AGM and a walk in the park After the usual business of the AGM Bob Dutton, Chair of the Friends of Court Hey Park, and his colleague Dave Roberts gave a fascinating talk about the park. Formerly the a home of the Gladstone family, the park has been rescued from disrepair and returned to the community. As well as being home to the National Wildflower Collection, the park provides pleasant leisure facilties and a breath of the countryside in the city. Do look at the park's web site.

It's no longer a tip Duncan MacNaughton spoke to the Society on March 18th about the parkland developed on the site of the old Sutton Manor colliery. What was once a pithead and spoil heap is now a thriving nature reserve and public space. Visitors have come from all over to see this example of the reuse of derelict land. The site is at the edge of open country, with views stretching from the Pennines to the Welsh hills, and adjoins the M62 motorway.

The Trolley Song If you ever went on a St Helens trolley bus, not only does that make you of a certain age but you'll remember them with great affection. Geoff Sandford, who spoke to the Society on 26th February, certainly had that affection. In fact, he's written a book about trolley buses and his illustrated talk covered all forms of public transport in St Helens over the years.The soundtrack of a DVD about the trolley buses brought back that characteristic sound we all heard as they accelerated along Warrington Road in the first half of last century. Pity the infrastructure wasn't properly maintained and they had to go, claimed Geoff, as they never lost money and other towns across the world seem to have kept them running.

The picture below is shown by kind permission of "DaveL photo"from a website http://www.pbase.com/davel/trolleybus

An early bath Our first meeting of 2008, on January 24th, consisted of a talk about the Victoria Baths in Manchester, by Neil Bonner. The baths were featured in the BBC programme "Restoration", but despite its winning the contest a large sum of money is still needed to complete the work. Neil gave a very full account of the baths, describing its place in the social history of Manchester, its current use as an art venue and the exciting plans for further refurbishment. We were fortunate to have in the audience a woman who had swum in the baths as a schoolgirl, and who could add her own stories to the talk.

More Rainhill HistoryDr and Mrs Dickenson, the historians who wrote the Society's series of booklets in the 1960s and 70s, were prolific in their research. "The Story of Rainhill", updated and republished in 2004, was intended as the first of a series of historical records of the township. They left a mass of unsorted material which, until recently, has been housed at the Lancashire Record Office in Preston. Now, Anne Slater, currently Chair of the Society, has rescued the documents, whose many boxes are occupying her spare room as she attempts to put them in some sort of order. While no plans have yet been made, the Society would like eventually to publish them in some form.

Briars Hey Passions have been high in Rainhill over the proposed conversion of Briars Hey, a grade II listed building, into a facilty for women with mental health problems. Letters to the local press and several meetings of concerned residents have given vent to strong feelings for and against the proposal. The Society has put forward views on the effect of the development on the building itself and on its setting. The Society was instrumental in pressing for listed status some years ago. Representatives of our planning sub-committee have attended meetings with residents and the developer. At the end of April the application was withdrawn, but it will be replaced with a new proposal for a similar scheme on a smaller scale.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh On Tuesday, 6th November Pat Marsden gave a fascinating talk about this designer, architect and painter. Pat runs an internet company in St Helens which sends reproduction items based on his designs to customers all over the country, items ranging from chairs to ear-rings. Among other surprising facts, we learned that the distinctive tower of Liverpool Anglican cathedral is based on a design by Mackintosh, incorporated in the winning architect's plans.

Dr Vera Giles Members of the Society, and many other residents of Rainhill, were saddened by the death in September of Vera Giles at the age of 93. Vera had been a long serving committee member but is fondly remembered as a GP in Rainhill. She had treated several generations of some families. The Society plans to plant a tree or shrub in her memory.

A request for information Do you know anything about the men whose names appear on the War Memorials in Rainhill? The Vicar of Rainhill is hoping to gather as much information as he can so as to build up a picture of those who are commemorated there and to identify any surviving relatives. You can contact The Rev. Nicholas Anderson at the Vicarage (0151 426 4666). If you wish, you can use our "Rainhill Remembered" page to send any information you might have and we will pass it on to Mr Anderson.

Rainhill in Bloom. Mr Matt Gilsenan was the winner of the 2007 contest. You can see a picture of the presentation and a list of winners by going to the Rainhill in Bloom page.
Following the presentation at the meeting on 25th September, Rosemary Tyler gave an informative talk about life in Elizabethan Prescot. She also spoke with great enthusiasm about the current project to construct a replica playhouse in the style of one believed to have existed in the town then. There is some evidence that Shakespeare visited the playhouse through his connection with Lord Derby, who lived nearby in Knowsley Hall.The new theatre, for which an application has been made for a GBP20 million grant, will be part of a fully equipped arts centre.

A Bretherton in Rainhill. Audrey Ansell, a descendent of the Bretherton family and author of a book about them, visited Rainhill at the end of August. Audrey, with her husband and daughter, was visiting the UK from her home in New Zealand. The Society organised a visit to St Bartholomew's church, founded by Bartholomew Bretherton, and to Loyola Hall, which was built in 1824 to be the family home. Audrey is pictured here on the grand staircase of the Hall.

