In February, on a bright and chilly day, a coach took three dozen or so members to Rochdale. Not only to view the magnificent Town Hall, but to tour the refurbished Co-Op museum on Toad Lane,where the Co-Operative was born. In September this year, as the curtain raiser for the season, we are to enjoy a talk 'More than a shop, the story of the Co-Op' by Gillian Lonergan , the Head Archivist of the Co-Op. In 1844 Rochdale Pioneers Society was established, starting a period of phenomenal co-operative growth. Based on their eight 'Rochdale rules', including distributing a share of profits according to purchases that came to be known as 'the divi'.

In October Keith Warrender will bring us the story of the occasion when Bowden Bridge Quarry, Hayfield, saw the start of a mass trespass, that marked the start of the campaign for freer access to the countryside, that culminated in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. 400 people participated in the trespass onto Kinder Scout,  the highest terrain in the Peak District. As the trespassers scrambled towards the Kinder Plateau, they came face to face with the Duke of Devonshire's gamekeepers. Scuffles ensued, resulting in five Manchester men being jailed including, leader Benny Rothman.

Why an early photo of the Iron Bridge, Brabyns Park, to illustrate a talk on Mather & Platt? The Bridge, Grade II listed, is one of the very few cast iron bridges that survive from the period it was built, 1813,and the connection between this Bridge and Mather & Platt? The Bridge was built by Salford Ironworks, which later evolved into Mather & Platt. Ken Bishop will visit, to lecture on the history of the company. Which became international, but is best known, locally for its factory in Newton Heath, Manchester. The Park Works site,on a site measuring 50 acres alongside, and with direct access to, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway was developed from 1900. Just over a century later, in 2005, Mather & Platt became part of Willow Pumps, Germany

December brings the Christmas party and a talk by Warwick Burton, on the seasonal subject, the story of St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas was born in Patara, at the time in Greek territory, now on Southern coast of Turkey, in the third century. This meeting is for members only, tickets  £2,and must be bought prior to the evening.  A ‘bring and share’ event, members bringing either a sweet or savoury course. Alcohol is not allowed in the hall. Warwick Burton is well known locally for his knowledge of the railways of Marple, an interest which his father, Monty shared. Warwick’s book ‘Railways of Marple & District from 1794,  online at Marple Railways.

St. Kilda, an enigmatic name. An archipelago of five islands, lying 40 miles west of Benbecuala, outer Hebrides, whose remaining population were evacuated, on an August day in 1930. Even in late 19th century the islanders could communicate with the rest of the world only by lighting a bonfire on the summit of Conachair, ('the beacon')  the highest point, and hoping a passing ship might see it, or by using the "St Kilda mailboat". A daily ‘Parliament’ meeting, was held every day after prayers, attended by all the adult men. The population survived by catching seabirds for food, feathers and oil, farming crops and raising livestock.St Kilda became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. Donald Reid, President of the Society, will give us an insight into the history of this iconic island.

In February we shall escape the wilds the Atlantic Ocean and St. Kilda, and travel to the green fields and streams, of Mill Brow, where, by the nineteenth century, four cotton mills graced the valley The area which had been part of the royal hunting grounds of the Peak Forest in medieval times, developed with agricultural activity, served by Ludworth Corn Mill, in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The local farms, Hollywood End and Pear Tree Farm date at least from the seventeenth century. In February Ann Hearle & Anne O’Mara will give us an insight into the history of the valley, a valley filled with Primrose, Clough, Hollywood Head and Holly Vale Mills located on Mill Brook.

March will see the Society take to water, as we learn of the history and development of Peak Forest Canal from Grahame Boyes. For much of its length, the canal runs alongside the River Goyt. Both the canal and the river are havens for plants and wildlife The Peak Forest Canal boasts two Scheduled Ancient Monuments in its 15-mile length – the grand, three-arch Marple Aqueduct and the historic Bugsworth Basin. Bugsworth Basin is the end of the canal, where it once connected with a horse-drawn tramway that carried gritstone, limestone and burnt lime to be loaded at Bugsworth for onward carriage to Manchester, the North West and Midlands.

Bill Mellor is the latest member of a long established local farming family to run Higher Farm on Threaphurst Lane in Hazel Grove. After reading animal husbandry at university he began working with his father and subsequently took over the farm which he now runs single handed. He has a herd of pedigree Simmental beef cattle and a flock of pedigree sheep. Bill sells all his meat direct from the farm to local clients, or to selected local butchers. He is a prominent member of the National Farmers Union and promotes their 'Back British Farming Campaign'.

Bill will review the way in which British farming has changed during the time his family has run the farm, and about how things are done today on a local farm.

September 2007 Girl Power – Manchester Style

Jean Bailo

October 2007 Ellen Turner – Local Girl in National Scandal

Kate Atkinson

November 2007 Life in Longdendale

David Frith

December 2007 Christmas Party The lighter side of Local History

Jack Turnbull

January 2008 Underground Stockport

Kevin Dranfield

February 2008 The John Rylands Library and its collections

Dawn Yates

March 2008 10,000 years in Mellor

Ann Hearle

April 2008 AGM – followed by: Fire in the Summit Tunnel

Donald Reid

July 2008 Cheese & Wine Evening

at the Old Vicarage, Mellor

 A human handprint made about 30,000 years ago, on the wall of the Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc Cave in southern France. Somebody tried to say, “I was here!” but of course, with no written language, this person just made his Mark which the cave painters did more artistically.

The picture and text are taken from the book “Sapiens” by Yuval Noah Harari. We do not know the sex of this Homo Sapiens person but I am guessing that a man would be more probably engaged in wanting to make  his Mark.

At this time our ancestors had developed language and I wonder whether they had their own names. I would like to give our hand printer a name and I have decided on Denis. The Neanderthals and Denisovans were two other human species who have left their DNA mark in Homo Sapiens today. The Denisovans (from the east) are not likely to be represented in our handprint man but I took my choice of a name from them. Just by chance I found that Denis was the first bishop of Paris and is the Patron Saint of France! Then, by another chance, I found that the name Denis is a derivation of Dionysos, the Greek god of wine and revelry - a good name then for a bishop!

September 2008 Modern Day Adventures of Joseph Watson

In the footsteps of Lyme Park’s gamekeeper - Emily Orford

October 2008 Millennium Walkway in the Torrs

Derek Brumhead

November 2008 Marple 300 Million Years Ago

Dr Fred Broadhurst

December 2008 Christmas Party – Members only

“What and Where in Marple” - Photo Quiz - David Burridge

January 2009 Styal Country Park

John Hill-Watson

February 2009 Who’s Been Living in my house?

Ruth Hargreaves

March 2009 History of Railways in Marple

Warwick Burton

April 2009 AGM – followed by: A Present from Marple

Ann Hearle

July 2009 Cheese & Wine Evening

at the Old Vicarage, Mellor

September 2009 Joseph Paxton – the busiest man in England

Danny Wells

October 2009 Victorian Railway Architecture

Robin Bluhm

November 2009 The Carver Theatre

Trevor Jones

December 2009 Christmas Party – (Members only)

Marple Photo Quiz, Part II - David Burridge

January 2010 Political Violence in New Mills in the 1830s

Ron Weston

February 2010 Canals of Marple

Ian Moss

March Memories of Marple Bridge

Peter Corcoran

April 2010 AGM – followed by:Excavations in Mellor

Peter Noble

July 2010 Cheese & Wine Evening

at the Old Vicarage, Mellor