Title
UK incl. postage and packing
New Publication - December 2023
Life and Death in North Staffordshire: Inquest Reports from Audley and Surrounding Villages.
Volume 1, 1830-1879
Edited by
Christine Huxley
£11.50
Audley and District Family History Society PublicationsWe have some used books for sale. The list will be updated periodically. Please contact Mark Casewell. |
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Publications are available by post from: Mark Casewell, 32 Walton Way, Talke, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire,ST7 1UX mark.casewell@btinternet.com Please make cheques payable to Audley and District Family History Society.
Publications may now be purchased online using Paypal below. No need to have a Paypal Account to use Paypal - credit card or debit card can be used. Note: when you pay by Paypal you are taken to Paypal's SECURE site . Problems with Paypal ? - contact me at ian@wallbanks.org
MEMBERS PAY £0.50 LESS for each publication. (£1 less for the Diglake Disaster). Please state if you are a member or non-member in the drop-down option box.
Please note that cheques from outside Britain must be drawn on banks which have a London branch so that they can be paid in UK sterling. Simpler to pay by Paypal. For overseas, please contact me for price incl. postage and packing- i.wallbank@ntlworld.com .
Some of the titles have been reviewed below
The postal rates inreased in April 2023 . Our prices below reflect that increase,
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Society Publications - In Print (or download ) |
Title |
UK incl. postage and packing |
New Publication - September 2023
Kidsgrove: A history up to the year 2000
byPhilip R. Leese
Hardbacks sold out. Reprint in a few weeks. |
£16.60 softback
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New Publication - April 2023Out of Print DOWNLOAD ONLY Swettenhams - A North Staffordshire Retail Business
byIan Bailey
Book Sold OutDOWNLOAD ONLY
Life in the Wood - a history of the village of Wood Laneby Robert Mayer
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DOWNLOAD ONLY £5.00
DOWNLOAD ONLY £7.50
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The Diglake Disaster
by William Cooke Also available as a download
For pdf download, go here |
£8.25
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. MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS
. MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS |
£7.20
£7.20
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New November 2019Book Sold Out . DOWNLOAD onlyA link to the file will be sent after payment . Please note that the download is not automatic. There may be a short delay.
Talke Pits: a former North Staffordshire mining village by Paul Dunning
This book covers the history of the village from the mid-19th coming together staging annual carnivals and events.
Parts of this book cover subjects over a wider area within the 200+ pages with illustrations
(now available as a pdf download only at £7.50 (£7.00 member). |
DOWNLOAD only £7.50
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BOOK SOLD OUT but download still avaiable
Victims of the Minnie Pit Disaster 1918 |
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Book Sold Out
The Minnie Pit: Disaster and Controversy
by William Cooke
On 12 January 1918 one hundred and fifty-five miners were killed following an explosion at the Minnie Pit in Halmerend. It was the worst disaster in the history of coal mining in North Staffordshire, a tragedy that moved the whole nation and inspired Wilfred Owen to write his poem ‘Miners’. It was also a most controversial disaster, with the official version of events being challenged during and beyond the inquest that was held in 1919. In this book for the first time the miners’ own voices are heard, speaking to us directly from over a century ago.
For pdf download, go here
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New January 2019 Shortlisted for the Arnold Bennett Prize 2019
"Aldgedeslegh"
by Roger N Bloor An epic poem about events relating to the parish of Audley.
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£7.20
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"Called to Arms 1803-12 in the Staffordshire- Cheshire border region: Volunteer Infantry Corps for home defence under threat of a Napoleonic invasion" by Paul Anderton
The book makes available to family and local historians information otherwise only found in The National Archives. It contains names of hundreds of men who in 1803-4 joined home defence units in such places as Leek, Nantwich, Newcastle, Audley and Betley, Kidsgrove, Etruria, and Sandbach. They drilled and exercised weekly and went on annual camps, all in the expectation that they might be need to repel French armies headed by Napoleon Buonaparte. The history of each corps is explained and the circumstances in which each was formed are described.
