Online Reviews
This online reviews section will be updated each quarter, to coincide with the appearance of the journal, and a list of books reviewed will be printed in each issue.
Hugo Javier Freitas
Laura Yeoman
Why BALH?
Where did your ancestors live?
It is impossible to trace the history of one’s family without considering where they lived. Local history societies and one-place study groups have researched and published content that will allow you to place the lives of your ancestors in the context of their local communities, villages, towns and cities as well as some of the key socio-economic factors that lay behind their development. They often use the same sources as family historians, and can help provide an alternative interpretation of a document or suggest new resources to help your research.
Nick Barratt, Historian and Author
Meet the team
John Chandler
John, raised in east Devon, discovered a passion for local history and topography after studying classics and theology at Bristol, where he also completed a doctorate on the late Roman church. Training as a librarian led to a role as Wiltshire’s local studies librarian, where he became a local history generalist while writing extensively. Going freelance in 1988, he built a career through writing, consultancy, and archaeology projects. Since the late 1990s, he has run Hobnob Press, publishing over 150 local history titles. Now involved with the Victoria County History, he continues his lifelong passion in retirement.
John Chandler, Trustee
Sat 10th October 2026 9:00 am