Author: Mark Whitfield

Welcome to my site! After graduating in Computing in 1990, I accepted a position as a programmer at a Runcorn based software house specialising in electronic banking software, namely sp/ARCHITECT-BANK on Tandem Computers (now HPE NonStop). This was before the internet became more prevalent and so the notion of enabling desktop access to company accounts for inter-account transfers and book keeping was still quite a cutting edge idea (and smartphones only ever hinted at in Space 1999). The company was called The Software Partnership (which was taken over by Deluxe Data in 1994). I spent 5 years in Runcorn developing code for SP/ARCHITECT for various banks like TSB, Bank of Scotland, Rabobank and Girofon (Denmark) to name but a few. I then moved onto a software house in Salford Quays for further bank facing projects. After a further 23 years in the IT industry and now a Senior IT Project Manager (both Agile and Waterfall delivery), I thought I would echo out my Career Profile in this corner of the internet for quick and easy access.

ITSM IT Service Management Framework Overview

ITSM IT Service Management Framework Overview

Manchester Technical Timeline History

Manchester’s technical history is defined by its evolution from the world’s first industrial city to a global hub for computing and material science. 

18th Century: The Birth of Industry

  • 1733: John Kay invented the Fly Shuttle, a key advancement in weaving.
  • 1761: The Bridgewater Canal opened as Britain’s first man-made waterway independent of rivers, drastically reducing coal costs.
  • 1764–1779: James Hargreaves invented the Spinning Jenny (1764), and Samuel Crompton created the Spinning Mule (1779), allowing for mass textile production.
  • 1783: Richard Arkwright established Manchester’s first steam-powered mill.
  • 1790: Piccadilly Mill became the first in the city to be powered directly by a steam engine. 

19th Century: Engineering & Precision 

20th Century: The Computing Revolution 

  • 1904: Frederick Royce and Charles Rolls met at the Midland Hotel to form Rolls-Royce.
  • 1908: A.V. Roe designed and flew the first British plane; he later founded the Avro aircraft factory.
  • 1917: Ernest Rutherford became the first to split the atom at the University of Manchester.
  • 1948: Professors Tom Kilburn and Fred Williams ran the first program on the Manchester Baby, the world’s first stored-program electronic computer.
  • 1953: The University of Manchester built the world’s first transistorised computer prototype.
  • 1962: The Ferranti Atlas was commissioned; it was the world’s most powerful computer at the time and pioneered virtual memory.
  • 1992: Metrolink began operations, becoming the UK’s first modern street-running light rail system. 

21st Century: Advanced Materials & Media

  • 2004: Professors Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov isolated graphene, the world’s first 2D material.
  • 2005: The University of Manchester developed a 3D printer for human tissue.
  • 2011: MediaCityUK opened as Europe’s largest purpose-built digital and media hub.
  • 2018: The SpiNNaker project was completed, creating a million-processor machine that mimics the human brain’s neural networks. 

Manchester’s technical history is defined by its rise as the world’s first industrial city, followed by a century of pioneering achievements in computing, nuclear physics, and materials science. 

18th – 19th Century: The Industrial Revolution 

  • 1761: The Bridgewater Canal opens as Britain’s first man-made waterway, triggering “Canal Mania”.
  • 1783: Richard Arkwright establishes the first steam-powered mill, paving the way for mass production.
  • 1803: John Dalton publishes Atomic Theory in Manchester, providing the foundation for modern chemistry.
  • 1830: The Liverpool and Manchester Railway commences, the world’s first inter-city passenger railway using only steam locomotives.
  • 1841: Sir Joseph Whitworth standardises the screw thread, a critical milestone for precision engineering.
  • 1894: The Manchester Ship Canal opens, turning an inland city into one of the world’s largest seaports. 

20th Century: Computing and Nuclear Physics

  • 1917: At the University of Manchester, Ernest Rutherford performs the first artificially induced nuclear reaction, splitting the atom.
  • 1948: “The Baby” (SSEM) runs the world’s first electronically stored program, marking the birth of modern computing.
  • 1950: Alan Turing publishes “Computing Machinery and Intelligence,” introducing the Turing Test for AI.
  • 1953: The world’s first transistorised computer prototype becomes operational at the University.
  • 1957: The Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank is completed, then the world’s largest steerable radio telescope.
  • 1962: The Atlas computer, the world’s first supercomputer, is commissioned. 

21st Century: Advanced Materials and Digital Growth

  • 2004: Professors Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov isolate graphene, the world’s first 2D material.
  • 2011: MediaCityUK opens in Salford, becoming a major international hub for digital and broadcast technology.
  • 2018: The SpiNNaker project activates a million-processor machine designed to model the human brain’s neural networks.
  • 2024: Manchester Metropolitan University celebrates its 200th anniversary with the opening of the Dalton Building for Science and Engineering.
  • 2026: Manchester Digital hosts the annual Digital Skills Festival in February to connect emerging tech talent with industry leaders.