(also available as a pdf download at £1.50 For pdf download, go here
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£4.75
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BOOK SOLD OUT but available as a pdf downloadA link to the file will be sent after payment . Please note that the download is not automatic. There may be a short delay.
NEW Nov 2016"Never to Return"
3rd edition, edited by Ian Bailey and Christine Huxley Over 250 pages.New entries and over 20,000 new words.
(the people on the war memorials of Audley. Talke, Scott Hay & Butt Lane) List of people who died in both World Wars. (in Office xls format)
(also available as a pdf download at £6.00 (£6.50 member). Contact me at ian@wallbanks.org for payment by Paypal and download link)
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Download £6.00
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"Monumental Inscriptions: St James, Audley"
This is the 3rd edition of this publication. Released 2013 |
£8.25 |
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NEW June 2019"Monumental Inscriptions at the Church of St Martin, Talke O' Th' Hill, Staffordshire."
2nd edition
(also available as a pdf download at £5.00 (£4.50 member). For pdf download, go here
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£8.25
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NEW LOW PRICE"Letters of Lieutenant John Lawton 1915-19" (see review below) Some Extracts.
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£4.75 |
TitlePlease note: no downloads until Friday 17th May |
UK incl. postage |
NEW LOW PRICE "Letters of Oswald Tittle 1912 – 18" |
£4.20 |
Download Only
A link to the file will be sent after payment . Please note that the download is not automatic. There may be a short delay. "Letters of Albert and
Edward Riley 1916 - 1918."
Book sold out - now available as a pdf download
A link to the file will be sent after payment |
Download - £3.00 |
Download Only
A link to the file will be sent after payment . Please note that the download is not automatic. There may be a short delay. "The Parish Registers of St
Bertoline, Barthomley, Cheshire. Baptisms 1562 - 1908, Marriages 1562 -
1910, Burials 1562 - 1910" .
CD sold out - now available as a download.
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Download - £6.00 |
Download Only
A link to the file will be sent after payment . Please note that the download is not automatic. There may be a short delay. "Audley Wills (fully transcribed) 1650-1700" |
Download - £6.00 |
Download Only
A link to the file will be sent after payment . Please note that the download is not automatic. There may be a short delay.
"Halmer End: A Brief Account of Village Life in the 1920s and 1930s" by Nofara. New January 2016
Book sold out but available as a pdf download, price £5.00 (£4.50 member)
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Download £5.00
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Title
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(pdf file)
A link to the file will be sent after payment . Please note that the download is not automatic. There may be a short delay. Book still in print, and may be purchased above.
"Victims of the Minnie Pit Disaster 1918" |
Download £7.50
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(pdf file)
A link to the file will be sent after payment . Please note that the download is not automatic. There may be a short delay. Book still in print, and may be purchased above. "The Minnie Pit: Disaster and Controversy"
by William Cooke
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Download £5.00
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(pdf file)
A link to the file will be sent after payment . Please note that the download is not automatic. There may be a short delay. "The Diglake Disaster"
by William Cooke.
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Download £5.00
> |
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(pdf file)
A link to the file will be sent after payment . Please note that the download is not automatic. There may be a short delay. Book still in print, and may be purchased above. "Called to Arms 1803-12 in the Staffordshire- Cheshire border region: Volunteer Infantry Corps for home defence under threat of a Napoleonic invasion"
by Paul Anderton
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£1.50
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(pdf file)
A link to the file will be sent after payment . Please note that the download is not automatic. There may be a short delay. Book still in print, and may be purchased above.
"Monumental Inscriptions at the Church of St Martin, Talke O' Th' Hill, Staffordshire."
2nd edition |
£5.00
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Audley Historian
the journal of Audley and District Family History Society
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Title |
UK incl. postage |
NEW October 2024Audley Historian Vol 30, 2024
Also available as a pdf downlad - £5 please contact website@audleyfhs.co.uk |
£8.55
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Title |
UK incl. postage |
Audley Historian Vol 29, 2023
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£8.55 |
Audley Historian Vol 28, 2022
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£8.55 |
Title |
UK incl. postage |
Audley Historian Vol 27, 2021
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£8.55
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Title |
UK incl. postage |
Audley Historian Vol 26, 2020
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£8.55 |
Other Audley Historian Books Still Available
Audley Historian Vols 7 to 18 and 21 (2015) and 24 (2018) are available (others sold ) (Only a couple of copies of Volumes 2, 6 and 13 available )
Volume 22 (2016), volume 23 (2017), volume 25 (2019) sold out but available as a download below.
