Clockmaker John Benbow of Prees lived to 107, working well into old age and once walking 14 miles at age 104 to fix a velvet collar. His story spans three centuries of rural English life and timeless craftsmanship.
Posts focused on specific locations (e.g., village, town, church). Locations and Parishes
Clockmaker John Benbow of Prees lived to 107, working well into old age and once walking 14 miles at age 104 to fix a velvet collar. His story spans three centuries of rural English life and timeless craftsmanship.
With November 11th approaching and the anniversary of the Gresford disaster just passed, I would like to remember and pay respects to three of my ancestors who were all born in the late 1800s. Arthur Parry, my dad’s uncle, was born in 1889, the son of George and Mary. He grew up in Bronington with […]
The actor and singer Russell Crowe has roots in North Wales. His Grandad was born in Wrexham, he later emigrated to New Zealand
While researching a family tree, I stumbled on “Panton Place” in Wrexham—a name hiding the harsh truth of workhouse births. What I found next was a surprising tale of rural morality and Victorian euphemisms.
We found Erbistock’s St Hilary’s Church by chance—and walked into red sandstone arches, Victorian memorials, and centuries‑old gravestones by the Dee. Here’s why it deserves a return visit.
Last year during a trip to Cornwall, I was walking the dogs early one morning in Veryan, on the Roseland Peninsula, I stumbled upon St Symphorian’s Church at the village heart. A kindly local passer‑by told me the church was open—“And I suppose you came to see the longest grave in the country?” she smiled. I […]
Tucked into woodland near Overton-on-Dee stands a Victorian mortuary chapel built to honour Anna Maria Peel—and a cemetery full of forgotten souls, including a drowned youth and a poet-musician
Discovering Moretons and Walmsleys led us to two charming Shropshire churches—and a delicious lunch at a family-named pub. Even snow couldn’t stop us.
It all started with a giant family tree and a curious note about an ancestor who fled to Bolivia. We didn’t know it then—but we were hooked for life.