Manchester Technical Timeline History

Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything

Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything

Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything is a journey from the Big Bang to the rise of humanity, focusing not just on what happened, but how we figured it all out. 

Here is a condensed timeline of the major milestones covered in the book, divided by the “Big Ideas” that shaped our understanding of the universe.

1. The Deep Past (The Universe and Earth)

This era covers the transition from “nothing” to a habitable rock.

  • 13.8 Billion Years Ago: The Big Bang. In a fraction of a second, the universe expands from a singularity to a vast expanse.
  • 4.5 Billion Years Ago: The Earth forms from a spinning cloud of gas and dust. Shortly after, a Mars-sized object strikes Earth, creating the Moon.
  • 3.8 Billion Years Ago: The first signs of microbial life appear in the oceans.
  • 700 Million Years Ago: “Snowball Earth”—a period where the planet may have been entirely encased in ice. 

2. The Great Discoveries (17th – 19th Century)

3. The Atomic and Relativistic Age (20th Century)

In this era, science moved from the “visible” world to the subatomic and the cosmic.

  • 1905: Albert Einstein publishes his papers on Special Relativity, proving that E = mc squared.
  • 1911: Ernest Rutherford discovers the nucleus of the atom, realising that atoms are mostly empty space.
  • 1930s: The discovery of Neutrons and the start of the “Particle Zoo.”
  • 1953: Watson, Crick, and Franklin decipher the structure of DNA, the blueprint of life.
  • 1960s: The theory of Plate Tectonics is finally accepted, explaining how continents move. 

4. The Rise of Us (The Biological Timeline)

Bryson highlights how incredibly lucky we are to exist at all, given the history of extinctions. 

  • 540 Million Years Ago: The Cambrian Explosion. A massive burst of complex life forms.
  • 250 Million Years Ago: The Permian Extinction. The “Great Dying” where 95% of all species vanished.
  • 65 Million Years Ago: The KT Event. An asteroid hits the Yucatan Peninsula, ending the reign of the dinosaurs.
  • 100,000 Years Ago: Homo sapiens begin to emerge as the dominant homid species.
  • Present Day: Humans have become a “geological force,” capable of altering the planet’s climate and future. 

Key Themes to Remember

  • Human Fallibility: Much of the “history” is about scientists being wrong, arguing, or losing their notes.
  • The Size of the Void: We live on a tiny, fragile speck in a universe that is mostly “nothing.”
  • The Miracle of Existence: If any one of a billion variables had been slightly different, life as we know it wouldn’t exist. 

“We are an impossibly lucky accident.” — Summary of Bryson’s core philosophy.

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Observable Universe and Beyond

Observable Universe and Beyond

Bolton Town, Greater Manchester, UK – Timeline History

Bolton’s evolution from a small moorland settlement to a world-leading industrial powerhouse and modern metropolitan borough is marked by these key milestones:

Early History & Foundations

Civil War & Growth (17th–18th Century) 

Industrial Revolution (19th Century)

  • 1828: The Bolton and Leigh Railway opens, becoming the oldest in Lancashire.
  • 1838: Bolton is incorporated as a municipal borough.
  • 1839: Chartist riots lead to the reading of the Riot Act.
  • 1873: The current Bolton Town Hall is officially opened.
  • 1889: Bolton is granted County Borough status, making it self-governing and independent of Lancashire County Council. 

Modern Era (20th Century–Present)

Bolton Town, Technical Timeline History

Bolton’s technical and industrial evolution shifted it from a medieval market town to a global leader in cotton spinning and engineering, before transitioning into a modern educational and service hub. 

Industrial Revolution & Engineering (1700s – 1800s)

Bolton’s transformation was driven by local inventors whose technical breakthroughs redefined the textile industry. 

  • 1779: Samuel Crompton invented the Spinning Mule at Hall i’ th’ Wood, combining earlier technologies to produce high-quality yarn.
  • 1780: The town’s first spinning mill opened, marking the start of large-scale mechanised production.
  • 1820: Thomas Bonsor Crompton patented a method for continuously drying paper, a major technical breakthrough for the local paper industry.
  • 1828: One of the world’s first railways, the Bolton and Leigh Railway, opened using George Stephenson’s locomotive “The Witch”.
  • 1873: The Bolton Town Hall opened, a massive Victorian architectural project reflecting the town’s industrial wealth. 

Modern Infrastructure & Power (1880 – 1950)

Technical focus shifted toward municipal services, electricity, and the zenith of the cotton industry. 

