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Local History Publications
Below are some more recent publications and journals from 1983 to 2021 written by local authors, who have undertaken extensive research over many years. They have kindly allowed their work to be included in order to make it more widely accessible, with much of it now out-of-print.
The PDFs which are searchable, start with The Bowdon Sheaf and Altrincham History Society Journal and are then arranged in date order, with the oldest first.
Along with the front cover to the left, there is one image from each publication to the right, which can be enlarged and those of the other publications browsed from there.
Go to the Historic Publications and Documents for more items from the historic or recent past.
The Bowdon Sheaf no. 1 (October 1983) to no. 60 (October 2020) (Revision 2021), various authors
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (26 MB)
Here is a handy list of Contents with the PDF page number.
Bowdon History Society was founded in 1979, in order to explore the rich and varied past of Bowdon and nearby Dunham Massey. The Society seeks to collect related material and reminiscences, to undertake research and to share it widely. Yet to be resumed, four winter meetings with speakers for members and visitors are held in the evenings at Bowdon Downs Congregational Church on Bowdon Road. There is a annual summer visit to a place of historic interest.
The Society has published The Bowdon Sheaf on a regular basis since 1983. Articles were usually published without editorial intervention but this revised compilation adds Erratum. We are very thankful to the Society for its permission to share the Bowdon Sheaf more widely via this website.
Altrincham History Society Journal no. 1 (June 1991) to no. 10 (September 1995), various authors
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (28.3 MB)
Here is a handy list of Contents with the PDF page number.
Altrincham History Society was founded in 1988. Its aims are to further the study of the local history of the Altrincham area and to communicate such findings to members of the community at large. Illustrated talks mainly of local interest for members and visitors, are given in the Altrincham Town Hall from September to May, usually on the second Tuesday of the month, with invited speakers.
The Altrincham History Society Journal has been published since 1991. We are very thankful to the Society for its permission to share their Journal with a wider audience via this website. Due to the size of the files, although not as convenient, it has been divided into three PDFs.
Altrincham History Society Journal no. 11 (March 1995) to no. 20 (September 2000), various authors
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (34.2 MB)
Here is a handy list of Contents with the PDF page number.
Altrincham History Society Journal no. 21 (December 2001) to no. 30 (September 2010), various authors
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (33 MB)
Here is a handy list of Contents with the PDF page number.
More recent AHS Journals and many other of its publications can be bought through Northern Writers Advisory Services.
Higher Downs, Altrincham, Peter Kemp, Bowdon History Society, 1984 (Revision 2013)
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (4.5 MB)
Local historian and resident of Higher Downs, the late Peter Kemp, wrote this well-researched and detailed account of an early Victorian street and its occupants over many decades.
Notes on the Rebuilding of Bowdon Parish Church 1860, Ronald Trenbath, Bowdon History Society, 1984
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (5 MB)
Bowdon Church Oak Chest, Geoffrey R. Barker, Bowdon History Society
Based upon notes from his lecture in 1987
Victoria Street, Altrincham: Investigation of a Domestic Well and Site of 17th Century Cottages, Pat Faulkner and Erik Olive, South Trafford Archaeological Group, 1989
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (1.6 MB)
STAG (South Trafford Archaeological Group) is a voluntary group established in 1979 to explore the archaeology, history and landscape of the Trafford, South Manchester and surrounding areas.
Helen Allingham, Victorian Watercolour Artist and Helen Allingham’s Altrincham in the Mid-19th Century, Chris Hill and Don Bayliss, A. H. S. Occasional Paper 1, 1991 (revised 2009)
Medical Matters – or a State of Un-health Indeed! Background to Health Conditions in Altrincham in the mid-nineteenth century, Judith Lipman, A. H. S. Occasional Paper 7, 1990s (revision 2009)
The Thornton-Pickard Story, Douglas Rendell, 1992
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (3 MB)
By kind permission of the publisher, the Photographic Collectors Club of Great Britain
A Cheshire Town in Victorian Times: Altrincham in 1841, Don Bayliss (ed), Hilda Bayliss, Chris Hill, Judith Lipman and Hazel Pryor, A. H. S. Occasional Paper 5, 1994
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF 8.7 MB)
This informative book by a dedicated team, gives a snapshot of the town in 1841, describing the general features, followed by a more detailed survey of six contrasting areas. Sources such as the Tithe Map and Schedule and the 1841 Census formed the basis for the research.
Altrincham in 1799: A Stamford Estate Map, Don Bayliss, A. H. S. Occasional Paper 4, c. 1996
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (1.2 MB)
Please note, a recent close examination of the original plan revealed that it was dated 1790, but had a few later additions, like that of Chapelry of St George, completed in 1799. To see a colour image of the original plan go to ‘[Altrincham] … Property of the Earl of Stamford’ on the Extra Maps and Plans page.
Historical Atlas of Trafford, Don Bayliss, Hale, 1996
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (12.8 MB)
Eminent local historian and geographer Don Bayliss presents an atlas, with its maps and diagrams illustrating how the features within the area of Trafford have changed since prehistoric times through to the modern period.
