Audlem's History Part2

What do we know of the history of Audlem? Part 2

Celia Bloor stepped gamely in at the last minute on Thursday evening to rescue the dilemma facing Audlem History Society after Tony Bostock was unable to deliver his talk on Cheshire Pub Signs.

Celia had treated us to an entertaining and informative part 1 of her talk last year, and was still in the process of putting the finishing touches to part 2. But the continuing narrative was seamless, as Celia added some extra points of interest pertaining to Audlem in the seventeenth century. She mentioned, for instance, that the building of the Grammar School was held up due to the Civil War, and so was only started in 1647.

We heard some fascinating details concerning various individuals in the village who were given handouts from the Parish Relief Fund, rather than being sent to the village workhouse. This opened in 1740 and continued until 1843 when locals had to go to the Barony workhouse instead.

Celia took us on a whistle-stop tour of Audlem in the eighteenth century, packing in much detail and covering topics as diverse as the local turnpike roads, an earthquake in the village in 1777, the Hankelow murder in 1812 and the Duke of Wellington's visit to Audlem Vicarage and Highfields in 1820.

Her talk was accompanied by excellent slides, and finished with Celia explaining that coverage of Audlem's history in the nineteenth century would need separate talks on specific topics rather than one general lecture.

Celia is an excellent speaker, and her entertaining talk considerably cheered her audience on a miserably wet and windy autumn evening.

Brenda Smethurst

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