Victoria County History

Last updated

Victoria History of the Counties of England
Victoria County History (shield).png
The VCH logo

CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
DisciplineHistory
Publisher Institute of Historical Research
Media typePrint
Website www.history.ac.uk/research/victoria-county-history OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History or the VCH, is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of England, and was dedicated to Queen Victoria. In 2012 the project was rededicated to Queen Elizabeth II in celebration of her Diamond Jubilee year. [1] :7 Since 1933 the project has been coordinated by the Institute of Historical Research in the University of London.

Contents

History

The history of the VCH falls into three main phases, defined by different funding regimes: an early phase, 1899–1914, when the project was conceived as a commercial enterprise, and progress was rapid; a second more desultory phase, 1914–1947, when relatively little progress was made; and the third phase beginning in 1947, when, under the auspices of the Institute of Historical Research, a high academic standard was set, and progress has been slow but reasonably steady. [2] :54–6

These phases have also been characterised by changing attitudes towards the proper scope of English local history. The early volumes were planned on the model of traditional English county histories, with a strong emphasis on manorial descents, the advowsons of parish churches, and the local landed gentry: a prospectus of c.1904 stated that "there is no Englishman to whom [the VCH] does not in some one or other of its features make a direct appeal". [2] :55 More recent volumes – especially those published since the 1950s – have been more wide-ranging in their approach, and have included systematic coverage of social and economic history, industrial history, population history, educational history, landscape history, religious nonconformity, and so on; individual parish histories have consequently grown considerably in length and complexity.

From 1902 the joint general editors were H. Arthur Doubleday and William Page. Doubleday resigned (in acrimonious circumstances) in 1904, [3] :148–52 leaving Page as sole general editor until his death in 1934. In 1932 Page bought the rights to the ailing project for a nominal sum, donating it to the Institute of Historical Research the following year. [4] Page was succeeded as general editor by L. F. Salzman, who remained in post until 1949. [4] The early volumes depended heavily on the efforts of a large number of young research workers, mostly female, fresh from degree courses at Oxford, Cambridge, London or the Scottish universities, for whom other employment opportunities were limited: the VCH of this period has been described as "a history for gentlemen largely researched by ladies". [2] :54

From 1909 until 1931 Frederick Smith, later 2nd Viscount Hambleden, was the VCH's major sponsor. [4] In February 2005 the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded the VCH £3,374,000 to fund the England's Past for Everyone project, which ran from September that year until February 2010. [5]

Progress

VCH progress by county VCH counties.svg
VCH progress by county

The first VCH volume was published in 1901, and publication continued slowly throughout the 20th century, although in some counties it has come to a halt, especially during the First World War [4] and again in the 1970s. Some inactive counties have recently been reactivated.

There are now more than 230 VCH volumes, with around three new volumes published per year. Each is published with a red cover, and they are therefore sometimes known as "the big red books". When the Institute of Historical Research published a short history of the project to mark the 75th anniversary of taking it over, it was titled The Little Big Red Book. [6] A special edition Jubilee book was published in 2012, A Diamond Jubilee Celebration 1899–2012. [1]

A map showing the publication status appears on the VCH website. [7]

Structure and content of the county histories

From its inception, responsibility for writing the volumes was delegated to local editors for each individual county. The county editors traditionally worked under the direction of a general editor, following a uniform format and style.

In general, the histories begin with one or more volumes of general studies of the county as a whole, including major themes, such as religious history, agriculture, industries, population (with summary tables of decennial census totals 1801–1901), and an introduction to and translation of the relevant section of Domesday Book. [8] These volumes are followed by others consisting of detailed historical surveys of each Hundred, Wapentake (discussed in separate riding volumes) and ward, parish by parish. At first, ancient ecclesiastical parishes formed the unit of investigation, but since the mid-1950s the VCH parish is the civil parish, the modern successor of the ancient parishes or of townships within them. Large towns are dealt with as a whole, including, since the 1960s, built-up areas of adjoining, formerly rural parishes. [8] :18–19

Under the original plan, each county, in addition to its general and topographical volumes, was to have a genealogical volume containing the pedigrees of county families. Genealogical volumes were published in a large folio format for Northamptonshire (1906) and Hertfordshire (1907), but the research costs were found to be excessive, and this side of the project was discontinued. [3] :156–57

Completed county histories

Some of the county histories have been completed, as follows:

CountyNumber of volumesYear completed
Bedfordshire 3 + index1914
Berkshire 4 + index1927
Buckinghamshire 4 + index1928
Cambridgeshire 10 + index2002
Hampshire 5 + index1914
Hertfordshire 4 + index1923
Huntingdonshire 3 + index1938
Lancashire 81914
Rutland 2 + index1936
Surrey 4 + index1914
Warwickshire 8 + index1969
Worcestershire 4 + index1926
Yorkshire (general volumes)3 + index1925
Yorkshire (North Riding) 2 + index1925

