This paper analyses first of all some of the ways in which the subject-matter of local history has developed since 1945. Secondly, there is an account of some of the sources now being used by local historians and the techniques developed to exploit them. Thirdly, some of the problems these developments present to the local history librarian are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Blythe, R.Akenfield. A. Lane , 1969.
2.
Parker, R.The common stream. Collins, 1975.
3.
Rogers, A.This was their world: approaches to local history. B.B.C., 1972.
4.
Hoskins, W.G.English landscapes. B.B.C., 1973.
5.
See Finberg, H.P.R., and Skipp, V.H.T., Local history: objective and pursuit . David and Charles, 1967.
6.
et seq. Douch, R.Local history and the teacher. Routledge, 1967.
7.
See Fines , J. Archives in schools. History, 53 (179) 1968, 348.
8.
Hoskins, W.G.Local history in England, 2nd ed. Longmans, 1973.
9.
Everitt , A.New avenues in English local history. Leicester U.P., 1970. 6.
10.
Calendar of State Papers Domestic , 1664-1665. 505.
11.
E.g., Mayo, R.The Bristol Huguenots, I68I-I79I. Proceedings of the Huguenot Society of London, 21, 1970.
12.
Hunt, C.J.The lead miners of the northern Pennines in the 18th and 19th centuries . Manchester U.P., 1970.
13.
Finberg, H.P.R.The Gostwicks of Willington. Bedfordshire Historical Record Society, 361956.
14.
Thomas, K.Religion and the decline of magic . Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1971.
15.
Macfarlane, A.Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart England. Routledge , 1970.
16.
The most convenient starting points are the Handbooks on the Regional Geology of Great Britain published by HMSO for the Natural Environment Research Council, Institute of Geological Sciences.
17.
See, generally, Dickinson , R.E.The West European city. Routledge, 1951;
18.
and his City and region. Routledge, 1964.
19.
See also Carter, H.The study of urban geography. Arnold, 1972.
20.
Sawyer, P.H.Anglo-Saxon charters: an annotated list and bibliography. Royal Historical Society, 1968.
E.g., Wark, K.R.Elizabethan recusancy in Cheshire . Manchester U.P., 1971.
44.
Richardson, R.C.Puritanism in north-west England: a regional study of the Diocese of Chester to 1642. Manchester U.P., 1972 .
45.
Thrupp, S.The merchant class of medieval London . University of Michigan, 1948.
46.
Wilson, R.G.Gentlemen merchants: the merchant community in Leeds, 1700-1830 . Manchester U.P., 1971.
47.
Anderson, M.Family structure in nineteenth century Lancashire. Cambridge U.P., 1972.
48.
See also Armstrong, A. Stability and change in an English county town: a social study of York, 1801-1851. Cambridge U.P., 1974.
49.
Local studies and the history of education . History of Education Society, 1972.
50.
Stephens, W.B.Regional variations in education during the Industrial Revolution, 1780-1870: the task of the local historian. Educational History Monograph No. IUniversity of Leeds, Museum of the History of Education, 1973.
51.
See also Simon, B. ed. Education in Leicestershire 1640 1940 . Leicester U.P., 1968.
52.
Diestelkamp, B., Martens, M., van de Kieft, C., Fritz, B. eds. Elenchus Fontium Historiae Urbanae. Vol. I. Leiden, 1967 .
53.
Lobel, M. D. ed. Historic towns . Vol. I. Lovell Johns, 1969.
54.
Dyos, H. J., and Wolff, M. eds. The Victorian city, 2 vols. Routledge , 1974.
55.
Clark, P., and Slack, P. eds. Crisis and order in English towns 1500-1700. Routledge, 1972.
56.
Everitt, A. ed. Perspectives in urban history. Macmillan, 1973.
57.
See also Dyer, A.D.The City of Worcester in the sixteenth century. Leicester U.P., 1973.
58.
Raistrick, A.The Pennine dales. 1968 .
59.
Millward, R., and Robinson, A.The Lake District, 1970.
60.
White, J.T.The Scottish Border and Northumberland, 1973, all published by Eyre Methuen. Millward, R., and Robinson, A. Landscapes of Britain: The West Midlands, 1971 ;
61.
The Southwest Peninsula, 1971;
62.
The Welsh Marches, 1971;
63.
Southeast England: Thamesside and the Weald, 1971;
64.
Cumbria, 1972;
65.
Southeast England: The Channel Coastlands, 1973; all published by Macmillan.
66.
E.g., Martin, A.F., and Steel, R.W.Oxford and its region. Oxford U.P., 1954.
67.
See also Balchin, W.G.V.Regional surveys of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. Geography , 581973, 237.
68.
