We look forward to welcoming Paul Hindle to talk to us again.

Paul Hindle tells us that Salford was for many years basically a suburb of Manchester, but that has all changed now. This talk compares old photos with present day images, taking three routes through Salford. Even more changes have happened in the last ten years and these will also be discussed.

We want you to enjoy the morning talk and the AGM which follows on immediately. After the AGM there will be time for some lunch - there is a café in the library on the ground floor, and then return to the Performance space for the afternoon talk.

Date: 22 May 2024
Day: Wednesday, 10.30am
Venue: Manchester Central Library
Speaker: Paul Hindle
Booking: will be on Eventbrite 
Cost: members - free of charge
Cost: non-members - £5

Image: supplied by speaker

Our AGM will follow on immediately from the morning talk. If you attend the morning talk we invite you to stay (only members can vote, of course), as there will be a few minutes to wait for the AGM to start at 11.45.

Members who wish to attend the AGM but not the morning meeting can make their way to the Performance Space for about 11.30am, when we can open up the Performance Space.

Members and guests who are staying for the aftenoon meeting can use the lunch break to chat to other attendees, but books from the bookstall or buy lunch from the library cafe on the ground floor.

Date: 22 May 2024
Day: Wednesday, 11.45am
Venue: Manchester Central Library
Speaker: Trustees
Booking: no booking required
Cost: members - all members are invited to stay for the AGM
Cost: non-members - non-members attending both meetings on the day can stay for the AGM but will not be able to vote.

Image: hh

We look forward to welcoming Dr Alan Crosby to talk to us again.

Alan Crosby says: 

"In the mid-1950s Manchester was in a sorry state. The city had been physically battered by the war, while its economic base had been badly damaged by forty years of decline in key industries. Public health was poor, pollution of air and water was exceptionally high, the housing stock was deteriorating, the transport infrastructure was decaying and, to many observers, it seemed that Manchester had had its day. But the City Council had other plans: carrying on the pre-war policy of 'decentralising' population by building overspill estates; wholesale redevelopment of vast swathes of the urban fabric; replanning the city centre; building urban motorways; and ensuring that gleaming white concrete replaced the sooty black brick and stone. It was a utopian vision, and with the benefit of hindsight we know that it quickly went sour and left a bitter legacy. The 1950s and 1960s made an indelible mark  on Manchester - not only physically but also socially, even emotionally. For better or for worse, this is one of the key periods in the city's long history."

If you are spending the day with us, enjoying both meetings, there is plenty you can do during the lunch break. Food and drink is available from the cafe, our bookstall will be open in the meeting room, there is always an exhibition display in the foyer and, further along the corridor from the Performance Space, you will find the local history reference and lending books, a real treausre trove to browse through.

Date: 22 May 2024
Day: Wednesday, 1.00am
Venue: Manchester Central Library
Speaker: Dr Alan Crosby
Booking: will be on Eventbrite 
Cost: members - free of charge
Cost: non-members - £5

Image: supplied by speaker

Almost within living memory - The 1921 Census

Three years after the end of the Great War the nation was still adapting to life in peacetime. Taken on 19 June 1921 because of threatened industrial action, this is the first available census of modern times.

The 1921 census provides information on close to 38 million individuals and contains far more details than previous census enumerations.

Leslie will take a look at how to access the 1921 census from Manchester Central Library for free and look at the variety of information included on this census. 

Leslie will also talk about relevant census substitutes which will complement your search of modern ancestors.

Bring your questions and let’s talk all things 1921.

Date: 25 May 2024
Day: Saturday, 10.30am
Venue: Manchester Central Library
Speaker: Leslie Turner
Booking: will be on Eventbrite 
Cost: members - free of charge 
Cost: non-members - £5

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60 Years of working together to find, save and transcribe records for present and future generations of family researchers.

Call in at Manchester Central Library to see our display of archival resources that we have used in the past or might be using now, wonder at the sheer variety of datasets that make up the 3.5 million records that can be searched on our website. From Salford vehicle registrations to the massive sets of Catholic Parish Records, what might we know about your ancestors?

Meet some of our volunteers, find out more about what we do and why we always need more volunteers. Are you skilled in transcribing, publicity, helpdesk, administration, web editing, writing - just to name a few - we might have just the vacancy for you! 

We look forward to seeing you at this open event.

Additional information may be available nearer the date of the event

Date: 6 July 2024 (TBC)
Day: Saturday, 110.30am - 3.00pm
Venue: Manchester Central Library
Speaker: Trustees (to be confirmed)
Booking: open event
Cost: members - no admission charge
Cost: non-members - no admission charge

Image: Generated with AI ∙ 22 January 2024 at 11:02 am

Join us on Wednesday, July at 10.30am for this, our first quarterly tallk of the day: The Royal School for the Deaf and Dumb (Manchester) Part 2.

Details to follow.

Date: 24 July 2024
Day: Wednesday, 10.30am
Venue: Manchester Central Library
Speaker: Ed Baines
Booking: will be on Eventbrite
Cost: members - free of charge 
Cost: non-members - £5

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Join us on Wednesday, 24th July at 1.00pm for this, our second quarterly tallk of the day: Annie Horniman 1860-1937.
 
Annie Horniman was born in London to a wealthy middle-class family and could so easily have followed the natural career path of so many of her contemporaries; enjoy an easy life, make a good marriage and spend her time helping her husband further his career. Not our Annie! In an age where women were only just beginning to strike out for themselves Annie broke away from convention and a bequest from her grandmother enabled her to follow her dream to become involved in the theatre.

Her friendship with the Irish poet W.B.Yeates led her across the Irish sea to Dublin and the founding of the Abbey Theatre, from Dublin to Manchester but alas not all plain sailing, however Dublin’s loss was Manchester’s gain.

Controversy in the Midland Hotel. the opening of the Gaiety Theatre and all events in between led to Miss Horniman becoming one of the most prominent women in Manchester, but what happened then? How is it that this fascinating and radical woman is largely unknown today.

Come and hear more about the life and times of Miss Annie Elizabeth Fredericka Horniman.

Date: 24 July 2024
Day: Wednesday, 1.00pm
Venue: Manchester Central Library
Speaker: Jean Bailo
Booking: will be on Eventbrite
Cost: members - free of charge 
Cost: non-members - £5

Image: locations hh, portrait supplied by speaker

This talk is part of our Explore/Beginners series and the details are yet to be confirmed. As with all our Explore/Beginners talks, this will appeal to all of our members, sometimes building on solid foundations, sometimes covering different aspects of family history research and discovering resources which may be new to many. As a friendly in-person meeting, there is always the opportunity to share knowledge and help each other.

Date: 28 September 2024
Day: Saturday, 10.30am
Venue: Manchester Central Library
Speaker: Barry Henshall
Booking: will be on Eventbrite
Cost: members - free of charge 
Cost: non-members - £5

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