The Local Historian Volume 17 Number 2 May 1986

By Keith Bailey

Review of the use of charters in local history, and the part that local historians can play in charter interpretation. The examples of charters from Surrey and Middlesex are used to highlight the particular themes of the article. There is a descriptive bibliography of the main printed works and publications of charters which are available for the historian, and then a summary of the major problems which are faced in using this source: i) that charters themselves have been subject to comparatively little study by historians, in terms of their provenance, implication and form; ii) that charter dating is a notoriously hazardous area with many forgeries and falsifications; and iii) that boundary information on charters is often ambiguous and may have been altered as charters were rewritten and copied. The article discusses these key points in the context of local examples from the Surrey-Middlesex border area between Wimbledon and Staines, and including the estates of Chertsey Abbey.

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By Barry Harrison

Bibliographical article which begins with a retrospective assessment of some of the work in the field of vernacular architecture in the period since the early 1950s, then welcomes the development of a greater historical consciousness among vernacular architecture researchers. Regional and local studies from different parts of England and Wales are discussed and it is noted that many use technical language which is inaccessible to non-specialists. The survey then considers the recent range of work on building materials, including the RCHME publications on Pennine houses and other analyses of plan-forms and timber-framed buildings, but it is noted that 'polite architecture' still tends to predominate in published works. The relative lack of attention to farm buildings is identified as a weakness, and it is then suggested that documentary work is crucial to further research, but needs to be handled carefully. Potential sources such as probate inventories are noted and the article ends with an assessment of recent work on the development of vernacular architecture in the context of wider social and economic trends. There is a detailed bibliography of all the works quoted or referred to.

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By Jeff Cox and Nancy Cox

The second part of this major investigation into probate valuations emphasises that the prices given were closely related to those prevailing at the time and that therefore the valuations are usually realistic and valid. The article deals with the following main themes: i) the valuation of livestock, including assessment of who made the valuations and the relationship between these and the identifiable market conditions (horses are particularly noted and there are graphs demonstrating price or valuation fluctuations); ii) cattle prices, again with graphs and with analysis of the relationship between valuations and market prices - there is a detailed discussion of the technical terminology used for livestock; iii) the presence of fodder and the valuations given; iv) hemp and flax; v) metal scrap, including pewter and brass, and the technical distinctions used in the descriptions of metal goods in household and farm inventories; and vi) comparisons between inventory valuations and those specifically identified at sales. The article includes a great deal of general analysis which is pertinent to inventories anywhere, as well as many specific examples drawn from the authors' large study of Shropshire inventories (see also 16 03 133-145; 16 04 212-227; 16 08 467-477).

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By W.S. Harvey

Inspired by a quotation from a 1925 historian, claiming that the miners at Leadhills (Lanarkshire) struggled to improve their wages and recognition of their union, Harvey discovered the evidence for a major strike in 1836. The article explains the background to the dispute, including the ownership and management of the mines, and recounts the events which led to its outbreak. There is a detailed account of the strike itself, of the actions of the authorities in trying to deal with it, and the lack of effect which it had in terms of raising wage levels.

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By Kate Tiller

Note on the project to produce an exact facsimile of this, perhaps the most important single document in all English local history, as part of the 900th anniversary celebrations for Domesday Book. The article describes the procedures for photographic copying of the original and the aim of Alecto Historical Editions to produce published forms of the work, in three main forms: a collectors' edition of the entire work; a library edition with translations, indexes and maps; and county editions.