Kirsty Hannam
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kirstyhannam.bsky.social
Kirsty Hannam
@kirstyhannam.bsky.social
Writing about Jack & Elisha Sinkler of Pateley Bridge: Poachers, Prisoners, Folk Heroes. 👩🏻‍💻 Yorkshire dialect enthusiast 🗯 Deep in research mode 📚

www.kjhannam.co.uk
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Last year, I went down a bit of a local history rabbit-hole, looking into Jack Sinkler and his brother Elisha, the famous poachers from Pateley Bridge. I’d known about the Sinklers since I was a child, but got engrossed in their story again last February.

1/2
Sort of finished my digital presentation, but didn't manage to keep it to 10 mins. It's a bloated 14 minutes long. What to cut out? 🤔
May 13, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Been busy working on my little local history exhibition. Having to do everything as cheaply as possible, because I'm paying for it all myself. Tried to find funding but...nowt. 😐

Despite having £0 to spend on it, seems to be turning out okay.
May 9, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Sitting in the sunshine, listening to the birds, ignoring the Trumpcession because there's bugger all I can do about it. Curlews are back. Heard a woodpecker too.
April 7, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Okay, how do I get rid of Meta AI in WhatsApp? The button is constantly hovering in the way and I will never *ever* use it.
March 29, 2025 at 9:20 AM
Silly season has started I see. Already had someone walk into our garden to "admire the view" and it's not even breakfast yet. Great. Please leave.
March 29, 2025 at 8:06 AM
If the only way you can "make" something is by stealing someone else's words or art, and running their work through your plagarism machine, I have to assume you are chronically lazy and a profoundly stupid person.
March 27, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Enjoyed my first trip to North Yorkshire County Record Office yesterday. Big box of 19th century records waiting for me on arrival. Staff were super helpful, and I actually managed to get through the whole stack of documents by the end of the day.
a close up of a piece of paper that says ' i ' on it
ALT: a close up of a piece of paper that says ' i ' on it
media.tenor.com
March 26, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Where does the time go! Looking back at this post from June 2024, book is still a work in progress (I keep making new discoveries!) but I now have a website, a substack newsletter, and an exhibition about the Sinkler brothers later this year. They've taken over my life! 😆
Accidentally writing a book. ✍️ Put together so much research into my extremely niche special interest, the Sinkler brothers of Pateley Bridge (poachers, prisoners, & local folk heroes), it's become a project.
March 24, 2025 at 11:29 AM
I'm currently without mobile phone service (O2 messed up billing, cut me off without warning!). At first I thought, oh well I never ring anyone anyway.

Slowly, realising how many other things don't work if you can't get a text verification.
March 18, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Lost my voice a couple of weeks ago, after bad cough/chest infection. Not improving so pharmacist suggested Vocalzone pastilles. Allegedly they're honey & lemon flavour, but the taste is more akin to coating your tongue in Vicks Vaporub, then washing it down with creosote. They better work!
March 14, 2025 at 9:46 PM
On this day in 1844, the convict ship carrying poacher Jack Sinkler left England bound for Norfolk Island. The ship's surgeon for the voyage was Benjamin Bynoe, the man who nursed Charles Darwin back to health aboard HMS Beagle.

nidderdaleheritage.substack.com/p/on-this-da...

#otd #localhistory
March 13, 2025 at 1:51 PM
So far today we've had glorious sunshine, rain, snow, and now hail. Just a typical day in the Dales then really. 😆
March 12, 2025 at 2:48 PM
On this day in 1833 Elisha Sinkler was sentenced to hang. The 26-year old poacher from Pateley Bridge was locked up in York Castle prison to await his fate.

Find out what happened next on my substack (or head over to my blog):

open.substack.com/pub/nidderda...