2007-08 meetings

All meetings are at 7.30 pm in the St Ann's Millennium Centre, View Road, Rainhill. There is ample parking and level access. All meetings are open to everyone and are free.
Please note there are no Wednesday meetings this season.

Tuesday, 25th September, 2007 Presentation of the awards to winners of Rainhill in Bloom by the Chair of Rainhill Parish Council.
This will be followed by a talk about the projected Elizabethan theatre in Prescot, given by Rosemary Tyler. Prescot was the site of one of the few free-standing theatres outside London at that time and it is thought that Shakespeare himself worked there. An ambitious scheme is underway to create a replica theatre and arts centre in Prescot, two miles from Rainhill. Have a look at Wikipedia's entry about it.

Tuesday, 6th November. Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
Pat Marsden will talk about the influential Scottish artist and designer. www.charlesrenniemac.co.uk

Thursday,24th January, 2008.The Victoria Baths, Manchester, a talk by Neil Bonner.
The baths won the first series of BBC television's "Restoration"series and are now being brought back to their original condition. You can find more at www.victoriabaths.org.uk

Tuesday, 26th February. St Helens Transport, by Geoff Sandford.
The recently opened Northwest Museum of Transport is located in St Helens and contains examples of a wide variety of local public transport vehicles. Visit www.hallstreetdepot.info to learn more.

Tuesday, 18th March.The Forestry Commission.
Duncan McNorton, a local park warden, will describe the work of the Commission. See www.forestry.gov.uk

Tuesday,29th April. The history of Court Hey Park
As well as housing the national wildflower centre, the park in Knowsley has an interesting history. Bob Dutton will tell us more. Look at the park's web site.

The 2006-07 Programme

All meetings are at 7.30 pm in the St Ann Millennium Centre

Wednesday 27th September.	Presentation of awards for Rainhill in Bloom by the Chair of Rainhill Parish Council. This will be followed by "A Natural History of Merseyside". Colin Twist will return to speak about local wildlife. Colin is a natural historian, writer and freelance lecturer who gave us an interesting talk a few seasons back on the creatures we can see around us in Rainhill. Last minute change of venue; St James Methodist Church, St James Road, in the church itself.
Wednesday 1st November.	"Capital of Culture 2008 - a St Helens Perspective". Liverpool will be the European Capital of Culture in 2008 and the award has raised a lot of interest within the city itself. But the surrounding region of Merseyside is expected both to get involved and to benefit from the year-long event. Gary Maddock, Tourism Manager, St Helens Council, will describe how the year looks from our point of view. (Did you know that Stavanger in Norway is also Capital of Culture that year? Thought not.)	This site is the official Liverpool site about the year, but gives current information too.
Wednesday 6th December.	"Borneo". Cath and Keith Welsby show pictures of their latest journey. They are famed locally for their expertly photographed holidays and this one promises to be no exception.	The official tourist site for Borneo.
Wednesday 7th February 2007.	"Pilkington Buildings in St Helens". Britain's most famous flat glass company, Pilkington, is now owned by the Japanese firm NSG but it began here in St Helens in the 1800s. Its famous float process is the basis for most of the building and automotive glass made throughout the world. Many of the buildings from the early days of the company still stand and Len Macdonald, former Pilkington Group Archivist, will tell us about them. Len is a Rainhill resident.
Wednesday 14th March.	"Preserving the Country's Written Heritage", a talk by by Neil Sayer, Senior Archivist, Lancashire Record Office. This is an appropriate follow-up to last month's talk. Records for the Rainhill area are lodged at the Record Office, including the original research by the Dickensons for our book "The Story of Rainhill".	Click here for the official site for the Records Office.
Wednesday 25th April.	AGM followed by "The Williamson Tunnels". Stephen Moran will speak about the fascinating network of 19th century tunnels that lie beneath the Edge Hill area of Liverpool. The vast network of tunnels was built by Joseph Williamson for reasons which are not clear. One theory is that they were a work of philanthropy to help unemployed people. Much of the network remains unexplored but part of it is open to the public.	The informative site of the Friends of Williamson's Tunnels.

2006-07

Life begins at forty. The Society is 40 this year. At the AGM on 25th April we had a modest celebration. We even had a cake. It was good to see many of our members, past and present, and the attendance was higher than any meeting most of us could remember. Between the AGM business and the food we heard an interesting talk about the Williamson Tunnels in Liverpool

Pilkington Buildings in St Helens. The Pilkington glass firm was a very significant St Helens employer in the 19th and 20th centuries. It is only natural that the firm has left its architectural mark on the town. As well as the 1960s head office complex other buildings, ranging from the warehouses around Grove Street to the art deco building on the corner of Canal Street, still bear witness to the determination of the Pilkington family to make their mark. Len Macdonald, formerly Chief Archivist with the firm, gave an entertaining account of some of the buildings, and included pictures of scenes which are now history.

