Let our experts help you find out who you are!

On the 2nd April we are being joined by family history experts who will be on hand to help you explore your family history.

Inspired by Musson + Retallick’s exhibition ‘The Migrant’, which will be on display, this event will explore how to research your ancestors. Find out who they were, where they came from and what jobs they did – whether they came from Halton or not.

We will have experts from Cheshire Archives, Catalyst Science Discovery Centre and Halton Heritage Partnership with us at St Marie’s for the afternoon with access to online resources and documents.
We will also have the St Marie’s log books available which set out all the parish notices and marriage bans as far back as the 1860’s to help visitors find references to their family members.

Fun activities for families, come along and see what you can find out. The event is free for all.

For more information contact Ruth on 01928 593117 or at haltonheritagehq@gmail.com

Heritage, but not as we know it?

The Migrant, Heritage HQ’s first exhibition created by artists M+R, opened in St Marie’s on Saturday 19th March.

Neil Musson and Jono Retallick are the project’s Heritage Architects – tasked with bringing stories of the borough’s past industries and trades to life in a new way.

Neil and Jono have gathered family stories, exploring where people came from and what work they did, across generations in the Widnes area. These family histories have been recorded by local people in the form of core samples which will go on display in the exhibition

After talking about the exhibition to a couple of Heritage HQ volunteers, one of them commented that a good way of summing it up was ‘heritage, but not as we know it’; a different way of recording and sharing what we know about the past. It’s a bit Star Trek, but it might be right. Come along and see what you think…

You can visit the display any day of the week up until 2nd April (except for Mother’s Day on 27th March).

Matthew (from St Marie’s Heritage Group) created the core sample shown in the photograph below. The different colours represent stages in his journey to St Marie’s. This includes (starting on the right) purple & white for St Luke’s RC Primary School, red & black for Frodsham JFC, orange & black for the University of York, green & white for Halton Community Radio, purple, blue and white for Halton & St Helens VCA and (lastly) blue for St Marie’s.

This website includes information about the Heritage Events & Activities organised by the St Marie’s Heritage Group. Posts are displayed chronologically with the most recent ones at the top. You can search for old events via the dates on the side. Or you can look for information & photos through the Pages listed in the black crossbar menu above.