Thursday 5 January 2012

A Chorlton Historian for Today

Historians and historical research are alive and doing very well here in Chorlton. Over the last few months I have mentioned some of those who wrote about the history of our township. But of course there is plenty of work still being done recording Chorlton’s past.

Ida Bradshaw describes herself as the unofficial archivist of St Clements Parish Church, which is a title that does not do justice to either her knowledge or her research. Ida is currently cataloguing the old parish magazines from the late 19th century which are a rich source of information. What were once just casual comments about a contemporary event or individual are with her meticulous research proving an invaluable clue to our history.

The Worlidge family who were loyal members of the church played a significant part in the running of one of the voluntary Red Cross Hospitals during the Great War. Until Ida began cross checking through the magazines the only reference to them was in a history of the work of the North West Red Cross Society. But now many more details of the family and the contribution they made is coming to light.

In the same way Ida has begun to track the records of local businesses by the adverts they placed in the parish magazines. This is particularly important in trying to understand the development of Chorlton as it changed from rural community to a busy suburb of Manchester. The numbers and variety of traders and shop keepers helps chart the spread of “new Chorlton” and throws a light on who was moving into the community including their class, their income and their interests.

So a chance advert for a private education college led Ida to explore the whole range of educational establishments which reflected the growing concern of lower middle class families that their children should have an education a cut above the elementary provision.

This of course does not do justice to Ida’s work. I doubt whether any of us would have known much about the local artist Tom Mostyn or the great burial scandal which resulted in the intervention of a Home Secretary if it were not for her efforts.

But perhaps one of her most pleasing pieces of work has been following the trail of Hawthorn Farm and finding that the descendants of the Sutton family who lived there not only still live in Chorlton but Ida has known them for years.

Such is the continuity of local history, and if this were not enough, Ida proudly told me that her grandmother had “boxed the ears of Jimmy Millar when he was a child.” Now Jimmy Millar was born in Salford in 1915 and later changed his name to Ewan McColl, but that as they say is another story, some of which can be viewed at http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/2012/01/how-folk-songs-should-be-sung-ewan.html


Picture; advert from the Parish Bazaar Magazine 1928 kindly suppied by Ida Bradshaw

No comments:

Post a Comment