from Chris,

In the interest of furthering my quest for more info on Saxton parish where I also live I am introducing myself.

I just NEED more INFO on SCARTHINGWELL maps photos births, deaths, marrages, opinions qoutes anything prior to 1850 

For you folks who havent heared of Scarthingwell it is in the centre of Yorkshire England

Please help!

Chris

Nice to have you on board Jo.   You never know what the local yokels and more far-flung members may add to your Richard III resource.  Know for sure that you can add lots if anything crops up that has a 15th century ring to it!!!

For anyone who doesn't know, Jo is CEO of the Richard III Foundation based in the U.S.A  (For those with traditional views - the colonies)

John,

Thanks, and while my heart is in Yorkshire, I don't know if I'd thank my forefathers for their journey here.

If any folk are interested in Good King Richard, our url is www.richard111.com and if you wish to participate in lively talks of the period, our forum is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KingRichardIII

All are welcome.

 

Jo

 

Brigantia

Sorry to be so slow getting back but I have been over in Brittany with other Celtic people. Welcome to our forum. Anything you have that can help with our research into the area will be more than welcome too! If you have any questions then just ask. Not everything will find an answer but every little piece of information helps.

Yes I have very pronounced bardic interests. From reading Robert Graves's book "The White Goddess" several years ago (I lent my copy to a student who never returned it - grr) I think the training for bardship was very rigorous and involved much memorising of the literature of the tribe. The Celts were apparently very disturbed by the invention of writing, believing that it had the potential to destroy the memory.

I also have famous Irish connections though not bardic ones unfortunately. Daniel O' Connell the Great Liberator after whom O'Connell Street in Dublin is named was my great, great, great uncle. Some family tree research also shows that I am related to Scholar O'Connell who was reported to be the greatest brain in Ireland!

I moved from Manchester 30 years ago to live in the Calder Valley and found that I missed the Irish of Manchester very much when I moved here. I don't feel as if I detect any Celt in the local people of this valley. They seem like pure Norsemen to me.

Yes, he's the top banana, Kit. My grandfather dropped the O from his surname when he emigrated to England in the 1920's. I learned about our relationship to the great man when I was a kid but as I grew up I wondered if everyone with the surname claimed to be related to him.

9 years ago we visited the ancestral family home in Kerry where there were portraits on the wall which were the spitting image of my two brothers. There was also another rather spooky coincidence I bought a biography of O'Connell where I read that he called the first two of his 11 children Kate and Morgan. Those are the names of my own two children. Apparently Morgan is a family name of that branch of the O'Connell family.

Much to my family's surprise I became very interested in politics when I was a teenager. They always wondered where I got it from. In the same biography I read all about O'Connell's philosophy which was based very much on complete non violence but non compliance with unjust laws and civil disobedience. It was almost identical to my own political stance.

Will be very interested to look at the Druid thread.

Welcome Stranger!!!  We will help all we can.

Gllyndwr,

Welcome. I will see if we can find anything about Mr. Horsepool for you. Wales, or north Wales at least, was one of the 13 Kingdoms of the North and so the connection is very strong indeed.

JayDee

Geillis,

Good to hear from you.  Finding works on Druidism is a bit of a minefield. Most are fairytale stuff. But there are some good books out there on Celtic history. One you could make a start with, if you haven't already got it, is Celtic Civilization by J. Markale. ISBN 0-86033-045-1.

I'll see if I can dig a few more out for you but my collection is 'between houses' at the moment.

JayDee

Roopiepooh,

The villages and towns you list encircle the battlefield of Towton, as well as having great histories themselves.

If you haven't tried the Tour of Elmet page yet please do. There is quite a lot on there.

Next time you are over please get in touch - a trip across the battlefield can be arranged, or what you will.

JayDee

For those who are interested in books on Druidry that are not all fairytales I have compiled a list.

Living Druidry by Emma Restall Orr (and anything else by Emma)

Fire in The Head by Tom Cowan (more shamanistic)

A Brief History of The Druids by Peter Berrisford Ellis

The Druids by Jean Markale

Kindling the Celtic Spirit by Mara Freeman ( more Celtic than Druid)

The Mist Filled Path by Frank MacEowen

Anything By Phillip Carr Gomm

the Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom by John and Caitlin Matthews

 

Will that do for starters?!

 

Good idea!

Hi, I'm Marcus and I'm a 19 year old lad who grew up in Swillington. I've been in Australia for a few years now, but I'm a patriotic Yorkshireman and I reckon I'll be back at some point. probably when I finish university here as I'm halfway through a sports science degree. My Grandad was Scottish and I've always felt a very close affinity to that country, its people and its culture. I was previously aware of Scottish raids on our fine county in centuries gone but until I discovered this site I had no idea that we share some history and had no idea of our links with Wales. I'd also not got a clue just how significant Elmet has been in history...its a crying shame that such rich heritage and culture is not being passed down the generations. Hopefully the Elmet heritage centre which has been mentioned does come to be a reality.

My main interests then involve Swillingtons history, how Elmet came to be, it's culture (particularly native, Celtic and Scandenavian) and if there could be any claim for it or Yorkshire as a whole to become a self entity in its own right. Watching the Commenwealth games I see that the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey and other such places are recognised so why not Elmet or Yorkshire? I've always felt we were a race of our own, with a distinct and real culture and what I've seen on this website has only strengthened that.

Anyway, congratulations on such a comprehensive and accessible resource. It's fantastic for a young fella like me to be able to discover where I've come from and hopefully learn more about myself in the process. It can be hard for us to find things out as we get daunted by libraries and such like and we've pretty much grown up with the internet. Yorkshire is without a doubt a truly amazing place and Elmet seems to be at the very heart of its heritage. So thank you, thank you, thank you for creating and maintaining this website....I hope that it goes from strength to strength.

If anyone reading this feels that they are able to give me additional information or point me in the direction of some I would grately appreciate it! Cheers!

Hello. The name is Alan Pendle, based near Ilkley / Otley.  Great site but having lots of trouble posting on this forum. This is my third try and so far it works - but three attempts before it said okay , but nothing went on.

Cheers

Alan