The Mourholme Local History Society’s mission is to promote advancement of education of the public in the history of the Warton Ancient Parish by collecting, showing, enabling access and preserving documents and photographs  relevant to the district thereby promoting the protection of the physical remains of Warton Ancient Parish.

What We Do

The Society:

• Provides lectures by visiting speakers on historical events in the area.
• Encourages members to carry out and publish their own research.
• Publishes magazines and books concerning the historic parish of Warton, which included the townships of Borwick, Carnforth, Priest Hutton, Silverdale, Yealand Conyers and Yealand Redmayne.
• Store archives of historic material of local concern.
• Maintains this website.

The Charity

The Society is charity number 512765 registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales.

Its charitable objectives are:

• To promote advancement of education of the public in the history of the warton ancient parish be means of the lectures, discussions field studies and visits to places of historial interest.
• To collect and preserve documents and photographs relevant to the district and to assist in the protection of the physical remains of the past.
• To make available to the public from time to time such writings or documentary evidence as may be appropriate.

The trustees are:

• Chair: Nina Gaubert
• Treasurer: Andrew Guy Davies
• Trustee: Dr Christine Elizabeth Boydell

Click here to view the constitution (PDF).

Contact Details

To contact us, please email or complete our contact form.

Please note that we are unable to undertake family history researches (unless you think it likely that we will have information concerning a specific family).

Sponsors and Volunteers

We would like to thank all those sponsoring and helping the society including:

• Kualo for providing free hosting of this website.
• 3R Foundation for providing a grant toward microphones.

How can I join the Society?

Click here to download a membership form (PDF). Complete and post to the Society Treasurer:

Andrew Davies
2 Maryland Close
Silverdale
CARNFORTH
LA5 0TL

or, simply come to our next meeting and “sign up” there and then. (See Events for dates). You will be made very welcome!

How much does it cost?

There is an annual membership fee of £10 per year for an individual or £18 for a couple or family. Membership is renewable over the summer. Visitors are welcome for an entrance fee of £2 per meeting.

Who are the members?

Anybody who has an interest in the local history of the area can be a member, not necessarily only those who live within the boundaries of the old parish.

Where does the Society meet, and when?

The Society meets in Gaskell Hall, Silverdale at 7.30 pm on the fourth Wednesday of the month (except the December meeting which is on the second Wednesday) from September to April.

The Society has an archive of relevant books, photocopied documents, maps and journals stored at St. John’s church, Yealand Conyers.

Contents of the Archive

1. Box files (photocopied material)
   • Townships by name alphabetically
   • Background material (eg Acts of Parliament)
   • Whole parish (eg newspaper articles, census records)
   • General by topic (eg agriculture, industry, transport)
   • Families (eg Washingtons)
   • Directories (copies from)
   • Oral history transcripts
2. Maps (photocopied)
   • Alphabetically by township
   • By type (eg OS, tithe)
3. Books by category
   • General history
   • How to research local history
   • North west history
   • Neighbouring area
   • Warton parish
4. Mourholme Society magazines
5. National and local history journals