Borneo Orang Utans and lots of children featured in the excellent photographs presented by Kath and Keith Welsby at our Christmas meeting on 6th December, when they described their holiday in Borneo.Treks through the jungle and trips by boat were also key features of their journey and a stopover in Brunei provided more pictures of interesting sights. This was yet another of Kath and Keith's exotic holidays and we look forward to seeing pictures of even more remarkable destinations in future seasons.The evening ended convivially with mince pies and wine.

Tourism in St Helens On November 1st Gary Maddock, Tourism Manager for St Helens Council, talked about the area's potential for tourism in view of Liverpool's European City of Culture status in 2008. He said that St Helens was active in presenting the region as a desirable place to visit. Rainhill's unique connection to the development of railways was an important part of the council's thinking.

New Season's Meetings Our first meeting on 27th September was held in the unusual setting of St James Methodist church. The winner of Rainhill in Bloom, Mrs Morrison, was presented with the trophy and runners up received their tokens and certificates. Colin Twist gave another of his encyclopaedic talks about local flora and fauna. Refreshments were provided in the adjacent hall. We are very grateful to the church for providing accommodation at short notice.

Clock Face Colliery Country Park On May 3rd 2006 we visited Clock Face Country Park for a walk and a look at the neighbouring Maypole Farm. We last visited the park in 1999 when it was in its early stages of conversion from a colliery spoil heap. This time we were able to see how it has matured. The picture shows members on a very sunny evening admiring the view which comprised the Pennines and the Cheshire Plain as well as local landmarks in St Helens. (Click on the picture for a bigger image)

2005-06 Season

The 2005-06 Programme

Wednesday 28 September.	Presentation of awards for Rainhill in Bloom by the Chair of Rainhill Parish Council. This will be followed by a talk by Steve Eccles,Transportation Section Leader, Halton B C about the new Mersey crossing	www.merseycrossing.co.uk is a site that gives a lot of information, even though it is a bit out of date.
Wednesday 2 November.	"Hale Duck Decoy and Pickerings Pasture". Rob Smith, Head Ranger, Halton B C,will give a presentation on the newly restored keeper's cottage at Hale Duck Decoy, and about Pickerings Pasture.	This site gives a very detailed picture of the duck decoy, a fascinating remnant from the past.
Monday 5 December.	Christmas floral demonstration by Fiona Griffiths. A practical demonstration of a centrepiece.	No web sites spring to mind
Wednesday 8 February 2005.	"The Woodland Trust". Paul Bullimore describes the UK's largest woodlands conservation charity.	The official site of the Woodland Trust
Wednesday 15 March.	"The Egerton Family at Tatton Park", by Rosalie Gorton. An entertaining talk about the residents of one of northern England's premier stately homes.	Click here for a site that gives a little information on the subject
Wednesday 26 April.	AGM followed by "Stephenson's Wonderful Railway - passing the message on". Ann Marshall will tell us things we may not already know about our local claim to fame, the Liverpool-Manchester railway.	Our own site covers this subject.

Trees everywhere - eventually
The Woodland Trust exists to make sure that the trees we still have are kept in good order and that more are planted. The north west of England seems to be one of the least tree-covered areas in Europe and steps are being taken to rectify this. These were some of the points brought out by Paul Bullimore in his talk to the Society on 8th February. The Mersey Forest is one of the largest reforestation schemes currently being undertaken. In Rainhill itself St Barthlomew,s Wood is a project to preserve woodland on the site of the former Rainhill Hospital, to be used as a public amenity. Throughout the UK the Trust hopes to plant 12 million trees in their "Tree for All" project, one for each school child.

Conservation Area
Like other organisations in Rainhill the Society is participating in a review of the existing Conservation Area. We welcome the initiative of the planning officer Dr Waziri Sudi in his detailed examination of the area and we have made comments on the proposals set out in the review. Dr Sudi's address and email can be found on the St Helens Council's web site.

Guided walk to the Duck Decoy About twenty members took part in a guided walk to Hale Duck Decoy on Sunday afternoon, 20th November. In cold weather we walked from Pickerings Pasture to the decoy where ranger Rob Smith described the techniques used in earlier centuries to trap ducks. The picture shows members of the group crossing to the interior of the decoy. You can see a larger version by clicking on the image.

Do you know Rod Hughes?
Rod, now based in Cardiff, lived in the Longton Lane area of Rainhill until 1970. He was born in 1943 and went to St Ann's school and youth club. Rod contacted the Society to ask whether any members might remember him. If you would like to get in touch with him email rainhill-civic@freenet.co.uk and we'll pass the message on.

Rainhill in Bloom
Last year's winner is, once again, Mrs Collette Wright. Runner up was Mrs Croft and third place was taken by Mr Andrew Gibson, another former winner. Presentation of the awards took place on Wednesday 28th September - see the list of winners for a picture of the presentation. This was followed by a fascinating account of the new Mersey Gateway, the proposed river crossing near Widnes.

