The Local Historian Volume 39, Number 3 August 2009

By Alan Crosby

The enduring attraction of sewage is one of the fixtures of local history. Few subjects are as effective in drawing a good audience to a talk a local society, few themes retain the attention of students so successfully and, as a I found by listening in to a school visit at a Welsh castle recently, nothing so grips the imagination of children. But of course sewage, and all that went with it—schemes for new sewerage systems, public health crises, heartbreaking levels of infant mortality and deplorably bad housing—was among the hottest issues in social policy and domestic politics during the 1840s and 1850s. Generations of historians have researched and analysed the process whereby, slowly and at huge cost, civilised standards of urban living were gradually adopted and enforced in the second half of the nineteenth century.
 
But there is still so much to discover. The emergence of effective local government, a seemingly unglamorous topic, was a fundamental change in Victorian society, but local circumstances were everywhere different. Sanitary reform and the improvement of public health was a crucial force in that process, but in researching individual communities the impact of particular personalities, the power of landowners, the influence of the local press, and the prevailing social and economic context are all of direct relevance to the process. As with so much else in local history, we can delve beneath the generalisations to find the specifics—the detail of what actually happened—and then, maybe, that detailed analysis in its turn informs the wider view.
 
In this issue of The Local Historian there are three articles which I have collectively entitled ‘Aspects of urban government in the industrial age’. Arnold Harvey, in the first part of a detailed investigation of the London vestries of the Georgian and Regency periods—that extraordinary jigsaw of authorities which constituted the local government of the world’s largest city. He shows how the force of personalities, the legacy of centuries of organic evolution, and the almost paranoid government fear of the mob helped the shape the development of the capital. In his analysis of Huddersfield, one of the archetypal fast-growing industrial towns of the early Victorian period, David Griffiths highlights the role of the landowner in determining the emergence of urban government, and points to the often bitter political arguments which raged over the wisdom and merits not only of different policies towards pressing social problems, but also of the structures of administration themselves. Dennis Mills takes a fresh look at the sewerage issue, suggesting that although many local historians have investigating urban sanitation in the 1840s and 1850s, few have paid sufficient attention to the engineering dimensions, and to the part that civil engineers played in helping to resolve public health problems in the context of local government policy.
 
Each of these articles demonstrates that continuing research on this familiar topic can provide new insights and understandings, and that—as Dennis Mills points out—other local historians can research their own communities and contribute to our knowledge of this crucial period in our history. But remember—reading some of the contemporary material requires a strong stomach!
 
                                                 
 

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By A D Harvey

Until major reforms in the later nineteenth century, including the creation of the London County Council and the metropolitan boroughs in the 1880s and 1890s, the government of London – the western world’s largest city – was chaotic, fragmented and ramshackle. Outside the tightly-drawn boundaries of the small City of London, authority rested with the parish vestries, whose origins must be sought in the organic development of forms of local administration essentially suited to small rural communities. These had to serve the needs of huge populations – in 1831 two parishes, St Marylebone and St Pancras, had more than 100,000 people. Some, such as St Paul Covent Garden, covered very small geographical areas, while others (for example, St Mary Islington) were very much larger and had, until recent years, been at least semi-rural. In this detailed and carefully-constructed paper A.D. Harvey investigates the nature of London government and focuses particularly on the bitter, and very important, political and religious arguments which emerged from the 1780s, concerning the role of vestry administration, the personalities involved, the part played by magistrates and central government, and the battle over popular participation versus elitism. The significance of the Established Church is highlighted (since these were, in origin, partly ecclesiastical bodies) and the inevitable conflicts with nonconformity. There is also a case study of Joseph Merceron of Bethnal Green, one of the key figures in the period, and his role as a ‘boss’ in charge of major spending and revenue-raising.

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By David Griffiths

This case study of the fast-developing town of Huddersfield during a crucial period in its history begins with an overview of the sanitation and public health crisis of the 1840s which, in a wider sense, exemplified the failure of urban government. It draws attention to the inadequacy of the structures of government, but emphasises the view – to contemporaries as well as to the more perceptive later commentators – that there was no clear answer or solution, and that the problem was exceptionally complex. The article then discusses the particular circumstances of Huddersfield, outlining the development of the town in the later eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and highlighting the significance of the Ramsden family, lords of the manor and dominant landowners. The inadequacy of sanitary provision, the poor public health record, and the weakness of existing local government institutions are all analysed. Particular attention is given to the conflicting and overlapping jurisdictions of the local government bodies in the first half of the nineteenth century, and the unsuccessful moves towards incorporation which followed the 1835 Municipal Corporations Act. The discussion then moves to the changes in the management of the Ramsden interests with the appointment of George Loch, the new agent, in 1844, and the new power bases which emerged in consequence. The second half of the article considers the fever crisis of the late 1840s, and the passing of an improvement act in 1848. The politics of this process, including the major influence of Chartism, are discussed.    
 

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By Dennis Mills

In this analysis of the project to construct a modern sewerage system in Lincoln at the end of the 1840s, Dennis Mills draws attention to the engineering aspects of such schemes, arguing that this perspective has often been overlooked in consideration of the sanitary improvements of the early Victorian decades. He focuses on the role of the eminent engineer George Giles, whose report and designs for the system were central to the debate within the City Council and more widely among the opinion-formers and influential elements in Lincoln society. The often heated and acrimonious arguments over the wisdom of adopting the report, its likely cost, and the benefits that would ensue, are discussed, and the politicising of the issue (which ultimately led to the rejection of the proposals) is analysed. Attention is drawn to the value of press reports, in setting out the arguments which raged, and to the part played by prominent and often vocal individuals in shaping opinion and spearheading the campaigns for and against improvement. The fundamental importance of finance and the need to compromise between engineering ambition and ratepayer parsimony emerges from the discussion. The importance of identifying the distinctive local characteristics of any case is emphasised – and comparisons are made with other contemporary schemes to try to judge whether the Lincoln proposals were expensive or realistic. The final section details with the types of evidence and source material which local historians may encounter in researching such subjects, with a detailed bibliography included in the notes.

