Sir Harrison Birtwistle

[cashman]

Originally Posted by Bob Dobson

V. He did go to Accrington Grammar School.
I am having a job remembering a shop in Hood St.
I have sent you a PM.

Originally Posted by Bernard Dawson

I can't remember one either Bob.

was there not a cake shop end of hood st corner maudsley st?

[Bernard Dawson]

Originally Posted by cashman

was there not a cake shop end of hood st corner maudsley st?

You may well be right Cashy, but I cant remember one. I'll ask my sister, her memory is a lot better than mine.

[Bob Dobson]

My aunt Sal tells me the shop at Hood/Maudsley was a bread shop. Her memory is excellent for an 80-odd year old.She cannot recall Cashy being good looking.

[violet]

sorry bob i deleted your message by accident. im not very good on this computer lark .being a claytoner myself ,but when first married i moved to the cottages on whalley rd.were they called britcliffe cottages a row of stone houses now eastway ??? sorry i havnt lived in acci for almost 40 yrs i remember 2 shops on meadow st when i lived there i will ask again about a shop on hood st violet

[cashman]

Originally Posted by Bob Dobson

My aunt Sal tells me the shop at Hood/Maudsley was a bread shop. Her memory is excellent for an 80-odd year old.She cannot recall Cashy being good looking.

Sally is correct it sold bread n cakes, thing is though Bob she was never a long haired fan. plus i used to lead her eldest astray so that may have a bearing on her verdict. lol mind it wasn't a confectioners as such, but they sold cakes in boxes "Lyons" etc used to get their apple tarts.

[DtheP47]

Old thread I know, new book out by Fiona Maddox reviewed in the Sunday Observer.
Intrigued by Harry's comments when asked about his school life, I guess I'll have to buy the book to find out.

Anybody know for sure where his parents shop was?

Harrison Birtwistle: 'I don't think, with hindsight, I was a natural musician' | Music | The Observer

[taddy]

Originally Posted by tobester

I will as and when, but dont tend to hang around computers too much, does childers lane still exist, I heard they put a motorway through it or am I going off the beaten track?

I knew the above guy and his father in the 1960s, they lived on Burnley Lane Huncoat, At Childers Green Farm which at the time overlooked a scenic lake that was stocked with trout; Harry's dad Fred was the bailiff.

The lodge was drained in the 1970s (I think) due to the dam wall becoming unsafe, the area is now a picnic area and nature reserve.

When the link road to the M 65 was built from the double roundabout at the Griffin, Burnley Lane was severed and a high level bridge was built to take the lane over the new duel carriageway.

[jenny creasey]

Originally Posted by Accy-mad

Just joined having only discovered the Accrington Web yesterday -unfortunately, thinking I was being terribly original, I have chosen a name that is already used, albeit written in a slightly different case, so forgive me, the other "accymad". Now about Harry Birtwistle - and yes, that is his real name, my grandfather always referred to him as Harry and it seems that was always his name until he went posh. Also some reference books list him as "Harrison Paul Birtwistle" but I can assure you that he was registered at birth as just plain old Harry.(But his mother's maiden name was Harrison so I suppose we should allow him the right to use it!). My mother thinks his mother came from Cheshire.
Sadly, Harry seems rather to resist too much probing about our beloved "Accy" ; in interviews his remarks may be judged as, at best, scathing about the town that in fact gave him the musical background that enabled him to go to music college. His references to his time in local amateur orchestras is remembered by him as his not having realised at the time how bad they were, which is a bit rich when one of those orchestras,The Robert Cunliffe Orchestra,( a long-standing institution run by the New Jerusalem Church, Abbey Street with financial support from philanthropic business men in the town) produced many young people who went on to be respected professional musicians (mentioning two only -John Ayre, who was 1st horn with the Halle and Marion Ayre, oboist with the BBC Scottish Symphony ).
By the way, to the contributor who thought that having the name Birtwistle meant they were probably related may be disappointed - in the 1881 Census there were 1816 Birtwistles in Lancashire, most of whom were in the Hyndburn, Blackburn, Colne area with a few towards Manchester - multiply that by the degree of increase in the population and anybody doing family history in the Accy area will probably come across a Birtwistle ! (Making us all related I suppose!!)

