Previous News & Articles
from 2017

Film Premier - First Public Showing - 29 November 2017  

The Normanby Local History Group are pleased to announce that
we presented the first public showing of the film
"Gallantry in the Face of the Enemy - William Henry Short V.C."
on Wed 29th November at the Eston & Normanby Social Club.

Entry was free - all were made welcome !

About 80 people including four members of the Green Howards Regiment attended this film premiere
to see the story of our local VC hero of World War One.

The Guest of Honour was Sir Harry Wilmot DL
Her Majesty's Deputy Lieutenant of North Yorkshire.

For more information about William Short & the film project
see this Articles  page.

2018 Calendar of Normanby "Past & Present" - 29 September 2017  

  Our group's calendars have always been popular and we have just published our new 2018 calendar.
  Once again this depicts pictures of Normanby scenes "Past & Present" taken from nearly the same viewpoints.
  So you can check whether our village has changed - or hasn't!

   Please note that this calendar is a completely new design ( a big improvement in quality and content) which is more expensive to produce than previous editions.
   So after 14 years (when we have absorbed the increased costs of paper and printing) we have raised the price by just 25% to £5.

See our Publications  page for more details & availability.

Group Members’ Trip to Cleveland Ironstone Mining Museum, Skinningrove - 30 August 2017  

   Members of our group spent a morning near Skinningrove visiting the Cleveland Ironstone Mining Museum.
   This was a very appropriate trip for us as our village of Normanby grew considerably as a result of the many miners who lived here and worked in the local ironstone mines.
   It was a very enjoyable experience that was both interesting and informative.

  More information (and a link to a gallery of photos)
can be found on our Past Events  page.

Group Members’ Trip to Richmond - 17 May 2017  

   Members of our group spent a mainly fine day at Richmond visiting the Green Howards Museum and whatever else took our fancy!
   It was a very enjoyable day which was interesting and informative.

  More information (and a link to a gallery of photos)
can be found on our Past Events  page.


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Normanby Local History Group Awarded Grant
   by Heritage Lottery Fund for Project to Mark
      First World War Centenary - 12 May 2017  

   Normanby Local History Group has received £10,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for a project entitled:
  "Gallantry in the Face of the Enemy, William Henry Short VC."
   Made possible by National Lottery players through HLF's
"First World War: Then and Now" programme, the project will focus on the life of local man William Henry Short.
   Local Hero Private William Short of the 8th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards) received the Victoria Cross for most conspicuous bravery on the 6th August 1916.
   A production company "Lonely Tower Film & Media" based in north-east England will be assisting our group to produce a film about our local hero for showing locally and available in schools and libraries.

  For more information about this project and progress updates
see this Articles  page.

New Marker Stone of Former
  Site of Saint Helen’s Church - 21 March 2017  

  The original marker plaque (photo opposite) was vandalized and then removed for safekeeping to the nearby funeral parlour (in the former East Lodge of the cemetery).
  However what happened to the marker after that is not known!
      (Click on photo opposite for a larger image)

If you have information on the original plaque’s whereabouts -
- then please contact us  !

  Thanks to the Eston community and Teesville ward councillors a new stone was commissioned to mark the former site of our Saint Helen’s Church and was recently unveiled.
    (photos opposite by Barbara Greenmon).

  Saint Helen’s Church had 12th century origins and became the parish church from 1868 until 1884 when Christ Church, Eston was built.
  In 1899 it was turned over for use as a cemetery church.  It returned to Parochial status in the 1920s when the need for a church was realized upon the building of the Teesville Estates.
  Saint Helen’s Church was well used and a choir was formed in the late 1940s and remained until its closure in 1985.

  Regretably Saint Helen’s was vandalised and even set on fire in 1992.
  Eventually in 1998 it was dismantled and transported to Beamish Open Air Museum for storage.
  Ten years later rebuilding began which was completed in 2015.

  Members of our history group were pleased to be invited to the opening of the restored church on 15th November 2015 to see the splendid achievement of Beamish Museum.
  For views & video of this visit go to our photo gallery  page     (photos and video by Barbara & Harry Greenmon).

There is more about Saint Helen’s in Sylvia Fairbrass’ Article
Saint Helen’s Parish Registers & Cemetery

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Spencer Hardwick:
Sad News from Normanby Local History Group - 17 February 2017  

  Our group's oldest member (99 last October) and author of several of our booklets Spencer Hardwick passed away on 9th February at the care home in Scarborough where he moved last year.
  Spencer's funeral took place on Thursday 23rd February at Woodlands Crematorium, Scarborough.

  Spencer was a founding member of our Group as well as being a great inspiration to its early members and his knowledge was often called on at our group meetings.

  We were fortunate that Spencer wrote three of our group’s booklets recounting his memories of his early life in Normanby to present day.   His stories are a wealth of information on the history of our village.
Booklet 1: "Normanby Remembered"
Booklet 2: "Further Memories Of Normanby"
Booklet 4: "The Nab Still Looks Down - More Recollections of Normanby"

  We all have memories of our past - but too few of us make the effort to record these - thankfully Spencer did so in these booklets.
   We are grateful that Spencer recounted his memories of times past so humorously, affectionately and graphically that the story of our Normanby village and its people is brought to life once more.

               Rest in Peace Spencer.

© 2017    Normanby Local History Group