Past To Present Genealogy
@janeroberts
Professional family, local & house history researcher. Author. AGRA Associate. History graduate. Batley St Mary’s One-Place Study. Connecting past & present. Website & blog:
In Haworth today noticed something I’ve never noticed before, despite hundreds of previous visits. On one of the flagstone paths near the church there’s a roughly etched face of a man in a hat. Does anyone know why it’s there, & the history of it? #Haworth #Flagstone #StoneMasonry #StoneMasons
Bact to the Tudor & Elizabethan period yesterday, & buildings associated with the powerful, ambitious Bess of Hardwick (1527-1608), with a visit to Hardwick New & Old Halls. Plus a surprising link to military WW2 British Airborne Forces history #BessOfHardwick #HardwickHall #NationalTrust #WW2
#Rievaulx Terrace & glimpses of the abbey below. The blingy mid-18th century Ionic Temple’s ceiling is stunning with its frescoes, painted by Italian artist Giuseppe Mattia Borgnis with a centrepiece mural based on one by Guido Reni in the Palazzo Rospigliosi in Rome. #EnglishHeritage #Yorkshire
One of my favourite places today, Rievaulx Abbey. Dating from 1132 it was the first Cistercian abbey to be founded in Northern England. The size, and it’s construction in this tranquil location, never ceases to amaze me #EnglishHeritage #Yorkshire #RievaulxAbbey #Cistercian
1st visit for a while to Brodsworth Hall and Gardens #EnglishHeritage #SouthYorkshire
It’s been a tough week. Last Thursday we said goodbye to Snowflake. The house no longer feels like home, it has lost its little heartbeat. And we feel equally lost, as for over 12 years she has been central to our lives, & she kept me going through cancer. Tonight is no easier than a week ago
Took the afternoon off. Where did I end up? At West Yorkshire Archive Service Leeds (they have air-con!) for a Batley History Group visit seeing areas normally off limits & learning about their varied holdings which are far more than dusty docs, eg/ the object below- any guesses as to what it is?
The early bird catches the worm…or in our case it was the little owl. Bank holiday Monday crack of sparrows visit to St Aidans. It was flipping hot even at 8am #RSPB #StAidans #LittleOwl #Cormorant
Some quiet time before daughter & grandson arrive for Sunday tea. Beginning #DCIRyan No11
Dialling down life with nature at RSPB St. Aidan’s. Heard the booming bitterns but they remained elusive. #RSPB #WestYorkshire
More stone carving examples, these from #Hartshead parish church. From a stone mason’s headstone with a fitting demonstration of the artistry & craftsmanship of that occupation, to a tablet in the vestry wall listing 5 churchwardens in 1713, & carving over the south porch #WestYorkshire #StoneMason
The Walton Cross, a Grade II* listed scheduled monument. The huge base of this Anglian High Cross survives in situ, with its Celtic & Norse influenced carvings still visible. It is thought to date from around AD900 #WaltonCross #ScheduledMonument #Hightown #SpenValley #LocalHistory #WestYorkshire
Haworth looking rather splendid in the sunshine today #Haworth #WestYorkshire #BrontëCountry
I needed a couple of final slide photos for my 25 April Brontë talk for the Society of Genealogists. A perfect excuse to pop across to Haworth. #Brontë #FamilyHistory #Haworth #BrontëSisters Talk booking details: portal.sog.org.uk/Event/view/2...
A very local stop off this morning in search of my Brontë history links. This was Roe Head, the school attended by the Brontë sisters, and where Charlotte went on to teach. #BrontëSisters #Mirfield #RoeHead #Brontë #LocalHistory #WestYorkshire
Definitely outgrowing the view space on my sewing frame. Cross stitch comparison between 3 and 10 April 2026 #CrossStitch #BothyThreads #Fox #RachelFroud
Easter Monday in Haworth - steam trains & Brontë history including a ‘Banksy’ type piece of wall art from last year’s Bradford City of Culture #Haworth #Brontë #SteamTrain #BrontëSisters #WestYorkshire
The Grade II* Listed Birstall St Peter’s. Charlotte Brontë based Briarfield Church in Shirley on the old church. Mainly rebuilt in circa 1870, the lower part of the Norman tower does remain. Her friend Ellen Nussey is buried here #Birstall #EllenNussey #Shirley #CharlotteBrontë #ListedBuilding
It’s now getting too big to view it in full on my sewing frame. Cross stitch comparison between 27 March and 2 April2026 #CrossStitch #BothyThreads #Fox #RachelFroud
Introducing my new reading corner companion, all the way from Wales #Ewemoo #Footstool #Sheep
Another visit this morning to Thornton, the birthplace of Charlotte, Emily & Anne Brontë. The house, with such a central role in this country’s literary history, is a must for any Brontë enthusiasts. It’s near #Haworth, so easy to combine the two. #Thornton #BrontëSisters #Brontë #WestYorkshire
Hadn’t realised it has been quite so long since my last cross stitch update, but to be fair I’ve not had much free time for sewing. As you will see from the 6 Feb to 27 March 2026 comparison #CrossStitch #BothyThreads #Fox #RachelFroud
Could be worse. A whole generation of children grew up thinking he was a dog (my brother’s TV influence) #Dogtanian
She’s had some supper - served to her whilst she reclines on the sofa
Snowflake is spaced out, but thankfully back home (not that she seems to know where she is!) She’s spent today at the vets for bloods, heart scans & lung x-rays, requiring anaesthetic. Someone will be spoiled rotten tonight by human mum & dad. Hope the heart tablets work. She means the world to me.
That magical crossing #HolyIsland #PilgrimsWay #Causeway #RefugeBoxes #Lindisfarne