I reasoned as many dated from the late 1960s fresh research would have made them obsolete.
And of course within two years I regretted the act and had bought two of the books all over again.
I should have known better after all I still collect old school history texts just because they tell you so much about what society deemed was important history when they were published.
Usually these meant telling the story from the top down, ignoring the contribution of women and anyone who was not born from a certain class or part of Britain.
The same is also true of many of the history books produced in the 18th and 19th century and aimed at the serious adult reader.
They can be shot through with the same class prejudice but in doing so reveal much about the period in which they were written which of course makes them valuable in their own right.
Like many books from the 19th century it is available as a free download from Google Books.
I often go back to it as a source not only for the history of Ashton but also for the contemporary descriptions, which are themselves a wonderful record of the past.
So for the time being I shall just point you in the direction of the book and let you wander over its pages discovering as I have done some fascinating stories, made all the more so because Mr Butterworth was there.
Pictures; from A History and Description of the Town and Parish of Ashton-Under-Lyne and the Village of Dukinfield, James Butterworth, 1823
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