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		Contents	[ Close all Abstracts ]		Current issue
		Editorial By: Margaret Bonney [ Read Abstract ] This is my last Editorial for The Local Historian. After 10 years in the hot seat, I am handing on the torch to someone else, someone who is being appointed as I write, and who will take over the job during the coming months. The transition during the year will be as smooth as we can make it. Potential contributors to the journal need not worry-nothing will fall between two editorial stools, and all promises of future publication will be honoured. Subscribers should not worry either-your journal will appear at the usual times during the year. Inevitably, there is an air of retrospection about this Editorial. I look back to the comments I made in my first, in February 1992, and I hope that my readers and contributors have found that the journal has remained true to the three fundamentals expressed there: achieving a balance between the \'academic\' . and the \'amateur\'; avoiding the narrowly parochial; and stimulating debate on new approaches and methodologies in local history. I emphasised the need for change as well as continuity, in response (in part) to the needs of a changed and changing educational context, the new computer technology which has become so much more accessible to us all and the development of different specialist subject areas. I don\'t recant, from the perspective of 2001. Indeed, I am in danger of being overtaken by events, so rapidly has the debate on, for example, accreditation proceeded. In my time as Editor, I have tried to reflect, through the pages of the journal, some of the most exciting developments in our subject and the almost infinite variety of subjects being studied all over the British Isles. I have nudged you to see the late twentieth century as a period now suitable for serious study, and many of you have obliged by contributing thought-provoking pieces using a range of documentary and oral evidence. One particular pleasure has been to see the developing interest of local historians in the study of different ethnic communities, past and present, within our towns. Another has been to receive articles from people who work in closely related fields, such as art history, name studies and historical geography, who have seen that their work has a direct bearing on local history. Medievalists have let me down, and I suspect it is because they don\'t consider their work to be \'local\'. But I have no space to enter into this nest of vipers (what is \'local history\'?) here! As for my legacy, I am confident that my successor will find, as I have done, that there is no shortage of material for publication in The Local Historian, and that much of this material is of a high quality. It is a challenge and an inspiration to see so much evidence of original research going on all over the country, often nurtured by inspired extra-mural teaching, and it is interesting to observe the increasing numbers of the recently (or not-so-recently) retired among contributors. I can only say to all local historians out there, thank you for what you are doing, and please keep it going to the same high standards. We have great opportunities with this journal not just to reflect the present state ofthe art in local history, but also to shape the future. Over my 10 years as Editor we have made many subtle changes to the appearance of the journal itself, so that it, too, moves with the times. I must thank our printers, past and present, for enabling this process to happen, almost by osmosis. And a word of thanks to my Reviews Editor, Peter Christie, for maintaining the strong tradition of book reviewing and listing the myriad publications in local history which he inherited from his predecessor, Angus Winchester. This section of the journal is an important research tool in itself, and one in which the cross-currents of methodology and interpretation can be charted. Finally, I take this opportunity to laud my long-suffering referees, who have aided and abetted me in my task of keeping the standard of publication in this journal at a high level. English Beekeeping from c.1200 to 1850: evidence from Local Records By: Penelope Walker and Eva Crane [ Read Abstract ] Bees, hives, honey and beeswax were mentioned in inventories, wills and other local records, and this analysis of 406 items from 35 English counties provides valuable information about beekeeping and hive products during the period. Bees were bequeathed in wills, and until the Reformation beeswax was given to the Church for candles. Some rents and tithes were paid in honey or beeswax. The values of hives of bees, honey, beeswax and sugar at different dates are tabulated and discussed. The number of hives in inventories ranged from 1 to 29, the average number of hives varing somewhat with social class. Hives were sometimes shared between two or more people. An Appendix contains extracst from 211 previously unpublished local records. Hollywood E17: Film poduction in Walthamstow in the Silent Era By: John Kirk [ Read Abstract ] During the era of silent film production the British movie industry was far more widespread than it is today. When most people think of British films they think of Pinewood, Ealing, Hammer and Elstree. However in the days before sound the British film industry was not confined to a few affluent suburbs west of London. This article is based on the largely obscure history of motion picture production in the east London suburb of Walthamstow. Before the mid-1920s the area of Walthamstow was home to four film studios and an even greater number of film production companies. Between them they produced around 400 films which amounted to 6% of the British total in the years 1910-1930. The article looks at the history of these studios and the companies that ran them. It discusses how the studios became established in Walthamstow, the films that were made and the people who made them. The dual impact of the First World War and competition from Hollywood had a fatal affect on the Walthamstow industry and the article looks at the demise of the studios and the fate of the buildings, companies, personnel and films concerned. It concludes that, for the local historian this film industry is an important and fascinating part of the history of Walthamstow in particular and British film history in general. Reviews Editor's Round-up 2000 By: PETER CHRISTIE [ Read Abstract ] It seems like only yesterday that I was sitting down to pen this \'Round-Up\' yet a year has gone by and numerous books and magazines have come through my letterbox. As ever the journal cannot review all of these at length-yet some really cry out for a notice, albeit short. This is especially true for the really local \'local history\' books. So many are published it almost seems wrong to choose one over another. An excellent and slightly unusual one is The History of Romsey. This has been produced by the Lower Test Valley Archaeological Study Group and its parentage shows in that its three sections covering Prehistory to 1550, 1550-1901 and 1901-2000 are roughly equal-a very unusual achievement and one that is clearly the result of the combined efforts of both historians and archaeologists. The book itself is written in a very chatty style and covers points not often touched on, for example, the arrival of the telephone and cockfighting. I especially warmed to Bartram Attlee, town clerk, solicitor, world champion penny farthing rider and amateur ventriloquist. Readers of the Reviews Section will know I am partial to commissioning notices of \'Records Publications\', feeling them to be the basic building blocks of our discipline. Keith Lindley and David Scott have edited The Journal of Thomas Juxon 1644-1647 for the Royal Historical Society, their subject having been a prominent sugar merchant in London during these turbulent years. His journal reveals his Puritan and political sympathies as well as his family and business connections with Surrey, Somerset, Sussex and Ireland. His anti-Scottish feelings are also made plain! Local historians rarely tackle politics, but with such rich material as this being made easily available there is no reason not to think again. Samuel Johnson wrote \'When two Englishmen meet, their first talk is of the weather\' yet rarely has it been a subject for local historians. Margaret Williams and John Stevenson have, however, produced The Weather Diary of Sir John Wittewronge of Rothamsted 1684-1689. The authors have meticulously edited the diary, commenting on the information it gives about early weather patterns as well as pests and crops. This material is of interest not just to Hertfordshire residents but has a wider resonance in these days of global climate change and massive flooding in Britain. Moving from one unusual subject to another it is odd that when one considers how central music is to our enjoyment of life how little coverage of it appears in published local histories. It has, of course, been an ephemeral art for much of history-yet a new book by Norman Staveley shows just what can be done to chronicle this field. His Two Centuries of Music in Hull is a masterly treatment. The author says \'I wanted to fill, in part, the void left by the several histories of Hull in their all-too-fleeting references to music as the vital part of the social, recreational and educational aspects of the City which it undoubtedly was and should continue to be.