The Local Historian Volume 51 Number 2 April 2021

By Graham Rogers

pp 90-99

This paper is an important contribution to the published work on the social history of bells and bellringing, focusing on the role which they played in the community and its pattern of regular and one-off events, and on the people involved. It is a case-study of Richmond St Mary, the parish church of the small but prosperous borough, and draws upon (among other sources) an unusually comprehensive set of tower records. The introduction discusses the context and significance of bells and bellringing, and its cultural role, and sets out the potential for researching and contextualising their social history. It then outlines the typical source material which might be available, including material in parish records (such as churchwardens’ accounts), the national collection of online sources and the specialist newspapers such as Ringing World; and – as at Richmond St Mary -the attendance records, minute books, ringing records and parish magazines which were created by, or collected by, the bellringers themselves.

The following section looks at the relationship between bellringing and social and economic factors, including church services and the funding of bells, their repair and upkeep. The significance of bells and ringing as part of civic life and ceremonial, and the private dimension of leading families, is considered. This section also analyses the ringers themselves, including the intriguing question of payment to them for regular ringing and special occasions. While the paper does not ‘delve into the mysteries and complexities of bellringing’, it reviews the evolution of the art in the context of its social structure and place in local society, and emphasises the importance of the reforms in the practice and style of ringing which took place in the late Victorian and Edwardian periods, at Richmond and more widely. This reform included the emergence of a more rigorous, disciplined and organised approach, with a formal structure of management and the increasing attention given to competition and special ringing achievements. It was accompanied by much investment in new bells and greater professionalism in the teams more generally. The secular role dwindled as the emphasis on the role of the church increased. The paper concludes by encouraging other local historians in other towers to research their own social history.

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By Iain Taylor

pp 100-112

This is a detailed local case-study of a comparatively widespread phenomenon in the loosely regulated world of Victorian banking. It emphasises the ways in which such occurrences can be investigated by researchers, and highlights the wider context by referring to a range of banking scandals and frauds elsewhere in Britain. The introductory section sets out the background to savings banks in the nineteenth century, including the high potential risks involved in a laissez-faire regulatory climate, and explaining the circumstances in which fraud or financial collapse could take place. Taylor suggests that local historians have much to gain by placing their case studies firmly within that wider framework.

The next section discusses the Sevenoaks case in detail, showing how for several years the accounts of the town’s Savings Bank were improperly and inadequately audited, concealing large-scale fraud and defalcation by the bank’s actuary, Henry Holmes Sutton. The deception was revealed in May 1888, when a deficit of £1700 was revealed (rather than the apparent surplus of £200 or more). The paper recounts the subsequent court case and conviction, and Sutton’s perhaps surprising social restoration. This is followed by a very detailed analysis of the consequences of the collapse of the Sevenoaks Savings Bank in the context of a major national debate about the tighter regulation of the sector, and the imposition of checks and safeguards. The debate moved into the parliamentary arena, and led directly to the passing of the Savings Bank Act 1891. It is emphasised that the question as to the typicality of what happened in Sevenoaks is not yet answered: ‘Local historians are perfectly placed to discover the answers’.

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By Margaret O’Sullivan

pp 113-127

In this ground-breaking paper Margaret O’Sullivan reviews the wealth of published material on cooking, food and recipes from inter-war and immediate post-war Britain. In this second part she begins by considering the phenomenon, particularly apparent in the 1930s, of publishing ‘traditional’ recipes, with an emphasis on farmhouse cooking, vernacular styles, and regional specialities. This is linked with the vogue for ‘food for free’, natural country ingredients, and the importance—to at least some cookery writers—of authentic and properly-provenanced source material. The discussion then moves to the linked issue of seasonality of supply of fruits, vegetables and other ingredients, and the time-honoured methods of preserving foodstuffs by drying, pickling, jam-making and making syrups and cordials.

