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CFHS AGM – Bar Convent

New Book – History of Diocese of Nottingham

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.

New Book – Upholland College

 

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

 

History of Religious Women Conference 2018

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

Annual Conference

 

 

2018 Conference

2018 National Day Conference with AGM to be held at the famous 

Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre,

17 Blossom Street, York,

YO24 1AQ

 

www.bar-convent.org.uk,

in the historic city of York

on Saturday 29th September 2018 (10am – 4 pm).

Theme: education,

with

Lawrence Gregory MA, Historic archivist to the Newman Collection; social and Catholic historian.

Alison Bartholomew, Historian and archivist of St. Chad’s Church, Manchester.

Tickets    £20

from  Jean Smith,

10 Irving Close, Stockport, 

SK2 7DX

jeansmith1934@talktalk.net

United Kingdom Census Records

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 19^th 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.

THE FORTRESS CHURCH, URBAN CATHOLICS 1778-1840

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

 

The Margaret Higgins Database

On the 7^th 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:

Year Surname and Forename(s) Status / Occupation Age (Yrs) Length of Residence

County / Country Parish / Town / Street Birthplace / Source-1 References / Source-2 Notes & Comments

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

Heritage Open Days 2017

Heritage Open Days 2017 will be taking place between the 7^th and the 10^th 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