• Blog - Places - Social History

    Llanberis Castle Hotel

    25 December 2023

    Built in the mid 19th century, the Castle Hotel is located on High Street in Llanberis. It closed in the 1980s and fell into disrepair, before being completely renovated and converted into a shop and flats. Slide the arrows to compare the images When the hotel was sold in 1861, it appears there were no buildings across from it because it boasted views of Llyn Padarn and Dinorwic Quarry. The hotel, gardens, coach house and stables were sold again in 1883, and was purchased by the Cambrian Building Society of Cwmyglo for £820. They sold the building in 1889 for…

  • Blog - My Family - Places - Social History

    Mason Street, Bolton

    24 December 2023

    In the late 19th century, my 3 x great grandfather William Higginson owned four houses on Mason Street in Bolton, numbers 78, 80, 82 & 84. He lived at number 82 with his family and rented out the other three houses. William was a sawyer in a wood mill, so I’m curious as to how he ended up owning four houses and what happened to them. This post is to try and help me get my own thoughts and research down. Location Mason Street ran off Mayor Street, parallel with Wellington Street, between Deane Road and Queens Park. Today the…

  • Blog - Places - Social History

    Vanished Streets Of Bolton

    1 May 2017

    While researching my family history, I found that some of the streets people had lived on in Bolton no longer existed. I compiled a list and then used census searches to locate surrounding streets that still exist, along with the National Library of Scotland‘s side by side map viewer to pinpoint their locations. This is by no means a complete list of all Bolton’s lost streets, and if you would like me to add any others, let me know. I will be adding to the list as I come across more ancestors’ addresses. Map of Bolton in 1931 from the…