Events to appeal to Boltonians and all members of the Society

Lower Brazley Hall, The Family, The Hall, The Legacy.

A few lifetimes ago there was a fine mansion in Horwich, filled with a bustling, growing family. But few people in Horwich know their fascinating story or the history of their house, Lower Brazley Hall.

This family is the Ainsworths and the story begins when the two brothers, both cotton barons, moved to the area at the time when the Industrial Revolution was beginning to change village, town and landscape forever. They were the leaders of their time bringing industry and work and triggering events and building programmes that are familiar to our townsfolk to this very day.

Their story is one of spiritual commitment, business, philanthropy, family life and civic service. Sadly, it was changing fortunes, tragedy and loss that eventually brought a close to their presence in Horwich and Rivington, but their footprint remains.

How I became interested? Over the years my wife, Joanne told of the story by the older residents of the estate in which she grew up. The Story was of a Hall of mansion proportions and each summer the Lady of the Hall with her daughters invited the young ladies of the area into the gardens to take tea and cakes.

Fast forward to early 2020, I was flicking through a book about St Catherine’s Church (Horwich) while on duty at the Heritage Centre, there was a piece about the Ainsworths who were major benefactors of the Church in the late 19th century. The very next day a friend sent me a photo of a single remaining gatepost for the Hall. Rapid research then followed before the Covid lockdown stopped all external travel etc. This allowed me to trace relatives and provided time for me to put together a first draft of a book about the Hall, the Family and their lagecy in Horwich.

• Date: 7th May 2025
• Wednesday 7.30pm
• Lower Brazley Hall and the Ainsworths of Bolton
• Speaker: Derek Cartwright
• Meeting at Farnworth & Great Lever Golf Club & Online via Zoom
• Attendance in person at Farnworth & Great Lever Golf Club - no booking required
• Zoom - Booking required -  tickets will be available from 3rd April.
• Members of MLFHS – free, Non-Members of MLFHS - £5

Please note: All events are subject to last minute changes due to circumstances beyond our control.  Please check our monthly Newsletter and Facebook page for any last minute changes, as that is the only way we can contact people.

Red Moss at Bolton was the scene of a grisly but significant discovery in the 1940s, namely the head of a woman, and possibly the oldest human remains ever recovered in the Bolton area.

On a November day in 1943, a Dutchman by the name of Egbert Krikken set out to his work as a peat digger on Red Moss. He was working somewhere towards the moss’s boundary on the Blackrod side, when he uncovered a human skull, complete with red hair, from beneath the peat.

The find was reported to the police, and once it became clear that the skull was ancient, the question would have arisen as to why the head had been deposited there. In the intervening years, it has become clear that this was a ‘bog body’, a sacrificial victim of religious beliefs from the Bronze and Iron Age. Fifty years after its discovery, the skull would become a rallying point in the effort to save the whole of Red Moss from destruction.

This talk is about the discovery, its significance for Bolton and for our past as whole, and about its sad loss.

• Date: 4th June 2025
• Wednesday 7.30pm
• Red Moss Girl, Boltons Own Bog Body
• Speaker: Maggy Simms
• Meeting at Great Lever & Farnworth Golf Club & Online via Zoom
• Attendance in person at Great Lever & Farnworth Golf Club - no booking required
• Zoom - Booking required -  tickets will be available from 8th May.
• Members of MLFHS – free, Non-Members of MLFHS - £5

Please note: All events are subject to last minute changes due to circumstances beyond our control.  Please check our monthly Newsletter and Facebook page for any last minute changes, as that is the only way we can contact people.

Parish registers are much more than simply the names and dates which are so valuable for family historians. For most places they are the first record we have that covers the community as a whole, and they help us to reconstruct key aspects of local history.

Bolton's first register runs from 1573 to 1661, and it reveals fascinating detail about the town and its people four centuries ago. In this talk we consider issues such as mortality and health, illegitimacy, population size, finding a partner, and of course the terrible events of the 1640s, with the siege and the notorious massacre.

