Blog Post
All Roads Lead to Here
- By Chris Salt
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- 01 Oct, 2016
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As we get closer to the opening of the exhibition in November things seem to be beginning to fall into place, almost as if they were meant to be…
“The annual procession of the schools connected with the Parish Church, took place in the afternoon, and as usual was the means of attracting much attention. The procession started from the National Schools, in Long Street, about three o'clock. The M.P.B.B. took the lead, after which came the ringers (carrying staves), the clergy, and churchwardens. A very imposing spectacle was the number of young females neatly dressed in white. After walking through one or two streets, the scholars proceeded to Alkrington Hall, where the hymn “All people that on earth do dwell” was sung. They afterwards proceeded to Parkfield House (Mrs. Ashton’s), and sang the hymn, “The Church is one Foundation”, after which they again went to the National Schools, where tea was provided. After tea, an adjournment was made to the field behind the Rectory, where several games were indulged in, the band playing for dancing. Several glees were sung in the field. The weather was very favourable.”
This extract is taken from “The Pop and Ale Boys” – the story of the Middleton Band (www.middletonband.com) by Doreen Sansom. The humble but determined beginnings of the band are chronicled largely through contemporary newspaper articles and this paragraph caught my eye.
We are hoping that the Middleton Band may play at our launch and we hope to feature something of their history amongst the collections on display in the hall. We are also talking to the bell-ringers of St Leonard’s about their history, and the collections of individuals. So here we have a report from 135 years ago detailing the procession of the band, with ‘the ringers’, here to Alkrington Hall. This in itself is marvellous – I will be talking to the band about their repertoire, will it include ‘All People that on Earth Do Dwell’? But further down the article there is mention of Parkfield House and Mrs Ashton.
When my family and I moved to Alkrington from south Manchester we were incredibly ignorant of the area. It was almost as if the north south divide was alive and well in our own back yard. But as we got to know the people and the area my wife was beginning to trace my family tree – my mum died soon after we arrived here and I think that might have been the trigger for this research. Much to my surprise as a lad from a working class family who grew up in Wythenshawe it transpired that I actually come from Middleton. My father was adopted and that’s how we come to have the surname SALT. But in fact his real mum’s surname was Ashton. The lady mentioned in the article, Mrs Ashton of Parkfield House, Middleton was an ancestor of mine. Not a particularly distant one either – my wife will scold me now for getting this wrong but I think this Mrs Ashton was my Great Great Grandmother’s cousin.
So there you go – if nothing else I look forward to the Middleton Band playing again in Alkrington Hall (the repertoire of their choice) to an audience which will once again include the Ashton family.
This extract is taken from “The Pop and Ale Boys” – the story of the Middleton Band (www.middletonband.com) by Doreen Sansom. The humble but determined beginnings of the band are chronicled largely through contemporary newspaper articles and this paragraph caught my eye.
We are hoping that the Middleton Band may play at our launch and we hope to feature something of their history amongst the collections on display in the hall. We are also talking to the bell-ringers of St Leonard’s about their history, and the collections of individuals. So here we have a report from 135 years ago detailing the procession of the band, with ‘the ringers’, here to Alkrington Hall. This in itself is marvellous – I will be talking to the band about their repertoire, will it include ‘All People that on Earth Do Dwell’? But further down the article there is mention of Parkfield House and Mrs Ashton.
When my family and I moved to Alkrington from south Manchester we were incredibly ignorant of the area. It was almost as if the north south divide was alive and well in our own back yard. But as we got to know the people and the area my wife was beginning to trace my family tree – my mum died soon after we arrived here and I think that might have been the trigger for this research. Much to my surprise as a lad from a working class family who grew up in Wythenshawe it transpired that I actually come from Middleton. My father was adopted and that’s how we come to have the surname SALT. But in fact his real mum’s surname was Ashton. The lady mentioned in the article, Mrs Ashton of Parkfield House, Middleton was an ancestor of mine. Not a particularly distant one either – my wife will scold me now for getting this wrong but I think this Mrs Ashton was my Great Great Grandmother’s cousin.
So there you go – if nothing else I look forward to the Middleton Band playing again in Alkrington Hall (the repertoire of their choice) to an audience which will once again include the Ashton family.