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By Ann Rycraft

The Latin Project is a flourishing group project based in York, and dedicated to the reading, transcription, translation, study and analysis of key Latin documents from the medieval history of the city, its government and its people. The Project began in the early 1990s, under the auspices of the WEA (from which it eventually parted company) and it continues to work actively towards its original aims. In this personal account, Ann Rycraft recounts its history and reveals the challenges which the group have faced – both in terms of the work involved, which is demanding and rigorous, but also with regard to the practicalities of organisation, funding and, especially, publishing and marketing the fruits of the exercises. The Group has published several texts, including the will and other documents of Thomas de Dalby, Archdeacon of Richmond (died 1400, and published on the 600th anniversary of his death), the 15thcentury account rolls of the York bridgemasters, the City Council’s House Book of 1490-1496, the Chronicle of the Archbishops of York, Books of Hours from the Minster Library, documents relating to the Blakburns, a leading merchant family, and the account rolls of the Fraternity of Mary and Jesus. Attractively written and full of illuminating detail, the article should inspire other groups to embark upon similar projects, or to move forward to publication.

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By Richard Brockington

In this short article Richard Brockington delves behind the basic published account of a battle which took place near Brampton, Cumberland, in February 1570, between royal forces sent from Berwick upon Tweed, and a local force commanded by Leonard Dacre of Renwick near Penrith. He discusses the context of the battle, back to the troubled state of the Border counties in the sixteenth century and the impact of the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536. The immediate circumstances include the rising of the Northern Earls in the winter of 1569-1570, and deep-rooted tensions within the Dacre family over the inheritance of the estates following the death of the 7-year-old 5th baron in the summer of 1569. Brockington argues that Leonard Dacre had flouted a court decision against him in that matter, had then consorted with the rebel earls of Northumberland and Westmorland, and thereby fell into rebellion himself. He suggests that many local men sided with Dacre, and were loyal to the family’s flag (a red bull), and that their deaths in the battle led to a radical reshaping of tenancies in the manor of Renwick – in 1571 all 19 customary tenancies were the subject of admittances.

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By Jacquelene Fillmore

As the quantity of local history resources available on the internet increases, their importance as a research tool becomes more apparent. But they are often difficult to track down and not easy to assess. Building upon similar articles in 2007 and 2008, and upon articles reviewing websites, this paper updates the earlier listings (with details of name and address changes, and sites no longer extant), and then identifies and provides details of some 103 new (or newly-listed) sites, ranging from one devoted to the former prime minister John Major, via large-scale resources such as Histpop and the Humanities Web, to local sites which are of special quality. The article will be an invaluable resource in its own right, and feedback emphasises that many local historians regard it as a major contribution to their work.

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By David Short

Lionel Munby was one of the most important and best-known local historians of the second half of the 20thcentury, with a long and illustrious career in teaching and writing. The article outlines his life, including his formative years at Oxford, in the Army, and as a Communist intellectual, and his long and productive time devoted to the history of Hertfordshire. It shows how a local historian can have national and – in Lionel’s case – international interests, and that (as so often is the case) ‘local’ is most definitely not synonymous with ‘parochial’. Lionel was much-loved, and this affectionate tribute is a worthy record of his life and work.

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By Alan Crosby

Margaret Gelling, the most influential and best-known place-name scholar in Britain, devoted herself to her subject for over fifty years. In doing so, she transformed it from a highly-esoteric, narrow and rarefied discipline, of little interest to (and generally inaccessible to) any but a small band of experts, into a popular and stimulating area of research which was far more widely-known and prominent as one of the new dimensions to local history, landscape history and cultural history. Her work was broad in its range but she placed heavy emphasis on the topographical names coined by our ancestors, and the extraordinarily rich and sophisticated resource which they represent. Her work in local history and adult education brought her subject to the attention of thousands of ‘ordinary’ people.

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By Kate Tiller

A review article which analyses three Victorian diaries (hose of the Bousfield family of Bedford; William Cotton Risley, vicar and squire of Deddington, Oxfordshire, and James Maggs, ‘the complete borough factotum’ of Southwold. the article explains the value and importance of the three books, and in doing so raises important and challenging questions about the nature of evidence and the significance of diaries and journals as a historical source.

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By Evelyn Lord

In this article our Reviews Editor, Evelyn Lord, brings together ten books published in 2008 which, in different ways and looking at aspects of different conflicts, deal with the topic of war and the local community. They range from analyses of invasion defences and military structures in the landscape, via individual soldiers and battalions, to the women’s land army and the experience of particular places.
 

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By Graham Winton

A wide-ranging review article which discusses eight books (published in 2007-2008) on archaeology, landscape archaeology and landscape history. The themes include specific areas and locations - Sutton Hoo, Anglo-Saxon Lindsey, Cadbury Castle and the lower Nene valley – and general topics such as medieval deer parks, saints in the landscape, monuments in the landscape (in Britain and overseas) and the archaeology of water

By Alan Crosby

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By Adam Longcroft

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By David L Smith

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By Frank Grace

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By Heather Falvey

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By Roger Bellingham

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By Claire Cross

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By Evelyn Lord

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