The Local Historian Volume 16 Number 6 May 1985

By Barbara Hutton

Comments upon the possible reasons for the choice of different styles of vernacular building. with particular reference to the North Riding of Yorkshire, the article considers such topics as architecture, building materials and plan, in the context of local customs and traditions, social factors in building design and construction, economic changes, geographical factors and the role of transport.

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By Jennifer Thorp

An annotated list of printed works which give guidance in the reading of manuscripts in the 16th-18th centuries. It is noted that there had been a trend away from central government sources towards greater use of local records, and that many more people are now involved in reading early modern material. Various handbooks and guides to the subject are available. To judge the usefulness of these books Thorp uses four criteria: i) whether they include facsimiles and accurate transcripts as well as notes; ii) whether they are easily accessible with clear explanation; iii) whether they are well-produced; and iv) whether they give advice on specialised vocabulary, formal phraseology and other interpretational requirements. The article also notes briefly the special subject of medieval palaeography, and it includes a copy of a facsimile, transcript and notes from Hilda Grieve's Examples of English Handwriting 1150-1750.

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By Kevin Schurer

Schurer begins his article (1985) with a discussion of how the rapid growth in availability and accessibility of computers is beginning to transform the potential for statistical or database research in local history and related fields such as family history or genealogy. Of special importance, he suggests, is the opportunity for better use of census returns, but he notes that the position is not ideal because there is little common ground between research projects, as a result of i) the idiosyncrasies in census recording, despite the apparently rigid standardised structure of the returns; ii) the tendency for research to focus on specific local issues or questions; and iii) the diversity of computer techniques. He argues that the development of a common approach and standard methods and techniques is thus very important. The article then considers such an approach, as outlined by the ESRC Cambridge Group in 1984, including the use of a standard 'data collection file', without pre-coding; a single style and form for transcribing; the creation of working files from data files; and the use of the ESRC Model Tables for such work.

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By J. Porteous

Brief note about a simple method of studying what the author calls 'place loyalty', that is the way in which an individual family stayed in the place of its origins, in contrast to the widespread mobility of populations. It is suggested that surnames can be analysed using telephone directories, and then cross-referenced with questionnaires, birth indexes, and genealogical indexes. The article gives a case-study of the Mell family, to show the method in operation, and revealing distinctive geographical and migration patterns.

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By Trevor Hearl

Short description of the place of the Gentleman's Magazine as a source for local historians. The magazine was used chiefly by the educated gentry, as its name suggests, and by a variety of amateur researchers. Its traditional format came under increasing pressure during a century of rapid social, economic and technological change and progress. It offered little in the way of political or religious comment or criticism, and much of its news and general content was of very local interest and random in nature. It was eventually overtaken by other publications, devoted to sporting and leisure interests, or by those with a more aesthetic preference, or the more up-to-the-minute political, humorous and satirical journals. Nonetheless, it includes much that is potentially of interest to local historians and, in a more general sense, gives a useful perspective on the interests and concerns of at least one section of Victorian male society.