South Cheshire Family History Society have taken over the "South East Cheshire Studies Unit" and will in future be known as:

The SECSU was formally a unit within the Manchester Metropolitan University, at the Alsager Faculty. It was established in 1989 and run by two employees of the University. South Cheshire FHS have housed their library at the Unit for several years.

Due to the retirement of the two staff members and the relocation of the History Department, it was agreed that South Cheshire FHS should take over the unit. By so doing the society has inherited an impressive collection of local photographs and documents, together with a local census transcription project.

The project includes a data base of the full transcription of the census returns for the area for 1851 - 1891, together with codes for occupation and place of birth, which makes easy work for analysis of statistics for employments and migration.

The name of the "unit" has been altered slightly in order for it to better reflect the aims and objects and so that it now encompasses a much wider area. It is now a centre for research into Local and Family History for South Cheshire, although North Staffordshire is also very much an area of interest here.

Work is being carried out to alter the premises to suit our needs and the long standing volunteers will be returning to work in September. More volunteers are required for transcribing and inputting data for the Census Returns and Parish Registers. Some of this work can be done via the internet.

Any enquiries about the South Cheshire Studies Centre, should in the first instance be sent to Peter Chadwick