Mellor Archaeological Trust

23/05/2026

Keith Warrender will be providing a talk on Underground Manchester on 21st June, 2.30pm in the Roman Lakes Tea Rooms, SK6 7HB. All welcome.

11/05/2026

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The Fanatics follows people with unusual enthusiasms.At Marple in Cheshire a group of helmeted and overalled individuals spend their weekends restoring the P...

11/05/2026

We are really looking forward to welcoming Frank Pleszack this coming Sunday 17th May. He will be giving a free talk on the High Peak Dambusters on the anniversary of the raid on the night of the 16/17 May 1943.
This is a free event organised by the Mellor Archaeological Trust open to all, 2.30pm in the Roman Lakes Tea Rooms, SK6 7HB.

13/04/2026

We are very excited to welcome Dr Michael Bailey on Sunday the 19th April, who will be giving a free archaeology talk at 2.30pm in the Roman Lakes Tea Rooms on the archaeology of early locomotives. Free event open to all, no need to book.

21/02/2026

Thank you to Dr Ian Parker Heath & everyone who attended the last talk covering some fascinating archaeological techniques.
The next MAT talk will be 15th March led by Judith Wilshaw covering Samuel Oldknow: Marple's favourite son. All welcome, no need to book, 2.30pm at the Roman Lakes Tea Rooms.

28/01/2026

The next Mellor Archaeological Trust talk will be Sunday 15th February at Roman Lakes Tea Rooms, 2.30pm. The title of the talk will be 'It didn't always look like this!' The talk will be given by Dr Ian Parker Heath regarding a Tudor Farm by Dove Valley, Buxton: www.tudorfarming.co.uk
This is a free event, no need to book, open to all.

19/01/2026

A huge thanks to Kieran Gleave for providing yesterdays talk on the excavations at Mellor mill. It was wonderful to see how much interest there is in the site. We hope to continue the talks over the next few months and will announce details shortly.

16/01/2026

The next Mellor Archaeological Trust talk will be on Sunday 18th January, 2.30pm in the Roman Lakes Tea Rooms, by Kieran Gleave covering the archaeology of Mellor mill. Free event, open to all.

02/12/2025

New blog

Explore the conservation of Oldknow SO 15/11, a pocket sized 18th century textile sample book once used in Samuel Oldknow’s cotton business. You can see the book on display in new exhibition Cottonopolis: the origins of global Manchester.

The object is a rare survivor of Manchester’s early textile trade and its global connections, including the production of ‘Manchester Checks’ for export to West Africa. When it reached the Collection Care Lab, the book was too fragile to open with pages fused by mould and textiles and paper eaten through by pests. During treatment, Rylands conservators uncovered unexpected details including pest trails forming shapes that looked like dancing figures, animals and even a heart.

Through careful cleaning and repair, the book has been stabilised, allowing safe access to an object that carries both the artistry and the difficult histories of Britain’s textile past.

Read the full blog here: https://ow.ly/HBMe50XAuf8

📸: Detail from Oldknow SO 15/11, John Rylands Research Institute and Library.

21/11/2025

A huge thank you to Peter Noble for providing a fascinating talk last weekend on the Bronze Age of the local area - wonderful to hear what lies beneath the surface.
The next archaeology talk will be on Sunday 18th January, 2.30pm in the Roman Lakes Tea Rooms by Kieran Gleave covering the archaeology of Mellor mill. Free event, open to all.