Category Archives: Bradfield

Family and Local History Day, Bradfield Village Hall, Sheffield

Published: November 13, 2010    Last modified: May 22, 2022
Family and Local History Day, Bradfield Village Hall

Family and Local History Day, Bradfield Village Hall, Low Bradfield, Sheffield

In this article I mentioned an upcoming event, a Family and Local History Day to be held at Bradfield Village Hall, Low Bradfield near Sheffield. Well I made the time to attend and was not disappointed. I was surprised just how many people turned out, though the fine and sunny weather may have contributed.

Many local history groups and societies were represented including the Hillsborough & Owlerton Local History Group. This stand had numerous photographs of Owlerton Green and Hillsborough. I was born at Hawksley Road on the edge of Owlerton Green and though I moved to Stannington in the mid 1950's, my maternal grandparents continued to live there until the early 1980's. I have witnessed the many changes that have taken place over the years and so seeing these photographs brought back a lot of memories.

While discussing with one of the ladies from this stand some of the photographs of Owlerton Green, she happened to mentioned she lived on one of the nearby streets. I in turn mentioned I was born at Hawksley Road whereupon she remarked that her colleague lived on a street whose houses backed on to where I was born. As soon as she mentioned her colleagues name I immediately realised this was a member of a family whom I had not seen for probably 30 or 40 years.

Needless to say I had a long chat with this lady and since she has lived on this same street all her life she is a mind of information regarding local families and people I had not seen since my childhood. For reasons of privacy I will withhold names, but it is sufficient to say meeting this lady made the day very worthwhile indeed.

I ordered some copies of the photographs of Owlerton Green which a couple of weeks later duly arrived. I am not sure who may own the copyright of these photographs but I may try and obtain permission to publish them on this website.

I chatted with the people from the Friends of Wardsend Cemetery stand and purchased the CD:

Wardsend Cemetery, Monumental Inscriptions

The Friends of Bradfield Archives were very welcoming and I spent some considerable time working my way through the Bradfield Parish Register indices, searching for ASHFORTH and RIDAL. They also had a plan of the graveyard at the Church of Saint Nicholas at nearby High Bradfield. Several years ago I located this headstone:

John Ashforth died 1768 and William Ashforth died 1825 - Headstone

though according to the plans there are several others to be found. I made a rough sketch of their locations and will search for these others at a later date.

From the Sheffield & District Family History Society I purchased the following CDs:

Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Sheffield Cathedral, Baptism Records 1813-1875
Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Sheffield Cathedral, Baptism Index 1752-1812
Sheffield Marriage Indexes

Time passed very quickly and after some 4 hours we finally departed, but not before taking a few photographs of Low Bradfield. All in all a very worthwhile day and one I can thoroughly recommend.

I now need to make some time in order to sort through all this research material.

Related Posts:
Family history weekend
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Bradfield Archives

Published: September 12, 2010    Last modified: February 4, 2017
Bradfield Parish Council Offices Home of Bradfield Archives

Bradfield Parish Council Offices: Home of Bradfield Archives

Currently I have traced my ASHFORTH line back to the birth of one George ASHFORTH 1814-Deceased at Bradfield circa 1814. I have little concrete evidence to support this entry in my GEDCOM so I need to travel to Low Bradfield, Sheffield, South Yorkshire in order to visit Bradfield Archives, the archives being held in Bradfield Parish Council Offices, Mill Lee Road, Low Bradfield.

Low Bradfield is only 5 miles from Owlerton, Sheffield, the place where I was born. Incredibly this village has managed to avoid being 'swallowed up' by an expanding city and is almost as I remember it as a child. The most noticeable change being the replacement of the wonderful corrugated iron roofed village hall with a more modern building. A great pity though I suppose it eventually became necessary.

While checking the archive opening times on the Friends of Bradfield Archives website I noticed two upcoming events which I would like to attend:

  1. Tuesday, 12th October 2010 - History Workshops
  2. Sunday, 24th October 2010 - Family & Local History Day

Certainly the second event which will be attended by several local history groups and societies, may be very useful in my research of the ASHFORTH line, since many ASHFORTH families originate from this parish.

Notes:
I am not sure what has happened to the Bradfield Parish Council website since the link from the Bradfield Archives is broken and other links are being redirected to what looks like cyber squatters.

