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News Archive
AGM ReportWednesday, 12th March 2008 The sixth Annual General Meeting of the Society was held on the 25th February 2008 in Brindle Community Hall. The meeting, under the chairmanship of Ian Whyte was conducted at its usual pace, taking just 25 minutes to get through the agenda. It was helped with no changes to rule or to the annual subscription, and the Executive Committee were re-elected en-bloc. In his report, Chairman Ian Whyte reported another good year for the Society, with membership standing at a very credible 60. At the end of the meeting, members endorsed the decision by the Executive Committee to bestow Honorary Life Membership on local resident, Ralph Power who has lived in the village since 1922. The rest of the evening was taken up by our customary ‘Dip into the Archives’ presentation.
April Open Day At St. Joseph's Primary SchoolWednesday, 12th March 2008 The Society will be holding an "Open Day" at St. Joseph’s Primary School on Bournes Row on Sunday, 20th April. There will be an exhibition about the area around Brindle Mill, Bournes Row and Gregson Lane – with photographs and maps from Victorian times to present day. The event, which is free, will be held from 10.30 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. and it is hoped that local people will bring their photographs for the archives – there will be a scanner and laptop there on the day. Society Archivist, Brindle Parish Council Chairman Darren Cranshaw, will be on hand to answer questions along with Secretary Steve Williams and a copy of the 1901 Census for Bournes Row will be available.
Rovers Star To Make Guest Appearance At Football TalkWednesday, 12th March 2008 On Monday, 28th April football fans have a treat with an illustrated talk entitled ‘Blackburn Rovers in the Bryan Douglas era’, being presented Secretary Steve Williams. The talk features the Rovers from 1952 to 1969, following the career of home-town player Bryan Douglas. He played for the club for 17 years, with two years out for National Service in the 1950s. He also made quite a few appearances in an England shirt, playing in the 1962 World Cup Finals in Chile. The talk starts at 7.30 p.m. in Brindle Community Hall and Bryan Douglas will be making a guest appearance, taking questions at the end of the talk. The evening is open to everyone with non-members being charge £1.50. Just to balance things up, Preston North End fans have not been forgotten as there are plans to present a talk in March 2009 entitled ‘The Lilywhites in black & white’, all about the history of the Deepdale club.
Summer Lakes Trip PlannedWednesday, 12th March 2008 Bookings are being taken for a coach trip to the South Lakes area on Sunday, 6th July, led by Chairman Ian Whyte. Places such as Cartmel and its famous Priory, Holker Hall and Furness Abbey near Barrow-in-Furness have Brindle connections. In Cartmel there is a Cavendish Arms - even sporting the same pub sign as the one in Brindle, whilst the Priory is the last resting place of members of the Cavendish family. They still own Holker Hall, close by, and at one time a branch of the family owned the Brindle Estate (it was sold off after the First World War). The trip is open to all and will leave Brindle Community Hall car park at 9.30 p.m. and return about 6.00 p.m.; the cost is just £20 and includes entrance into all the sites mentioned. Booking forms and further information about Brindle Historical Society can be obtained by calling 01254 854298 or via our Contact Us page.
Somme Battlefield Trip Tickets Selling FastWednesday, 12th March 2008 There are only a few places left on the five day coach trip to the First World War battlefield on the Somme in northern France. Organised and led by WW1 historian and Brindle Historical Society Secretary, Steve Williams, it leaves Brindle on Thursday, 10th July and will stay in Arras for four nights. There will be three days visiting the major sites on the battlefield, including the Accrington Pals trenches and memorial at Serre as well as the impressive Thiepval Memorial. Anyone interested should contact Steve as soon as possible on 01254 854298 or e-mail to info@chorleypalsmemorial.org.uk. The trip is in aid of the Chorley Pals Memorial Fund, a registered charity; visit www.chorleypalsmemorial.org.uk for further details. Please Note: Brindle Historical Society is not responsible for the content of external websites.
Brindle Parish Plan PublishedWednesday, 12th March 2008 The long awaited Parish Plan was published in January, setting out the Parish Council’s vision for the future. At the same time it recorded the village’s development over the years; the Society helped by supplying numerous photographs for the final version. A copy of the Plan can be obtained from the Clerk to the Council, Tony Harkness by e-mailing him at brindleparishcouncil@tiscali.co.uk.