Briars Hey - now a listed building
The victorian building in Mill Lane, Rainhill known as Briars Hey has recently received a grade II listing. This decision was made after pressure from local groups including our Society. The property, which had been used for many years by Lancashire County Council as a CHE residential home, is now on the market. The listed status has been welcomed by local bodies as a control over future development of the site.

Walter Smith
Members of the Society were saddened to hear of the recent death of Walter Smith. Walter was Chairman of the Society from 1994 to 1998 and also Treasurer for some years. He was a keen traveller, cricket watcher and was a lay reader at St Anne's church.

Rainhill on the radio

Our Chairperson, Anne Slater was recently interviewed for a programme on Radio Merseyside, the Local History Show. In it the presenter, Jenny Collins, took a trip with Anne around some of the sites depicted on our Millennium Map. The programme was broadcast on Sunday, 7th August

Thanks to Peter Rigby and Bethany
Two observant visitors to the site have kindly drawn our attention to items which needed correction or improvement. Thanks very much to both of you. Peter, a former Rainhill resident, is in Australia; no idea of Bethany's location - but it's good that people are interested enough to point out our mistakes.

New Season's programme
The next series of meetings has now been arranged. Full details are now available on the "Programme" page of this site. Members can look forward to a talk about the new Mersey crossing in September, the Egerton family of Tatton Hall in March 2006, and our own claim to fame "Stephenson's Wonderful Railway" in April. Other subjects will be Christmas floral decorations, the Woodland Trust and wild birds on the Mersey marshes at Hale.

2004-05 Season

2005 AGM
This year's AGM was held on Tuesday,26th April at the St Ann's Centre. After the meeting David Innes, former Conservation Officer with St Helens Council gave an illustrated talk about historic and listed buildings in St Helens. A copy of the unconfirmed minutes of the AGM can be found here.

Breaking news - Liverpool man was Jack the Ripper
At the March meeting of the Society Di Chappelle gave a graphic description of Jack the Ripper's activities and convinced her audience that he had been identified as John Maybrick, a Liverpool man who made visits to London on the appropriate dates. Maybrick's life in Liverpool was unusual in today's terms and involved the medicinal, or otherwise, use of poisons on a regular basis.The speaker dismissed other theories about the identity of the killer, especially that of Patricia Cornwell who, she said, had spent millions in a futile attempt to incriminate the painter Sickert.

St George's Hall, Liverpool

At the February meeting Anne Walton,a registered Blue Badge Guide, gave an illustrated talk about this famous building at the heart of Liverpool. The magnificent hall forms the centrepiece of what has been described as Europe's finest collection of neo-classical buildings. Its famous Minton tiled floor is so valuable that it is rarely seen, being covered by a wooden floor except for very special occasions. Like many old buildings, the hall is in need of funds to make good the effects of time and neglect. The Friends of St George's Hall organise events to raise money and publicise the building.

Wildlife in St Helens
Before the mince pies and wine at our Christmas meeting on 7th December members heard about the huge range of wildlife here in the Borough. Colin Twist, who is a serious and knowledgeable naturalist, described his systematic study and recording of birds, plants and insects in St Helens's woods and fields.The Sankey Valley Park, Carr Mill Dam and Stanley Bank were all sites brimming with interest. Many of the species of birds and insects visited from as far afield as Africa, while plant life, particularly on the Burgy Banks, contained some genuinely exotic varieties. Rainhill was not left out and Colin described his reclining in bed at home while watching such birds as jays and woodpeckers across the road.

New draft planning strategy for St Helens
The Society warmly welcomes the recently published draft of the Council's new planning strategy. Particularly in keeping with our attitude to the preservation of local surroundings are the rules about building in the green belt and those for development on sites which already contain houses of character. Recently, the Society's planning sub-committee has made serious representation to the Planning Authority over proposals to demolish or drastically alter mature houses and replace them with blocks of apartments. The full text can be found by searching the Council's web site www.sthelens.gov.uk for Interim_Planning_Policy_November2004.pdf

New plaques to celebrate Rainhill 175
A joint project with Rainhill Rotary Club, aided by Rainhill Parish Council, came to a satisfactory conclusion in the last few days of November when eight of the village centre plaques, erected in 1979 to mark the 150th anniversary of the Rainhill Trials, were renewed. The new plastic plaques replace oval wooden ones which were clearly showing the effects of 25 years exposure to the elements. The pictures below show the work in progress and the finished effect.

Helen Carns
Members of the Society and the many others who knew her are saddened at the death on November 1st, of Helen Carns, a member of the Society's committee. Helen was active in many organisations in Rainhill. She was especially well known for her catering, which has graced many a buffet and meal in the area. Her funeral was held on 8th November at St Ann's church.

