The Tatham Family of Tatham, a genealogical book written in 1857 by Richard E Tatham, is the subject of an article first posted on our website in 2009.
Tatham History Society has recently received an original copy of the book, and is very grateful for the donation to Kate Bath of Essex, who has family origins in the Barbon area. Her gift has enabled us to scan the whole book and add it to the article.
This project will be taking place at Lower Lythe Farm during the summer, with support, through the Forest of Bowland AONB, from the DEFRA Farming in Protected Landscapes scheme.
Waller Simon Morphet, and stone-carver Chris Duckett will be crafting a new landmark stone seat to be enjoyed by walkers who use the public footpath through Lower Lythe. They’ll be building it over four weekends, and walkers passing through on those days will be welcome to watch and help, and to enjoy some refreshments, available 11am to 3pm.
On Saturday afternoon 20th August, a community walk (2 miles each way) will be led by John Wilson from Tatham Fells Church to Lower Lythe, for refreshments and a talk/workshop by Settle shoe-maker Daniel Nelson on the history of shoes used in the Fells. Daniel is a seventh-generation Settle-based shoe-maker and an expert on historical footwear. Daniel will demonstrate his skills using the same tools and techniques that his great-grandfather used and passed down to him. He will also talk about the history of shoes with a focus on what footwear people would have worn before wellies, how they would have been cared for and repaired, here in the fells. And how shoes developed over time…
Click here for a flyer giving full information about the project and dates
The February 2022 newsletter of the Lancashire Local History Federation included an article about the section of the Ribchester-Burrow Roman Road which passes over the Bowland Fells between the Hodder valley and Hindburndale. The recent release by DEFRA of LIDAR data for the entire Forest of Bowland has made it easier to trace the course of the road, revealing a previously unnoticed zig-zag on the steepest part of Botton Head Fell. Researcher David Ratledge has created a virtual south-to-north fly-through of the route, including a fascinating view of the area of Tatham between Botton Head and Fairheath Head. Click here to view.
A brief article about the route of the 1675 Ogilby strip-map of the route from York to Lancaster, and its depiction of the section between Wennington and Hornby, via the Bridge Inn, Tatham bridge, and St. James-the-Less church, with a link to a TV program which explores the Tatham to Hornby part of the route as it is today.
Mike Winstanley has contributed a fascinating website article about a notable family of cabinet makers that started out in Tatham and went on to craft furniture for Queen Victoria, and for other wealthy families in the 18th and 19th century.
One of the first Tatham History Society talks, given by member Mike Kelly in 2008, was appropriately concerned with the origins of the local landscape that seems to us timeless and little-changing. Mike’s carefully researched lecture explored the huge forces that have acted over millions of years to forge a backcloth to the significant, but relatively superficial, changes wrought in the last few thousand years by human activity.
Mike has now adapted his talk into a well-illustrated and very accessible web version.
Founder member Mike Kelly, despite now living in the Western Highlands of Scotland, has been making the most of his Covid lockdowns by contributing a third website article on the long history of our local collieries. Some other longstanding members will remember the 2011 field trip led by Mike which explored the mining remains on and near Wray Wood Moor – part of the Smeer Hall and Stauvin coalfield.
Stephen Stackhouse, a friend of Tatham History Society, discovered a large book of maps that had formerly belonged to his grandfather, William Hodgson, who had spent part of his life living in Wennington and working as a bailiff on the River Wenning.
Stephen kindly donated the maps to THS, who set about discovering why they had been made; a fascinating investigation of the history and natural history of salmon fishing.
Colin Miller has contributed a third and final article about his early life at Mill Farm, describing his memories of the flora and fauna.
Local artist Peter Osborne spent many hours during 2019 tramping the local footpaths to reach thirty of these attractive and characteristic landscape features, and to record them in his sketch book in watercolour. The work was first exhibited, as prints, in autumn 2019 at the Gallery on the Green, the world’s smallest art gallery, in Settle. Later that year the prints were shown to THS members at the Society’s AGM. Peter has kindly allowed us to display them on the Tatham History Society website so that they can be enjoyed by a wider audience.