• Date: 2nd July 2025
• Wednesday 7.30pm
• Revealing the town and its people: Bolton's first parish register 1573-1661
• Speaker: Dr Alan Crosby
• Meeting at Great Lever & Farnworth Golf Club & Online via Zoom
• Attendance in person at Great Lever & Farnworth Golf Club - no booking required
• Zoom - Booking required -  tickets will be available from 5th June.
• Members of MLFHS – free, Non-Members of MLFHS - £5

Please note: All events are subject to last minute changes due to circumstances beyond our control.  Please check our monthly Newsletter and Facebook page for any last minute changes, as that is the only way we can contact people.

Stephen Irwin - Stephen, a historian, recently retired after more than 17 years as the Education Officer for Blackburn Museum, and he has entertained and enlightened many with his depth of knowledge about Lancashire history over the years, visiting most kinds of educational establishments plus giving interviews on the radio.

Late seventeenth century England was a dangerous place, people lived life without a safety net and political and religious violence were an ever present threat. Yet it was also a time when a recognisably modern Britain was born. The talk traces these themes through the rise to prominence of a couple, born into impoverished families but destined to be two of the most powerful subjects in the realm.

• Date: 6th August 2025
• Wednesday 7.30pm
• Britain's First Power Couple:The Life and times of Mr & Mrs Churchill
• Speaker: Stephen Irwin
• Meeting at Great Lever & Farnworth Golf Club & Online via Zoom
• Attendance in person at Great Lever & Farnworth Golf Club - no booking required
• Zoom - Booking required -  tickets will be available from 3rd July.
• Members of MLFHS – free, Non-Members of MLFHS - £5

Please note: All events are subject to last minute changes due to circumstances beyond our control.  Please check our monthly Newsletter and Facebook page for any last minute changes, as that is the only way we can contact people.

Sarah is an inspiring young genealogist whose journey into family history began at a young age, thanks to her beloved grandfather. Due to his medical challenges, Sarah was chosen as the grandchild to help him share and preserve their family's stories—a role that sparked a lifelong passion. Through him, she discovered tales of their family's origins in Bolton, England, where her ancestors worked in the textile industry and attended Bolton's New Jerusalem Church. Eager for more, her ancestor James Beswick converted to the Latter-Day Saints faith in Manchester and, in 1854, joined an exodus to America on the Marshfield. Over time, he was joined by his wife, other relatives, and friends from the area, many of whom made their way to Utah through various handcart convoys, leaving behind a legacy rich with harrowing yet deeply inspirational stories.

Now at 21, Sarah has become a renowned genealogist in her own right. A frequent presenter at RootsTech—having spoken in 2021, 2022, 2024, and with an upcoming talk in 2025—she’s also shared her expertise at numerous other conferences and societies. Sarah’s specialties span the United States, the United Kingdom, African American heritage, and DNA research, and her work extends internationally, including projects in Denmark, Italy, Eastern Europe, Armenia, and the Philippines.

Sarah brings her skills not only to conferences but also to initiatives like the 21 Day Family Connections Experiment and as a team member of the Hidden Branch Team. She is currently pursuing both her Accredited Genealogist Credential with ICAPGen, focusing on the American Southwest, and a genealogy degree at BYU. Having completed her level one exams, Sarah awaits the results from her level two and three exams, reflecting her dedication to the highest standards in genealogical research.

Sarah will be presenting live from Utah, USA, and we’ll be streaming her talk in our club room for an immersive experience. It will also be accessible via Zoom for those wishing to join from home. Questions are encouraged and will be managed by our host to ensure an interactive and engaging session.

