October | 2026 | Past To Present Genealogy

The summer holidays are over, so I managed to add a few more posts to the Batley St. Mary of the Angels one-place study in September. The six new posts for the month brings the total number to 492. Two other posts were updated.

Also, thank you to all who attended my talk at St. Mary’s school on Monday 28th September about the early history of the parish and the Irish in Batley. And thank you to Father Eamonn, plus Phil and Jane from the school for facilitating it, and to Stacy who gave up her time to serve tea and coffee. It was a lovely evening, and it was great to be able to put this talk on in the parish.

As I mentioned in the talk, if anyone does have any parish photos, history information or comments on the pieces I have already written they are always welcome. Sourcing photos is particularly tricky, but they really do add colour to the pieces. I am even happy to host guest pieces, such as the one about Skelsey Row written by Brian Foley.

Also, if you came to the Batley cemetery Heritage Open Day event organised by Batley History Group on 20th September, you may have heard me talking about Batley’s nationally acclaimed rat catcher, Thomas Patrick Cassidy. A St. Mary’s parishioner, I have written about him here.

Getting back to the new posts for September, the first new post is the parish history snippets piece for September 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’s 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 added three posts to the In the Spotlight Section, all about the various amateur dramatic productions in the parish – one is from the 1930s, another from the 1940s and the third is from the 1950s. They include names of many who took part, as well as some photographs too. But is you have other photos, the would be much appreciated. One of the updated posts is the overall section header, which includes details of, and links to, all the posts to date in the section.

The two other pieces are in the May Queen section. They relate to the 1936 and 1937 ceremonies, and again include names and photographs. The second updated posts is the overall section header piece, which has details of and links to all the May Queen posts I have written to date.

As for what is in the pipeline, other than some am-dram pieces I’m working on, next month I hope to re-commence adding some school photos.

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 up. It is something I have to consider going forward, given the tough economic climate and an impending unexpected downturn in family finances later this year.

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 it up and running. No matter how small it really does help and it may make the difference in enabling me to keep everything online in this format.

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.

Another way to help is you might want to consider commissioning me to undertake some research for you. My day job is as a self-employed professionally qualified genealogist and house historian. You can find me on the Association of Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (AGRA) pages. So, 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 related photos (I cannot emphasise enough how difficult sourcing photos is), please do get in touch. This includes for any of the pieces I have already written.

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
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. 1930 – “The “Gondoliers” by St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church Choir *NEW*
312. 1946 – “The Bohemian Girl” by St. Mary’s Amateur Operatic Society, Produced by Anthony “Tom” Farrar *NEW*
313. 1947 – “The Grand Duchess” by St. Mary’s Amateur Operatic Society *NEW*
314. 1947 – “The Grand Duchess” by St. Mary’s Amateur Operatic Society
315.1948 – St. Mary’s Amateur Operatic Society Presents “Our Miss Gibbs”
316.1952 – The Bohemian Girl, St. Mary’s Schoolboys
317 The St Mary’s Amateur Operatic Society 1950 Production of The Gondoliers
318.The 1951 St Mary’s School Production of Maritana for Fr. O’Brien

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

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

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

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

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

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Monthly Archives: October 2026

St. Mary of the Angels, Batley: One-Place Study Update – 1 to 30 September 2026 Additions

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