Old posts I know! Ive just found the Accy web again after googling "Cunliffe Orchestra" Wondering if anyone has information about the Cunliffe orchestra..... my father was a member sometime from 1910 onwards, and was also in the Huncoat String Band. I have a photo of the latter, but no idea who anyone else is who is inthe picture. There is a recent book "The Lancashire String Band", by Davide Middlehurst..lots of piccys, but again no names for many of the members of the featured groups. Can anyone help fill in names?!!! The Accrington Reed Band is also featured, but again no names, although I think the lad at the front of the group is my grandfather!!!!. Have a look at the book!!!!!! Has anyone written about the local pipe band? I used to be terrified of them as a child when we went every Whit Monday to Clayton to the Whit walks!!!!

[jenny creasey]

Originally Posted by Accy-mad

Just joined having only discovered the Accrington Web yesterday -unfortunately, thinking I was being terribly original, I have chosen a name that is already used, albeit written in a slightly different case, so forgive me, the other "accymad". Now about Harry Birtwistle - and yes, that is his real name, my grandfather always referred to him as Harry and it seems that was always his name until he went posh. Also some reference books list him as "Harrison Paul Birtwistle" but I can assure you that he was registered at birth as just plain old Harry.(But his mother's maiden name was Harrison so I suppose we should allow him the right to use it!). My mother thinks his mother came from Cheshire.
Sadly, Harry seems rather to resist too much probing about our beloved "Accy" ; in interviews his remarks may be judged as, at best, scathing about the town that in fact gave him the musical background that enabled him to go to music college. His references to his time in local amateur orchestras is remembered by him as his not having realised at the time how bad they were, which is a bit rich when one of those orchestras,The Robert Cunliffe Orchestra,( a long-standing institution run by the New Jerusalem Church, Abbey Street with financial support from philanthropic business men in the town) produced many young people who went on to be respected professional musicians (mentioning two only -John Ayre, who was 1st horn with the Halle and Marion Ayre, oboist with the BBC Scottish Symphony ).
By the way, to the contributor who thought that having the name Birtwistle meant they were probably related may be disappointed - in the 1881 Census there were 1816 Birtwistles in Lancashire, most of whom were in the Hyndburn, Blackburn, Colne area with a few towards Manchester - multiply that by the degree of increase in the population and anybody doing family history in the Accy area will probably come across a Birtwistle ! (Making us all related I suppose!!)

Old posts I know! Ive just found the Accy web again after googling "Cunliffe Orchestra" Wondering if anyone has information about the Cunliffe orchestra..... my father was a member sometime from 1910 onwards, and was also in the Huncoat String Band. I have a photo of the latter, but no idea who anyone else is who is inthe picture. There is a recent book "The Lancashire String Band", by Davide Middlehurst..lots of piccys, but again no names for many of the members of the featured groups. Can anyone help fill in names?!!! The Accrington Reed Band is also featured, but again no manes, although I think the lad at the front of the group is my grandfather!!!!. Have a look at the book!!!!!! Has anyone written about the local pipe band? I used to be terrified of them as a child when we went every Whit Monday to Clayton to the Whit walks!!!!

[jenny creasey]

Originally Posted by Accy-mad

Just joined having only discovered the Accrington Web yesterday -unfortunately, thinking I was being terribly original, I have chosen a name that is already used, albeit written in a slightly different case, so forgive me, the other "accymad". Now about Harry Birtwistle - and yes, that is his real name, my grandfather always referred to him as Harry and it seems that was always his name until he went posh. Also some reference books list him as "Harrison Paul Birtwistle" but I can assure you that he was registered at birth as just plain old Harry.(But his mother's maiden name was Harrison so I suppose we should allow him the right to use it!). My mother thinks his mother came from Cheshire.
Sadly, Harry seems rather to resist too much probing about our beloved "Accy" ; in interviews his remarks may be judged as, at best, scathing about the town that in fact gave him the musical background that enabled him to go to music college. His references to his time in local amateur orchestras is remembered by him as his not having realised at the time how bad they were, which is a bit rich when one of those orchestras,The Robert Cunliffe Orchestra,( a long-standing institution run by the New Jerusalem Church, Abbey Street with financial support from philanthropic business men in the town) produced many young people who went on to be respected professional musicians (mentioning two only -John Ayre, who was 1st horn with the Halle and Marion Ayre, oboist with the BBC Scottish Symphony ).
By the way, to the contributor who thought that having the name Birtwistle meant they were probably related may be disappointed - in the 1881 Census there were 1816 Birtwistles in Lancashire, most of whom were in the Hyndburn, Blackburn, Colne area with a few towards Manchester - multiply that by the degree of increase in the population and anybody doing family history in the Accy area will probably come across a Birtwistle ! (Making us all related I suppose!!)

