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Congleton: Bear Baiting to Bear Mania

Description

An explanation of how Congleton came to be known as ‘Beartown’. The author looks at how the legend grew from a simple financial transaction and sets the events in Congleton against the wider context of bear baiting throughout Cheshire, as well as other 16th and 17th century entertainments such as cock and bull fighting, travelling players and archery contests.

Author: Joan P. Alcock

Booklet size: A5

Some Seventeenth Century Congleton Innkeepers

Congleton was on two main transport routes in the 17th century, making innkeeping a profitable business.

Congleton Town Halls

The various town halls that have existed in Congleton since the fifteenth century.

Medieval Congleton

The story of Congleton from the granting of its first Charter by Henry de Lacy in 1272 to the end of the 15th century.

My Grandmother’s House

The story of life in the author's grandmother's house, a Victorian "Tunnel-Back" terraced house in Congleton.

The Geology and Geography of Congleton and District

How the geology of Congleton has influenced its development.

The Old Mill 1752-2003

A history of Congleton's largest and oldest silk mill