September | 2026 | Past To Present Genealogy

Despite the summer holidays, gorgeous weather and time off, four more posts were added to the Batley St. Mary of the Angels one-place study in August. This brings the total number to 486. One other post was updated.

I also have news of a parish history event. To mark the 75th anniversary of the Batley St. Mary of the Angels Torchlight Procession, and to celebrate our wonderful parish history, I will be giving a talk about the early history of St. Mary’s and the Irish in Batley up until around the 1880s. This will take place on: Monday 28th September in the St. Mary’s School Hall. Doors open from 6pm for tea and coffee, and the talk will start at 6.30pm. Including time for questions it will last for around 1 hour. The talk is FREE. With thanks to Father Eamonn and the school for facilitating this.

Getting back to the new post details for August, the first new post is the parish history snippets piece for August 2026. These snippets cover a variety of events and people from the parish from years gone by, and can be found in the Bulletin for Batley St Mary of the Angels and Birstall St Patrick section. Even if you have seen them on the Bulletin, it is worth checking them here as some have links to more detailed pieces I have written.

I have added a new post about the history of a building integral to the parish community, the Parochial Hall. Parishioners across the ages have used it for wedding receptions, baptism celebrations, funeral teas, dances, sales of work, theatrical productions, torchlight procession pie and pea suppers, even school dinners. You can find out all about its early years in the Miscellany of Information section.

On the subject of theatrical productions a new post as been added to the In the Spotlight section – the 1947 St. Mary’s Amateur Operatic Society’s production of The Grand Duchess. The piece has names of many of those who played a part, either on stage or behind the scenes. There is even a cast photo. The updated post is the overall section header.

The final piece for August is a War Memorial biography, that of William Kelly who died in 1918 and is buried in Batley Cemetery,

Below is the full list of all the one-place study pieces to date. Simply click on the link and it will take you straight to the relevant page. I have annotated the *NEW* and “UPDATED” posts, so you can easily pick them out.

If you want to know the background, and what is involved in a one-place study, click here. Otherwise read on, to discover a wealth of parish, parishioner and wider local Batley history.

Postscript:
I may not be able to thank you personally because of your contact detail confidentiality, but I do want to say how much I appreciate the donations received which have kept this website going over recent years. They really and truly have helped, and I am incredibly grateful for that support. Thank you.

The website has always been free to use, and if at all possible I want to continue this policy going forward. However, it does cost me money to operate – from undertaking the research and writing it up which can be around 20-30 hours a month, purchasing resources and documents, visiting archives, right down to website hosting costs, which given the number of photos I include pushes those costs up. It is something I have to consider going forward, given the tough economic climate and the squeeze on my family finances.

If my website has helped with your family history research, or if you have simply enjoyed reading the various pieces and looking at these photos, please do consider making a donation towards keeping the website up and running in its current open access format. No matter how small it really does help in reducing my own personal financial input, and it would be very much appreciated.

Please click here be taken to the PayPal donation link. By making a donation you will be helping to keep the website online, updated with new pieces, and freely available for all.

As a professionally qualified genealogist, if you would like me to undertake any family, local or house history research for you do please get in touch. More information can be found on my research services page.

Thank you.

Finally, if you do have any information about the parish history, or photos, please do get in touch. This includes for any of the pieces I have already written, as sourcing photos is particularly difficult.

I can be contacted at: pasttopresentgenealogy@btinternet.com

1. About my St Mary of the Angels Catholic Church War Memorial One-Place Study;

Batley’s Public Buildings and Institutions
2. Batley Hospital: The First 50 Years – 1878 to 1928
3. The Early History of Batley’s Public Baths

Batley St Mary’s Population, Health, Mortality and Fertility Information and Comparisons
4. 1914: The Health of Batley School Children Generally, with a Particular Focus on St Mary’s School Children

Batley Statistics and Descriptions – Population, Health, Mortality, Fertility etc.
5. 1914: Borough of Batley – Town Information from the Annual Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
6. Batley and the 1921 Census
7. Batley Population Statistics 1801-1939

Biographies: Men Associated with St Mary’s Who Died but Who Are Not on the Memorial
8. Thomas Gannon
9. Michael Howley
10. Reginald Roberts
11. William Frederick Townsend

Biographies: The War Memorial Men
12. Edward Barber
13. William Barber (Memorial name spelling)
14. Herbert Booth
15. Edmund Battye
16. Dominick (aka George) Brannan
17. Michael Brannan
18. John Brooks
19. Michael Cafferty
20. Patrick Cafferty
21. John William Callaghan
22. Lawrence Carney
23. Martin Carney
24. Thomas William Chappell
25. William Colbeck
26. Michael Cunningham
27. Thomas Curley
28. Peter Doherty
29. Thomas Dolan
30. Thomas Donlan
31. James Edwards
32. John W. Enright
33. Mathew Farrer
34. Thomas Finneran
35. Michael Flynn
36. Thomas Foley D.C.M.
37. Martin Gallagher
38. James Garner
39. Harold Gaunt
40. James Gavaghan
41. Peter Gavaghan (1)
42. Peter Gavaghan (2)
43. Thomas Gavaghan
44. Henry Groark
45. James Groark
46. Michael Groark (also known as Rourke)
47. James Griffin
48. William Hargreaves
49. Michael Hopkins
50. Patrick Hopkins
51. Michael Horan
52. James Hughes
53. Lawrence Judge
54. William Kelly *NEW*
55. John Leech
56. Michael Lydon
57. John Thomas Lynch
58. Patrick Lyons
William McManus – See William Townsend below
59. Thomas McNamara
60. Clement Manning
61. Patrick Naifsey
62. Austin Nolan
63. Robert Randerson
64. James Rush
65. Moses Stubley
66. William Townsend, also known as McManus
67. James Trainor
68. Richard Carroll Walsh
69. Arthur William Bayldon Woodhead