(This is to order and pay for any of the above AH books in sock.email me the volume required.(for list of content see below)
Members may download AH6 & AH13 (still 3 copies available) free of charge in the Members Area
Volumes 22,23,24,25 and 26 are avaiable as a pdf download, see below
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£8.55
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A link to the file will be sent after payment . Please note that the download is not automatic. There may be a short delay. "Audley Historian Vol 22" 2016 Printed book sold out
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Download - £5.00
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A link to the file will be sent after payment . Please note that the download is not automatic. There may be a short delay. "Audley Historian Vol 23" 2017 Printed book sold out
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Download -£5.00
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Download Only
A link to the file will be sent after payment . Please note that the download is not automatic. There may be a short delay. "Audley Historian Vol 24" 2018 Printed book is still available, see above
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Download
- £5.00
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Download Only
A link to the file will be sent after payment . Please note that the download is not automatic. There may be a short delay. "Audley Historian Vol 25" 2019
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Download - £5.00 |
Download Only
A link to the file will be sent after payment . Please note that the download is not automatic. There may be a short delay. "Audley Historian Vol 26" 2020
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Download - £5.00 |
NEWDownload Only
A link to the file will be sent after payment . Please note that the download is not automatic. There may be a short delay. "Audley Historian Vol 27" 2021
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Download - £5.00 |
Society Publications - Out-of-Print (and not available as a download) |
SOLD OUT
'Index to the Mining Deaths in North Staffordshire 1756-1995. New August 2015 An index of "Mining Deaths in North Staffordshire 1756-1995", compiled by Mark Casewell The book contains about 4,400 entries of miners who were killed, plus about 250 who were injured. Details include name, age, place and date of the accident, place of burial, occupation and address and an indication of the nature of the accident. This book has enormous value for all those with an interest in mining in the area. The book was launched at the Apedale Heritage Centre on 9th August, 2015 |
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Other Audley Publications (not Society) |
From Alan Godfrey Maps here
"Alan Godfrey Old Ordnance Survey Map of Audley, 1898" - 15in. to 1 mile series New July 2016
Staffordshire Sheet 11.06 Audley 1898 - published 2016; intro by Malcolm Nixon. ISBN.978-1-84784-992-2 This detailed map covers the village of Audley and extends eastward to Audley Colliery. Features include Audley Colliery, Butters Green, Diglake Junction, Audley station, Boon Hill, Boyles Hall Colliery, Raven's Lane, Boyles Hall, Wereton, Wall Farm, Hougher Wall, St James church, Townhouse etc. A 1912 directory of Audley is included on the reverse. |
Cissie & Bella A family's story 1886-1930 by Julie Bagnall
Cissie and Bella, two working-class girls from northern England, left a legacy in the form of a
collection of post cards.