Altrincham Gas Works, Malcolm Millichip with photos by Douglas Robinson, Railway Bylines, Vol 5, Issue 5, 2000
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (1.2 MB)
A fascinating article and set of photographs describing the provision of gas to the area from 1844 until 2000. By courtesy of the Railway Bylines, Irwell Press.
The Buildings of Central Altrincham in the Year 2000, Don Bayliss, Altrincham History Society, 2000
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (14.1 MB)
This book is a record of the types of buildings in the town centre extant in the year 2000, describing how they came to be there and their later condition and use at the Millennium.
Women Artists in Bowdon, Bowdon History Society, Ronald Trenbath, 2000s
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (0.9 MB)
The work of Helen Allingham, who was born in Altrincham, and Gladys Vasey are explored.
A History of Hale Moss and the Elitex Site: Trafford’s First Industrial Area, Bernard Champness, Altrincham History Society, 2004
A Town in Crisis: Altrincham in the Mid-nineteenth century, Don Bayliss, 2006 (PDF 2015)
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (reduced size 11 MB)
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (full size 38 MB)
In this book, Don Bayliss describes in detail the housing and sanitation crisis affecting the rapidly expanding town and the Local Board of Health responses to it. He utilises the 1852 Board of Health Plans seen on the Compare 1852 and 1876 Plans and Whole Plans pages, along with other contemporary sources. This PDF edition has been updated to include the recent colour images of the original watercolours which were not available when the book was first published, instead of the black and white images of the associated lithographs.
Survey of an Air Raid Shelter at 44 Irwin Road, Broadheath, Altrincham, South Trafford Archaeological Group, 2009
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (1.1 MB)
STAG (South Trafford Archaeological Group) is a voluntary group established in 1979 to explore the archaeology, history and landscape of the Trafford, South Manchester and surrounding areas.
Saint Anne’s Home: A History of the Bowdon Branch of the Manchester Hospital for Consumption, Sue Nichols, 2010
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (15.8 MB)
This well-illustrated book covers in detail the diverse history of the Bowdon landmark at the top of The Downs and the people associated with it. It starts with its origins an early example of a merchant’s villa in the area, later becoming the home to polymath Joseph Sidebotham and his family. It then moves through its years as a pioneering consumption hospital, under the patronage of William Crossley and the medical guidance of Dr Arthur Ransome.
Uncovering our Cultural Connections: Celebrating culture past and present in Altrincham and Bowdon, Vivian Labaton, 2013
Central Way, Altrincham, Cheshire, D. C. Pierce, South Trafford Archaeological Group, 2014
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (2.2 MB)
STAG (South Trafford Archaeological Group) is a voluntary group established in 1979 to explore the archaeology, history and landscape of the Trafford, South Manchester and surrounding areas.
A Glimpse of the Lives of George Harry Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford and Harry Grey, 8th Earl of Stamford, David Miller, Bowdon History Society, 2015
Guide to Bowdon Parish Church and the Surrounding Area, Judith Miller and Sue Nichols, 2016
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (7 MB)
Guide to the Features of Saint John the Evangelist, Altrincham, Sue Nichols, 2016
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (8.5 MB)
The History of Hale, Cheshire, Revisted, David Miller, 2018
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (14 MB)
This illustrated book is an update of Norman Dore’s A History of Hale, Cheshire, 1972, which in turn incorporated Arthur Tarbolton’s unpublished ‘History of Hale’, c. 1930.
Ian Bryce Collection, Bowdon History Society, 2020
A compilation of publications by local Bowdon historian, Ian Bryce:
Vehicle Registrations in Cheshire
High Lawn, Bowdon in Victorian Times
Bowdon’s Link with the War Poet Laurence Binyon
The Heald and Hall families
The Origins and Evolution of East Downs Road
Richmond Road, Bowdon
Altrincham Area History, David Miller, 2018 (Revised 2022)
This is a compilation of the main illustrated books and articles written by the very knowledgeable local historian David Miller, about Altrincham and the surrounding area. They were written over several years but revised in 2022. The titles are as listed below.
Book 1: Altrincham & Area Outline History
Book 2: Peel Causeway, Hale History
Book 3: Altrincham Area Virtual Tours
Book 4: Dunham Massey Prisoner-of-War Camp
Book 5: Biographies of Altrincham People
Book 6: Lists (Altrincham Mayors; The Altrincham Blitz; Street and Place Names; Glossary; Terms and Timeline)
Book 7: Bradbury Central School 1910-1985
DOWNLOAD searchable PDF (25 MB)
Compare 1852 & 1876 Plans: Extended Captions, 2023
This is a compilation of the extended captions describing the images of buildings in place by the time of the data recorded in ‘Altrincham Survey. Book of Reference. 1852.’ and the related ‘Detail Plans of the Township of Altrincham’. It is intended to be used as aid to searching, then to work in conjunction with the 1852 data, Detail Plans and images, found on the Compare 1852 & 1876 Plans page, rather than as a narrative.
NEWLY UPDATED Altrincham History Society Newsletters, March 2020 – December 2023, Hazel Pryor
All sorts of useful and fascinating information and links about the history Altrincham and the surrounding area, is brought together in these editions of the Newsletter.
