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Mar 2017 |
Wed 29 Mar 2017
Rosemary Boyd |
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It is with great sadness that I have to report the death of our
friend Rosemary Boyd on Wed 29 Mar 2017. She had been a member of Chorley
Historical & Archaeological Society for as long as I can
remember. She was a special person that investigated our
history and heritage with a passion that I have not seen in
anybody else. She was the head administrator at Astley Hall for
many years and knew more about the hall and families that lived
there than anyone. The opening of the
Leyland/Clayton-le-Woods Reservoir to the public in 2013 before
demolition was entirely due to Rosemary’s efforts. Over 20,000
people visited in a 2 week period.
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Rosemary unveiling the Reservoir
Heritage Monument in Clayton Green with Dr David Hunt On Wed 20
May 2015 |
Sun 03 Nov 2013 Last one out turn the lights off. On Sun
03 Nov 2013 the underground reservoir at Back Lane,
Clayton-le-Woods was closed to the public for the last time
at 4pm. Harrison, Hannah & Rosemary Boyd are the last to
leave before being closed to the public. They were also the
first members of the public to enter the reservoir on Fri 18 Oct
2013
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Saturday 15th July 2017
Visit to Goodshaw Chapel and
Gambleside 15 July 2017 We are booked to visit Goodshaw
Chapel at 11am on Saturday 15 July 2017. The Chapel is one of
only four English Heritage properties in Lancashire and the
only non-conformist place of worship in the country. This
atmospheric Baptist Chapel has a complete set of Georgian box
pews, galleries and pulpit. Pevsner’s guide describes the
interior as “wonderfully unspoiled.” It is a listed grade 2*
property. There is no charge but donatons would be
appreciated. Click
here for full details |
Sunday 30th April 2017
In the 1840s the Chartists was a mass
movement of political protest, demanding radical change. In
Lancashire mass open-air meetings of thousands of people took
place across the county. Our local one was on Denholm Hill near
Brindle. 170 years ago a meeting took place on Blackstone Edge,
above Littleborough, on top of the Pennines. That meeting has
been commemorated for the past 10 years.
This year’s gathering will be on
Sunday 30 April, starting at 12.30. All are welcome. No Booking;
no charge. You are invited to walk up to the rocky outcrop on
Blackstone Edge to picnic and sing and remember the great
Chartist gathering there. The gathering is a mix of individuals,
small groups and choirs. There will be some singing of Chartist
and other songs, some people may read poems, others may speak
about the Chartists. You can join in or just listen. Groups and
choirs may bring banners and flags. Afterwards they repair to
the pub! Click
here for
full details. |
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Tue 14 Mar 2017
Barrie J Walters M A –
We Are Stardust. |
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Barrie, a
retired engineer with a life-long passion for the Universe, was
making his first visit to the society.
At first sight
Barrie’s talk’s title seemed to have little connection with
history but he explained his talk would touch on 13.7 billion
years of it, the accepted age of the Universe.
Supported
by some wonderful images of the night sky he also explained some
everyday effects of it on our lives. For instance, night and
day, the seasons and the phases of our moon.
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Barrie J Walters MA |
The Solar System |
A practical demonstration was carried
out to help comprehend the scale of our solar system, a tiny
speck in the Universe. In our minds’ eyes he asked us to think
of a grapefruit as the sun. Other, much smaller items, of food,
such as a poppy seed for Earth, represented planets. Barrie
paced out the length of the meeting room to put the great
distances between said objects into perspective.
His
attention then turned to the stars, of which our sun is just one
of billions in the Universe. He highlighted several of the
constellations that are common to us, why their positions in the
sky change by the season and urged us to seek out dark skies to
discover more.
He concluded by explaining why everything
on Earth was formed in a star and why we are all stardust.
Peter Robinson |
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