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We continue to offer these Zoom talks, free not only to members but anyone with an interest.  All we ask in return is, if you enjoy the talk we now have a "Donate" button on our Website, in the section About the Society, either £2.50 or £5.00. 

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Rochdale's Baum Rabbit was one of Britain's most famous supernatural Victorian and Edwardian spirits. It appeared not only in local writing and the classics of Lancashire dialect, but in national reference guides and the pages of Punch. But how on earth did the town settle on an innocent-sounding bunny as its token of fear? As late as the interwar period Rochdale kids were threatened with 'The Baum rabbit will get you'! In this talk we look at the evidence for the Baum Rabbit and the wider British tradition of killer bunnies. The Baum rabbit might seem impossibly bizarre to us today, but it had many cute floppy-eared cousins who terrorised communities up and down the land.  

Simon Young is a British historian based in Italy. In 2022 he published The Boggart: Folklore, History, Place-names and Dialect with the University of Exeter Press."

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Last year our society decided to focus on one distinguished historical building within our region, we selected Hoghton Tower for several compelling reasons. Notably, in 2023, Hoghton Tower received our Research Grant in recognition of their work on excavations at the South Tower. Additionally, several members of LCAS are actively involved with the Tower, and last June, Steve Spencer delivered the first of two informative Zoom presentations.

Hoghton Tower boasts a rich history and occupies an exceptional location, offering scenic views across the plain to the coastline. The scheduled visit will include guided tours of both the Tower and its gardens, as well as a guided tour of the Dolls House collection, which comprises more than 80 houses. Tours will be organised into two groups: one in the morning and another in the afternoon. There will be ample opportunity to chat with Steve and his colleagues about the Tower and to visit the extensive gardens.

Guests can also enjoy refreshments in the Tower’s cosy Tea Room, where food can be pre-ordered. The entrance fee for the day—including all guided tours—is £20, which includes a 10% discount on Tea Room purchases.

If you intend to come along, please confirm your intention so I can email you  the menu for lunch pre-ordering, if required.

I am hoping that this day will be a success and a great opportunity to meet other members of LCAS in a beautiful setting.

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Join Testament as he pieces together the life of Robert Rose the self-titled “Bard of Colour”, a black poet living in Manchester 200 years ago. Rose was part of the Sun Inn Group of poets alongside Samuel Bamford, John Critchely Prince and Isabella Banks. Testament is currently writing a play about Robert Rose. Testament is a rapper, poet, playwright and world record holding beatboxer. Testament  was writer in residence at The Royal Exchange Theatre in 2019 and is currently host of BBC Radio 4’s The Adverb.”

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The Together Trust, Together Trust Centre, Schools Hill, Cheadle, Cheshire, SK8 1JE

The Together Trust is a Charity based in Cheadle which delivers care, support and education services across the North-West. Services include caring homes and education for young people with disabilities and complex needs along with a fostering service and therapy services for families. Community services are also run for adults with disabilities or complex health needs.

The Charity has evolved multiple times from small beginnings in January 1870 on Quay Street, Manchester when a homeless shelter was first opened for 12 boys over the age of 10. The Charity's name too has evolved through the years notably including 'Manchester and Salford Boys and Girls Refuges and Homes' and 'the Boys and Girls Welfare Society'.  The services offered for children grew quickly from 1870 and within the Charity's first 50 years they ran numerous homes across a wide age range, emigration services to Canada, campaigning work to improve the lives of children, employment and training opportunities, convalescent homes, summer camps, a 24-hour shelter, a remand home and a home for children with disabilities. From 1920 most services were re-located from Manchester and Salford to Cheadle. Children's homes continued to be run from the Cheadle site before moving to smaller family homes in the community, following which specialist education services were provided on site, evolving to include post 16 education and adult day services in the local area. As Records and Archives Officer for the Trust I hope to provide an overview of the Trust's 155 year history and use the records from the early half of the Charity's history to explore some of the services offered and the young people who used them. 

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