For heaven's sake, record your talks with her. I will always regret not having any record of my gran's stories (born 1888), otherwise when she's gone, her memories are gone with her.
Chris
I have tried recording. Not a lot of success.
First, if she knows she is being recorded she sort of "dries up". If I do the recording sneaky (I have small recoders that run for an hour per tape side) then her conversations are SO difficult to keep on track. Side tracks to the TV, shopping, birds/ cats in the garden - arrrgh - does my head in. The expression - "like a flea on a hotplate" jumps to mind. Then I have to go through the tape and write down the bits that seem useful AT THAT POINT IN TIME. The problem then is that some months later I will realise there was another "fact" hidden in a bit of conversation I discarded.
The very best sessions have been when I have made up a CD / DVD of a load of old Wallasey photos and then have had mum and a friend or two of the same vintage view those photos on the TV via the disk player.
Given that visual stimulus from the pictures there can be all sorts of really useful "information flow" between mum and friends.
Maybe Whitewych and I should arrange a "mothers meeting" and we can listen at the keyhole
Snod
5 Precepts of Buddhism seem appropriate. Refrain from taking life. Refrain from taking that which is not given. Refrain from misconduct. Refrain from lying. Refrain from intoxicants which lead to loss of mindfulness
Yes, it's not easy. probably best with the recorder in a pocket & a lapel mike. I recently bought a little Olympus hard drive recorder on e-bay for £16 which is very inconspicuous.
My nan in law has loads of interesting stuff to say about the war-blitz, blackouts etc and she talks of a house in heswall for the 'girls in trouble'. She can remember loads but what does my head in is that if you ask a question, she ALWAYs replies 'oh i cant remember THAT!' Grrr lol
Yes, it's not easy. probably best with the recorder in a pocket & a lapel mike. I recently bought a little Olympus hard drive recorder on e-bay for £16 which is very inconspicuous.
Chris
I have a couple of similar machines that use C120 mini cassettes of 60 mins recording per side. However, as I say mum's normal conversations jump about so much that recovering meaningful information from covert use is a tedious job.
I even gave mum one of the recorders and a load of photo prints in an album so that she could visit her friends in their homes, show them the pics and record the conversation. Never happened. She took the photos/ had the conversations - but never remembered to switch on the recorder
Snod
5 Precepts of Buddhism seem appropriate. Refrain from taking life. Refrain from taking that which is not given. Refrain from misconduct. Refrain from lying. Refrain from intoxicants which lead to loss of mindfulness
No one is really sure because a lot of the date stones of that age are hard to read. Its probably one of the Wallasey buildings. Possibly this one, click me: Birds House
William Bird's House
This rather oddly shaped old house still stands on the corner of Limekiln Lane and Poulton Bridge Road and is reputed to be the oldest left standing in Wallasey. The date stone is somewhat controversial as the text is not clear and a variety of styles of writings were used over the century's. There have been many suggestions of the year on the date stone including 1697, 1627, 1691; however i believe it to be 1621. The stone also bears the initials W.B.M which i would suggest stands for William "middle name (unknown) " Bird.
The house is made from well fashioned sandstone blocks and is typical for architecture for the 17th century farmers dwelling. At that time there would have been open pastures around there area with small houses and outbuildings dotted around the area. It is impress to think that the occupiers of this house lived during the reign of King James 1st of England.
The oldest Farm in Wirral is this one, click me Old Hall Farm
The oldest farm building in Wirral is said to be Old Hall Farm, more recently known as Puvells pig farm situated at 19 Barnston Lane. The building dates back to 1719 which the date stone above the door clearly shows. Also on the date stone are the initial D.W.M standing for Daniel and Mary Wilson. Daniel Wilson was the son of Robert Wilson who lived at Bidston Hall. Upon the death of his father many property's were left to Daniel including a share of Bidston Mill. Over the years Old Hall changed hands many times and like many other farms around Moreton it eventually ceased trading and became used as a commercial premises.
Oldest Lighthouse in Wirral is Leasowe Lighthouse. Click here for further info.
Leasowe Lighthouse is one of two old lighthouses which stood overlooking Mockbeggar bay. The first lighthouse known as the lower light, was taken down centuries ago but is noted to have stood much further out into the sea, on land which is now no longer visible.
Mr Thomas Barclay in 1827 states the following:
"A lighthouse stood on the beach, to the northward of the present one, nearly half a mile distant, if not all together. That lighthouse was long ago rendered useless by the encroachment of the water, and it was pulled down. The present one was built in 1763, and i assisted in building it. At that time there was a high ridge of sand hills and grass to keep off the tide, at a considerable distance from the present lighthouse. The hills and grass are now all gone, and there is nothing left to stop the water which is making rapid approaches inland".
It is recorded that out near the old lighthouse there used to be an old well which was enclosed all around by masonry. In 1889 Philip Sulley states that the well is still visible at low tide. Unfortunately today, the well and all evidence of the old lighthouse is now under the heavy waters of the River Mersey.
Leasowe Lighthouse stands on Leasowe Common and is a well known landmark on Wirral. It is built of brick, several feet thick and is solid at the base, tapering as it goes up to a height of one hundred and one feet. There are seven floors which can be reached by a cast iron staircase of one hundred and thirty steps.
Over the entrance there is a tablet bearing the inscription M.W.G. 1763, standing for and commemorating the then mayor of Liverpool, William Gregson. Two lighthouses were originally erected on the coast of Leasowe in 1763 a 'lower light' on the shore and an 'upper light' on the site of the present building. The theory was, that the approaching ships master had only to line up the two lights to achieve a safe entrance to the Rock Channel and the port of Liverpool. The 'lower light' was troubled by erosion and the building collapsed into the sea during a storm. The present lighthouse at Leasowe was used as the lower light when the previous lower lighthouse collapsed and the upper light was built on Bidston Hill in 1771, three miles away. The light at Leasowe were lit for the last time on July 14th 1908, and the light at Bidston ceased to function in 1913.
The last keeper of the lighthouse was a woman. Mr. and Mrs. Williams were formerly keepers of the Great Orme Lighthouse in Llandudno and they transferred to Leasowe. Shortly after moving Mr. Williams was taken ill and it was during his illness that his wife took over the duties. She performed them so well that on his death, which was twelve months later, the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board made her keeper. They also allowed her to employ one of her thirteen children, a daughter, as an assistant. When the building ceased to function as a lighthouse Mrs. Williams was moved into a cottage but she kept the lighthouse as a teahouse for summer visitors and it became extremely popular. In 1929 it was offered for sale but no one wanted to buy it until March 1930 when the Wallasey Corporation bought it for a sum of £900. After the death of Mrs. Williams in 1935 the lighthouse was closed to the public and put to no further use. In 1973 it was painted white but nothing more was done until 1989 when the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral carried out refurbishment work to stop the building deteriorating any further.
There is a row of cottages next to The Saughall pub in Saughall Massie dated 1589, is this correct?
Yes your talking about Prospect Farm .... they are relations of mine who live there.
The elongated farm below is known in the village as prospect farm and bears the date stone of 1539 making it easily the oldest building which survives within Saughall Massey. As can be seen in the pictures above the original farm building on the left had its roof raised meet the roof on the right hand side. The house is home to the Broster family who are distant relations of mine from Ivy Farm. They are the 6th generation of the Brosters to live in this building and an integral part of the history of Saughall Massey. At the back of prospect farm was a large old dwelling which upon demolition was found to contain a large Vat. This gives credit to the rumour that the old building was once the village inn. In front of Prospect Farm stood another of building called "Salisbury Cottage".
