The Death of Harry Blackhurst Southey Sheffield - December 1932

 In Sheffield's Shiregreen Cemetery, there is a family grave that is recorded on the excellent Sheffield Indexers site

BLACKHURST, Annie Maria (Widow, age 76).     Died at Royal Hospital; Buried on April 15, 1958 in Unconsecrated ground; Grave Number 639, Section A of Shiregreen Cemetery, Sheffield. Parent or Next of Kin if Available: ~. Remarks: Removed from Basegreen. Plot Owner: ~ ~ of ~. Page No 28

BLACKHURST, Henry (Son of James Hill, age 16). Died at 45 Gressingham Road; Buried on December 15, 1932 in Unconsecrated ground; Grave Number 639, Section A of Shiregreen Cemetery, Sheffield.

BLACKHURST, James Hall Williamson (Engineer, age 59). Died at 45 Everingham Road; Buried on October 17, 1935 in Unconsecrated ground; Grave Number 639, Section A of Shiregreen Cemetery, Sheffield.

WOLSTENHOLME, Albert Eric (son of Albert, age 2). Died at 1 Wordsworth Crescent; Buried on March 7, 1940 in Consecrated ground; Grave Number 639, Section A of Shiregreen Cemetery, Sheffield.

The Guardian dated 14th December 1932 carried a report of an inquest into the death of the son Henry (Harry) Blackhurst age 16 who died on the previous Saturday. The verdict was accidental death but given the circumstances of his death the verdict should have been death due to inadequate education!!

The Opening of Tinsley Park Golf Club Sheffield - Saturday 17th July 1920

The following article is from The Scotsman dated Monday 19th July 1920 and refers to the opening of Tinsley Park Golf Club Sheffield on Saturday 17th July 1920

Henry and Emily Swan - Walkley Sheffield

 I have just received from the author the following book

John Ruskin’s faithful stewards, Henry and Emily Swan, made a practical success of an educational ideal. They were the curators of Ruskin’s art-treasures at St George’s Museum, in Walkley. Local metal-workers and visitors from across the world were greeted with courtesy, enthusiasm, and deep knowledge.

In the first biography of the Swans ever to be published, Stuart Eagles digs into the archives to reveal the fascinating story of a couple who embraced Quakerism, vegetarianism and spiritualism. Born in Devizes, Wiltshire, Henry moved with his parents to London. In a life of extraordinary energy and innovation, he became a writing engraver, devised the ‘Regent Method’  of musical notation to teach singing, embraced spelling reform, learned shorthand, and printed some of Isaac Pitman’s publications. An early adopter of the bicycle, he sought to make boomerang-throwing an athletic sport. He was among the first students at the London Working Men’s College, where he met Ruskin, and copied illuminated manuscripts for him.

But it was in the world of stereoscopy, a form of 3D photography, that Swan first made his mark. He invented the ‘Clairvoyant’, a hand-held stereoscope. Then he patented the ‘crystal-cube miniature’,  a self-contained, hand-coloured 3D portrait which he marketed through his Casket Portrait Co.

Crucially, Henry and Emily Swan were two of Ruskin’s most dedicated and consequential disciples. Together they helped shape both Sheffield’s cultural heritage and Ruskin’s enduring legacy.

Stuart has a dedicated website that is well worth visiting