
The North West Catholic History Society are delighted to announce the long awaited publication of Peter Doyle’s history of Upholland College, entitled ‘Upholland College – One Hundred and Fifty Years of Priestly Training’.
St Joseph’s College Upholland was a seminary in the Archdiocese of Liverpool and this book takes us through its long and illustrious history from its early origins at St Edward’s College, Everton in 1850 to the final closure and sale of the site in 1999.
The book is meticulously researched and beautifully written and is a must buy for any Catholic historian.
People wishing to order a copy can do so here
21 Monday May 2018
Posted in Conference, History, Ireland, Societies
On the 7th and 8th June the annual History of Religious Women conference will be taking place in Galway.
For more information or to book, please follow this link
07 Monday May 2018
Posted in Conference, Days Out, History
2018 National Day Conference with AGM to be held at the famous
17 Blossom Street, York,
YO24 1AQ
Alison Bartholomew, Historian and archivist of St. Chad’s Church, Manchester.
12 Friday Jan 2018
Posted in Archives, Family History, General Information, History
For genealogists, the United Kingdom Census records are probably the most valuable records presently available. At the moment the census records from 1841 to 1911 are available searchable online at various commercial websites.
The next census, which was taken on Sunday 19 June 1921, is due to be released in 2022, this is despite efforts by various bodies to have it released earlier, as had happened with the 1911 census. However the official government position remained that “its intention to release the entirety of the 1921 Census returns in 2022, in accordance with the non-statutory ‘100 year rule’ which was adopted to reflect this undertaking of confidentiality”. The census when released will provide full details of the 42,767,530 individuals living in the United Kingdom at the time.
This however will sadly be the final census that genealogists will see for more than thirty years for a variety of reasons.
The 1931 census has been destroyed – it was being stored in an Ministry of Works warehouse that on the night of the 19th December 1942 caught fire, not as is commonly believed as a result of the blitz, but simply due to an accident. An archivist from the General Register Office who surveyed the ruins after the fire reported:
You will regret to hear that in a fire last Saturday evening which gutted the Office of Works store containing our Census records at Hayes, the whole of the 1931 schedules, enumeration books, plans of division and miscellaneous material stored in cupboards etc were completely destroyed. Mr Farrow and I went down to inspect the remains yesterday and we are both satisfied that it would be useless to attempt any sort of salvage operation; we are leaving the Office of Works to clear and dispose of the debris in any way they think desirable.
The fire was not occasioned by enemy action and how it achieved such dimensions in a store in which special hydrants had been fitted and said to have been in charge of a fire guard of 6 paid watchers, is a mystery which will need investigation. It is hardly possible to imagine a more complete state of devastation than the scene presented to us in which it was impossible to see where some of the racks had stood and where the remains were nothing more than shapeless mounds of paper rubbish dragged outside the building by the firemen who tackled the fire and where even the least damaged sheets that were recognizable were charred to the depth of two or three inches on all edges.
The next census, due to have been taken in 1941, didn’t happen due to the War, although in 1939, the government department tasked with issuing National Identity Cards did construct a register of every person in the country at the time. Parts of the 1939 register is available online at Find My Past, but only the entries related to individuals born over 100 years ago, or who had died prior to 1991, however if you can prove the death of an individual since 1991, you can request their record to be opened.
Thus the next available census will be that taken in 1951, which not be available until 2052, another 34 years, leaving a massive gap for genealogists, that we will never be able to fill.
29 Wednesday Nov 2017
Posted in Books, History, Publications
A new publication is being proposed under the title
THE FORTRESS CHURCH, URBAN CATHOLICS 1778-1840
Defining period
Beginning 1791 Relief act legalisation of chapels and priests. English Catholics cut off from the continent English Clergy trained in England, decline of seigneurial influence. Chapelbuilding. Disputes between laity and clergy at local level. Local anti Catholicism. Rising wealth of urban middle class, urban poor, spread of schools, Sunday schools. English Catholic printers popular press. education,
End 1840 By then preparations were in hand for the restoration of the hierarchy, the Bishops had taken over Catholic Poor school education, arrival of active (not contemplative) religious orders from France and Ireland. New orders being established for work among urban poor and education. Church building enters a new phase
Defining areas to be studied industrialising towns.
Defining population to be studied lay middle and working class Catholics. Other work is in progress on religious, clergy and aristocracy.
If anybody is interested in participating or contributing to this project, please contact Marie Rowlands at marie.rowlands1@gmail.com
02 Thursday Nov 2017
Posted in CD's, History, News, Publications
On the 7th October 2017, Catholic historians from across the country gathered in London to attend the launch of the Margaret Higgins Database by Brother Rory Higgins.
