Now just by chance I stumbled across my copy of John Gorton’s Topographical Dictionary of Great Britain and Ireland and as you do I went looking for what he said about Urmston.
The dictionary came in three volumes and was published in 1833 and is a fascinating read. That said Urmston got just three lines.
“URMSTON, Population 645. A township in the parish of Flixton and hundred of Salford. Ten poor children are taught by means of a small bequest. John Collier, commonly called Tim Bobbin, the author of the ‘Lancashire Dialect,’ was born here in 1708.”
I had hoped for more but that is all you get. Still it’s a start and offers up some promising areas of research.
On the other hand I could just wait for the new book on Urmston’s history which is being written by my old friend Mike Billington.
Mike is one of those chaps who can multi task with the best of them. He is a teacher, musician and artist, local historian and bee keeper and is now engaged in writing about his home town.
Over the last century and a bit there have been a number of books on Urmston's past.
There were two which were , both published in 1898 and since then Mike tells me there has been the "very laudable books by Alan Crossland and the joint venture by Karen Cliff and Vicki Masterson who have to the material available on the area. However, Alan’s books was 1983 and the Cliff/Masterson book in 2000 so there is a niche for an up to date and more substantial book."
So Mike’s project is to be welcomed especially as he aims to pick up and focus on some of the people who lived out their lives in what in the early 19th century was still a small rural community just over seven miles from Manchester.
All of which just leaves me to suggest that if any one has pictures, stories or other bits and pieces which might help to contact him on 0161 881 0936.
Location; Urmston Greater Manchester
Pictures; extract Urmston, Topographical Dictionary of Great Britain and Ireland, John Gorton, 1833 Vol 3, p 667 and Urmston from the OS for Lancashire, 1841-53, courtesy of Digital Archives Association, http://digitalarchives.co.uk/
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| Urmston in 1833 |
“URMSTON, Population 645. A township in the parish of Flixton and hundred of Salford. Ten poor children are taught by means of a small bequest. John Collier, commonly called Tim Bobbin, the author of the ‘Lancashire Dialect,’ was born here in 1708.”
I had hoped for more but that is all you get. Still it’s a start and offers up some promising areas of research.
 |
| Urmston in 1853 |
Mike is one of those chaps who can multi task with the best of them. He is a teacher, musician and artist, local historian and bee keeper and is now engaged in writing about his home town.
Over the last century and a bit there have been a number of books on Urmston's past.
There were two which were , both published in 1898 and since then Mike tells me there has been the "very laudable books by Alan Crossland and the joint venture by Karen Cliff and Vicki Masterson who have to the material available on the area. However, Alan’s books was 1983 and the Cliff/Masterson book in 2000 so there is a niche for an up to date and more substantial book."
So Mike’s project is to be welcomed especially as he aims to pick up and focus on some of the people who lived out their lives in what in the early 19th century was still a small rural community just over seven miles from Manchester.
All of which just leaves me to suggest that if any one has pictures, stories or other bits and pieces which might help to contact him on 0161 881 0936.
Location; Urmston Greater Manchester
Pictures; extract Urmston, Topographical Dictionary of Great Britain and Ireland, John Gorton, 1833 Vol 3, p 667 and Urmston from the OS for Lancashire, 1841-53, courtesy of Digital Archives Association, http://digitalarchives.co.uk/
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