What We Do
Our Research
Our members get involved in individual research, branch research, and the research projects carried out by the society. As a branch we work with the Bolton History Centre, and tend to focus on smaller archives which are local to us.
Local History
Much of the research around Bolton is included in The Great Database, which is accessed by the orange 'Search' button at the top of the page. As family historians we also look into our local history - which inevitably contains names and details of individuals. Our research is published in the Bolton section of The Manchester Genealogist.
Finding People
Our members help local people to find their local ancestors. Whenever possible we will offer help at our monthly meetings, and at local venues such as Bolton History Centre. Our members also help each other on the society's online forum.
Documents
We list online documents that are useful in our local searches. Some of these are indexed in The Great Database, some are not. Our members also continue to research family and local history and will publish their work on completion.
Help and Advice
We do not have a place we can call home, but we do have excellent partnerships with Bolton History Centre, which enables us to be present at local events. We also have a great venue for our meetings at Farnworth & Great Lever Golf Club on Plodder Lane.
Private Research
What do we do with our research? We share our research with our members - not all of it necessarily, but we like to share that which is unusual. The research undertaken to identify just one ancestor, or how we traced another ancestor's movements. We share our stories at meetings and in the quarterly magazine, The Manchester Genealogist.
Website Links
There is a wealth of free information online and our Weblinks pages provide you with a route to the most helpful websites to help with your research.
Bolton Family History Society
Secretary
Website mlfhs.uk/bolton
Facebook fb.me/BoltonFHS
Newsletter mlfhs.uk/bolton/newsletter/genies-archive
Newsletter e-mail
Meeting Programme Organizer
Bolton Genealogy Research Advice
The February 2025 Annual Meeting elected the following Officers and Committee Members.
Chairman -- Graham Holt
Secretary -- Christine Ellis
Treasurer -- Susan Boddy
Vice-Chair -- Ron Cole
Committee Members: David Baker, Cath Cole, Rita Greenwood, Michael Isherwood, Jane Milne, Barbara Owen.
The following tasks are undertaken on behalf of the Society.
Eventbrite/Zoom – Keith Grundy
Facebook – Christine Ellis
Federation of Family History Societies website notes - Keith Grundy
Genealogy Research Advice – Barbara Owen
IT Matters – Michael Isherwood
Meeting Attendance Records – Susan Boddy
Meeting Chair – Cath Cole
Meeting Journal Notes – Helen Pitt
Meeting Programme Organizer – Jane Milne
MLFHS Executive Committee Representative – Rita Greenwood
MLFHS Journal Editor - Rita Greenwood
Newsletter Editor – Cath Cole
Newslettter Sub-Editor - Ron Cole
Webmaster – Keith Grundy
Workshop Leaders – Christine Ellis, Rita Greenwood, Barbara Owen.
Zoom Meeting Host – Helen Pitt
Policies & Reports
MLFHS Constitution
BFHS Vulnerable Adult Policy
BFHS Complaints Procedure
Keeping in Touch
Whilst it is to be regretted that the Bolton FHS does not have any permanent premises to call home, we can be contacted between meetings in the following ways:
- Secretary
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - Bolton’s Genies Newsletter Editor
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - Bolton Help Desk
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
You can see us at: facebook.com/BoltonFHS
You can also subscribe to our newsletter mailing list.
Acknowledgements
The Bolton Family History Society gratefully acknowledges the use of the Humphrey Spender photographs from the Bolton Library and Museum Service Collection, Bolton Worktown, Photography and Archives from the Mass Observation.
The Worktown Archive is a unique historical document of everyday life in Bolton and the first Mass Observation study to take place in Britain.
Where indicated, other images are from the Museum's Local History Collection.
We are also grateful to David Whenlock and Peter Lodge for permission to use postcard images taken from the Facebook page 'Bolton Lancashire Folk'.
Bolton's Heritage
Little Bolton Town Hall
Little Bolton Town Hall is a municipal building in All Saints Street, in Bolton. The structure, which was the meeting place of the trustees of Little Bolton, is a Grade II listed building.
The building was designed by John Thompson of Blackburn in the neoclassical style, built by a local contractor, Thomas Heaton, at a cost of £3,000 in ashlar stone and was officially opened on 7 February 1828.
Although Little Bolton was absorbed into the new municipal borough of Bolton in 1838, the building became the regular meeting place of Bolton Corporation, and remained so until the new town hall was completed in 1873. It continued to serve as a magistrates' court and a police station until November 1876.
A private house was built at the north end of the complex in 1840. A link block between the town hall and the private house was added around 1876, allowing the complex to be converted for use as a public library. It remained in that use from 1879 until the early 20th century and then served purely as a store for many years before operating as a local history museum from 1978 to 1993.
After significant deterioration in the fabric of the building, it was placed on the Heritage at Risk Register. It was then acquired by two entrepreneurs who initiated a programme of restoration works, allowing the building to be brought back into use as a café, bar and events venue. The first stage of the development opened for use in April 2019.