Old posts I know! Ive just found the Accy web again after googling "Cunliffe Orchestra" Wondering if anyone has information about the Cunliffe orchestra..... my father was a member sometime from 1910 onwards, and was also in the Huncoat String Band. I have a photo of the latter, but no idea who anyone else is who is inthe picture. There is a recent book "The Lancashire String Band", by Davide Middlehurst..lots of piccys, but again no names for many of the members of the featured groups. Can anyone help fill in names?!!! The Accrington Reed Band is also featured, but again no manes, although I think the lad at the front of the group is my grandfather!!!!. Have a look at the book!!!!!! Has anyone written about the local pipe band? I used to be terrified of them as a child when we went every Whit Monday to Clayton to the Whit walks!!!!

[jenny creasey]

Originally Posted by yerself

Call me a palestine as Del Boy might say, but listening to some of Harrison Birtwistle's music is surely a form of masochism. To me it sounds like the cat-gut of which the violin strings are made is still attached to the cat.

an old biblical cliche, rendered in modern English is "a prophet is never recognised in his own country, in his own time and by his own kin"!!!!!!! Birtwistle is a ground-breaker, and is widely recognised as such, being performed in many international settings, and high-profile cultural milieus e.g. in 2014 he reprised his 1969 visit to the Brighton festival with his chamber opera "Down by the Greenwood Side", first performed there on the now burned out Grade 1 West Pier, and in 2014 featured in the derelict Harveys brewery in Lewes. Birtwistle was also "in conversation" with Gavin Henderson in the Music Room at Brighton Royal Pavilion. Great to see an Accy lad made good and trumping all the cultural cognoscenti who flock to the town for this huge international event (the Festival). How many of us could stand the pace of such a solo "performance" at the age of 80? Birtwistle is one of the music moguls of our time.... it would be good to know how much his musicality was fired and inspired by the rich musical milieu of Lancashire in his formative years. For just one aspect of this musical milieu, see David Middlehurst's 2015 book "The Lancashire String Band"- social dance musicians of the county, 1880-1930... a far cry from the mega inventiveness of Birtwistle, but goes to show how the area was rich in music of all sorts.. pity we can't say the same today. By the way has anyone researched the "Bands" of the 1950's onwards.... plenty of local "groups", from which at least one "great" was spawned.. Jon Anderson. I for one never cease to be amazed at the number of major groundbreakers a small town llike Accy produces..... leaving technology aside for now, Ossie Clark in fashion, John Virgo, Artist, Harrison B......... performers like Jon Tomlinson, Jon Anderson and his recent innovative collaboration with Jean Luc Ponty.......

[cashman]

If yeh nose in the music section Jenny, yeh will see a fair bit of stuff on local bands from the 50s/60s etc.

[Rowlf]

I wonder if you Birtwistles on here know your surname originates in Hapton. There was a small hamlet called Bridtwisell in south east Hapton. It had a few different spellings...Byrtwesyll, Bridtwistle and Burwissel. You can read more about this on www.haptonheritage.co.uk in the History section. And Childers Green farm, taddy, is in Hapton not Huncoat.

[Bob Dobson]

The name of the artist mentioned by Jenny should read John Virtue. A Grammar School Old Boy, I am having difficulty making contact with him

[taddy]

Originally Posted by Rowlf

I wonder if you Birtwistles on here know your surname originates in Hapton. There was a small hamlet called Bridtwisell in south east Hapton. It had a few different spellings...Byrtwesyll, Bridtwistle and Burwissel. You can read more about this on www.haptonheritage.co.uk in the History section. And Childers Green farm, taddy, is in Hapton not Huncoat.

Yes you are quite right, I stand corrected, in fact i was wrong on two counts, Fred Birtwistle, (Harrisons Father), lived in the cottage that is on the opposite side of Burnley Lane from Childer's Green Farm,I think it is now (or was) a cattery. Your's Taddy.