E.g., Alford, B.W.E. W. D. & H. O. Wills and the dewlopment of the United Kingdom tobacco industry, 1786-1965.
69.
Methuen , 1973.
70.
Plummer, A.The London Weavers' Company, 1600-1970 .
71.
Routledge , 1972.
72.
Brown, R.Waterfront organisation in Hull, 1870-1900. Univ. of Hull, 1972.
73.
Kershaw, I.Bolton Priory, the economy of a northern monastery, 1286-1325. Oxford U.P., 1973.
74.
Checkland, S.G.The Gladstones: a family biography, 1764-1851. Cambridge U.P., 1971.
75.
Mather, F.C.After the Canal Duke. Oxford U.P., 1970.
76.
One of the most fascinating studies of this kind is in fact a seventeenth-century one. See Hey , D.An English rural community: Myddle under the Tudors and stuarts. Leicester U.P. , 1974.
77.
Henry, L.Anciennes familles genevoises. Institut Nationale d'Etudes Démographiques, Paris, 1956.
78.
See also his Manuel de démographie historique. Publications du Centre de recherches d'histoire et de philologie. Paris and Geneva, 1967.
79.
See Wrigley, E. A. ed. An introduction to English historical demography. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1966, and his Popitlation and history.
80.
Weidenfeld and Nicolson, I969. Laslett, P.The world we have lost. 2nd ed. Methuen, 1971, and his ed. Household and family in past time. Cambridge U.P., 1972.
81.
See also Chambers, J.D.Population, economy and society in preindnstrial England. Oxford U.P., 1972; and
82.
Glass, D. V., and Eversley, D. E. C., eds. Population in history . Arnold, 1966. The periodical Population studies, I947-, often carries studies in local historical demography, and there is also Local population studies magazine and newsletter, I968-.
83.
See Burke, P. ed. A new kind of history: from the writings of Lucien Febvre. Routledge , 1973.
84.
E.g. Goubert, P.Beauvais et le Beauvaisis. 2 vols. Paris, S.E.V.P.E.N. , 1960;
85.
and his Cent mille provinciaux au XVIIe siècle. Paris, Flammarion, 1968.
86.
Deyon, P.Amims, capital provinciale. Paris, Mouton, 1967.
87.
Ladurie, E. le Roy.Les Paysans de Languedoc. Paris, S.E.V.P.E.N., 1966.
88.
One of the most important of all the contributions of members of this school to history has just been published in an English translation, Braudel, F.The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean world in the age of Philip II. 2 vols. Collins, 1972-73 .
89.
Bond, M.Guide to the records of Parliament . HMSO, 1971.
90.
Record repositories of every kind are listed in Historical Manuscripts Commission, Record repositories in Great Britain. 5th ed. HMSO, 1973.
91.
E.g., Hull, F.Guide to the Kent County Archives Office . 1958;
92.
and First Supplement1957-19681971, both published by Kent County Council.
93.
Kennedy, P.A.Guide to the Nottinghamshire County Records Office. Nottinghamshire County Council, 1960.
94.
France, R. Sharpe.Guide to the Lancashire Record Office. Lancashire County Council, 1962.
95.
Emmison, F.G.Guide to the Essex Record Office. Essex County Council . 2nd ed. 1969.
96.
See Steel, D. J. ed. National index of parish registers. Vol. I. Society of Genealogists, 1968. 7 et seq.
97.
These techniques are described more fully in Wrigley, E. A. ed. An introduction to English historical demography . Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1966.
98.
Wrigley, E.A.Family limitation in pre-industrial England . The Economic History Review, Ser. 2 (19) 19661982;
99.
and his Mortality in pre-industrial England: the example of Colyton, Devon, over three centuries. Daedalus, 97 1968, 546.
100.
See Camp, A.J.wills and their whereabouts. Phillimore, 1963;
101.
and Gibson, J.S.W.Wills and where to find them. Phillimore , 1974.
102.
For an outstanding recent example see Spufford, M.Contrasting communities. Cambridge U.P., 1974.
103.
Mullins, E.L.C.Texts and calendars. Royal Historical Society, 1958.
104.
Latham, R.E.Revised medieval Latin wordlist . Oxford U.P., 1965.
105.
Martin, C. TThe record interpreter. Stevens, 1898, and subsequent reprints.
106.
Gooder, E.Latin for local history. Longmans, 1961.
107.
Hector, L.C.The handwriting of English historical documents. Arnold, 1958.
108.
Cheney, C.R.The handbook of dates. Royal Historical Society , 1945, and subsequent reprints.
109.
See Beresford, M.History on the ground. Lutterworth, 1957, and Methuen, 1971.
110.
Hoskins, W.G.Fieldwork in local history. Faber, 1967.
111.
