Sue Cook and the team answer listeners' historical queries and celebrate the way in which we all 'make' history.
Series 12
Programme听10
20听December 2005
The Frarys of Wrighton
Making History listener Alyson Vince has been researching her family history. She is a Frary, and that side of the family lived in the north Norfolk village of Wrighton for well over a hundred years. Then Alyson discovered that in the 1860s and 1870s the family suddenly moved up to the village of Cowpe in Rossendale, Lancashire, where the men became quarrymen and the women worked in the cotton mills. Alyson wonders how quite poor farmworkers learnt of employment so far away from home?
Making History first took Alyson to meet Christine Hiskey, the Archivist at Holkham Hall, the home of the Earl of Leicester, which is only a few miles from the village of Wrighton. Our hunch was that in such a small community the Frarys most probably worked on farms owned by the estate. Looking through the estate records we found various members of the Frary family in the rent books, but there was no indication of why they suddenly moved to Lancashire. Furthermore, the Coke family had sold off its land in Lancashire early in the 19th century so there was no link with the estate in Norfolk.
Alyson decided that the best way to find out why her ancestors had moved north was to follow in their footsteps and visit Cowpe. Once in Lancashire she met local historian Arthur Baldwin. At the local library in Rawtenstall he had found a John Frary in the 1871 census and his address then. Not only could Arthur now show Alyson exactly where her family had听moved to but he could also tell her why they had moved. His research into the local quarrying companies showed that in the 1860s and 1870s they actively touted for labourers in East Anglia, which was suffering a severe agricultural depression. The Frarys were one of many families that moved north.
Macking History consulted Christine Hiskey at Holkham Estate, Rossendale historian Arthur Baldwin, and Professor Alun Howkins at the University of Sussex.
Useful links听
- information from Arthur Baldwin
Further reading
Mark Freeman, editor, The English Rural Poor, 1850-1914 (Pickering & Chatto, 2005)
The Bayeux Tapestry in Reading
What is the Bayeux Tapestry doing in Reading?
The one in Reading听is a copy of the famous embroidery made towards the end of the 19th century by members of the Leek Embroidery Society. The leading figure was Elizabeth Wardle who had researched the original tapestry on a visit to France in 1885. The copy toured the UK and the USA, and on visiting Reading in 1895 Alderman Arthur Hill offered to buy it so that it had a permanent home.
Making History consulted Matthew Williams, Senior Curator at the Museum of Reading.
Useful link听
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Roman Census - AD zero
Was there a census at the time of the birth of Christ and, if so, where are the records?
It seems that the story of the census merges two key events: the death of King Herod in 4 BC and a census ordered by Caesar Augustus in AD 6. Herod was a trusted friend of Rome, but after his death the situation changed and the Romans eventually took over the administration of Judea in AD 6. The census held in this year was part of the change of administration. Census activity or 'registrations' are quite common in the history of the Roman Empire but the records have largely been lost, because they were written on stone or pots or on papyrus. The British Museum holds some examples of the latter which are from Egyptian censuses and the information on them is quite revealing.
Making History consulted the Reverend Professor Canon Loveday Alexander at the Department of Biblical Studies, University of Sheffield.
Useful links
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Broch Man
Following a recent edition of Making History in which we visited a 'broch' on South Uist, listener Stewart Campbell contacted the programme to tell us about the work of his father, Irwin. Irwin Campbell is a master craftsman specialising in drystone wall techniques. He has long been fascinated by the huge, conical iron-age towers known as 'brochs' and was determined to show how they were built - by building one himself.
More information about the project and a DVD that follows Irwin's work can be found at .
Making History also consulted Beverley Ballin Smith at the University of Glasgow.
Vanessa has presented听science and current affairs programmes for 大象传媒, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Discovery and has presented for 大象传媒 Radio 4 & Five Live and a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph and the Mail on Sunday, Scotsman and Sunday Herald.听
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