Biographies: Those who Served and Survived (this includes a list of those identified to date and who will later have dedicated biographical pages)
70. Patrick Cassidy
71. James Delaney
72. Thomas Donlan (senior)
73. Thomas Gannon
74. Michael Rush

Burials, Cemeteries, Headstones and MIs
75. Cemetery and Memorial Details
76. War Memorial Chronology of Deaths

Guest Contributions
309. Memories of Skelsey Row – by Brian Foley

In the Spotlight: Am Dram, Opera and Concerts *UPDATED*
310. 1901 – St. Mary’s Schools’ St. Patrick’s Day Concert
311. 1947 – “The Grand Duchess” by St. Mary’s Amateur Operatic Society *NEW*
312. 1948 – St. Mary’s Amateur Operatic Society Presents “Our Miss Gibbs”
313. 1952 – The Bohemian Girl, St. Mary’s Schoolboys
314. The St Mary’s Amateur Operatic Society 1950 Production of The Gondoliers
315. The 1951 St Mary’s School Production of Maritana for Fr. O’Brien

Maps and Photographs
316. A Description of the Parish Boundaries
317. Aerial View of St Mary’s Church and the Surrounding Streets
318. Batley St Mary’s – Map Published in 1894
319. Batley St Mary’s – Map Published in 1907
320. Batley St Mary’s – Map Published in 1922
321. Batley St Mary’s – Map Published in 1933

Miscellany of Information
322. A Tale of Three Pigs, a Headstone and The Longest-Lived Parishioner
323. A Bitter-Sweet Remarriage
324. A Colliery Accident with Tragic Consequences
325. A Description of the Parish of St Mary of the Angels in 1950
326. A Grave Disturbance in Batley
327. A Part of St Mary of the Angels in Batley Cemetery
328. A “Peace” of Batley History
329. An Appeal to Ireland to Build a Catholic Church in Batley
330. A Potted Early History of the Irish in Batley, the Building of St Mary of the Angels Church, and the Parish Priest’s Fatal Accident
331. A St Mary’s Parishioner in the Holy Land
332. A St Mary’s School Sensation
333. A St Mary’s School Trip Souvenir
334. Batley’s Secret Irish Society and the Ammunition Seizure
335. Batley St Mary’s First Torchlight Procession
336. Batley St Mary’s Second Torchlight Procession
337. Buffalo Bill and A Right Royal Celebration for Batley’s Schoolchildren
338. “Daddy’s Death and then Triplets”
339. Heritage Impact Assessment: St Mary’s Catholic Primary School and Convent, Batley
340. Hot-Cross Buns and the Yorkshire Tea-Cake Dilemma. Plus A Suggested Meal Planner for Batley Families in 1917
341. Into the Valley of Death – One of the Six Hundred
341. Is Your Female Ancestor Amongst Those Invited to the 1915 Event for Wives and Mothers?
343. “I’ve Done it for Love” – A Batley Murder
344. St Mary of the Angels Catholic Church – 1929 Consecration Service
345. The Building of the Parochial Hall *NEW*
346. The Consequences of a Refusal to Work in 1918
347. The Controversial Role Played by St Mary’s Schoolchildren in the 1907 Batley Pageant
348. The Deaths of the Smallpox Hospital Caretakers
349. The Debate Over Grave-Diggers’ Holidays
350. The Earliest Published Account of Batley St Mary’s Church and Schools
351. The Great War: A Brief Overview of What Led Britain into the War
352. The Horrific Death of Little Mary Leach
353. The Unholy row between St Mary’s Church and the Batley and Birstall Irish Clubs
354. Thomas Ate My Rat
355. William Berry – A Beautiful Voice Stilled
356. Willie and Edward Barber – Poems

Occupations and Employment Information
357. Occupations: Colliery Byeworker/Byeworkman/Byworker/Bye-Worker/By-Worker
358. Occupations: Confidential Clerk
359. Occupations: Lamp Cleaner
360. Occupations: Limelight Operator
361. Occupations: Mason’s Labourer
362. Occupations: Office Boy/Girl
363. Occupations: Piecer/Piecener
364. Occupations: Rag Grinder
365. Occupations: Willeyer

School Photos
390. Photo No1
391. Photo No2
392. Photo No3
393. Photo No4
394. Photo No5
395. Photo No6
396. Photo No7
397. Photo No8
398. Photo No9
399. Photo No10
400. Photo No11
401. Photo No12
402. Photo No13
403. Photo No14
404. Photo No15
405. Photo No16
406. Photo No17
407. Photo No18
408. Photo No19
409. Photo No20
410. Photo No21
411. Photo No22
412. Photo No23
413. Photo No24
414. Photo No25
415. Photo No26
416. Photo No27
417. Photo No28
418. Photo No29
419. Photo No30
420. Photo No31
421. Photo No32
422. Photo No33
423. Photo No34
424. Photo No35
425. Photo No36
426. Photo No37
427. Photo No38
428. Photo No39
429. Photo No40

The Families
460. A Death in the Church
461. St Mary’s Schoolboys Wreak Havoc in a Batley Graveyard

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Monthly Archives: September 2026

St. Mary of the Angels, Batley: One-Place Study Update – 1 to 31 August 2026 Additions

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