If you are going to write about the history of Armitage potbank how can you resist looking up the origins of the word ‘loo’? The word itself first appeared in print in the 1922 book, Ulysses, by James Joyce so it was obviously already in popular use by that time. There’s all sorts of claims… Continue reading The origin of the word ‘loo’
Category: Miscellaneous
Murder in the Church
Sir Simon died in 1373 leaving a widow and three young daughters – as you can imagine, with so much land, money and power up for grabs, the vultures gathered.
New transcriptions added
Transcriptions of the Parish Registers for St. John the Baptist church for the years 1900 to 1930 are now on the website under the Records tab.
Drunk and …
The introduction of beerhouses in 1830 led to more disorder and drunkenness and this is just a selection of the troubles our ancestors got into because of drink.
Soldiers from the Great War
Many of the survivors of The Great War had also been wounded or gassed or otherwise injured. On walking around the churchyard, you can see a number of gravestones for those who died after the war.
Marriage Bonds
I started looking into my family history back around the year 2000. My dad’s surname was Conway and he came from a small village called Armitage in Staffordshire.
Handsacre poachers
By 1849 the pottery was shut. The pits were really struggling and there were no jobs down the pits for any miners in either Armitage or Handsacre. But you could always go foraging for wild fruit and roots, like your distant ancestors. Or go hunting for food, like your distant ancestors. Only they had brought in the hated Game Laws so now it was called poaching.
Assault and battery in the church
On 20th August 1837 Mrs Mary Short was assaulted in St. John the Baptist church, Armitage
The Silver Fork Society
Thomas Henry Lister wrote three novels in the Silver Fork genre depicting the real life of High Society in the 1820s and 1830s.
The Croft School, Armitage
Centenary of Armitage Croft school