Category: Blue Plaques

George Orwell’s stay in Barnsley: Blue Plaque and Talk

One of the most celebrated writers of the 20th century, George Orwell stayed in Barnsley in 1936. He wanted to see for himself the living conditions of working class people for his book ‘The Road To Wigan Pier’. He stayed at a house in Agnes Terrace, still there today.

A Blue Plaque commemorating George Orwell’s stay in Barnsley will be unveiled on Friday 26 April. The main event to mark the occasion is a talk at 1pm in the Miners’ Hall, Victoria Road, next door to the NUM building.

Edana Guest will give the talk about George Orwell’s time in Barnsley, his experiences and what he found out. Edana has written an article about George Orwell’s stay in Barnsley in the excellent ‘Memories of Barnsley’.

Her talk will be kindly hosted by the NUM in the magnificent Miners’ Hall in Victoria Road, Barnsley, next door to the NUM Offices. Do come along to this there is no need to book. Come for 1pm. No need to book.

The unveiling of the Blue Plaque will then take place later as a small event in Day Street at the end of Agnes Terrace.

It’s for invited guests in view of the traffic in the area and the space that is available. Safety has to be a consideration. See comment.

This event is being held in partnership with Barnsley Archives & Local Studies. We are pleased that members of the Orwell Society including Richard Blair, George Orwell’s son and Patron of the Society, and the Chair of the Orwell Society, Quentin Kopp, will be present.

Do come along to the tak at the Miners’ Hall at 1pm, there is no need to book. It’s open to everyone: booking for the talk is not necessary.

Our thanks to Edana Guest for all she has done to arrange this event.

Sackville Street to the Valley of the Kings: A Blue Plaque for Harold Jones

Ernest Harold Jones —Artist, Excavator, Archaeologist, Egyptologist — was born in Barnsley. A Blue Plaque for him was unveiled on Thursday 14 September — celebrating his life and connection to Barnsley.

Ernest Harold Jones. Image: National Library of Wales.

1.30 – 2.30pm — Barnsley Town Hall
Illustrated talk by Lady Carnarvon, with an introduction and welcome by Professor Joann Fletcher and Sir Stephen Houghton.

3.00-3.15pm — Sackville Street
Unveiling of Blue Plaque to Ernest Harold Jones by the Mayor of Barnsley.

Born in Barnsley in 1877 – his father was the headmaster of Barnsley School of Art – Harold Jones died in Luxor in Egypt in 1911. The Jones family lived in Sackville Street in Barnsley until his father moved to become head of the Carmarthen School of Art.

Harold Jones became a well-regarded artist; his work inspired by what he’d heard of Egypt and the pre-Raphaelite artists who painted Egyptian themes.

He moved to Egypt for health reasons, employed as an archaeological artist and then excavator. He unearthed rings and small objects bearing the name —not known at that time— Tutankhamun, and sparked interest in finding his tomb.

Unfortunately, he died in 1911, before the tomb of Tutankhamun was finally discovered. His funeral was held in Luxor, organised by Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter who went on to discover Tut’s tomb in 1922.

A blue plaque for Joseph Bramah

We celebrated Joseph Bramah at Wentworth Castle Gardens on Tuesday 12th September, during Heritage Open Days.

Joseph Bramah (1748 to 1814), from Stainborough, was one of Britain’s most important inventors and the father of hydraulic power. Amongst many other things, he invented a lock that could not be picked, a beer pump, a flushing toilet, hydraulic presses and devices for pulling up trees.

Barnsley Museums have the original 1791 continuous fire pump made by Joseph Bramah for Wentworth Castle, the first of its kind. It can be seen at Experience Barnsley at Barnsley Town Hall.

Barnsley Civic Trust and
National Trust Wentworth Castle Gardens.
Heritage Open Day: Free Entrance to Wentworth Castle Gardens
#BarnsleyHeritageMonth

A Blue Plaque for Lady Mary …

Another blue plaque for Barnsley …

Organised by the Royal Society of Biology and the British Society for Immunology with the National Trust Wentworth Castle Gardens, the unveiling of the blue plaque for Lady Mary Wortley-Montagu took place on Saturday 15 July at Wentworth Castle Gardens.

Dr Lynda Partridge, Royal Society of Biology, unveiling the plaque to Lady Mary Wortley-Montagu. Allen Parks, Barnsley Civic Trust, said a few words to mark the occasion.

BCT events

Coming up this year with Barnsley Civic Trust …

Town Tours
We have two tours of Barnsley Town Centre coming up for visiting groups, looking at significant buildings, both historic and new:
Saturday 22 July: Huddersfield Civic Trust visit for tour of Barnsley Town Centre

Sunday 20 August 20: Yorkshire Victorian Society tour of Victorian buildings.

We also intend to repeat the tours for Barnsley Civic Trust members and Barnsley residents.

Blue Plaques
Two Barnsley Civic Trust Blue Plaques are being unveiled in the next few months.

Tuesday 12 September: Blue Plaque for Joseph Bramah, Engineer and Inventor, at Wentworth Castle, in association with the National Trust Wentworth Castle Gardens. This is one of the national Heritage Open Days and access to Wentworth Castle Gardens will be free of charge.

Thursday 14 September: Blue Plaque for Ernest Harold Jones, Artist and Egyptologist, with a talk by Joann Fletcher.

Saturday 15 July: There is also the unveiling of another Blue Plaque at Wentworth Castle to commemorate the achievements of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. This is a Royal Society of Biology and National Trust event with talks. 

Barnsley Civic Trust would be interested to hear of nominations for Blue Plaques especially where funding can be provided by a sponsor.
 
Further Talks
Thursday 19 October at the Miners Hall (NUM Offices). Paul Darlow will give a talk on the fascinating history of the mining of coal under Barnsley Town Centre and the surrounding area.

Thursday 16 November: History of the Barnsley Trinity Players, a presentation on the history of the theatre group by Phil Johnson.

Talks are open to members and non-members

Watch this space for details of other talks and activities. 

James Hudson Taylor guided walk – Tuesday 17 September

A red plaque trail commemorates the places that James Hudson Taylor would have known in Barnsley. That’s  James Hudson Taylor – a lad from Barnsley who in the 19th century became a missionary, went to China, and founded one of the largest movements in the world. 

Following on from the Barnsley Civic Trust talk earlier this year,  we have arranged for a guided walk around the town centre based on the locations associated with James Hudson Taylor. All are welcome! 

The walk will take place on Tuesday 17th September and will be led by Fred Thompson of the JHT Trust. The walk will start outside Barnsley College main building at 6.00 pm.

This promises to be a very interesting and enlightening evening. Do come along! 

James Hudson Taylor talk

Great talk on Tuesday 26 February by Fred Thompson and Philip Nuthall on the James Hudson Taylor trail in Barnsley and on Salem Church. We discusssed raising awareness of James Hudson Taylor and attracting more people to Barnsley to visit Salem Church and follow the trail.

Good to know that the two Barnsley Civic Trust blue plaques started the trail in 2012; now augmented by the red plaques of the trail