Hankinson Antiquarian Notes and Transcriptions

The collection comprises:

• Notes and copied extracts by George H. Hankinson on the history of Cheshire and Lancashire, with a special focus on monument and gravestone inscriptions (English MS 106);
• Copies of inscriptions found in Bowdon parish church and churchyard (English MS 107);
• The family records of the Hankinson family, based in Hale in Bowdon parish (English MS 510);
• Copies of inscriptions found in Barlaston churchyard with notes on the families found there (English MSS 511 and 512);
• A collection of notes and transcripts on the Hankinson family and Barlaston church inscriptions (English MS 513);
• Notes and additions to an article by J. Paul Rylands in The Genealogist that published extracts of the parish registers and inscriptions of the churches of Criccieth and Ynys-Cynhaiarn, both in Carnarvonshire (English MS 514).

George Henry Hankinson (1850-1906) was born on 7 July 1850 at Hulme near Manchester, the son of George Hankinson, banker (1799-1869). He was articled to Messrs Cooper & Sons of Manchester, solicitors. He was admitted as a solicitor in November 1873 and practised in Manchester. He led a very active life, both professionally and socially: he served as a vice-president of the Manchester Incorporated Law Society; for some years he was a churchwarden of Christ Church, Timperley, Cheshire; he was a member of Altrincham Education Committee; and he belonged to several learned societies. He was an industrious antiquarian with an abiding interest in the local history of Lancashire, Cheshire and Staffordshire, and especially of Bowdon parish in Cheshire, whence his family originated. He amassed extensive collections of genealogical and historical material. He also collected postage stamps and coins, which passed to Manchester Grammar School. George Hankinson died at his home, Oakfield, Woodlands Park, Timperley, on 18 February 1906. After his death, books from Hankinson's large and valuable library were distributed to several libraries in Manchester, including the John Rylands Library, as well as Louvain University Library. Source: notes by Ernest Axon, English MS 510/3, pp. 79-81.

The collection is available for consultation by any accredited reader.

English MSS 106-107 were received by the John Rylands Library as part of the George Hankinson Bequest in 1908.

English MSS 510-514 were bequeathed to the John Rylands Library by Miss Annie Hankinson of Altrincham [sister of George Hankinson] in 1929.

Description compiled by Henry Sullivan and Jo Klett, project archivists.

Catalogued in the Hand-List of the Collection of English Manuscripts in the John Rylands Library, 1928 (English MSS 106-107) and Hand-List of the Collection of English Manuscripts in the John Rylands Library, 1928-1935 (English MSS 510-514).