£10.00 plus £2.50 p+p available from Julie at stromeferry@tiscali.co.uk or telephone 01782 710197 |
ASTLEY: CIRCUS GENIUS by Paul Bemrose (Newcastle Museum)
in support of the PHILIP ASTLEY PROJECT - www.philipastley.org.uk This excellently researched and illustrated book is available online @ £9.99 plus postage from https://www.filmarchive.org.uk/products/astley-circus-genius
Once in a while, history produces a personality who rises up to become a legend in his own time. Philip Astley, born in Newcastle-under-Lyme in 1742, proved to be such a person and was fated to become one of the greatest theatrical and circus entertainers of all time. He made his debut not on the stage of some fashionable theatre of the day, but in a simple dirt ring of his own making in a field on the outskirts of an obscure London suburb some two and a half centuries ago. It is for this reason that we are celebrating him this year. In 1768 he formalised that dirt ring into a fixed circle surrounded by seating, performed his own astonishing equestrian acts and brought into that ring a bevy of entertainers – acrobats, jugglers, wire-walkers, clowns – to create the rich mix of entertainment we call Circus. The size of that ring he fixed at 42 feet diameter – the international standard of circus rings to this very day. Astley was a brilliant equestrian performer, one of the many riding masters who were plying their skills up and down the country throughout the second half of the eighteenth century. Often they were barely able to eke out an existence for themselves despite their efforts. Many riders had gained their expertise while serving in the army, as indeed was the case with Astley. What marked Astley out from his contemporaries was his uncanny knack of developing and expanding current forms of equestrian entertainment and moulding them into something new and exciting. It was this innate flair that inspired him to create the circus as we know it today. He shaped his programmes in such a way that fine horsemanship was combined with a blend of fun and laughter. He introduced clowns and performers of every persuasion to titillate his audiences. Over the years. His innovative ideas and concepts were adapted by virtually every proprietor in the business and Astley’s original ideas formed the basis of the later extravaganzas created by many of the nineteenth century impresarios. Even today, his ideas can still be detected in circus scenarios, a tribute indeed to the foresight of Astley. This then is the story of a brilliant man whose career ends with his death in 1814 and a legacy acknowledged in the books of authors such as Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. In a sense, this book acts as a preface to the fascinating history of the circus because, by the time he died, it had already become the most popular form of mass entertainment in the world. Philip Astley, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, is justly regarded as the Father of the Modern Circus. The re-issue of Paul Bemrose’s wonderfully researched and illustrated book ASTLEY - Circus Genius, is sponsored by Ray Johnson and Andrew Van Buren to support the PHILIP ASTLEY PROJECT during this 250th Anniversary year of the birth of Circus. Ray Johnson Director Staffordshire Film Archive www.filmarchive.org.uk |
Audley Historian (Society journal)
This journal contains articles on the history of Audley parish and the surrounding villages. To help you decide if a particular volume would be of interest to you, a full list of the articles contained is here. Current Journal VOLUME 29 - 2023
VOLUME 28 - 2022
VOLUME 27 - 2021
VOLUME 26 - 2020
VOLUME 25 - 2019
VOLUME 24 - 2018 |
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Audley Historian Volume 20 (2014)This year's journal contains, as usual, a range of items and Clive Millington starts it off with a description of how the manor courts operated, with examples from Audley's court. Then Ian Bailey and Clive Millington try to unravel the mysterious gravestone of 'Henry Holloway, comedian'(died 1902) who is buried in Audley churchyard. The journey is a strange and eventful one.
It is a pleasure to say that we have an article on Alsager this time - a rare event indeed - as Jim Sutton discusses the effect of various wars on that town.
The cover photograph this year is a striking image of Rookery Colliery about 1906, and information on this picture and some others is given in a separate article.
The final three articles are all about life in the parish. One is the transcript of an interview with Roy Turner, born in Wood Lane in 1927, and the other two are autobiographical items by Bessie Fryer and Joan Tomkinson. |
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Audley Historian Volume 15 (2009)Duncan Hindmarch has acquired a fascination with underground fires and this led to an interest in the Glasshouse and Water Hayes farms in Chesterton. This has brought a two-fold benefit to this year’s Audley Historian: he pursued the history of these two farms back into the seventeenth century, bringing in the glass and coal industries the while; and it also gave us a rare article on Chesterton. We depend, of course, on people contributing articles to keep this journal going and wish there were more from the parishes surrounding Audley. They would be very welcome.
Clive Millington concludes his series on the Old Hayswood Colliery and Estate. Studies in such detail as this of a single and obscure colliery are rare, and Clive’s work here is an important contribution not only to Audley history, but that of North Staffordshire and, because of the unusual period of the ‘Co-operative Colliery’, to the history of the coal industry in Britain.
We have a couple of shorter articles on our major industry as well: on a leading local coal owner, William Rigby, and also on an accident at Talk-o’-th-Hill Colliery in 1908
Robert Mayer on Wood Lane’s first school is another pioneering effort: it is the first full account of a school we have published, but Robert is keen to place the school in a parish-wide context and so gives a well-illustrated grounding in education.
