Internet search on the Kenyon Family rings some bells

BOARSHAW FARM

I am constantly intrigued and amazed at the power of the Internet.

After writing about my Kenyon family, I decided to see whether there was anything online about Boarshaw Farm – which was being farmed by my great, great, great grandfather George Kenyon in 1841.

Amazingly, I came up with a picture of some pack-horse bells that may well have belonged to George and his family. George’s son Oliver (my ancestor) was a Provisioner or Wholesale Trader (and later Grocer and Innkeeper), so he probably ran the packhorse side of the family business.

The pack-horse bells pictured above are on display in the Museum’s permanent exhibition at Touchstones Rochdale. The bells came from Boarshaw farm in Middleton, where they were used as sled bells.

Originally they would have been worn by the leading pack-horse and would have been in use between 1812 and 1890. According to the curator of the Bell Foundry Museum, these types of bells were known as ‘rumbler bells.’

I can't find a photograph of the farm at present on the Internet though I can see it in Satellite View on GoogleEarth. The farm hosts the 'Kenyon Farm Riding Centre' ("yard not the tidiest but a good range of horses").

There is a picture available though of a local sheep (see above).

BACKGROUND

The Arts & Heritage Service Museum Team manages the award-winning Museum at Touchstones Rochdale in addition to a number of outreach displays around the Borough of Rochdale.

As well as managing the permanent museum display at Touchstones Rochdale, the Museum Team also produces regular exhibitions in the Heritage Gallery at the Centre.

In addition there are local ‘Community Curate’ centres like the one in Middleton (Link4Life, Middleton Curators, Heritage Lottery Fund, Renaissance North West):

The Community Curators at Middleton is a two-year arts and heritage project funded by Link4Life, The Heritage Lottery Fund and Renaissance North West. The project will enable six Middleton community organisations to curate and display an exhibition of their choosing from the Borough’s arts and heritage collections in a purpose-built museum display case installed within the new Middleton Arena.

There are currently around 30-40 paintings in the arts and heritage collection that relate directly to the township of Middleton; either paintings by Middleton artists or of scenes of the local area. These include works by Frederick William Jackson, James William Booth and Edgar Wood. These works will form the centre point and inspiration for the project.

Community groups will be enabled to explore the themes of the paintings, their social context, subject matter, scenes and meanings with the support and assistance of specialist gallery, museum, local studies and education staff/ workshop facilitators. Through training and introduction sessions, participants will access objects and archives in the collections to be used in their exhibition.

This first display has been curated by the community group ‘Hollin Link’ which comprises of older residents from the Hollin Estate, Middleton.

Arts & Heritage Service staff are working with the people of Middleton encouraging them to explore, celebrate and learn about their rich and fascinating heritage.