The Local Historian Volume 13 Number 8 November 1979

By Robert Blake et al

The Committee to review local history was formed in 1977, under the chairmanship of Lord Blake, provost of Queen's College, Cambridge. It received 701 written submissions and obtained comparative information from other countries and other organisations in this country. In this summary of the report the following key themes are discussed: i) the growth of local history since 1945, including the proliferation of local history societies and the 'social and psychological needs' which prompted the growth; ii) the role of local history in the community; iii) methods for teaching and training in local history and the importance of qualifications; iv) local history in schools and in school-level examinations; v) resources for local history, including libraries and record offices; vi) the funding of local history and problems of finance for local societies; vii) the need for national and county coordinating and representative bodies. The Blake Report was very influential in the development of thinking about local history, and this report usefully summarises its main contents (for a counter-attack see the article by Philip Riden 14 01 18-22).

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By Roger Millman

General discussion of the significance of historic landscapes and of the main elements which compose such landscapes, followed by a description of the potential for local action in survey and conservation work, including the types of organisations which might participate in such activities. This is followed by a section on techniques and strategies for nation-wide management and the possible role of government bodies in coordinating and encouraging local action. A brief case-study of Hertfordshire focuses on the work on landscape classification and historic landscape regions which has been undertaken by the County Planning Department, and future prospects are considered. The article is illustrated by three maps showing the historic landscapes of the parishes of West Dean and Binderton near Chichester - there is, however, no reference to or discussion of these in the text.

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By David Egan

In the final part of this three article series Egan discusses the guides and lists which have been produced by Welsh archive services. As well as considering the general issues involved, he describes in some detail the Glamorgan Archive Service pamphlets on the Ordnance Survey; Gwent County Record Office publications on Poor Law records, sources for the history of education, and records relating to the coal and iron industries; and the publications of the Dyfed Record Office concerning records for various industries, elections, turnpike roads, the Poor Law, Carmarthen gaol and the history of houses (see also 13 06 341-345; 13 07 425-430).

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By E. McCutcheon

Account of the work of the earthworks section of the Norfolk Archaeological Rescue Group (NARG), which was formed in 1975 and in 1976 embarked upon a plan to make detailed surveys of all the DMV sites in the county. The article describes the membership of the group, the progress of its research and surveying project, and the sources which have been used to produce reports - as well as fieldwork itself, there has been extensive use of aerial photographs, early maps, tax returns, rentals and surveys, charters and court rolls. The format for the reports is described.

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By Ian F.W. Beckett

Beckett suggests that 'one of the most neglected fields of modern British military historiography' is that of the auxiliary forces, and that the militia, yeomanry and volunteers represented a socially-important though militarily less significant element in the 19th century, projecting military values to the public as a whole. The article describes the revival of the militia after the Act of 1852, in response to fears of French invasion, and recounts the development of its activities and the way in which county militias were organised in the mid to late-19th century. The absence of reliable studies, and the over-emphasis on traditional regimental histories, is noted. A case-study of the Oxfordshire Volunteers is then given, beginning with the formation of the force in 1859-1860 and identifying the main social characteristics of its membership, including the backgrounds of the officers. The county rifle volunteers 1859-1860 are particularly well-documented and a detailed assessment of the social composition of this group of over 350 men is given, showing that they were overwhelmingly drawn from the middle classes. Later social changes, including the high middle-class drop-out rate and the influx of artisans, are also considered. There is a useful bibliography of published sources on the subject.

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By Peter Rushton

It is argued that the existence of mistakes, apparent errors and anomalies in census returns is a well-known problem, but that these could be interpreted in a more positive light. Themes noted include: i) the inflexibility of classifications, such as the artificial subdivision of family groups into households; ii) variations in the way census returns were completed, including the quality of the enumerators themselves; iii) uncertainty in the definitions of, for example, 'head of household'; iv) uncertainty in the meaning of terms such as 'brother' and 'mother'; v) the use of polite language; and vi) the description of wives in the occupation columns.