New Sister Website LaunchedFriday, 21st December 2007 The Society has lunched a separate website covering the military history of the village. Brindle-at-War.net came on line in late November and its launch was covered by BBC Radio Lancashire and the Chorley Guardian. The site covers everything from the Civil War to modern times. Brindle was heavily involved with the Roundheads and Cavaliers when a skirmish took place near the village in 1651 and villagers fought the Scots at Flodden in 1513, served in the Crimean War, the Boer War and both World Wars, as well as “getting some in” doing their National Service in the fifties and sixties. In modern times, a small nuclear bunker was built in the village although it was called “Brinscall ROC station”. This was due to it being connected to the telephone exchange at Brinscall, several miles away and site author, Historical Society Secretary Steve Williams thinks this was done to confuse the Russians! A large part of the website covers the two World Wars, with 201 men with a village connection fighting in the First World War and 59 men and women from the village in the Second World War. Whilst no one is around who remembers the First World War, several villages can still recall German bombs dropping in 1940 and 1941, as well as the V1 flying bomb that destroyed two cottages in the village on Christmas Eve, 1944. Evidence of the war can still be seen in the surrounding countryside, with the remains of an Army Camp on Dover Lane near to the border with Hoghton and an air raid shelter in the garden of one house in the village. The site follows the Historical Society’s aim of recording social history, rather than the technical side of war. If you can help with any stories, photographs, etc. do get in touch. The site is www.brindle-at-war.net.
Railway Talk To Be RepeatedFriday, 21st December 2007 In May, our Secretary presented a talk on the history of the railway line from Cherry Tree (near Blackburn) to Chorley. If you missed it, he is presenting the talk at the January meeting of the Blackburn Local History Society, to be held in the Abram Room of Blackburn Central Library on Tuesday, 29th January 2008 starting at 7.30 p.m. Visit www.blackburnlhs.org.uk for further details.
Old School PhotographsFriday, 21st December 2007 Irene Bolton, from Oak Bank in Brindle, has kindly loaned us a collection of her old school photographs from her days at Brindle St. Joseph’s School. They will be featured at our AGM in February during our popular “Dip into the archives” feature and also later in the year at an exhibition we are planning to hold down in the Bournes Row / Gregson Lane area; more details soon.
2008 Subscriptions Now DueFriday, 21st December 2007 Members are reminded that subscriptions are due for 2008 and should be paid via the Secretary. Membership is open to everyone and costs £10 per person. However, if two people from the same address join at the same time the cost is £17.50 instead of £20. Members get free entry to meetings and have access to material in the Society archives. If you would like more information about the Society or a membership form, please use the Contact Us link.
Somme Battlefield Trip PlannedFriday, 21st December 2007 The Secretary organised and led a very successful trip for the Society to the WW1 battlefields on The Western Front in 2004 and since then has organised similar trips in 2006 and 2007. He is looking to organise a five day, four night trip to the WW1 Battlefield on the Somme in northern France, possibly in late June or early July 2008. It will be run in conjunction with the Chorley Pals Memorial, where he is also the Secretary and a Trustee. The trip is open to all; for more information and to register your interest, please e-mail info@chorleypalsmemorial.org.uk. Please Note: Brindle Historical Society is not responsible for the content of external websites. In a Change to the Advertised Schedule...Monday, 15th October 2007 The Inside Out programme featuring our Secretary Steve Williams will now be shown on BBC 1 in the North West (or Sky channel 948 if you don't live locally!) at 7.30pm on Wednesday, 24th October.
Society to Host Major ConferenceMonday, 15th October 2007 The Society has been asked to host the Lancashire Local History Federation ‘At Home’ day in 2008. Each year the Federation asks one of its member societies to organise and present a local history day for LLHF members. The provisional date is Saturday, 4th October 2008 at Brindle Community Hall; more details nearer the time.
2008 Programme FinalisedFriday, 12th October 2007 The Executive Committee have finalised the programme for 2008. We intend to have a couple of meetings or events away from our base in the Community Hall, with a visit to the Lancashire Records Office in Preston in January and an evening at Clayton Green Library in March. Visit our Programme & Events page for details.
