The Blo(o)r(e) Society is an association of those interested in the history and genealogy of the Blore, Bloor and Bloore surnames.

The Blo(o)r(e) Surname

The group of surnames - Blore, Bloor, Bloore, (and possibly some Blower and Blewer names) appear to originate in the Midlands area of the U.K. and are most probably related to a place name. There is a Blore Heath (a 15th century battle site) on the border of Staffordshire and Shropshire and also a Blore Hall near the hamlet of Blore in Staffordshire near the Derbyshire border.

The largest concentration of Bloors at present appears to be in the North Staffordshire area.

 To contact the Society  please email enquiries@(deletethisbit)bloor.org  (or for problems or queries regarding this website contact the webmaster).

The Blo(o)r(e) Society is a One-Name Study Group registered with the Guild of One-Name Studies.

So what is a One-name Study Group about?

According to the rules of The Guild, the Aims and Objectives should be:-

• To maintain an association of those interested in the origin, history and development of the various branches of a family - in our case the Blo(o)r(e) families.
• To hold meetings once or twice a year at places of special interest to the families.
• To circulate a regular Newsletter dealing with matters of topical interest and current genealogical and biographical research into the families with news items, letters and articles contributed by Society members.
• To promote the conservation of documents, monuments and other material of special significance to the families.
• To foster the study of the Blo(o)r(e) family history with the intention of sponsoring the publication of definitive research where this is appropriate.

If the Blo(o)r(e) Society is to develop along these lines it will need support from like-minded individuals. There are lots of Blo(o)r(e)'s in the world and at least some of you must be interested in discovering whether or how you are related to the others.

One of the 'nests' of Blo(o)r(e)'s in the USA is centered on East Liverpool in Ohio which was a major centre of the American ceramic industry. Are they all descendants of potters from Stoke-on-Trent? There is another 'nest' in Wisconsin. Why are they there? (This question was answered in part by a reader of these pages)

These are all very good questions and given time I am sure we will find some answers and let everyone know what we have discovered.

One-name Study Groups depend on financial support from their members. The subscription rates of established groups are between £5 and £20 per year.  UK subscriptions for the Blo(o)r(e) Society are £7 per annum and Overseas subscriptions £10 per annum [payable in Sterling]. You can now use PayPal

The members of the Committee and other researchers are volunteers.

On 1st June 2010, our most recent recruit had Membership Number 316.

The Next Meeting of the Society

will be held at

The Church Hall of St Mark's, Basford

next to 211, Basford Park Road, Basford, Stoke-on-Trent, ST5 0PG

on Saturday, November 6th, 2010

Geographers' A-Z Street Atlas of Stoke-on-Trent has the Church in Square 4B on Page 22

Ordnance Survey's Staffordshire Street Atlas has it in Square B1 on Page 56

Ordnance Survey Grid Reference SJ 860 467

(Garmin StreetPilot c310 found it easily from the PostCode, but chose a funny route)

We'll be there, ready to help you, from about 10am until about 5pm

If travelling by car;

From the centre of Newcastle-under-Lyme, take the A53, King Street towards Hanley. In just over ½ a mile, at the third set of traffic lights, turn left into Basford Park Road (B5369)

Or,

from the A500, Queensway, take the A53, signposted Newcastle-under-Lyme.

In just over ¼ mile, at the first set of traffic lights, turn right into Basford Park Road (B5369)

St Mark's is on the right in about 100yds. The entrance to the Car Park is along Broughton Road, just past the Church.

Parking at the Centre is adequate, and there are plenty of spaces in the streets nearby.

Buses 34 and 34A, running between the bus stations at Newcastle and Hanley, stop near the end of Basford Park Road.

If you are arriving by train, you can catch a 23, 23A, 24 or 25 bus from Stoke-on-Trent Railway Station to Hanley Bus Station, and then a 34 or 34A to the end of Basford Park Road – or you could get a taxi.

We'll be at the Church Hall from about 10am to about 5pm, with all the usual resources, and we are promised an Internet connection