Today we are off to Todmorden and Rochdale to chase up some Maskew ancestors.  We decided to go via Blackpool.

Blackpool was a bit of a disappointment to say the least.  There is very little sand, by and large the water laps up against a sea wall.  There are a couple of piers, relics from a past era.  Many of the buildings are looking run down and in need of a good coat of paint.  Even though it was a cold drizzly morning there were quite a few people walking up and down the promenade, many with suit cases in tow.  Cruised down the The Promenade and parked about half way down and discovered a couple of caravans pulled up in the carpark plugged into power with people living in them.  

We did the obligatory walk along the walkway above the ocean.  While we were there we saw a group of girls in tutus and leotards, they must have been freezing cold!!  We discovered that they were filming for Britain’s got Talent. We then drove the rest of The Promenade and headed off to Todmorden a little disappointed.

Todmorden turned out to be an old mill town.  After a false start we believe we found the church where John Maskew married Sarah Stansfield.  Evidently Stansfield is a very old name in the area, but no one had heard of Maskew.  I found an old penny while looking for people in the graveyard, you wouldn’t believe that it was 1971, the year we got married.  Took a few photos and headed to the hotel in Rochdale.  Once again Maskew country.

After we checked in we did a bit of research and discovered we were staying was less than a kilometre from the church where John Maskew married Elizabeth Tennent and a couple of addresses where Maskews lived.

Tomorrow we will explore.