City Growth Strategy for St Helens
This is an exciting idea, perhaps more exciting than its name suggests. St Helens was chosen as one of four areas in the UK to pilot the strategy after the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, saw how it worked in the USA. On November 3rd, Arwen Reed, herself an American, described how the plan to boost the impact of St Helens was working. By the creation of clusters of activities, various aspects of life in the town are to be invigorated so that residents will have the incentive to develop the area and market it far and wide. New schemes such as the George Street Quarter are first fruits of the strategy and incoming businesses, developments such as the new Saints stadium and "Beacons of Glass" are intended to give townspeople something to shout about. You can find out more at www.citygrowthsthelens.com/

First meeting of the season
The meeting on September 29th was a good start to the season. Councillor Catherine Kedge, this year's Chair of the Parish Council, presented prizes and certificates to the winners of Rainhill in Bloom. First prize went to Mrs Collette Wright, while second and third places were taken by John Evans and Janet Jones. The speaker later in the meeting was Don Sutcliffe, who gave an informed talk about the Liverpool Garden Festival of 1984.

Spot the mast
Rainhill's latest tree is not a tree at all. It's a mobile phone mast. When the planning application for a mast disguised as a tree was considered by our planning sub-committee we ridiculed it. But now it's there. It doesn't look too bad, but it stands out a bit now that the few neighbouring trees have lost their leaves. You need to look near the triangulation pillar at Blundell's Hill to see it.

2003-04 Season

AGM 2004
This year's AGM was held in the Millennium Centre on Wednesday, 21 April. About 30 members attended. You can read the unconfirmed minutes of the meeting by clicking here. After the brief business meeting Mrs Irene Rutter spoke about Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice in Wonderland and Alice through the Looking Glass. She based her talk on the window at Daresbury church, in Cheshire, which tells part of his life story in pictures. Carroll, whose real name was Charles Dodgson, lived in the village as a boy when his father was vicar there.

Beekeeping
Did you know that you shouldn't wear sweaty socks when you are handling bees? Or that the bees don't like smoke because of their inbred memory of forest fires? These were two of the facts passed on to members by David Thornton at the March meeting. David has been keeping bees in Rainhill for many years - although he takes his hives all over the place so that the bees can collect pollen and nectar from a variety of plants. He brought with him parts of a typical hive and in his slides illustrated the making of honey, from flower to jar. The sweaty socks? Bees don't show much interest in you if you don't smell - so the cleaner you are the less chance there is of being stung.

Prescot Museum
On 3rd February staff from Prescot Museum told us about the museum's shortlisted entry to the Gulbenkian Prize for the Museum of the Year award. The entry presents a project showing the importance of the "BI" to Prescot. School children and ex-employees tell the story on video. You can find out more about it by visiting www.thegulbenkianprize.org.uk or by popping into the museum. Judges for the prize include Joan Bakewell and Lloyd Grossman. (Later note, April 2004. Sadly, the Museum did not make it to the last four in the competition)

A visit to the Falklands
Owing to sickness, the speaker for the meeting on 2nd December had to withdraw at twenty-four hours notice. Thanks to sterling work on the telephone by Gill and John Harris, we were fortunate in finding John Fairclough, who was able to fill the bill by giving an illustrated talk on his visit to the Falkland Islands. John won a wildlife photography competition and, much to his amazement, the prize was a 15 day trip to the islands, with opportunities to photograph the wildlife there. His pictures showed views of Santiago in Chile, a stop-off point on his journey, landscapes of the Falkland terrain and, of course, birds by the thousand. It was a long way to go for a few snaps but, being a serious enthusiast who took with him 200 rolls of film and a large rucksack full of expensive equipment, John made the most of his trip. There was a good attendance at the meeting. Those who came expecting pressed flowers and Christmas decorations were far from disappointed as they tucked into their mince pies and wine.

Don't do this at home
On 4 November, the aptly named Rosemary Tyler, of Prescot Museum, gave a talk on herbs in British history. For centuries plants have been used in cooking, healing and hygeine. In early times, any plant used in cooking was thought of as a herb. Most diets were heavy on meat and vegetables were relatively unknown. As to healing, Rosemary pointed out that, while she could describe the "cures" detailed in old herbal books, she was not qualified to recommend them for present day use. In fact, some remedies were more deadly than the ailments they claimed to cure. Ignorance of the causes of disease led to the widespread use of fragrant herbs, such as lavender, to ward off the bad odours thought to carry the sickness from person to person. The nosegays carried by judges and other eminent figures date from this practice. Herbs had been imported to Britain from all over the world by travellers who had seen their use abroad. She showed a reproduction of an old book which illustrated a wide range of familiar and obscure plants. Rosemary had with her a large selection of herbs, many of which she grows herself, including Simon and Garfunkel's famous quartet of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.

September meeting - trophy presentation and thatching

To start the season, Councillor Mike Doyle presented the Rose bowl trophy for Rainhill in Bloom to Mr Andy Gibson, winner in 2000 and 2002. Joint second places were taken by Mrs C Wright and Mrs M Bispham, both of whom were prizewinners last year. This is the tenth year that the trophy has been awarded.

