THE secrets of Radcliffe’s famous Bealey family could be uncovered in thousands of documents about their lives.

For Bury Archives Service has received a grant worth £15,782 to catalogue all the papers, which are currently stored in more than 70 boxes.

The funding, which comes from the National Cataloguing Grants Programme for Archives, will be used to employ an archivist who will spend six months sorting through the material.

A further £3,000 has been given by Bury Libraries to conserve and re-package the entire collection.

Archivist Joanne Fitton said: “We have had the Bealey collection since the 1970s, but the papers have just been in boxes and aren’t very accessible to people.

“There are thousands of documents and they are really worth investigating. We think there are some real treasures in there. We hope to find out a lot more about the family and see their personalities come out. The papers will also tell us about local, regional, industrial and Methodist history.”

The Bealey family arrived in Radcliffe in the 1750s and are believed to have come from Cheshire.

They set up a bleach works in Dumers Lane and were leaders in their field, becoming one of the first firms to make sulphuric acid for bleaching powders.

They also started Bealey Memorial Convalescent Hospital (now Bealey Community Hospital), a day school, and Radcliffe Close Wesleyan Chapel (now Close Methodist Church) where John Wesley is reported to have preached.

But by the early 20th century, there were few surviving members of the Bealey family and they decided to give their home, Close House, to Radcliffe Urban District Council. The building was demolished in 1969 but its grounds became Close Park.

Although the family left much to Radcliffe, very little is known about them. It is hoped more details about their lives will be uncovered as the documents are catalogued. The material includes papers relating to the bleach works, such as international trademarks, as well as to the chapel, school and hospital. There is a large volume of letters written by Richard Bealey to his family during a grand tour of Europe in 1830.

The collection, which covers 1750 to 1936, also includes personal documents for each member of the family and information about their home.

As the papers are catalogued, an online blog will keep people updated with the discoveries being made.

The archivist will also give talks to groups and items will be exhibited at Bury Museum during the summer.

All the papers will be available to members of the public when the work is complete.