Re-tracing Salford

01 - Your Name
= Steve Wilcock

02 - Your Email Address
= steve.wilcock@sky.com

03 - Let us know your question.
= Hi,

I am researching a family history and many of the forefathers were born and/or lived in the Salford area, during the period 1840 thru 1920.

I seem to have exhausted most sites and, so far, have gained little. Do you know any local historians/sites that could be beneficial to me?

I have specific interest in Walter Crawford, born in Salford in 1874 and who died in 1904. He was known locally as 'The Monkey Man' as he had pet monkies which he took round the pubs near the docks to entertain the sailors.

His 'odd' employment may jolt a few memories, but he also had a day job in Salford market.

I am hopeful you can put me in touch with someone who may be able to help and would be forever grateful if this could be the case.

Kind regards.

Steve Wilcock. (Glossop)

We are happy to put peoples enquiries about their family trees on our Blog. To date we have not heard of how useful it has been.

Did anyone hear of "the Monkey Man"?

The moment has come that we have all been waiting for. The young students at Salford Arts Theatre will be performing some of the stories from the past told to us by the people of Salford .Tickets and directions available from http//www.salfordartstheatre.co.uk

or phone 07770776924

Salford Stories

Can be seen on Saturday 14th November at 7.30 p.m.

at Salford Arts Theatre( off Liverpool St.)

We at Salford LIDS have been supporting  Retracing Salford since it started and had the chance to air a few of the many recordings they have made of the stories of the people of Salford.

The exhibition is at the Angel Health Centre on Chapel St. which is open 5 days a week 9-5 ish. The small exhibition can be found on the top floor , top end by hatch.

Thanks to all who came to the Chapel on Saturday( 12th Sept). There was a great turn out and the youth theatre was brilliant.

Thanks also to the people from the church who did the catering and The Manchester Evening News who did a great feature on the show. The Salford Advertiser came and took some photos too so you never know it might be in next week. We are working on the visuals this very moment so Watch this Space.

01 - Your Name<br> = Keith Johnson (Shorrocks)

02 - Your Email Address<br> = kj.transitions.nz@clear.net.nz

03 - Let us know your question. <br> = I would much appreciate any help that folks can give in tracing the descendants of the Shorrocks family that my grandfather left behind when he moved to south London around 1903-05 and changed his name from Harry Shorrocks to Harry Johnson.

Harry was born in 1879 in Salford, the son of Robert Edwin Shorrocks (Harry's mother's maiden name was Fanny Eliza Mallinson). Robert Edwin Shorrocks was one of a long line of Salford Brushmanufacturers - including Harry's grandfather Walter, and his great grandfather James (born around 1794). Walter and his family lived in Islington Street and R.E. Shorrocks and his family lived for a time in Nadine Street.

Harry had a brother Robert Mallinson Shorrocks (born 1885) and I would particularly like to make contact with Robert M. Shorrock's descendants (& also those of Harry's sisters Louisa b1881, Pauline b1885, Fanny b1891, and Annie b1900). And I am very interested of course in identifying why Harry changed his name!

Keith Johnson (Shorrocks), Wellington, New Zealand

--------------- End of Form ---------------

This is a form response generated on webs.com for retracingsalford.

If you believe that this is an unsolicited email,

MAKING A DRAMAOUT OF A MEMORY

It's Heritage Weekend this Saturday, and all over the country churches and historic buildings will be open to the public. Only inSalford, however, will you find young people acting out the past, having turnedpeople's memories into short dramatic pieces.

The action takes place at Chapel Street and Hope UnitedReformed Church on Chapel Street in Salford. Not many people know the name, butmost will recognise the ancient brick building on the opposite side of thestreet from Salford Central Station. It has a distinctive pair of staircaseslooping up to the front door, and has the date sign 1819 over the front door,the same date as the Peterloo Massacre in nearby Manchester.

The church will be open from noon to 4pm on Saturday, 12September 2009, and the first thing to greet visitors will be old family snapsand photographs collected and arranged by artist Lawrence Cassidy. This displaywas opened on 14 February this year but has been substantially re-arranged andadded to, with photos that people have brought in during the open days of theexhibition.

The photographs will be in the lobby area. In the main bodyof the church will be tables piled high with old maps of the area, so thatpeople can identify the houses they used to live in, which have subsequentlybeen demolished. However, all is not lost: artist Lawrence Cassidy has startedto archive photos and family snaps he's been given, and has begun to arrangethem into a new collection – The A to Z of lost Salford streets. This archive will beavailable on the internet eventually, if funding can be found to support allthe work needed to make it complete. Meanwhile, Lawrence has the 'pilot'version available on his laptop computer, and it will be showing on 12September.

Between this main area of the church, and the Coffee Bar atthe rear, there will be a number of strolling players, young actors who havebeen trained by Blueberry Youth, the young people's drama coaches at SalfordArts Theatre on Liverpool Street in Salford. With the help of a grant from theArts Council, the adults have been working with the children to transformverbal memories that have been collected since the exhibition opened inFebruary into short dramatic works. These will be presented informallythroughout the afternoon, and visitors will be invited to follow this up with avisit to Salford Arts Theatre in late October, when a longer version of thework will be available on stage.

It's a first, the first time that Salford residents have hadtheir reminiscences portrayed as drama, and the first time that all their oldphotos have been collected together, to start the major piece of work – The A to Zof lost Salford streets.

Further details: Lawrence Cassidy 07946 176291

website: http://www.RetracingSalford.com

Good News. We are on the Heritage Open Day events page http://www.heritageopenday.org.uk/directory/laa/Salford

We have invited local talent to show off their heritagy wares and a salford youth theatre group are performing some of your stories.Plus if you are very lucky a local folk duo will perform some  topical heritage songs if there are such things.

We had a wonderful time with Albert Thompson at Salford City Radio today. Recording his songs and chatting about Salford and his seaman adventures http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=Salford+Songs&aq=f You can hear the programme on 94.4 fm on SCR or it is streamed on line from 6-7p.m. on Sunday 14th June

Some people from Ordsall and the docks give us stories and there is mention of the Forget me not Library too. Action packed and heritage too. 

We are open again this Saturday looking at Family Histories. Paula Bradbury will be around to pass on her vast experience in this field. She has an amazing link with this part of the world ,as her ,way- back ancestor ,came from Ireland to build the first purpose built canal in Britain  since the Romans, at Worsley in the 1760s.

All welcome at the Chapel St. Gallery, Chapel St and Hope United Reformed Church, nr the Salford Arms, opposite Salford Central Station. Saturday June 6th , 2-4p.m.