Ancestral Enquiries - Tony Smith 🌳
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Ancestral Enquiries - Tony Smith 🌳
@ancestralenq.bsky.social
Genealogist & Family Historian for 20 years.
AGRA Associate, Wakefield, W. Yorks.
Pharos Intermediate & Advanced Certificate
One Place Study: St. John's Square, Wakefield
www.ancestralenquiries.co.uk
#FamilyHistory
#Genealogy
#LocalHistory
#Yorkshire
Pinned
A BRIEF MARRIAGE
My father was considerably older than my mother & so when I started my family tree about 21 years ago I ordered the marriage certificates for his first two marriages in 1939 & 1942. My mother told me that the first marriage lasted just 6 weeks before they /1
Reposted by Ancestral Enquiries - Tony Smith 🌳
Aged stone in hues of a soft grey palette captured against the dying of a January day.

⛪ The Parish of All Saints. Rudston. Driffield. UK.

#DeadSleuth #ChurchCrawler #StillSleuthing 🔍 with @graveyardsquirrel.com
January 30, 2026 at 3:01 PM
Reposted by Ancestral Enquiries - Tony Smith 🌳
Six of the 450,000 objects that have been unearthed as part of the building of HS2 now held in 7,300 boxes in a secret Yorkshire warehouse. Objects include a medieval die, Palaeolithic hand axe & Roman gladiator tag. 👇
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Treasures found on HS2 route stored in secret warehouse
Archaeological finds from the planned HS2 train line have been shown exclusively to the BBC.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 30, 2026 at 7:37 AM
Reposted by Ancestral Enquiries - Tony Smith 🌳
Come along tomorrow as we will be hosting a pop-up exhibition on the historic bridges of York as part of Residents Festival. 

📅Saturday, 31st January 10am-4pm
📍Archives Reading Room, First Floor, York Explore.
 
Entry is free and no booking required!

#archives #york #exploreyourarchive
January 30, 2026 at 10:02 AM
Reposted by Ancestral Enquiries - Tony Smith 🌳
The Tropical Gardens on De La Warr Parade, Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex c.1900. #Bexhill #Sussex #Seaside #Garden #Shelter #History #1900s
January 30, 2026 at 8:49 AM
The Category A listed, Egyptian Hall, Glasgow designed by Scottish architect Alexander "Greek" Thomson 150 years ago & has been vacant for 30 years could become a hotel. 👇
BBC News - Egyptian Halls could become hotel as council lines up developer
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Egyptian Halls could become hotel as council lines up developer
The Egyptian Halls in Glasgow has been on the buildings-at-risk register since 1990.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 30, 2026 at 8:09 AM
The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent seeks £150,000 to keep a 3,000 year old dress fastener discovered in 2023. 👇
BBC News - Potteries Museum seeks £150k to buy Bronze Age dress fastener - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Potteries Museum seeks £150k to buy Bronze Age dress fastener
The Potteries Museum has until the spring to raise the funds needed to keep it in the area.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 30, 2026 at 8:04 AM
The £10 million expansion plan for the Avro Heritage Museum at Stockport, Greater Manchester. 👇
BBC News - Aviation museum's £10m expansion plan approved
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Aviation museum's £10m expansion plan approved
The Avro Heritage Museum opened in 2015 in Stockport and houses a range of fabled aircraft.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 30, 2026 at 8:00 AM
Parts of a medieval 14th century shrine from the tomb of William Fitzherbert at York Minster that was dismantled & buried under the streets of the city between 1538 & 1541 rediscovered & returned to York in a new exhibition. 👇
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
York St William shrine shown in Minster for first time in 500 years
St William's shrine in York Minster was dismantled and buried in the city during the Reformation.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 30, 2026 at 7:55 AM
A replica hurricane fighter made for the 1969 Battle of Britain film to be given a new permanent home at the We'll Meet Again Museum at Freiston, near Boston, Lincolnshire. 👇
BBC News - New home for Hurricane from Battle of Britain film
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Hurricane from Battle of Britain film gets new home
Hangar and events space will house the replica plane at the We'll Meet Again Museum near Boston.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 30, 2026 at 7:45 AM
Reed Timmer, the American storm chaser who has come to the Isle of Man with his Mum as she traces their Manx ancestry. 👇
BBC News - 'I chase our Manx ancestry while my son chases storms' - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
'I chase our Manx ancestry while my son chases storms'
A US storm chaser visits the Isle of Man with his mum to discover more about their family history.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 30, 2026 at 7:41 AM
Six of the 450,000 objects that have been unearthed as part of the building of HS2 now held in 7,300 boxes in a secret Yorkshire warehouse. Objects include a medieval die, Palaeolithic hand axe & Roman gladiator tag. 👇
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Treasures found on HS2 route stored in secret warehouse
Archaeological finds from the planned HS2 train line have been shown exclusively to the BBC.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 30, 2026 at 7:37 AM
Category B listed Kirkpatrick Juxta Parish Church near Lockerbie, Scotland which dates from the late 1790's has been sold by the Church of Scotland & looks set to become a 3 bedroom home. 👇
BBC News - A room with a pew: 18th Century church to become three-bedroom home
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
18th Century church near Beattock could become three-bedroom home
The church near Beattock in southern Scotland is next to a graveyard and dates back to the late 1790s.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 29, 2026 at 11:41 PM
Reposted by Ancestral Enquiries - Tony Smith 🌳
I am so excited to have my first book published, "13 Short Horror Stories for Bedtime". Thank you for all of your support! Please share and review!