After the ceremony, Mr Milne of Banks near Southport gave a talk about thatching. Mr Milne, who is a master thatcher, described the different materials used in various parts of the country and the specialised techniques involved in making a sound and good looking roof. He demonstrated the specialised, often home made, tools needed for the job and showed an extensive collection of slides depicting work he had done. A thatched roof was clearly an object of beauty as well as being ecologically sound, being made from renewable resources and having excellent insulating properties. An ancient material with a contemporary appeal.

The 2003-04 Programme

A very brief summary of this programme is available to anyone with a WAP-enabled mobile phone at www.tagtag.com/rcs1

Wednesday 24 September.	Presentation of awards for Rainhill in Bloom by the Chair of Rainhill Parish Council. Then a talk about thatching by Mr B D Milne, a Master Thatcher, from Banks near Southport. Mr Milne works with combed wheat reed and water reed. His work includes a lot of restoration work. His illustrated talk will include examples of the tools and materials he uses.	www.thatch.org The site of the Master Thatchers' Association. Link by kind permission of Mr Leo Wood
Tuesday 4 November.	"Herbs in History", a talk by Rosemary Tyler, Curator of Prescot Museum. Rosemary will tell us about the use of herbs in cooking, medicine and around the home.
Tuesday 2 December.	Christmas meeting. Judith Kinkaid will give an illustrated talk on pressed flowers. She also makes Christmas decorations and these will be on sale at the meeting.
Tuesday 3 February 2004.	"Bringing Local History to Life". Susan Arnold, Prescot Museum Services Manager will tell us how the museum brings alive the history of the area.	www.knowsley.gov.uk/ leisure/museum - a look around the museum with pictures of some exhibits.
Wednesday 17 March.	"Beekeeping". David Thornton, who is a resident of Rainhill and an experienced beekeeper, will give us an insight into this ancient craft.	www.bbka.org.uk the site of the British Beekeepers Association.
Wednesday 21 April.	AGM followed by "The Lewis Carroll Story through the Window". Mrs Irene Rutter will give an illustrated talk describing how the author's life is depicted in the window of Daresbury church in Cheshire.	www.lewiscarrollsociety.org.uk - a lot of information about the author and his works .

The Brethertons

People who have read the Society's book about transport through Rainhill will know that railways were not the only mode of transport with a local connection. Its position on the route from Liverpool to London made Rainhill an ideal place for a coach company. One such firm was run by the Bretherton family and a descendant of theirs, Audrey Ansell, who lives near Auckland in New Zealand, has just published a book about them. The Society was pleased to be able to give Audrey some background information (see the January 2001 newsletter) and she has kindly sent us a copy of the finished work. The Brethertons went on to become an eminent local family, founding St Bartholomew's Church and living in what is now Loyola Hall. The antipodean branch of the family seems to be thriving and Audrey's book is a highly professional account of them and their forbears. For more details about the book and how to buy a copy contact ansellfamily@xtra.co.nz

2002-03 Season

Arthur Platt
Arthur Platt, one of the Society's Vice Presidents, has died. Arthur was one of the founding members of the Society in 1968. He was Chairman for many years. His influence helped to build up the Society to a position of importance and his work in connection with planning appeals was of permanent benefit to the area.

Annual General Meeting>
The Annual General meeting of the Society was held on Wednesday, April 30th. A copy of the minutes can be read by clicking here. You can see the audited accounts for 2002-03 here.

After the brief business meeting John Griffiths, Curator of Horology at Prescot Museum, spoke about "Lancashire Clock and Watch Making". His illustrations pictured watches from as early as 1606. Movements and other watch and clock parts were made in Prescot and surrounding areas to be sent to many of the world's most famous makers. As well as a pioneering watchmaker Aspinall, the area had a huge number of cottage workers providing parts, and especially tools, to the industry. Mr Griffiths clearly indicated that components from the Lancshire watch and clock industry were vital to marine navigation in the years when British trade routes dominated the world. Pictured above is a typical Prescot watch workshop of the period

Boundary recommendation - good news for Rainhill
On 25 March the Boundary Committee announced its recommendation on electoral boundaries in St Helens and other areas. It has decided to recommend to the Electoral Commission that the Rainhill ward boundaries should remain unchanged. This decision will be welcomed by local people as a victory for common sense and an illustration that public pressure can have an effect. The Boundary Committee expressed its opinion that Rainhill was a strong community as shown by the number and quality of the representations made to them. More than 600 letters from individuals and organisations such as ours convinced them that dividing Rainhill was inconsistent with the best interests of the community. Click here to see the report

The Great Wall of China
There must be easy ways of raising money through sponsorship, but the Rev Colin Smith was careful not to choose any of them. As he told us at the meeting on 4th March, his preferred way was to climb thousands of steps in high temperatures and humidity. He did this on the Great Wall of China and even received sponsorship for his boots. Horizontal is not a word you could associate with the wall. As well as being very rough underfoot in parts, it climbs, dives and twists through the most severe mountain country. Walking it looked hard work; building it seemed impossible. Colin clearly enjoyed himself during his five day hike and his photographs helped to share this enjoyment with an appreciative audience in the Millennium Centre.

