After Carribee Island: the persistent Irish quarter?

14 Jan 201821 Mar 2018

My PhD research on the Stafford Street area of Wolverhampton finishes, pretty much, in 1877: the date that Parliament approved the Wolverhampton Improvement Scheme which led to the demolition of…

Telling family stories

2 May 20172 May 2017

As part of my research I will inevitably have to tell you some family histories. I say have to - it's a vital, fascinating and relevant part of my research.…

Black Country Irish: Willenhall

23 Nov 20167 Apr 2017

The rule of thumb with any sort of migration, especially when looking at the industrial era, is the larger the town, the greater the gravitation pull. Thus, London drew from all over…

Legitimate concerns?

6 Oct 2016

There's been a lot said in the last few days about migrants - how they should be listed and categorised, how people's "legitimate concerns" over influxes of labour should be…

Black Country Irish: Wolverhampton, 1851

8 Aug 201627 Apr 2018

I'm starting my series on the Irish in the 19th century Black Country by looking at Wolverhampton. This is familiar ground for me, or at least should be - so I'm…

The Other immigrants of Carribee Island: Wolverhampton’s Jewish community 1

1 Feb 20161 Feb 2016

My PhD research focuses on a small section of Wolverhampton town centre in the nineteenth century that was well-known - perhaps notorious, even - for it's substantial Irish immigrant population.…

“Slums” of the Black Country: The Mambles, Dudley

12 Oct 201521 Dec 2015

I've had a wonderful time speaking on my research at Wolverhampton Art Gallery and Archives recently - I've met tons of new people, heard anecdotes and stories and generally had…

Dead ends and back alleys

8 Jul 2015

Just a short one today as I'm in the midst of a massive trawl through several decades' worth of census enumerators returns. I'm writing this from my local library, from…