  • 1880: Horse-drawn municipal transport began, followed by a telephone connection between Bolton and Manchester.
  • 1894: The first electric power station opened at Spa Road on October 31st.
  • 1899: The town launched its first electric tram service.
  • 1914: The Back o’ th’ Bank electricity generating station began supplying the town.
  • 1929: Bolton reached its industrial peak with 216 cotton mills in operation. 

Education & Re-development (1960s – Present)

As the cotton industry declined, Bolton pivoted toward technical education and retail-led regeneration. 

  • 1963: The Bolton Technical College split into Bolton Technical College and the Bolton Institute of Technology (the precursor to the University of Bolton).
  • 1971: The Crompton Place Shopping Centre opened as part of modern town-centre re-development.
  • 1980s: Cotton manufacturing virtually ceased, and the town’s industrial structure diversified into general engineering.
  • 2026: Planning is underway for the demolition of Crompton Place to create a new pedestrian link and modern mixed-use development, scheduled for 2027. 

Bolton Town, Greater Manchester, UK – Timeline History

Leigh Town, Lancashire – Timeline History

Leigh, a historic market town in South Lancashire, evolved from a collection of medieval agricultural townships into a powerhouse of the Industrial Revolution. Below is a timeline of its development. 

Early History & Foundations

  • Ancient Origins: Neolithic stone axes and Bronze Age spearheads suggest activity as early as 1500–1000 BC.
  • Medieval Growth: The name “Leigh” (Saxon for “meadow” or “pasture”) was recorded as Leech in 1264. The town was the centre of an ecclesiastical parish including the townships of Bedford, Pennington, and Westleigh.
  • 1642: During the English Civil War, local “Chowbenters” (men from nearby Atherton) defeated Royalist troops in a battle at Leigh on 2nd December.
  • 1651: The Earl of Derby spent his final night at the King’s Arms in Leigh before his execution in Bolton. 

Industrial Revolution & Expansion

  • 1795: The Bridgewater Canal was extended to Leigh, linking the town to Manchester’s industrial network.
  • 1820: The Leigh Branch Canal opened, connecting the town to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
  • 1828: The Bolton and Leigh Railway opened—the first public railway in Lancashire.
  • 1839: The “Leigh Feight” occurred on 14th August, a major Chartist protest and riot involving over 2,000 people.
  • 1850s: The Leigh Union Workhouse was established at Atherleigh.
  • Late 19th Century: Large multi-storey cotton mills like Leigh Spinners (Grade II*) and Mather Lane Mill (Grade II) transformed the skyline. 

Civic Development

  • 1875: The townships of Bedford, Pennington, and Westleigh merged to form the Leigh Local Board.
  • 1894: Leigh became an Urban District.
  • 1899: Leigh was granted a Royal Charter, becoming a Municipal Borough.
  • 1907: The current Leigh Town Hall was completed on Market Street.
  • 1920: Pennington Hall and its grounds were gifted to the people of Leigh, eventually becoming Pennington Park. 

Modern Era

  • 1974: Under the Local Government Act 1972, the Municipal Borough was abolished and Leigh became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester.
  • 1992: The last coal mines in the area, Bickershaw and Parsonage Collieries, closed on 13th March.
  • 2008: Leigh Sports Village was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II.
  • 2016: The Leigh-Salford-Manchester Guided Busway opened to provide rapid transit to Manchester city centre.
  • 2023: The Leigh Leopards rugby league team won the Challenge Cup for the first time in 52 years.

Leigh’s history is a classic Lancashire tale of transition from a rural collection of townships to an industrial powerhouse. Here is a timeline of its most significant milestones: 

Early Origins & Medieval Period

  • Stone Age & Roman Era: Archaeological finds in the area include a Stone Age axe in Pennington and a Roman coin in Bedford.
  • 12th Century: The name “Leigh” (from the Old English leah, meaning a woodland clearing) appears in records. The ancient parish originally consisted of six townships: Astley, Atherton, Bedford, Pennington, Tyldesley cum Shakerley, and Westleigh.
  • 1189–1199: Higher Hall, the manor house of Westleigh, dates back to the reign of Richard I. 

Conflict & Industrial Revolution

  • 1642: During the English Civil War, local Parliamentarians (the “Chowbenters”) defeated Royalist troops in the Battle of Leigh.
  • 1760s: Local legend attributes the invention of the spinning jenny and the water frame to Thomas Highs of Leigh, marking the start of its textile dominance.
  • 1795–1820: The Bridgewater Canal was extended to Leigh (1795), followed by the Leigh branch of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal (1820), making the town a critical hub for coal and textiles.
  • 1828: The Bolton and Leigh Railway opened for freight, becoming the first public railway in Lancashire.
  • 1839: The “Leigth Feight” occurred on 14 August, when a mob of 2,000 Chartist strikers clashed with troops over high unemployment and living costs.

