The Amateur Historian Volume 5 Number 2 Winter 1962

By Roberts, Brian K.

pp 34-38

Analysis of moated sites, written when the author feared that many examples would shortly be lost to new development. Roberts takes Warwickshire as his area of study, and uses distribution maps to show the large numbers of moats in the northern areas of the county, the Forest of Arden. When compared with Domesday evidence of population levels, the moated sites appear to be concentrated in the least populated areas of the county, but they are associated with manors and occasionally with deserted villages. The evidence suggests that few moated houses were built after 1500, and the author suggests that needs and fashions had changed - the gentry no longer wished to live in damp conditions and either filled the moat in or simply moved away. This may be the reason, he postulates, for the presence of so many 'deserted' moats.

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By Cossons, Arthur

pp 39-43

An attempt to clarify some common misconceptions relating to the turnpike system. The author highlights the following issues: i) parish and township responsibility for road maintenance; ii) the earliest turnpikes and their eventual abolition; iii) the turnpike trusts, including the relationship between the trustees or commissioners and the local justices of the peace; iv) the number of trusts; v) tolling systems, payments and exemptions; vi) turnpike finances; vii) road construction methods and technologies; viii) the use of the turnpike system by the developing mail services; and ix) road maintenance issues in the late 19th century after the abolition of the turnpikes.

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By Owen, Dorothy M.

pp 44-50

Explanation of how ecclesiastical records (especially those of the post-Reformation Church of England) may be used to provide evidence for a wide range of non-religious subjects in local history. The article is illustrated by examples from records, both diocesan and parochial, from (in particular) the dioceses of Lincoln and Ely. Subjects and themes discussed include: i) land settlement, agricultural colonisation and the changing patterns of settlement; ii) local topography and place-names, land-use, flooding and urban land-holding patterns; iii) other aspects of agricultural history, including cultivation methods, crops and their rotation, land enclosure and improvement, and prices, wages and rental values; iv) crafts and trades; v) architectural patterns and styles, building materials, and house descriptions; vi) educational history; schools, teachers, and religious issues in education; vii) health, medicine and the licensing of doctors, midwives and others; viii) leisure and pastimes; and ix) all aspects of family history and genealogy. The article shows how all types of ecclesiastical records may provide information of use to local historians (see also Dr Owen's article with the same title 09 02 65-74)

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By Rybotycki, Wieslaw

pp 51-55

Review of Protestant museums around the world, described and listed country by country.

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By Rix, Michael M.

pp 56-60

In 1955 Rix published a pioneering article on industrial archaeology in The Amateur Historian (02 08 225-229). He notes in the present article that many developments had since taken place and the world of industry was changing so fast that many familiar monuments were threatened. The article begins by discussing definitions of the term 'industrial archaeology' and then considers the vast scope of the subject. Rix suggests that the official interest in the subject was still limited and that the resources of those bodies charged with preservation of historic monuments were overstretched. He records the 1959 work at Coalbrookdale which started the preservation of that site of fundamental importance and then catalogues a range of other locations where urgent attention was needed. The article reports on the increasing involvement of organisations such as the Council for British Archaeology, the beginnings of excavation and proper archaeological research on industrial sites, and the steps taken to protect, for example, working steam engines. It closes on a hopeful note, suggesting that monuments once condemned because they were deemed to be ugly were now beginning to be appreciated, but that proper approaches to the protection and preservation of industrial sites were now even more essential.