The next section focuses on food for special occasions, such as local festivals and feasts, and the survival of specific named dishes and foods associated with these events. Following that these, the paper then discusses ‘heritage researchers and writers’, looking at those individuals who undertook serious historical research to prepare work which comprised not only recipes but also accounts of the origins and evolution of particular dishes, styles of food preparation, and their links with other aspects of vernacular culture. A revealing section discusses the social networks among the elite women writers of the inter-war period, and contrasts this ‘golden age’ with the very different context and approach of the great cookery writers of the decades after 195, such as Elizabeth David and Jane Grigson. A detailed assessment of ‘country house cooking’ notes, inter alia, that most of the authors and compilers of books on this subject were those who ‘employed a cook, not those with practical expertise themselves’. This section also considers the genre of fictionalised media-linked publications. In her general conclusion, Margaret O’Sullivan assesses the notion of ’heritage’ and ‘locality’ in the context of trends in cookery publishing since the 1920s.

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By Maureen Scollan

pp 128-136

The author of this paper was initially an archivist, then entered the Essex police, and on retirement gained a PhD in history. Drawing on her own experiences and diaries, the recollections of other women who served in the Essex force, and a wide range of published and unpublished documentary sources, she explores the beginnings, and very slow development, of the presence of women within the force. Her analysis emphasises the considerable limitations placed upon the duties and role of women, and the tasks which they were allotted. Scollan then describes how, in the 1960 and 1970s, women gradually were allowed a more prominent and more equal role, with greater attention to their professional training, and increased opportunities for promotion to higher ranks. There is detailed discussion of the specific work of women officers, and their status vis a vis male colleagues.

The paper then moves on to discussion of the turbulent events of the Miners’ Strike in the mid-1980s, giving important perspectives on the role of police forces away from the coalfields, and the vital role which women officers played in the policing of the strike. This highlights the tensions which existed in the force, relating to what involvement was regarded as ‘appropriate’ for women. The author illustrates these points with examples taken from her own experience and that of her female colleagues. Her key conclusion is that because many male officers were taken for duty in the coalfields, their duties in Essex had to be taken over by women officers. This, she argues, greatly accelerated the practical implementation of the equal opportunities and equal treatment principles which had been enshrined in the Sex Discrimination Act 1973.

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By Michelle Cale

pp 137-153

Arguing that the economic structure of Victorian Birmingham was characterised by an unusual diversity of trades, within and beyond the dominant metal-working sector, Michelle Cale suggests that among the most important, but least recognised of the city’s manufacturing sectors was its paper industry. She emphasises that paper was crucial to industrial development, because of its vital role in packaging, administration, commercial transactions and advertising and presentation, while the trade in its turn generated a continuing demand for specialised machinery and equipment. She notes that the industry has been largely ignored by historians, partly because its products were essentially ephemeral and because there is a dearth of publicly-accessible archival material. Her paper seeks to illuminate the history of the industry by focusing on James Baldwin & Sons, a firm which closed in 1984 but had been one the leading producers. Most of its records were lost on closure, but Cale makes use of a small collection which remains in private hands, together with newspapers, directories, census evidence, contemporary publications about the industries of Birmingham, and a variety of ephemera.

The firm was founded in the late 1820s, but the paper gives a succinct overview of the making of paper more generally, going back to the seventeenth century, and traces its specific origins in Birmingham in the eighteenth-century. It then describes the Baldwin family and its developing role as major paper producers, looking at the commercial and industrial circumstances of the firm and the rising social position of key family members. The role of the company in technical and technological innovation is highlighted, and there is detailed discussion of the firm’s premises and the equipment used. The narrative is continued until the 1970s and 1980s, showing how changing economic and financial circumstances seriously affected the business, and how it remained in family ownership until the 1970s. A sharp contrast is drawn between the optimism and indeed expansion of the mid-1970s, and the collapse of the business in the following decade. There is a section which deals with what evidence can be discovered about the workforce, in the absence of company records, and coverage off the shifting locations of production in the Birmingham area. The paper concludes with a contextual overview of paper-manufacturing, and a reminder that the product, though so generally ephemeral, was indeed essential.

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