CBA NW Spring Conference 27 April Booking Still Open
CBA NW Spring Conference 27 April Booking Still Open
CBA NW Spring Conference 27 April Booking Still Open
The Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society, of which I am currently President, are holding their annual conference on 11th May 2024. The theme this is new research and with a focus on local history, family history and archaeology. It will be held at the friend’s Meeting House, Mount Street, Manchester, M2 5NS from 10am to…
In February 2024 Historic England’s released a ‘Heritage Asset’ guide dealing with the above and below ground archaeology of the industrial textile mill: from spinning and integrated mills, to weaving sheds, and the power plants needed to run these sites. The textile mill is one of the iconic monuments of industrialization, spurring the growth of…
The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, in partnership with Keele University, is pleased to announce a new PhD studentship funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The PhD will explore the identity of Telford and the Ironbridge Gorge from the new town’s launch in 1968 up to the present day. The Deadline for applications is…
Readers of this blog will be aware that I am currently the President of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society (LCAS). Founded in 1883, the Society promotes research and interest in the archaeology and history of the region. Following the 140th Anniversary year of the Society in 2023, LCAS have set up an annual research…
It was my pleasure and honour to attend the Altrincham Court Leet Hilary Assizes in my capacity as Surveyor of Antiquities (and freeman) on January 13th 2024. I’ve mentioned elsewhere in this blog that I’m the first person to hold this position for the Court Leet. Whilst its a largely ceremonial office, it does provides…
One of my regular walks takes my into the centre of Sale, Trafford, via Northenden Road and across the road bridge above the Bridgewater Canal and the MetroLink line (formerly the Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway). The vistas from the top of this bridge provide views along the Bridgewater to the north and south.…
December 2023 sees the publication of my 53rd book, The Archaeology of Ironbridge Gorge in 20 Digs, by Amberley Publishing. It is more than 24 years since the last book on the archaeology of the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, one of the cradles of industrialisation. Since the late 1990s our understanding of the impact of…
My interest in how Climate Change has and is affecting archaeological and heritage sites goes back many years. In the 2000s I was involved in excavating a later prehistoric and Roman village in the Trent Valley, Nottinghamshire, whose existence depended in large measure upon the annual inundation of the surrounding flood plain to refertilise the…
Since 2020, the Association for Industrial Archaeology (AIA) has been developing and running jointly with the Institute for Cultural Heritage and History of Science & Technology (USTB, China), a series of online industrial archaeology seminars. These are designed to bring together researchers to exchange ideas and knowledge among Western and Eastern colleagues to build a…
As the leaves drop, along with the daytime temperatures of late autumn, so some strange urban vistas in the form of faint letters and pictures are revealed on many urban structures. These reminders of past use, and long lost businesses and industries, are known as ghost signs. So what are ghost signs? Typically they are…
Its that time of year again when archaeology professionals, academics, and volunteers come together to explore and celebrate the latest digs and research from across Greater Manchester, courtesy of GMAAS, the Greater Manchester Archaeology Federation, and the University of Salford. During the three years of the COVID pandemic, community archaeology and voluntary archaeology struggled, whilst…
In mid-September 2023 the attention of drivers and pedestrians travelling along Manchester Road (the A56) through the Broadheath area of Altrincham may have been briefly caught by the sight of a digger demolishing an unassuming-looking brick building. This two storey structure stood on the southern side of the Bridgewater Canal behind the Packet House pub.…
In the woodland between the northern side of Charcoal Road and southern edge of the Dunham New Park and its golf course in Altrincham, Trafford, can be seen the overgrown remains of brick and concrete foundations for at least three buildings. These are the most visible remains of the Dunham Massey prisoner of war camp…
The Wye Valley is a stunning piece of landscape, even in the rain of a very wet summer in 2023. The dampness of this year has emphasised what a lush landscape is can be, with hedgerow dripping with early ripening bramble fruits, the branches of fruit trees becoming increasingly laden with ripening apples, pears, and…