The Database provides records of approximately 274,500 persons found in the many ‘Returns of Papists’; 1705-6, 1711, 1735, 1745, 1767 and 1780 plus other sources listed at the end of the 30 page introduction. For each entry in the database the following facts may be available:
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The amount of information given varies and it is rare to find that all of these fields contain information for an individual. The data has been compiled over very many years by Brother Rory Higgins FSC of Australia and other members of the Catholic Family History Society.
The database is available on CD through the Catholic Family History Society and can be purchased through GenFair
19 Wednesday Jul 2017
Posted in Days Out, Events, General Information, History
Heritage Open Days 2017 will be taking place between the 7th and the 10th September this year.
As usual many Catholic churches are opening their doors giving people the opportunity to explore buildings usually kept locked while not in use. Please consider making use of this opportunity to support these sites.
For more information consult the Heritage Open Days website www.heritageopendays.org.uk
NORTH WEST
Lancashire
Hurst Cross, St Christopher RC Church
Sefton Park, Liverpool St Clare’s RC Church
Liverpool, St Francis Xavier’s RC Church
Old Swan, Liverpool, St Oswald’s RC Church
Wallasey, Ss Peter & Paul’s RC Church (The Dome of Home)
St Helen’s, Holy Cross & St Helen RC Church
Darwen, Sacred Heart & St Edward RC Church
Over Darwen, St Joseph RC Church
Cheshire
Stockport, Our Lady & the Apostles RC Church
NORTH EAST & YORKSHIRE
County Durham
Old Elvet, St Cuthbert’s RC Church
Old Esh, St Michael’s RC Church
Yorkshire
Hull, St Vincent’s RC Church
Hull, St Charles Borromeo RC Church
Northumberland
Old Gate, St Robert of Newminster RC Church
Tyne and Wear
Gateshead, St Patrick’s RC Church
Sunderland, St Ignatius the Martyr RC Church
Wallsend, Our Lady & St Columba RC Church
Blaydon on Tyne, St Mary & St Thomas RC Church
SOUTH WEST
Cornwall
Launceston, St Cuthbert Mayne RC Church
Somerset
Bath, Eyre Chapel
Wiltshire
Calne, St Edmund’s RC Church
SOUTH EAST & HOME COUNTIES
Berkshire
Reading, St James RC Church
Reading, Sacred Heart RC Church
Essex
Colchester, St James the Less & St Helen’s RC Church
Hertfordshire
Bishop’s Stortford, St Joseph’s RC Church
Kent
Folkstone, St Peter’s RC Church
Surrey
Effingham, Our Lady of Sorrows RC Church
Effingham, St Teresa’s RC School
Woking, Holy Cross Chapel
WEST MIDLANDS
Gloucestershire
Gloucester, St Peter’s RC Church
Staffordshire
Newcastle under Lyme, Holy Trinity RC Church
Burslem, St Joseph’s RC Church
Stoke on Trent, Sacred Heart RC Church
Warwickshire
Birmingham, St Chad’s Cathedral
Birmingham, The Oratory
EAST MIDLANDS
Lincolnshire
Grimsby, St Mary on the Sea RC Church
05 Wednesday Jul 2017
This gallery contains 2 photos.
05 Sunday Mar 2017
Posted in Archives, General Information, History
With the centenary of the Great War in full swing, interest from genealogists in the role played by their ancestors in the conflict has never been higher, and one of the questions I am frequently asked by people is whether I can help them find their ancestors military service record.
Sadly, the answer is often ‘no’, due to the fact that only a percentage of military files from this period are available, and the reason is quite complicated.
Historically, the British Civil Service was renowned for it’s record keeping; files were created and kept on every aspect of administration of the British Empire, and the military was no different, every soldier who served from around 1900, had a personnel file created about them. This file contained their attestation papers, medical reports and records, disciplinary records, conduct reports, as well as miscellanea of other items relevant to the soldier in question.
By 1914, the regular and reserve army in Britain numbered about three quarters of a million men, however by the end of the war, more than seven million were thought to have served.
Following the conclusion of the war, the records were retained in the War Office Records Store, located in Arnside Street, London. The building was however hit by a high explosive bomb in September 1940 during the London Blitz, and although the initial explosion did not destroy the records, the subsequent fire would do. About 60% of the service records were completely destroyed that day, those that remain fit into the following categories
One of the ‘Burnt Records’
The Burnt Collection
About one third of the records were retrieved from the ruins, and put in storage, extensive work later took place to preserve and restore these remaining records, they are about 2 million in number, and are available on microfilm at the National Archives, or by subscription on Ancestry, originals are not permitted to be accessed due to their fragility.
The Un-burnt Collection
About 750,000 records escaped destruction being stored as they were in a different building.
Therefore unfortunately most people will find that they are unable to locate their family record of military service. If you can, you are lucky.
Records for personnel who served after the war and in WW2 are still restricted and will not be completely open access for many more years.