Amazon
a.co/d/8ntRBDE

Barnes and Noble
www.barnesandnoble.com/w/13-short-h...

Enjoy the spooky season! #tracyrayauthor #Booksk
January 21, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Apparently it was the last one tonight despite the TV guide saying there were 5.
REMINDER
The third episode of five of the current series of Long Lost Family is on ITV1 tonight at 9pm
January 29, 2026 at 10:01 PM
Reposted by Ancestral Enquiries - Tony Smith 🌳
Perfectly formed Drake's Cottage, Monmouth Hill, Topsham, Devon is an 18th century, 3 storey red brick building which has been rendered with a slate roof. In the 17th & 18th century Topsham was a port where cloth bales called serge made from long wool sheep were loaded onto /1
January 29, 2026 at 8:26 PM
Reposted by Ancestral Enquiries - Tony Smith 🌳
Bradford’s iconic Grade I listed Wool Exchange is for sale at auction with a guide price of £500,000. Currently home to Waterstones, the building continues to be a vibrant part of everyday life.
January 29, 2026 at 12:46 PM
Perfectly formed Drake's Cottage, Monmouth Hill, Topsham, Devon is an 18th century, 3 storey red brick building which has been rendered with a slate roof. In the 17th & 18th century Topsham was a port where cloth bales called serge made from long wool sheep were loaded onto /1
January 29, 2026 at 8:26 PM
Reposted by Ancestral Enquiries - Tony Smith 🌳
Happy birthday to Roddy Frame. Photos taken when Aztec Camera played High Hall, Birmingham in 1982
January 29, 2026 at 7:56 AM
Rugby league team Hull FC to rename stand at the MKM stadium after former player & coach Johnny Whiteley MBE. 👇
BBC News - Hull FC to rename stand after Johnny Whiteley
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Hull FC to rename MKM Stadium stand after Johnny Whiteley
The dedication will take place at Hull FC's match against Bradford Bulls on 14 February.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 29, 2026 at 5:56 PM
4 unseen pieces of art by original Beatles bassist Stuart Sutcliffe who died in 1962 to go on display at Liverpool Beatles Museum. 👇
BBC News - Unseen artworks by original Beatle go on display in Liverpool - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Unseen artworks by original Beatle go on display in Liverpool
Four pieces by one of the founding members of The Beatles go on public display for the first time.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 29, 2026 at 5:51 PM
Reposted by Ancestral Enquiries - Tony Smith 🌳
A memorial now lost to the ravages of time tells us of the heartbreaking story of infants Christopher and Henry Perkins who died a day apart and were buried together one July day in the year 1810.

⚰ Parish Churchyard of St Stephen. Acomb. Yorkshire. UK.

#TombstoneThursday #StillSleuthing 🔍
January 29, 2026 at 10:01 AM
Reposted by Ancestral Enquiries - Tony Smith 🌳
The Shipley Glen Tramway which runs from Baildon to Saltaire in W. Yorks which is Britain's oldest working cable tramway opened in 1895 needs to raise £89,000 for repair bill. 👇
BBC News - Historic Shipley Glen Tramway faces £89,000 repair bill - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Historic Shipley Glen Tramway faces £89,000 repair bill
A fundraiser is launched to raise money to pay for repairs to the historic Shipley Glen Tramway.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 28, 2026 at 7:53 AM
REMINDER
The third episode of five of the current series of Long Lost Family is on ITV1 tonight at 9pm
January 29, 2026 at 8:09 AM
Soil from Sulgrave Manor, Northamptonshire, the home of George Washington's great grandfather John Washington who emigrated to Virginia, USA in 1656 to be time capsuled & placed beneath a US landmark. 👇
Soil from Washington's ancestral home in Sulgrave taken to US
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Soil from Washington's ancestral home in Sulgrave taken to US
The time capsule from Sulgrave Manor marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 29, 2026 at 8:07 AM
9 blue plaques to be installed in London for
Sir Laurence Olivier.
Filmmaker, Jill Craigie.
WW2 military strategist, Brigadier Dudley Clarke.
Journalist, Duse Mohamed Ali.
Anti-racism activist, Kanal Chunchie. /1
BBC News - New blue plaques for those who 'shaped London'
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Sir Laurence Olivier among nine honoured with new London blue plaques
The scheme is honouring figures including the late actor Sir Laurence Olivier.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 29, 2026 at 8:00 AM