Mining in Prescot and Whiston
Although there is evidence that coal was extracted in the south Lancashire area in Roman times, the first recorded mine in Prescot dates from 1510. The earliest mines were simple pits sunk to reach the coal seams nearest the surface. Because of flooding the pits were abandoned at the onset of winter and new ones were dug each year. Although technology did advance somewhat over the centuries, the collieries were hugely labour intensive, and whole families of men, women and children struggled to achieve the daily "load". This was the picture of one of the area's basic industries described by Rosemary Tyler in her talk to the Society on 6 February. She went on to point out that Prescot coal powered industry in the developing port of Liverpool, to which Prescot had quick access by road. One high quality seam in particular was reserved for use in the sugar refining industry, whose part in world trade - and slavery - is so significant. Apart from the modern Cronton colliery, founded early in the twentieth century and closed in the 1980s, the mines in Prescot and Whiston remained on a small scale. Because of its position at the very south west tip of the Lancashire coalfield, the area did not develop like its neighbours St Helens and Wigan, from whom it is separated by the sandstone ridge on which Rainhill stands. Rosemary rounded off her talk with a display of mining equipment and documents which added to the picture of life in local pits.

Christmas meeting
Although early, on 3 December, our Christmas meeting was a celebratory affair. A record attendance saw the launch of the book described above, which had finally seen the light of day after much work by the publications sub committee. We were very pleased to welcome Dr Betty Underwood and Mrs Ann Cole, the daughters of Florence and Robert Dickinson, as well as representatives of organisations who had contributed to the cost of the project. In the second part of the meeting Tony Sweeney took a verbal tour of St Helens as it developed from a hamlet to the present-day borough. His emphasis was on the growth of retail businesses during that time and there were references to shops long gone but well remembered by many of the audience. Wine and mince pies followed.

Bridging the Runcorn Gap
For most of recorded history, including Roman times, the lowest crossing point on the river Mersey was at Warrington. As settlements developed nearer to the river mouth the long journey to the other side via Warrington became a barrier to commerce and to everyday life. Although a ferry had existed for centuries, the crossing became more established in the 19th century when commodities and vehicles of many shapes and sizes were carried across, for tuppence per person per trip, in the words of the song. This was the picture with which Bob Martindale introduced us on October 24th to his talk about the Runcorn Gap. He went on to describe, with detailed pictures, the building of the first fixed crossing, the railway bridge on the Liverpool-London line which stands to this day. Next was the famous transporter bridge, one of very few throughout the world and, sadly, demolished in 1961. The present four lane arched bridge replaced the transporter that year as, even then, long queues built up for the 20 vehicle transporter car. Even the "new" bridge had to be widened from its initial 3 lanes and once again the capacity of the crossing is sorely tested at peak times. Mr Martindale's talk provided a fascinating insight into the problems and solutions involved in bridging such an important crossing point. (Picture from www.havercan.mcmail.com/widnes/transporter.html by kind permission of Peter Havercan)

September meeting
The first meeting of the season on September 27 began, as usual, with the presentation of the awards for Rainhill in Bloom. This year Councillor Chris Kedge presented the rosebowl to Mr Andy Gibson, who won first prize in 2000 and was highly commended last year. Click here for the list of prizewinners and a glimpse of the winning garden. Before the presentation Coun Kedge stressed the Parish Council's unanimous rejection of the proposed electoral boundary changes and urged members to write with their views. Click here to see a summary of the issues and the address to write to (before 28 October2002)
The main part of the meeting was taken up by an illustrated talk about the Hilbre Islands by Sue Craggs, Chair of the Friends of Hilbre. She described the history of the islands, referring to their importance as a signalling station for the Dee and Mersey estuaries. She also speculated on the origins of the many ruined buildings on the islands, whose uses have ranged from ecclesiastical retreats to pig sties. She touched briefly on the importance of the three islands as nature sanctuaries, particularly for seals and migrating birds.

The 2002-03 Programme

2001-02 Season

Golden Jubilee Shop Window Competition.
As part of the festivities in celebration of the Queen's Golden Jubilee the Society held a shop window competition open to all businesses in Rainhill. Some years ago the Society regularly organised a similar contest at Christmas, when a prize was awarded to the best dressed window. This time the theme was, naturally, something appropriate to the royal celebrations. The winner was Occasions, the florist's shop, and Showerings the butchers came second. A plaque and champagne were presented at an informal ceremony in the St Ann's Centre. You can see more pictures by clicking here.

Electoral boundary changes.
The Society has been active in pressing for the withdrawal of proposed elctoral boundary changes which will adversely affect Rainhill. We have written to both St Helens MBC and the Local Government commission to complian at the illogical nature of the options proposed. A lively discussion at the recent Parish Meeting indicated that feelings are high in Rainhill over the possibilty that some of the Township will be hived off for electoral purposes.