Anne James has written an account of the shops of her childhood in Ravens Lane in the 1940s and 1950s, which will trigger strong recollections in many of our readers.
Our usual compliment of short articles include the story, written by Joan Tomkinson, of Harry Matthews, Audley’s noted barber, brother to an arguably even more noted North Staffordshire person, Stanley. Further information has come to light on the Alsagers Bank Cottage Home for Orphans; and our editor has ventured into dangerous territory by wondering about the spelling of Halmer… something-or-other, and Talke. There is also a newspaper account from 1909 of ‘An Extraordinary Scene in Alsagers Bank’ about which there is some mystery.
Finally, there are tributes to our late and lamented member, Pat Spode.
Reviewed by Ian Bailey
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Audley Historian Volume 14 (2008)Charles Rubotham, born in Audley in 1800, had an eventful life as he joined the army. Robert Mayer’s entertaining account takes us well beyond Audley’s boundaries (as a number of articles have done in past Historians) – even as far as Nottingham and Canada.
Clive Millington continues his important study, the Old Hayswood Colliery and Estate, which includes among many other details, a list of the 19 workers and their wages in July 1890.
Editing the journal has brought many surprises, especially in the variety of articles that appear. One of these was a cache of papers which had been uncatalogued on the shelves of the Hanley Archives since the 1960s, the MacGowan collection, and this formed the basis of an article by Kate Box on the MacGowan family in a previous journal. Now, Kate has written on another aspect of the collection, the Talk o’th’ Hill Motor & Transport Company, and brought to light long-forgotten information on this post-World War One company. Similarly, it was a surprise to find some good quality information on another institution, the Alsagers Bank Cottage Home for Orphans of the 1880s, and here you will find its report and accounts for 1887.
There are two short articles to add to the variety of the journal: Albert Gater’s sudden transition from school to the Jamage Pit; and Ron Burndred account of a plane crash in Chadwick’s field.
Finally, Joan Tomkinson has given her recollections of ‘Growing up in Hill Terrace, Audley’ in the 1930s and 40s – with some evocative photographs, one of which forms the front cover to the journal.
Reviewed by Ian Bailey.
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Audley Historian Volume 13 (2007)Thirteen volumes of the history of Audley and surrounding villages and we’re only just scratching the surface!
This year’s articles maintain the standard. JJ Heath-Caldwell gives an introduction to the important diaries of James Caldwell (1759-1838) of Linley Wood, Talke. It is hoped that he will come and talk to us about them in due course.
Audley’s growth was based on mining and the journal has some good articles here. Philip Leese examines ‘Perils in the Mine: a Colliery Tale in Verse’, a narrative poem by Frances M Wilbraham, sister of the famous vicar, about an accident in 1847. Clive Millington continues his study of the Old Hayswood Colliery in Halmerend, and this article deals with the ‘Co-operative Colliery’ phase in the 1870s-1880s. This is a rare examination of a rare phenomenon. Clive also adds a short item at the end – and one, which will be of interest to many. He has solved the mystery of the name of the Minnie Pit – a controversial matter for some years. Another interesting addition to Clive’s work is a short article by Jim Worgan. Jim recently discovered that his grandfather, who he knew to be a colliery manager, was the first manager of the Co-operative Colliery.
You will have read from time to time in our newsletters of the publication of the letters of Oswald Tittle, an Audley man who emigrated to Australia in 1912, came back to Europe reluctantly to fight in the First World War, and was killed on the Western Front in 1918. Well, Scott Arthur, an Australian, had been doing family research on a great uncle who was killed serving in the same company as Oswald. Scott’s research into the events was thorough and impressive and I was delighted when he agreed to write an article on the circumstances surrounding Oswald Tittle’s death. Scott had located some astounding photographs from the battle, which I only wish I could have included in a larger size to show the detail.
Ron Burndred’s account of Butt Lane Picture Palace gives an insight into a different aspect of life, and an important one at that: leisure.
The brick and tile works of the area don’t have the high profile of the coal industry, or even iron making, but they were very significant in North Staffordshire. Gordon Howle has embarked on a study of these works, and has extracted the history of one – the Halmer Tileries – founded before the war.
