The Brierley Business Centre is situated on Mirion Street, with free on-site parking and some disabled parking spaces. The Research Centre occupies Units 3 and 4 on the ground floor. Press the doorbell button for FHSC on the left-hand side of the main entrance doorway, one of our volunteers will come to the door and let you in, or you may be simply 'buzzed' in. 

FREE access to Ancestry, FindMyPast, British Newspaper Archive and The Genealogist

An extensive library of books and the Crewe Collection (formerly Crewe and District Local History Archives)

We would normally ask that you book if you are travelling any distance so that we can be sure that you have the equipment, resources and volunteer available to you. Please contact Margaret Spate with requests for either day on   adding "Research Centre" in the subject line.

For full details of our holdings, please see the Crewe Research Centre Library Holdings lists in the Public Library.

We look forward to welcoming both current and new members to the Crewe Research Centre, not forgetting any new volunteers.

Our Chair Margaret Roberts invites you to step onto manicured lawns where tennis was played in long skirts, horses were exercised more than their riders, and country houses doubled as surprisingly energetic playgrounds. From earnest athletic endeavours to gloriously impractical pastimes, the talk uncovers how sport, status and a healthy sense of fun collided behind the grand façades of Britain’s country estates, with many examples from Tabley House 

Admission charges apply - FHSC Members £2, all others £3

Sarah Wise uses her latest book "Inconvenient People: Lunacy, Liberty and the Mad-Doctors in Victorian England" as the basis for this talk. The 19th century saw a series of scandals concerning sane individuals being locked away in lunatic asylums, the victims of unscrupulous persons, who wanted to be rid of a ‘difficult’ family member, spouse or friend. But who were the victims of this trade? How much can you find out about contested cases, private asylums and dodgy doctors in the surviving archives? Sarah Wise explains what she learnt during research for her book and has some fascinating, if not very sad examples.

This event is also open to non-members, with fee of £5. Registration opens on 1st April, when the red ‘Register [Individual]’ button will show on the top left of this page, just click on that button, you will also receive an email confirmation. Non-members will be required to create a free FHSC account and complete the payment details.

Registration will close on 13th April.

The zoom links/meeting protocol will be forwarded to all registrants the day before the talk. 

If you run into any difficulties with this, then please contact us on the dedicated seminar email address – . The Seminar series is co-ordinated by Margaret Spate, Jean Laidlaw and Margaret Roberts and ALL correspondence, queries etc should be sent to the dedicated email address.

PLEASE NOTE WE DO NOT RECORD SEMINAR TALKS

The Family Historian Users Group provides support and tips for using Family Historian software. Led by Geoff Johnson members are welcome to chat about their experiences of using the software and to discuss any problems etc that other members of the group may be able to help out with

The Brierley Business Centre is situated on Mirion Street, with free on-site parking and some disabled parking spaces. The Research Centre occupies Units 3 and 4 on the ground floor. Press the doorbell button for FHSC on the left-hand side of the main entrance doorway, one of our volunteers will come to the door and let you in, or you may be simply 'buzzed' in. 

FREE access to Ancestry, FindMyPast, British Newspaper Archive and The Genealogist

An extensive library of books and the Crewe Collection (formerly Crewe and District Local History Archives)

We would normally ask that you book if you are travelling any distance so that we can be sure that you have the equipment, resources and volunteer available to you. Please contact Margaret Spate with requests for either day on   adding "Research Centre" in the subject line.

For full details of our holdings, please see the Crewe Research Centre Library Holdings lists in the Public Library.

We look forward to welcoming both current and new members to the Crewe Research Centre, not forgetting any new volunteers.

The MAC Users Discussion Group meets on the third Monday of the month at 2pm. The group is led by John Reed and is the perfect place to discuss any issues or share your hints and tips and learn from other members about all things MAC related. Thinking of swapping to a MAC  then there is no better way to find out more.

Graham outlines the development of theatres and entertainments, with particular reference to those in Nantwich.

Contact email:

Entrance fees: 
£2.00 for Members, 
£3.00 for Non-members

The Brierley Business Centre is situated on Mirion Street, with free on-site parking and some disabled parking spaces. The Research Centre occupies Units 3 and 4 on the ground floor. Press the doorbell button for FHSC on the left-hand side of the main entrance doorway, one of our volunteers will come to the door and let you in, or you may be simply 'buzzed' in. 

FREE access to Ancestry, FindMyPast, British Newspaper Archive and The Genealogist

An extensive library of books and the Crewe Collection (formerly Crewe and District Local History Archives)

We would normally ask that you book if you are travelling any distance so that we can be sure that you have the equipment, resources and volunteer available to you. Please contact Margaret Spate with requests for either day on   adding "Research Centre" in the subject line.

For full details of our holdings, please see the Crewe Research Centre Library Holdings lists in the Public Library.

We look forward to welcoming both current and new members to the Crewe Research Centre, not forgetting any new volunteers.

Ever feel that your family history research has hit a dead end? Those stubborn ancestors who refuse to be found? Then this pair of special Brick Wall Busting sessions could be just what you need.

The Family History Society of Cheshire is delighted to be working in collaboration with the Shropshire Family History Society to offer two joint Zoom evenings, each focusing on brick walls from a different county.

Cheshire Brick Walls – Wednesday 22 April, 7.30pm (via Zoom)

Shropshire Brick Walls – Thursday 23 April, 7.30pm (via Zoom) 

You are very welcome to send in details of your own brick walls in advance, so we can take a closer look during the session, but there’s no obligation to do so. If you’d rather simply drop in, listen, and pick up ideas, techniques, and inspiration, you’ll be just as welcome.

These sessions are all about shared experience, fresh perspectives, and learning from one another’s research challenges and successes.

We very much hope this will be the first of many collaborative brick-wall-busting events with other Family History Societies, bringing expertise together across county boundaries.

Come along, bring your puzzles (or just your curiosity), and help us knock down a few walls together. 

You will need to register to attend, to do so please click on the 'Register [Individual]' button below on the left and process your registration, you will receive an email confirmation and the zoom links/meeting protocol will be forwarded the morning of the meeting