Prescot Museum; clocks, watches - and medicines.
About twenty members spent an interesting hour and a half at the Museum on March 6th. The curator, Rosemary Tyler, gave an introduction to the Museum and described not only the permanent collection of items from the history of Prescot but also the secrets of a temporary exhibition of herbal and Victorian medicine. Prescot was a world famous centre of the clock- and watch-making industry in the eigteenth and nineteenth century until its skills based on small family workshops were wiped out by foreign factory based operations. On the medical front, among other arcane facts, we learnt that onion skins were used as an early elastoplast and that the fearsome protective clothing used by those dealing with the plague had a beak full of scented herbs. We also learnt more than we needed to know about a number of unpleasant surgical instruments. Members then had an opportunity to stroll round the museum.

Beechams - a dynasty built on pills.
What do Rupert Murdoch, Robert Maxwell and Richard Branson have in common with an 19th century businessman, his father and his son? According to Viv Quick, who spoke to the Society on February 7th, the answer is drive and a flair for publicity. Joseph Beecham, son of the founder of the eponimous pharmaceutical firm, made Beechams a household word throughout the world by his determined publicity campaigns. No place or event or structure was immune from his urge to put the words "Beecham's Pills" before the public eye. In the 1890s as much as £95,000 a year was being spent on advertising, perhaps £50 million in today's money. Mr Quick told us that Thomas Beecham, Joseph's father, had set up a one man business selling home made pills and had eventually settled in St Helens, where he founded a factory in Westfield Street. With its prominent clock tower the building is still a feature of the town though it is now part of St Helens College. At its peak 10 million pills a day were being made to be sent all over the world. Eventually the company and the name Beecham disappeared from sight. A merger with Smith Kline led to closure of the factory in the late twentieth century and a final aggregation with Glaxo produced a multi-national company with no trace of the family name - though some of its products remain. Joseph's son eventually became Sir Thomas Beecham and made his name in an entirely different field. As a world famous conductor his trenchant views on composers and other performers became legendary. Mr Quick gave a fascinating picture of this talented family and his talk was well received by the 35 or so members and friends present, many of whom remembered from their school days Beechams' adverts and product placement, as it would now be called.

At last!
The most common question put to committee members and officers of the Society is "What's happening about the shop on the corner of View Road? Something should be done about it". The shop has been empty for years and is in a state of delapidation. Its position at the centre of the conservation area makes its condition an irritant to many residents. Now, something seems to be happening. The Society has received for comment plans of a proposal to use the building, somewhat extended, for retail units and flats. The Society's planning liaison subcommittee is in the process of sending its views to St Helens MBC planning department. The long wait may soon be over.

A local site for local people?
Items like the one above are clearly of most interest to people in and around Rainhill. The site statistics tell us that we get hits from all over the world, especially to the page about the Locomotive Trials. But the stats can't tell us who is visiting from nearby. Do members and potential members use the site for information? We don't know. If you're local we'd be pleased to hear from you via the feedback page. Just a quick one-liner from each local visitor would give us an idea whether the site's more popular at home or abroad.

Were you there in 1979 or 80?
If you weren't our December meeting would have put you in the picture. Alan Jones described Rainhill 150, the celebration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Rainhill Locomotive Trials and the opening of the Liverpool Manchester Railway. Alan's presentation took the form of an audio-visual sequence which used slides, sound recordings and commentary. All these had been skilfully combined to show what had to be done during the period leading up to the celebrations and at the carnival itself. We saw how the Rainhill community organised everything from afternoon teas to sophisticated exhibitions. On the weekend itself, bank holiday time in spring 1980, we looked at and heard the famous locomotives that took part in the great parade along the exact stretch of line where the Trials had taken place. A voice-over provided by Keith Macklin, a professional broadcaster with strong links to Rainhill, added to the high quality of the presentation. Members found themselves transported into the midst of the 100,000 visitors from all over the world who came on the celebratory weekend. Even the drizzle which marred one of the carnival days looked realistic.

Rainhill in Bloom - Presentation of Awards

On Thursday 27 September the Rosebowl Trophy was presented to Mrs Collette Wright, this year's winner, by the Chairman of Rainhill Parish Council, Councillor Derek Wright. Councillor Wright took pleasure in pointing out that no favouritism had been shown in the judging despite their shared name. Mrs Wright also received a plaque to keep as well as gardening tokens. Although not all the winners were present, other awards were made to runners up and to those whose entries had been highly commended. List of prizewinners

The meeting was held in the St Ann's Millennium Centre which, exactly a week before, had been officially opened by HRH the Princess Royal. More than 50 members and guests attended and after the presentations they heard an illustrated talk by Chris Tynan of the RSPB about garden birds. With its many mature gardens and its proximity to farmland Rainhill is well placed to receive a wide variety of birds. Less enthusiastic gardeners in the audience were heartened to hear that untidy plots are just what birds like. Although the chances of seeing a hoopoe are slim, even such rarities as the osprey might put in a fleeting appearance as birds of passage, said Chris.

The 2001-02 Programme

Annual General Meeting (2001)
To view the minutes of the meeting please click here.