The most destructive air raid in North Staffordshire during the Second World War was at Chesterton in 1940, when probably 16 people were killed. Duncan Hindmarch has written the fullest account so far of the events.
The journal is very well illustrated and will be available within a few days of your receiving this newsletter.
You are very welcome to contribute to the journal. My life as an editor has become much easier in recent years because people have volunteered items: you can gauge the type of thing we look for from the articles in this and previous journals. (But it is high time that someone wrote about life in Audley after the war – the 50s, 60s and 70s. Even the 80s. I wouldn’t say no to the 90s. That is a blank so far. And it’s also good to have articles from the villages around Audley, like the Chesterton bombing mentioned above.)
Reviewed by Ian Bailey
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Audley Historian Volume 12 (2006)This year’s journal is now available. It contains the usual mixture of articles in its 116 pages, from brief items from the Staffordshire Advertiser to important and well-researched articles on the history of Audley and surrounding villages.
The Betley, Audley and Balterley Volunteers of the Napoleonic wars were investigated by Paul Anderton as part of his wider research into the subject.
There are two articles on mining. Clive Millington has completed the first part of his study of the Old Hayswood Colliery. It is unusual to have such a detailed history of a colliery and Clive has a collection of original documents. Hayswood Colliery is highly unusual in another respect… but you’ll have to read the second part next year to find out more about that!
There is an interesting story behind the second mining article also. The MacGowans of Talke were an important family of mining engineers who are now largely forgotten in the area. The last of the family donated a good collection of family and mining documents to Hanley library in 1967 and they have mostly remained on the shelf and unavailable to the public since then. Kate Box is a member of the North Staffs Mining Group who took on the cataloguing of the collection and it is hoped that it will be accessible soon. However, Kate developed a great interest in the family and her ‘MacGowans of Talke’ is the product of her familiarity with the archive.
On to a farming family: the Webbs, who have long-standing connections with the area. Jack Meads has produced another of his elegant essays based around his memories of the area. It is also good to report some recollections of Butt Lane by Audrey Fitzpatrick. The Audley Historian is not just concerned with Audley village!
Another article from the recent past is a brief biography on Nurse Eardley’s Career by Robert Mayer. Readers of this article may have had the benefit of her services.
Many people have left Audley, strange as that decision may seem. Frederick William Taylor, a member of another interesting local family, sailed to join others of his family in New Zealand in 1923 and his account of the voyage adds to the knowledge of emigrants we are accumulating.
The cover shows Ravens Lane Farm, demolished in 1985, and a recent view of Church St showing the bricks!
All in all, an interesting contribution to our local history I think.
Reviewed by Ian Bailey
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Audley Historian Volume 10
Mining was a mainstay of the local economy for centuries and Clive Millington has extracted the mining references from Audley/Talke wills 1650-1700 as well as those in Parrot’s survey of the parish. Mining also features in another article, but as a backdrop to a troubled family: the article raises intriguing questions about both the family and a local – and barely-remembered pit.
You may be surprised to know that there was a significant Mormon presence in the district in the mid-C19 and Angela Davies has written about this. Readers of Volume 9 may remember an important article on the Red Street pottery and the Moss connection. This year’s journal again features a significant local family – the Howles – who made an impact on the area, in a variety of industries. It is interesting to see how some families are enterprising and dynamic and play a big part in shaping their area. A shorter article on another family, the Kettels, brings in some Butt Lane history and it is good to see the journal featuring the history of other villages in our district.
Three articles concentrate on the First World War. There is a survey of Audley Urban District during the war, and this is the text of a talk given to the society last November. There is a short but fascinating reminiscence of the Great War, and an account of the loss of one of our local soldiers during the conflict.
We have the second part (of three) of Jack Meads’ history of Miles Green between the wars, and finally there are two 20th century family/local histories, one from Audley and one from Boon Hill, both well illustrated.
There are plenty of interesting photographs throughout, along with odds and ends from the Staffordshire Advertiser filling up any blank spaces, as usual.
Reviewed by Ian Bailey |
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