#otd #yorkshire #localhistory
March 11, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Reposted by Kirsty Hannam
Taken the plunge and set up a Substack for my local history and dialect writing. Added all my existing blog posts. Hopefully, might be of interest to someone (though more likely it'll just be another platform I'm invisible on!)

nidderdaleheritage.substack.com
Nidderdale Heritage | Kirsty Hannam | Substack
Poachers, Prisoners, Folk Heroes - The Sinkler Brothers of Pateley Bridge. Nidderdale local history, and Yorkshire Dales dialect. Click to read Nidderdale Heritage, by Kirsty Hannam, a Substack public...
nidderdaleheritage.substack.com
February 25, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Here's a Yorkshire Dales dialect word for you: brant.

I live up a bank side that can be described as "gay brant" (meaning very steep)
February 27, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Taken the plunge and set up a Substack for my local history and dialect writing. Added all my existing blog posts. Hopefully, might be of interest to someone (though more likely it'll just be another platform I'm invisible on!)

nidderdaleheritage.substack.com
Nidderdale Heritage | Kirsty Hannam | Substack
Poachers, Prisoners, Folk Heroes - The Sinkler Brothers of Pateley Bridge. Nidderdale local history, and Yorkshire Dales dialect. Click to read Nidderdale Heritage, by Kirsty Hannam, a Substack public...
nidderdaleheritage.substack.com
February 25, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Been a few months since I've used Instagram. OMG, the state of it. Absolutely full of A.I. slop. One of the top rated posts for my hometown is 100% A.I. generated.

All the amazing photographers that come here and photograph Pateley, and people are being fed fake views that don't exist.
February 22, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Last year, I went down a bit of a local history rabbit-hole, looking into Jack Sinkler and his brother Elisha, the famous poachers from Pateley Bridge. I’d known about the Sinklers since I was a child, but got engrossed in their story again last February.

1/2
February 22, 2025 at 9:49 AM
As they say in one of my favourite westerns, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance - "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend".

A look at the real-life Yorkshire poacher I'm researching, Jack Sinkler, and his legendary folk hero status here in Nidderdale.

www.kjhannam.co.uk/2025/01/31/k...
King Of Nidderdale - KJ Hannam
Jack Sinkler was a poacher and a convict, but was he also a folk hero? How did he become known as "King of Nidderdale"?
www.kjhannam.co.uk
February 15, 2025 at 7:48 PM
A costly cuppa - 178 years ago "down under", the poacher/convict I'm writing about was caught with a sneaky bottle of tea. He paid for it with 2 months hard labour in the chain gang. The lengths a Yorkshireman will go for a brew! 🫖
www.kjhannam.co.uk/2025/01/20/o...
On This Day - 20 January
Elisha Sinkler was charged with concealing a bottle of tea inside his hat, and sentenced to 2 months hard labour in chains. This was during his second spell “down under”, serving probation on the not...
www.kjhannam.co.uk
January 20, 2025 at 1:57 PM
On This Day - 25th December 1838

Elisha Sinkler escaped! 🏃‍♂️‍➡️

Assigned to a wealthy landowner in New South Wales, Elisha & a fellow convict legged it on Christmas morning. Recaptured in January, this wasn't the last time he made a break for freedom.

www.kjhannam.co.uk/2024/12/25/o...
On This Day - 25 December - KJ Hannam
www.kjhannam.co.uk
December 25, 2024 at 3:14 PM
Tak care o' thissens, there's some slape uns aboot.
December 18, 2024 at 12:15 PM
Here's a Yorkshire Dales dialect word to start the weekend: "gan" meaning to go.

A few bonus words in the examples for you: "til" = to, "mun" = must, "brig" = bridge
December 13, 2024 at 4:21 PM
Took a little Christmas floral arrangement to the unmarked grave of the poachers I'm writing about. 150 years after the eldest brother died, it's possibly the first time anyone has left flowers for them. Since finding their burial place, I stop by now & again. 💐
December 6, 2024 at 3:50 PM
December 2, 2024 at 12:43 PM