Civic Development & Modern Era

  • 1875: The townships of Bedford, Pennington, and Westleigh merged to form the Leigh Local Board, officially adopting “Leigh” as the town’s name.
  • 1899: Leigh was granted a Royal Charter to become a Municipal Borough.
  • 1907: The current Leigh Town Hall, designed by J.C. Prestwich, was completed.
  • 1911: The textile industry peaked, with over 6,000 people employed in the town’s mills.
  • 1974: Under local government reorganisation, Leigh ceased to be an independent borough and became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester.
  • 2008: The Leigh Sports Village opened, providing a modern home for the Leigh Leopards rugby league team.
  • 2016: The Leigh-Salford-Manchester guided busway opened, re-establishing a rapid transport link to Manchester. 

Leigh College, Marshall Street, Leigh, Lancs

Building below demolished 2007 and now rebuilt at the Leigh Sports Village – 1, 2, 3, 4 article by Julie McKiernan courtesy of PastForward, produced by Wigan Archives & Museums, Issue No. 97, August – November 2024, Marking 50 years of the borough, Wigan and Leigh’s local history magazine – Address: Past Forward, Archives, Wigan & Leigh, Leigh Town Hall, Mark Street, Leigh, WN7 1DY

mark whitfield DSCF0519
Leigh College, Marshall Street, Leigh, Lancs

Mark Whitfield, Senior IT Project Manager – Training Timeline

Mark Whitfield, a Senior Project Manager currently at Capgemini UK, has documented a detailed IT and Management training timeline spanning over three decades: 

Technical Training Timeline

  • July 2024: Microsoft Excel Refresher 2024 (Udemy)
  • July 2014: Advanced Microsoft Excel 2013
  • July 2011: Google Android programming (Eclipse IDE)
  • June 2011: Java programming (Eclipse IDE)
  • November 2009: HP NonStop Security (SRM) & PayShield 9000
  • July 2009: Business Intelligence Reporting Tools (BIRT)
  • March 2009: Querying MS SQL 2000 with Transact SQL
  • January 2007: Developing Web Apps using Visual Studio .NET
  • March 1997: C / C++ Programming (Comtec)
  • June – Nov 1995: HP NonStop Performance, Analysis, Tuning & TAL Programming

Management & Methodology Training

  • February 2022: AZ-900 Microsoft Certified Azure Fundamentals
  • November 2019: Resilience and Peak Performance (Capgemini)
  • November 2017: Advanced Engagement Management Certification Level 2
  • January 2012: ITIL Foundation Course
  • May 2011: PRINCE2 Practitioner, Foundation, and Agile Scrum Course (RADTAC)
  • January 2006: PRINCE2 Project Management Foundation
  • February 2000: Successful Project Management (SkillPath)
  • October 1999: Managing Multiple Projects, Objectives and Deadlines 

Foundational Education

  • 1988 – 1990: BTEC HND Computing (Distinction) at Bolton Institute of Higher Education.
  • 1985 – 1988: A-Levels in English, Biology, and Computing at Leigh College. 

Mark Whitfield, Senior IT Project Manager – Training Timeline

sp/ARCHITECT-BANK module – development in Runcorn, Cheshire by The Software Partnership

The software known as sp/ARCHITECT (specifically the sp/ARCHITECT-BANK module) has a timeline tied to its development in Runcorn, Cheshire, by a firm originally called The Software Partnership. 

Company & Product Timeline

  • Mid-1980s: The Software Partnership is co-founded by Nigel Walsh.
  • 1989: The company begins significant operations in Runcorn, initially at Wingate Drive (Timperley) and later moving to Norton House in Crowngate.
  • 1990–1994: Development period for sp/ARCHITECT in Runcorn. The software was a banking system used by major institutions including TSB, Bank of Scotland, and Rabobank.
  • 1992: The firm relocates its Runcorn base to Wingate House on Northway.
  • 1994: The Software Partnership is acquired by the American company Deluxe Electronic Payment Systems (a division of Deluxe Corporation).
  • Post-1994: Following the acquisition, the entity operated as Deluxe Data International Operations.
  • Later Transitions: The lineage of the Runcorn operations eventually merged into larger fintech entities, including eFunds, EFD, and ultimately FIS. 
Deluxe Data, Wingate House
The Software Partnership, Norton House

sp/ARCHITECT-BANK module – development in Runcorn, Cheshire by The Software Partnership

TSP / Deluxe Data : 1990 – 1995