Counties in progress

For each uncompleted county history on which work is continuing (i.e.: "active" in VCH terminology), progress is as follows:

From a VCH frontispiece, 1911 (105) VictoriaCountyHistoryLogo.jpg
From a VCH frontispiece, 1911
CountyNumber of volumes publishedYear of most recent volume
Cornwall 1 in two parts1925
County Durham 52015
Cumberland 21968
Derbyshire 32013
Essex 122022
Gloucestershire 112016
Herefordshire 11975
Kent 31974
Leicestershire 51988
Middlesex 132009
Northamptonshire 72013
Nottinghamshire 21907
Oxfordshire 202022
Shropshire 112014
Somerset 112015
Staffordshire 152021
Sussex 112009
Westmorland none
Wiltshire 182011
Yorkshire (East Riding) 102021
Yorkshire (West Riding) none

Dormant counties

Logo of VCH publisher, Constable & Co. Ltd Constable&CoLogo.jpg
Logo of VCH publisher, Constable & Co. Ltd

Several volumes are not currently being worked on.

CountyNumber of volumes publishedYear of most recent volume
Cheshire 62005
Devon 11906
Dorset 21968
Lincoln 11906
London11974
Norfolk 21975
Suffolk 21975
Yorkshire (general volumes and city of York)41974

Counties with no published volumes

General editors

Notable county editors

Notable contributors

Online availability

Much of the content of the older VCH volumes is now accessible via the British History Online digital library, digitised by double rekeying. Priority has been given to the topographical volumes containing histories of individual parishes. The more general introductory volumes are excluded for the time being, with the exception of those sections covering the religious houses of each county.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Colchester</span> Place in England

The City of Colchester is a local government district with city status in Essex, England, named after its main settlement, Colchester. The district also includes the towns of West Mersea and Wivenhoe and the surrounding rural areas stretching from Dedham Vale on the Suffolk border in the north to Mersea Island in the Colne Estuary in the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W. G. Hoskins</span>

William George Hoskins was an English local historian who founded the first university department of English Local History. His great contribution to the study of history was in the field of landscape history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friern Barnet Urban District</span>

Friern Barnet Urban District was a local government area in Middlesex, England created in 1883 from the civil parish Friern Barnet. It was succeeded by the London Borough of Barnet in 1965 as one of the smaller of its contributory predecessor districts. It was at the local level governed for nine years by the local board, then by Friern Barnet Urban District Council which operated primarily with separate functions from the County Council, operating occasionally for major planning decisions and major projects together with that body, Middlesex County Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Survey of London</span> Architectural survey of central London and its suburbs

The Survey of London is a research project to produce a comprehensive architectural survey of central London and its suburbs, or the area formerly administered by the London County Council. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee, an Arts-and-Crafts designer, architect and social reformer and was motivated by a desire to record and preserve London's ancient monuments. The first volume was published in 1900, but the completion of the series remains far in the future.

The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate House. The institute was founded in 1921 by A. F. Pollard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. Horace Round</span> 19th and 20th-century British historian

(John) Horace Round was a historian and genealogist of the English medieval period. He translated the portion of Domesday Book (1086) covering Essex into English. As an expert in the history of the British peerage, he was appointed honorary historical adviser to the Crown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wiltshire Victoria County History</span> Encyclopaedic history of the county of Wiltshire in England

The Wiltshire Victoria County History, properly called The Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire but commonly referred to as VCH Wiltshire, is an encyclopaedic history of the county of Wiltshire in England. It forms part of the overall Victoria County History of England founded in 1899 in honour of Queen Victoria. With eighteen volumes published in the series, it is now the most substantial of the Victoria County Histories.

Local history is the study of the history of a relatively small geographic area; typically a specific settlement, parish or county. English local history came to the fore with the antiquarians of the 19th century and was particularly emphasised by the creation of the Victoria County History series in England. Its establishment as a formal academic discipline is usually credited to W. G. Hoskins who also popularised the subject with his book The Making of the English Landscape.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Local history</span> Study of history in a geographically local context

Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history. Local history is not merely national history writ small but a study of past events in a given geographical area which is based on a wide variety of documentary evidence and placed in a comparative context that is both regional and national. Historic plaques are one form of documentation of significant occurrences in the past and oral histories are another.

The text of Domesday Book, the record of the great survey of England completed in 1086 executed for William I of England, was first edited by Abraham Farley in the 1770s. The first facsimile edition of the manuscripts was made in a project led by the cartographer Henry James in the 1860s. An English translation of the Latin text for most counties was published by the Victoria County History (VCH) during much of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Elrington</span>

Christopher Robin Elrington FRHistS FSA was an English historian, known primarily for his work with the Victoria County History.

