A plaque has been unveiled at Bolton’s Smithills Hall in memory of a woman who dedicated her life to preserving local history.

Margaret Koppens died last year after a lengthy illness.

She was secretary of Halliwell Local History Society and on the executive committee of the Friends of Smithills Hall.

The Bolton News: Margaret Koppens' plaque at Smithills Hall

She was always fascinated by local history and went along to her first meeting of the Halliwell Society in 1987. She soon found herself involved in organizing and in particular with the group’s bi-monthly magazine, called The Little Piecer, named after the children who worked in the mills.

Margaret became Society secretary in 1990 but the previous year she had joined other members in creating the Friends of Smithills Hall and became its Chairman and Secretary.

The Friends started working with the Trust that oversaw the historic building, organizing tours and raising money for improvements. Their work was pivotal in it opening as a visitor attraction and remaining so.

The Bolton News: Margaret Koppens

In 2006, Halliwell Local History Society was given a room there to house its extensive collections of photos, maps, books and information and this became Margaret’s domain.

Over the years, she became an expert in various areas of local history, honing her detection skills, and regularly dealing with queries from people about their family tree. “I like ferreting out information”, she once stated.

Known by many as the Local History Lady, Margaret was presented with an Inspirational Women of Bolton award for her work. She also took part in Melvyn Bragg’s popular TV series The Reel History of Britain.

The Bolton News: Family and friends of Margaret Koppens at the plaque unveiling

Speaking at the plaque ceremony in front of family and friends, David Williams, Chair of the Friends of Smithills Hall, praised Margaret’s “calm and authoritative” manner.

He said her illness and passing had been “a serious blow” to all her colleagues and a huge loss to family and friends. It was pleasing, though, to mark the contribution she had made to all the Society’s and the Friends’ activities with the plaque.

As Society member Alan Rigby stated: “Margaret will be missed but never forgotten especially now that we have a permanent memorial to her here at Smithills Hall.”