Past Lives, Forgotten Stories: Cobbled Patchworks of History
In this book Gareth provides a richly woven tapestry of local, social and family history. From watch makers and millers to miners and a possible connection to landed gentry, this book explores the shifting landscape of an industrialising Britain.
Some of the key characters in the book include:
The Jaques Brothers
Members of the notorious Long Company, a group of poachers and gangsters, who terrorised the Prescot neighbourhood in the mid-nineteenth century.
Ellen Smith/Harrison (1908-1983)
A silk winder working in Bolton who performed on the stage in her spare time. Known as Zora Harris, she became a celebrated blackfaced singer starring in variety theatres across northern England immediately after the Second World War.
Charles Hornby Junior (1844-1912)
Originally a pawnbroker from Bolton, Charles and his family emigrated to Canada in the late 1870s/early 1880s. Charles became a successful pioneering prairie farmer in Manitoba and then in Saskatchewan.
The Sharples Family of Freckleton
A family which for several generations worked the tidal watermill in Freckleton near Blackpool. From humble origins, this staunchly Catholic family had an important impact on life in their local community.
Zora Harris
Charles Hornby Junior
The Support Stone of the Demolished Freckleton Watermill
Past Lives, Forgotten Stories: Cobbled Patchworks of History will be published by The Book Guild in January 2026.