William Henry Page was a British prolific and pioneering historian and editor. For the last three decades of his life he was general editor of the Victoria County History.

Ralph Bernard Pugh was an historian and editor of the Victoria History of the Counties of England from 1949 to 1977.

<i>Gloucestershire Victoria County History</i> Encyclopaedic history of Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire Victoria County History is an encyclopaedic history of the county of Gloucestershire in England. It forms part of the overall Victoria County History of England founded in 1899 in honour of Queen Victoria. With twelve volumes published in the series A History of the County of Gloucestershire, the Gloucestershire Victoria County History is about halfway through its history of all the parishes in the county. Ten volumes have been published to date, and a further four volumes are in preparation.

English county histories, in other words historical and topographical works concerned with individual ancient counties of England, were produced by antiquarians from the late 16th century onwards. The content was variable: most focused on recording the ownership of estates and the descent of lordships of manors, thus the genealogies of county families, heraldry and other antiquarian material. In the introduction to one typical early work of this style, The Antiquities of Warwickshire published in 1656, the author William Dugdale writes:

I offer unto you my noble countriemen, as the most proper persons to whom it can be presented wherein you will see very much of your worthy ancestors, to whose memory I have erected it as a monumentall pillar and to shew in what honour they lived in those flourishing ages past. In this kind, or not much different, have divers persons in forrein parts very learnedly written; some whereof I have noted in my preface: and I could wish that there were more that would adventure in the like manner for the rest of the counties of this nation, considering how acceptable those are, which others have already performed

The Somerset Victoria County History is an encyclopaedic history of the county of Somerset in England, forming part of the overall Victoria County History of England founded in 1899 in honour of Queen Victoria. With ten volumes published in the series A History of the County of Somerset, the Somerset VCH is among the most substantial of the Victoria County Histories.

The Cumbria County History Trust (CCHT) is a charity launched in May 2010 to coordinate and gather resources for the Victoria County History of Cumbria project, a collaborative community project created to research and write the histories of all parts of Cumbria, and to make historical information generally available, within the framework and standards of the Victoria County History of England.

Marcus Felix Brudenell Fitch , was an English historian and philanthropist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David George Watts</span>

David George Watts, known as George Watts, was an English local historian closely associated with the work of the Victoria County History (VCH) and the history of Titchfield, Hampshire.

<i>The Home Counties Magazine</i>

The Home Counties Magazine was a magazine of the "topography of London, Middlesex, Essex, Herts, Bucks, Berks, Surrey, and Kent", the home counties of England, that was published from 1899 to 1912. It incorporated Middlesex and Hertfordshire Notes and Queries.

References

  1. 1 2 Beckett, John; Bristow, Matthew; Williamson, Elizabeth (2013). The Victoria County History 1899-2012: a Diamond Jubilee celebration (2nd ed.). London: University of London, Institute of Historical Research. ISBN   9781905165919.
  2. 1 2 3 Lewis, Christopher (1989). "The Victoria County History". Particular Places: an introduction to English local history. London: British Library. ISBN   0712301755.
  3. 1 2 Powell, W. Raymond (2001). John Horace Round: Historian and Gentleman of Essex. Chelmsford: Essex Record Office. ISBN   1-898529-19-1.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Lewis, Chris (2008). "William Page (1861–1934), general editor of the Victoria County History 1902–34". Making History .
  5. "England's Past for Everyone". Victoria County History. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  6. "75 years at the IHR". Victoria County History. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
  7. "VCH Counties". Victoria County History. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  8. 1 2 Tiller, Kate (1992). English local history: an introduction. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. ISBN   0-86299-958-8.
  9. "The Gwent County History, Volume 1: Gwent in Prehistory and Early History". University of Wales Press . Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  10. "The Gwent County History, Volume 5: The Twentieth Century". University of Wales Press . Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  11. "Dr Christopher Currie, MA, D Phil (Oxon), FRHistS, FSA". IHR. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  12. 1 2 3 "Contributors to the VCH". IHR. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  13. "Professor Richard Hoyle appointed as VCH Director & General Editor". IHR. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  14. "Medieval specialist Catherine Clarke to lead new IHR research centre and the VCH | Victoria County History". www.victoriacountyhistory.ac.uk. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  15. "Mary Bateson". beyond-notability.wikibase.cloud. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  16. "Dodds, Madeleine Hope (1885–1972), historian" . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/60805 . Retrieved 11 October 2020.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  17. "Maud Sellers". beyond-notability.wikibase.cloud. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  18. "Margerie Venables Taylor". beyond-notability.wikibase.cloud. Retrieved 15 December 2022.

Further reading