\' He has a novel approach and the book is a useful pointer to this little-explored area. If music makes for an unusual subject matter then what can one make of the next book? A small research group has put out the oddly-titled history of Reading volunteers in the Spanish Civil War, We Cannot Park on Both Sides. Although only 12 volunteers went to Spain, the book is a wonderfully full treatment of the whole story of the conflict written from a very local British viewpoint. The chapter on sources and the difficulties of their use should be read by all who are working with twentieth century material. Moving from this rather exotic material to the more mainstream it is a pleasure to welcome the next two publications. Anyone writing the history of a British town for the nineteenth century will have had occasion to try and access the town surveys and maps generated by the Reform Act of 1832. The former of these gives a complete breakdown of the municipal organisation of each borough in the country-Coventry, for example, takes 47 pages-whilst the maps themselves are a \'unique snapshot of the British Isles at a critical point of history, just before the railways changed the rural to urban\'. A company new to me has had the good idea of placing the entire text and maps on to CD-Rom and, even though it doesn\'t run on Macs, only costs £39.95. The second of these mainstream works concerns the operation of the Poor Law in England and Wales which has long been a favourite subject with authors-after all the inherent interest of the Workhouse and the detail of the Settlement laws are a great attraction. Rarely, however, have researchers turned their attention to the earliest years, probably because records are very scarce. The Dugdale Society has now published Steve Hindle \' s The Birthpangs of Welfare: poor relief and parish governance in seventeenth century Warwickshire. This is based on a set of overseer\'s accounts from 39 contiguous parishes in the county for 1638-39. Analysis reveals a fairly complex system of parish poor relief already in place and makes one reconsider commonly-held ideas about amateurish and disjointed local organisation at this date. Lists of paupers are given, but sadly are unindexed-but for anyone interested in Warwickshire or the workings of the early Poor Law this slim volume is a must. I have noted before in an earlier \'Round-Up\' the difficulties associated with writing the history of local industries. Notoriously scarce archives have meant such histories have been few, but luckily researchers have striven to fill such gaps in whatever way they can. Michael Winstanley has edited material from six contributors to produce Rural Industries of the Lune Valley. The handsomely produced book covers textiles, quarries, coalpits, basket and hat making in this small area of Lancashire in some detail. Although it is a serious academic work, the material has been written up in a very accessible manner and anyone contemplating similar studies would be well advised to obtain this book, both to use as model and to access the very full bibliographies each section boasts. I have written before about the marvellous little books put out by Shire Publications and a new one is equal to the best. Trevor May has written The Victorian Railway Worker which, in its 32 pages, manages to cover an immense amount of material, all of it illustrated with a selection of wonderful images even though, as May notes, \'The great age of railway building was completed before photography became commonplace. \' The most interesting thing about the book is its coverage of the many ancillary staff not directly employed on trains such as the printers, policemen, laundresses and horsemen. Moving from a narrowly focused history to one that takes the history of London as its subject matter is a huge jump, but no-one is perhaps better fitted to attempt to pin down the essence of the city than Francis Sheppard, for many years editor of the multi- volume \'Survey of London\'. The paperback version of his London A History has now been published and its 442 pages cover the city from its Roman foundation up until the mid-1990s. Some 65 pages of this total are references, which gives some idea of the depth of research one has to undertake to tackle a history of the capital. The book\'s main strength, however, is its readability. One can \'dip in\' or \'plough through\' but both approaches yield insights into the story of this our greatest city. I cannot resist ending this year\'s \'Round-Up\' by noting two really unusual books. Overt and public controversy rarely disturbs the world of local history, but in 1998 a 4,OOO-year-old timber henge monument was discovered on a North Norfolk beach. This was an amazing discovery but within days massive arguments broke out over what it represented and what should be done with it. In his beautifully illustrated book Matthew Champion records the whole eventful story and makes some important points about the academic versus populist views of our subject-as indicated in chapter titles such as \'Diggers, Druids and Debates\' and \'Time Team Trauma\'. Direct action met archaeology head on in Norfolk-and it has to be said both sides came out bruised. Dismiss them or not most readers of this journal will have come across ley lines. I don\'t want to enter the debate over whether these \'Straight lines in the landscape\' exist or not but I cannot help but admire Leys by Danny Sullivan for its beautiful appearance; the book is a real pleasure to both look at and read, even if the author can\'t spell Ordnance Survey. It won\'t change anyone\'s minds one way or the other but it does show how intrinsically attractive a book can be made. Reviews Recent publications in local history
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