See also Hoskins, W.G.The making of the English landscape. 1955 and subsequent reprints;
112.
and the individual county volumes in the series, e.g., Taylor, C. Dorset, I970;
113.
Steane, J.M.Northamptonshire, 1974;
114.
all published by Hodder and Stoughton. See also Crawford , O.G.S.Archaeology in the field. Dent, 1953.
115.
Field archacology in Great Britain. Ordnance Survey. 5th ed. 1973.
116.
Aston, M., and Rowley, T.Landscape archacology. David and Charles, 1975.
117.
Taylor, C.Fieldwork in medieval archaeology. Batsford, 1975.
118.
Darby, H. C. ed. A new historical geography of England. Cambridge U.P., 1973.
119.
Baker, A. R. H., and Harley, J. B. eds. Man made the Land . David and Charles, 1973. The series British landscapes through maps, published by the Geographical Association, is also particularly useful.
120.
See Cantor, L.M.The medieval parks of Leicestershire. Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society , 461970-71, 9-24.
121.
See Beresford, M., and Hurst, J. G. eds. Deserted medieval villages. Lutterworth, 1971.
122.
Brewer, J.G.Enclosures and the open fields: a bibliography. Reading Museum of English Rural Life, 1972.
123.
Beresford, M.W., and St. Joseph , J.K.Medieval England: an aerial survey. Cambridge U.P., 1958.
124.
St. Joseph, J.K.The uses of air photography.
125.
J. Baker, I966.
126.
Dickinson, G.C.Maps and air photographs. Arnold, 1969.
127.
Graves, E.B.A bibliography of English history to 1485 . 2 vols. Oxford U.P. , 1975.
128.
Read, C.A bibliography of British history, Tudor period, 1485-1603. 2nd ed. Oxford U.P., 1959.
129.
Davies, G.A bibliography of British history, the Stuart period, 1603-1714 . 2nd ed. by Keeler, M. F., Oxford U.P., 1970.
130.
Pargellis, S.M., and Medley, D.J.A bibliography of British history, the eighteenth century, 1714-1789 . Oxford U.P., 1951.
131.
Royal Historical Society, Writings on British history, 1901-1933. 5 vols. in 7. Cape, 1968-70.
132.
Milne, A. T. ed. Writings on British history, 1934-1945 . 7 vols. Cape, 1937-60.
133.
Munro, D.J.Writings on British history, 1946-1948Univ. London, Institute of Historical Research, 1973.
134.
Cambridge Bibliographical Handbooks: Altschul, M. Anglo-Norman England 1066-1154. 1969.
135.
Levine, M.Tudor England 1485-1603. 1968.
136.
Sachse, W.L.Restoration England 1660-1689. 1971.
137.
Altholz, J.L.Victorian England 1837-1901. 1970, all published by Cambridge U.P.
138.
Gross, C.A.A bibliography of British municipal history . 2nd ed. Leicester U.P. , 1966.
139.
Continued in Martin, G.H., and McIntyre, S.A bibliography of British and Irish municipal history. Vol. I: General works. Leicester U.P., 1972.
140.
E.g., Cordeaux, E. H., and Merry, D. H. eds. A bibliography of printed works relating to Oxfordshire (excluding the University and City of Oxford). Oxford U.P., 1955.
141.
Hodgson, H.W.A bibliography of the history and topography of Cumberland and Westmorland . Cumberland, Westmorland and Carlisle Joint Archives Committee, 1969.
142.
Hobbs, J.L.Local history and the library , revised by G. A. Carter. Deutsch, 1973.
143.
See, e.g., Betjeman , J., and Vaisey, D.Victorian and Edwardian Oxford from old photographs. 1971, just one of a series published by Batsford.
144.
See also Winger, H. W., and Smith, R. D. eds. Deterioration and preservation of library materials. Univ. of Chicago, 1970. The papers in this volume were originally published in Library Quarterly, 40 I970
145.
Cunha, G.M. and D. G.Conservation of library materials, 2 vols. 2nd ed. Scarecrow Press, Metuchen, N.J., 1971.
146.
Bloch, M., trans. Anderson , J.E.The Ilt-de-France . Routledge, 1971.
147.
See Maar, G.Problems of historical research in Burgenland, the easternmost province of Austria. The Local Historian , II (4) November 1974, 207-217.
148.
Fladby, R.The Norwegian Institute for Local History and Local History Research. ibid., 217-225.
149.
Bertelli, S.Local history in ItalyThe Local Historian , II (5) February 1975, 251-262.
150.
For two recent examples of American local history writing, see Demos, J.A little commonwealth . Oxford U.P., 1970;
151.
and Greven, P.J.Four generations: population, land and family in colonial Andover , Massachusetts. Cornell U.P. , 1970.