Tag: Attercliffe

When great great grandfather Fred beat Aston Villa

Fred’s sporty genes have not made it down the family tree to me but I am finding the history of pre-league football oddly compelling. Footballs and cricket feature largely in Fred’s life but I don’t think I realised quite how much until this latest episode. Fred mentions that he “Played at football Attercliffe v Surrey”… Continue reading When great great grandfather Fred beat Aston Villa

Vlog – finding Fred in Attercliffe and Darnall

After I visited Handsworth which I wrote about in a post called Becoming Jane, I also visited Attercliffe and Darnall to try and track down some of Fred’s haunts. With my cousin’s help we managed to track down the remains of Christ Church, Attercliffe, The Wellington in Darnall, and Fred’s house on a street formally… Continue reading Vlog – finding Fred in Attercliffe and Darnall

The Spring, clad all in gladness, Doth laugh at Winter’s sadness

In the last post I wished I could have known more about the “Dramatic Entertainment” that Fred had persuaded Janie to come to at the end of February 1879. I was delighted to have that wish granted during some searching through the British Newspaper Archive, I actually found a write up of that event in… Continue reading The Spring, clad all in gladness, Doth laugh at Winter’s sadness

Let’s call the whole thing off (but I’ll see you once a week)

Trying to work out just how much (and why) the early days of Janie and Fred’s relationship were blighted by the disapproval of Janie’s family, the Warburtons, is tricky when the only lens I’ve got for this time are the sporadic entries from Fred’s diary. Fred is feeling that his shortcomings in the eyes of… Continue reading Let’s call the whole thing off (but I’ll see you once a week)