Oldham knights and Viking gold

OLDHAM’S Viking heritage has been uncovered by local author Carl Gannon.

The 46-year-old has fulfilled a lifetime’s ambition by publishing his first book, The Chronicles of Alda — based on a series featured weekly in the Chronicle over several months in 2008.

The 103-page book contains pencil illustrations from Ryan Halkyard (19), from Springhead, penned when he was a fine art student at Oldham Sixth Form College.

And the work is the culmination of the Saddleworth author’s lifelong passion for local history.

He recalled: “As a teenager, while everyone else seemed obsessed with pop music and youth clubs, I could often be found with my head buried deep in dusty archives at Oldham’s local history centre.”

Carl’s early interest in history was sparked when his family moved from Oldham’s Crete Street estate to what he describes as the “paradise” that was the Crossbank district of Springhead in 1968.

Then an area surrounded by green fields, springs and ancient sunken lanes, Carl remembers fondly how he used to play in The Dovecote — an abandoned old cottage dating back to 1721.

He said: “It was a very atmospheric building and, one day, when I was about 11 or 12, I found a South African silver shilling embedded in the soil at the side of it.

“It was dated 1895 and, from that moment on, I was hooked on both coin collecting and Oldham’s history.”

He spent long hours during the school holidays researching at the Local Interest Centre and said: “I was astounded at the extent of the borough’s rich history.”

The father-of-one said of his new book: “It’s very much historically accurate, and brings together fascinating stories from the past — tales of Oldham knights in the Crusades, of Viking gold found in Saddleworth, Failsworth’s mysterious Pole and even of the time when Lees was a northern spa resort of considerable repute.”

Carl was given the chance to see his work in print in the Chronicle by the then editor, Jim Williams, and the book brings together all the articles published.

He said it had been a costly project, done as a labour of love rather than for profit, although he plans to support Pennine Pen Animal Rescue, the Honeywell Lane-based charity which wants to raise £120,000 before April to buy the premises it works from.

The book costs £12 and is available by emailing chroniclesofalda@aol.com or from the Chronicle offices, Union Street.