More Support From National LotteryMonday, 24th September 2007 The Society has received an award of £7,821 from the National Lottery ‘Awards for All’ programme. Some of the money has already been spent on revamping the website, a new radio microphone system for meetings at the Community Hall and a contribution towards improved loft access for archive storage at the Hall. There is money to do some workshops and exhibitions locally as well as contribute towards promoting the Society overall. The bulk of the money, some £5,000, will go towards publishing the long awaited World War One book entitled “Brindle and Hoghton Pals”. In addition, the award will fund a new website www.brindle-at-war.net detailing the village’s history in conflicts from the Civil War through to modern times; it is scheduled to come on-line by Christmas.
Secretary Helps The BBCMonday, 24th September 2007 Our Secretary, Steve Williams has been assisting the BBC television ‘Inside Out’ programme with a documentary on the war diary of a Chorley Pal who fought throughout the First World War. The diary contained some graphic accounts of men ‘Shot at Dawn’ which led to the BBC finding their relatives in Widnes, Cheshire. Steve did a piece to camera, being interviewed by series Presenter Andy Johnson. The programme is scheduled to go out on BBC 1 at 7.30 p.m. on Wednesday, 3rd October.
New Community Hall Scoops PrizeMonday, 24th September 2007 The new Brindle Community Hall, which was officially opened in August 2006, has won an award from Chorley Civic Society. Members of the Management Committee will collect the award at a ceremony in Chorley Town Hall on the 27th September.
Parish Plan Nearing CompletionMonday, 24th September 2007 Members of the Brindle Parish Plan working group are close to publishing their work in an illustrated document. The work, carried out for Brindle Parish Council over the last 12 months, included consultation with villagers, businesses, schools and groups in the local community. The document is due out in October and the Society will obviously place a copy in the archives.
Trees To Be PlantedMonday, 24th September 2007 Trees felled at the Community Hall in March this year are to be replaced as part of a scheme to improve the Hall’s surroundings. Work to increase the capacity of the car park will also see trees and shrubs planted around the entrance and site. The local Scouts will be doing some of the planting as part of their community involvement programme and work is expected to start at the beginning of October.
Railway Talk Attracts Record AttendanceMonday, 24th September 2007 The May meeting saw our Secretary, Steve Williams, give an illustrated talk on the railway from Cherry Tree (near Blackburn) to Chorley. It attracted 161 people, which virtually doubled the previous record attendance for one of our meetings. For details on talks we offer, visit our Talks Page.
Full Steam Ahead for Railway TalkSunday, 10 June 2007 Our next meeting on Monday, 25th June is expected to be the best attended yet. We are putting out 130 chairs in Brindle Community Hall for an illustrated talk by our Secretary, Steve Williams, on 'The railway from Cherry Tree to Chorley', which has been extensively researched, with many photographs, maps and film of the line. It starts at 7.30 p.m. and visitors are asked to get there early to get the best seats; additional car parking is available at the back of the Hall and will be signposted. The last time we presented a railway talk back in October 2004 (about the line through Brindle and Hoghton), we had 116 people at the meeting. Entrance is £1.50 for non-members.
Society awaits "Awards for All" decisionSunday, 10 June 2007 We are awaiting a decision for funding of £7,800 towards Society projects from the National Lottery ‘Awards for All’. These include publishing a book on WW1 history, entitled ‘Brindle and Hoghton Pals’ which the Secretary is writing. Also we are looking to publish a new ‘sister’ website in the next 12 months. www.brindle-at-war.net will cover all aspects of the village’s history from the Civil War to modern times, and charts social history with a wartime connection. We are also hope to receive funding to do some workshops, exhibitions and talks further a field. A decision is expected by the 18th June.
Trip to Ypres for Remembrance Day 2007Sunday, 10 June 2007 A four day coach trip to be in Ypres for Remembrance Sunday in November 2007 is being planned. Some twelve people have already booked to go on the trip, which includes being at the Menin Gate in the town at 11.00 a.m. on Remembrance Sunday the 11th November. If you would like details, please contact Brindle Historical Society Secretary Steve Williams on 01254 854298 or via our Contact Us page. Please Note: Brindle Historical Society is not responsible for the content of external websites. |
