SLAITHWAITE woman Margaret Freeman was well-known for her pride in local history.

Miss Freeman, of Lewisham Road, died on January 21 at the age of 91.

She was born in Slaithwaite in 1914.

Her father was Edgar Freeman, who owned a solicitor's firm in the village and her mother was Elizabeth.

Margaret had a sister Mary, who was three years older.

Margaret and Mary - neither of whom married - both went to school at Nields Council School in Slaithwaite and then to Royds Hall Grammar School.

Then Mary went to study law at Manchester University and Margaret went to Cambridge University to study classics.

While Mary worked for her father's firm in Slaithwaite, Margaret became a teacher, first at a girls' school in Great Malvern, then at Lincoln, Cheltenham and Sheffield.

When she retired, she was deputy head teacher of High Storrs Comprehensive in Sheffield.

Margaret and Mary both retired in 1974 - after serving 39 years and 40 years in their professions respectively.

After retiring, the two sisters threw themselves into their passion for local history.

Both women were members of the Colne Valley Society and Mary was once president of the organisation.

Together, the sisters translated a transcription of part of the 18th century diaries of Slaithwaite parson Robert Meeke.

They also translated the handwritten Latin Slaithwaite Court Rolls, which date from the 16th and 17th centuries.

The sisters' determination and passion for history helped them glean enough facts to write a local history guide to Slaithwaite, during the 1990s.

It sold well and the women started work on a follow-up book about the ancient surrounding area.

When the sisters were not poring over books, they were indulging in dressmaking, gardening, walking, reading, music and travel.

They were also regular attenders at St James's Church in Slaithwaite.

Miss Freeman's funeral will take place there on February 4 at 10.30am, followed by a cremation at Fixby at 11.30am.

Donations will be collected for the Royal National Lifeboat Institute, in lieu of flowers.