Updates:
2010-11-13 I did make time to attend the Family and Local History Day at Bradfield Village Hall. To read about my visit to the Family and Local History Day, Bradfield Village Hall please click here.

2015-03-04 The Bradfield Archives website seems to be fully functional now.

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Family and Local History Day, Bradfield Village Hall, Sheffield
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George Ashforth 1814-Deceased and Leah Webb 1816-1901

Published: August 31, 2008    Last modified: February 15, 2017

A couple of days ago I recieved an email from a gentleman researching George ASHFORTH 1814-Deceased and Leah ASHFORTH (née Leah WEBB 1816-1901).

This aroused my curiosity and I decided it was about time I updated this site and provided a few more articles.

Looking at my research notes for my ASHFORTH line I am acutely aware that for the time being at least I have gone no further back than George ASHFORTH 1814-Deceased and Leah ASHFORTH (née Leah WEBB 1816-1901).

According to my research George and Leah raised 5 children:

Sophia ASHFORTH born abt. 1841 Manchester, Lancashire, England.
John ASHFORTH born abt. 1843 Salford, Manchester, Lancashire, England.
Emma ASHFORTH born abt. 1845 Salford, Manchester, Lancashire, England.
Susannah ASHFORTH born abt. 1849 Stalybridge, Cheshire, England.
William Henry ASHFORTH born 20th February 1851 Bacon Island, Nether Hallam, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England.

This is confirmed by the England and Wales Census 1861:

FHJ Ref: 030
Census: England and Wales Census 1861
Place: Sheffield, Yorkshire, England
Household: George Ashforth

SURNAMEFIRST NAME(SRELSTATUSSEXAGEOCCUPATIONWHERE BORNREMARKS
AshforthGeorgeHeadMarriedMale47Bradfield, Yorkshire
AshforthLeahWifeMarriedFemale45Kingswinford, Staffordshire
AshforthSophiaDaughterFemale20Manchester, Lancashire
AshforthJohnSonMale18Manchester, Lancashire
AshforthEmmaDaughterFemale16Manchester, Lancashire
AshforthSusannaDaughterFemale12Stalybridge, Cheshire
AshforthWilliam HSonMale10Sheffield, Yorkshire

To view this table full width please click here.

My interest is in my gg grandfather William Henry ASHFORTH 1851-1899 and I have already obtained his birth certificate in order to establish the maiden surname of his mother. I carried out further research and discovered the following marriages:

ASHFORTH, Sophia (Spinster, age Full, residing at Cromwell St).
Married James CASSON, on September 5, 1863, by Chas Sisum Wright (Banns) at
St Philips Church, Shalesmoor. Father's name is George ASHFORTH (Filesmith).
Married in the presence of Thomas J YATES, Mary Ann YATES.

ASHFORTH, Harriet (Spinster, age 18, residing at Penistone Rd).
Married Herbert WOODCOCK, on December 24, 1876, by C R Killick (Banns) at
St Philips Church, Shalesmoor. Father's name is John ASHFORTH (Metal Smith).
Married in the presence of Joseph BAILEY (mark), Betsy MORTON (mark).

ASHFORTH, Emma (Spinster, age Minor, residing at Cromwell St).
Married William BRAMELD, on February 21, 1864, by F. Williams (Banns) at
St Philips Church, Shalesmoor. Father's name is George ASHFORTH (File Smith).
Married in the presence of George ASHFORTH, Susannah ASHFORTH.

ASHFORTH, William Henry (Batchelor, age 23, File Cutter, residing at 172 Cuthbert Bank Road).
Married Florence FLOWERS, on December 25, 1895, by H.A. Goodwin (Banns) at
St John the Baptist Church, Owlerton. Father's name is William Henry ASHFORTH (File Cutter).
Married in the presence of Charles Henry STEVENSON, Mary REVINGTON. (Note: This is REMINGTON on the actual marriage certificate).

The researcher I mentioned at the beginning of this article is interested in the descendants of John ASHFORTH and hopefully we may be able to help one another with our research.

Updates:
2017-02-15 At the time of writing this article I was not aware of the family being in the England and Wales Census 1851. The census of 1851 shows the eldest child being Joseph ASHFORTH 1837-Deceased born at Birmingham, Warwickshire. To view the England and Wales Census 1851 for the household of George ASHFORTH 1814-Deceased please click here.