• Date: 3rd September 2025
• Wednesday 7.30pm
• The Beswick Family Story: Hidden Histories of Green Street and the New Jerusalem Church
• Speaker: Sarah Day
• Meeting at Great Lever & Farnworth Golf Club & Online via Zoom
• Attendance in person at Great Lever & Farnworth Golf Club - no booking required
• Zoom - Booking required -  tickets will be available from 7th August.
• Members of MLFHS – free, Non-Members of MLFHS - £5

Please note: All events are subject to last minute changes due to circumstances beyond our control.  Please check our monthly Newsletter and Facebook page for any last minute changes, as that is the only way we can contact people.

David’s 'love affair with John Wesley' essentially began in 1989 when he purchased (with someone else's money, he adds) around 4 acres of Westhoughton – at Wingates industrial Park – in order to build a new UK HQ for the company of which he had stewardship as MD.

For their 'Grand Opening Banquet' after the formalities at the new premises, they hired their new neighbours, Wingates Band, and thus began another very long and deep love affair for David. In researching the history of the band, he soon discovered its Methodist links, with Methodism in the district having its roots in Wingates in the wake of Wesley's two sermons there in 1784 and 1785.

He has remained fascinated by Methodism (despite being raised in a very disciplined Anglican family!) and everything it meant to so many people for so long.

Prompted by the establishment of the Cornerstone Church in Westhoughton two years ago (a merger of the one remaining Methodist church in the town and the sadly-closed United Reformed Church – affectionately known locally as 'The Bethel' – Westhoughton Local History Group (WLHG) was invited to participate in a Heritage Weekend, profiling the history of the two churches, and linked to its 'new era’.

This prompted him to take a project 'off the back-burner', and to complete an illustrated essay on 'The History of The Wesley Stone' (the open air pulpit from which Wesley preached in Wingates), which has stood outside Westhoughton Methodist Church for decades.

David was also invited to give two talks about the history of Methodism in Westhoughton. Over the ensuing two years, the story has evolved, and he has talked directly to WLHG on the topic, and then to Horwich Heritage, and more recently to The Triangle Community Church in Bolton.

In the process, David has done more research on Methodism across Bolton (including Horwich, Westhoughton, Blackrod and Adlington – although the last-named is not in Bolton!), and continued other elements of research for his own stimulation – including visiting the marvellous Museum of Primitive Methodism in South Cheshire, and the Independent Methodists Archive in Wigan.

• Date: 1st October 2025
• Wednesday 7.30pm
• JOHN WESLEY'S LOCAL LEGACY: The History of Methodism in Bolton and District (1748 – 2025)
• Speaker: David Kaye
• Meeting at Great Lever & Farnworth Golf Club & Online via Zoom
• Attendance in person at Great Lever & Farnworth Golf Club - no booking required
• Zoom - Booking required -  tickets will be available from 4th September.
• Members of MLFHS – free, Non-Members of MLFHS - £5

Please note: All events are subject to last minute changes due to circumstances beyond our control.  Please check our monthly Newsletter and Facebook page for any last minute changes, as that is the only way we can contact people.

Many family historians will tell you that they feel that someone is guiding them in their researches; those strange co-incidences and happenings whilst searching.

For Mike there have been many instances, either on his own or with his daughter, when he really felt someone was helping. Some would say a sixth sense, some would say just good research or good planning or just luck. Can we be really sure that there isn’t a guiding hand from the past?

His guiding hand is Bernard, his ‘lost’ granddads brother and the talk tells of the man and his fate, and his influence over Coyle family research.

• Date: 5th November 2025
• Wednesday 7.30pm
• Great Uncle Bernard on my Shoulder
• Speaker: Mike Coyle
• Meeting at Great Lever & Farnworth Golf Club & Online via Zoom
• Attendance in person at Great Lever & Farnworth Golf Club - no booking required
• Zoom - Booking required -  tickets will be available from 2nd October.
• Members of MLFHS – free, Non-Members of MLFHS - £5

Please note: All events are subject to last minute changes due to circumstances beyond our control.  Please check our monthly Newsletter and Facebook page for any last minute changes, as that is the only way we can contact people.