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John Ashforth died 1768 and William Ashforth died 1825: Headstone

Published: October 15, 2007    Last modified: January 12, 2017

John Ashforth died 1768, William Ashforth died 1825

Church of Saint Nicholas, High Bradfield, Sheffield, Yorkshire.
John Ashforth 1768 of Stannington
Also William Son of the above who died (illegible) 1825

Combining a walk around the Bradfield area near Sheffield, South Yorkshire with a little family history, I planned our walking route so we would pass by the graveyard at the Church of Saint Nicholas, High Bradfield.

This is rather a large graveyard given that even today the local population consists mainly of small hamlets and hill farms, though judging by the inscriptions the graveyard served many local villages even though these are several miles away.

With limited time our search was rather random but luckily within a couple of minutes our eyes fell upon a small headstone inscribed with the names John and William ASHFORTH. The inscription reads:

John Ashforth 1768 of Stannington
Also William Son of the above who died (illegible) 1825

The headstone is embedded quite deeply in the ground and not wishing to cause any damage we simply had to make do with what was visible. Below the surface there could be further inscriptions, though judging by the proportions of the headstone, I doubt it.

For any researchers not familiar with this area, Stannington, originally a small hill top village, is now more or less a part of Sheffield. In fact from 1955 to 1959 I lived and went to school at Stannington and it was very much a village though signs of expansion were quite noticeable.

Low Bradfield and High Bradfield are rather remarkable, just 3 miles from the outskirts of Sheffield they have managed to retain their status as small villages. Low Bradfield has a post office that also serves as general store and cafe, together with a magnificent cricket ground. High Bradfield boasts the magnificent Church of Saint Nicholas. Quintessential West Riding of Yorkshire villages, now in the administrative area of South Yorkshire.

So far all my ASHFORTH line originate from Sheffield. I am about to obtain more ASHFORTH birth, marriage and death certificates that may lead me a further afield, though intuition tells me John and William ASHFORTH are not part of my immediate family.

Updates:
2010-11-10 I recently attended a Family History Fair at Bradfield Village Hall, Low Bradfield near Sheffield. A group representing the Friends of Bradfield Archives held a plan of the burials at the Church of St. Nicholas, High Bradfield. This showed at least 2 other Ashforth burial plots. I made a rough sketch of the location of these plots and on my next visit to the churchyard will try and locate the headstones.

Old Comments:

My father John Edward Asforth Sr, died 4/28/1984
Submitted by Susan on Sat, 2010-06-26 21:20

I wish I could track down his family, grew up not knowing any of them. All I ever met was my Grandmother once who loved in Cinn, Ohio. I think I have family in the New England area.

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Wardsend Cemetery, Owlerton, Sheffield

Published: May 11, 2005    Last modified: May 22, 2022
Wardsend Cemetery

Headstone right - Harry, Emily and George Waller
Headstone left - Albert Ashforth, Harry Renwick, Frank Renwick

I came across the Friends of Wardsend Cemetery site a few years ago, though it would appear not to have had any major updates since. Unfortunately the site uses flash, java applets and music arrrrgh... and I had to open it with Internet Explorer rather than my usual Firefox. It really needs a re-design to be more user friendly. Nevertheless it provides some interesting information, though I don't know how active this group is. The site advertises tours of the cemetery and also gives a contact phone number.

I am aware some of my ancestors are buried at Wardsend Cemetery, Owlerton, Sheffield so maybe I will try the contact number and see if tours are still available.

Updates:
2007-01-20 This site is still operational and now works with Firefox.

2010-11-13

Recently I received an email from the Friends of Wardsend Cemetery advising me of a change of web address.
The 'Friends of Wardsend Cemetery' now have a new website at:-
http://www.friendsofwardsendcemetery.btck.co.uk
which replaces the old one. The new site will be updated on a regular basis, unlike the old site.

The website is much improved and I have updated my links to point to the new address.

The group is still very much active and I recently met with them at a Family and Local History Day at Bradfield Village Hall. To read my article 'Family and Local History Day, Bradfield Village Hall' please click here.

I also attended one of the tours of Wardsend Cemetery organised by The Friends of Wardsend Cemetery, highly recommended, but take some stout footwear! To read my article 'Wardsend Cemetery - The guiding spirit of George Waller' please click here.

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Wardsend Cemetery: The guiding spirit of George Waller
Wardsend Cemetery: Photographs
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