THE CHURCHYARDS HANDBOOK by Peter Burman and Henry Stapleton
Published by Church House Publishing. pp199
The Churchyards Handbook is a guide to the history and significance of churchyards, theur care improvement and maintenance. It is updated every so often, the most recent 4th Edition being c2002. The copy I have is the 3rd Edition released in 1988. All are available very reasonably on Amazon.
At first glance it might seem to be pushing the limits of what could be considered relevant to Family History to include such a book as in the reviews, but in truth, this is quite a goldmine of useful and relevant information both for Family Historians and also for those concerned about understanding and protecting the places where their ancestors lie buried.
The book includes many beautiful black and white photos from various churchyards, and there is an informative 9 page guide to these photos at the front of the book. This is followed by a guide to understanding churchyards, the differences of terminology for cemeteries, graveyards, etc, and the impacts of various trends and fashions over the years. The explanations of different approaches to commemorating the dead in different centuries and for different social strata is very useful for the family historian, and helps us gain the maximum degree of information from the various headstones, monuments, and plaques that mark our own ancestors; and can tell us something about the social standing of the village or town at different periods in history.
Of course, it isn't just gravestones that adorn many churchyards, and there are explanations about other such features as sundials, lych gates and crosses - all of which can add further understanding of the church's development and standing in the local community, and offer insights into what our ancestors experienced and witnessed as they attended ceremonies there.
There are also many practical aspects within the book also, that might help the family historian keen to preserve or repair ancestral graves, with advice on, for example, repainting lettering, and who to consult for help and permissions required.
The next section is a lengthy guide to various legal considerations surrounding churchyards, their care, and the regulations surrounding burials and monuments etc. There is also an explanation about Closed and Redundant Churchyards and how they are affected. It is probably useful to have the latest edition of the guide if this is something that you are considering studying in detail, but even the older editions still provide a basic understanding of the laws and principles surrounding them, and should be adequate for most concerns.
There are sections about the keeping of records over the years - always a subject of fascination for genealogists - and suggestions for comemorating cremations and, for example, the dead of the Parish who have been buried elsewhere. These are living concerns and are things that the more we think about now the better future genealogists will be able to do their work! There is advice on recording gravestones and their inscriptions before even more or lost to us, and about caring for the plants and wildlife in many churchyards too.
In all then, this book is a very useful addition to any family historian who likes to visit the places where our ancestors worshipped and lie buried. It will help gain the maximum information and understanding from trips to the graveyard, and will enhance the experience considerably. It might also suggest new means of accessing information about lost burials and monuments!
Thursday, 19 November 2009
Apologies
Apologies for the lack of reviews recently but I've been reading a lot of Anglo-Saxon stuff the last few weeks - and sadly very few people will find that relevant to Family History!
Sunday, 4 October 2009
The Strange Laws of Old England by Nigel Cawthorne
The Strange Laws of Old England by Nigel Cawthorne
Piaktus Books 2004
Seemingly marketed as one of those trivia books that people pick up as presents when they haven't really got a clue what else to buy, I wasn't really expecting much of useful insight to come from this tome written by the man famous for his Sex Lives of Hollywood Goddesses!
However, on closer inspection he has also written a biography of Alexander the Great, so perhaps it isn't too surprising that the book is in fact a rich source of fascinating material - much of which sheds light on the legal conditions facing many of our ancestors... a tenuous connection maybe, but nevertheless a worthy expenditure of £5 if you are stuck looking for something to while away a long journey!
There's an interesting section on the various Courts that exist or pretend to exist across the land, and a summary of legal quirks from Feudal times, but it's when Cawthorne starts on those laws that would have affected the bulk of the population that it gets really interesting!
Whilst most people will be aware of the Puritan crackdown on anything that might carry the tainted whiff of enjoyment about it - and Cawthorne here mentions a legal quirk that questions whether Laws passed during the Commonwealth actually have any legal standing as they were pretended not to have been made after the Restoration - but were never specifically unmade either - there have been plenty of other laws enacted to curtail folks' fun... Though where the Act passed by James I that said young women were not to be seen in public unless their breasts were exposed to the nipple as a symbol of their virginity stands is anyone's guess, whilst an Ordinance in Montrose bans any animals - wild or domestic - from copulating in any public place within the city limits - the owner being liable for £15 fine and upto 25 days in gaol!
Food has often been the subject of strict regulation, and our ancestors must have faced a legal minefield at times, such as during Edward III's time when it became illegal to have more than two courses at a meal - with special provisions preventing people claiming that soup was instead a sauce! This monarch also had the time to ban anyone other than Royalty and Church folks from wearing fur - an Act that would be welcomed today, but which must have posed problems for the 'law abiding' poacher...
The section on 'Peculiar Punishments' has to be one of the most enlightening if not horrifying parts of the book as the occurrence of branding and mutilation seems to have been such a regular thing that many of our forebears must have had family members so affected, whilst visits to the stocks may have been a frequent experience for the homeless poor after Henry VII's time. Henry VIII on the other hand managed to have over 70,000 people executed during his reign - over 5 a day. Given the population at that time we could all find an ancestor or two that met their end this way if we can get the sources to go back far enough.
In short, this amusing book provides a lot of information in a very readable way, and presents a story of the tribulations our ancestors could have faced on a regular basis. It is always easy to assume that a relation in our tree who dies young had some disease or was killed fighting, but I wonder just how many of them met their end thanks to a legal system that could be impossible to stay clean of, and for which the penalties of failing to do so could be very harsh indeed!
Piaktus Books 2004
Seemingly marketed as one of those trivia books that people pick up as presents when they haven't really got a clue what else to buy, I wasn't really expecting much of useful insight to come from this tome written by the man famous for his Sex Lives of Hollywood Goddesses!
However, on closer inspection he has also written a biography of Alexander the Great, so perhaps it isn't too surprising that the book is in fact a rich source of fascinating material - much of which sheds light on the legal conditions facing many of our ancestors... a tenuous connection maybe, but nevertheless a worthy expenditure of £5 if you are stuck looking for something to while away a long journey!
There's an interesting section on the various Courts that exist or pretend to exist across the land, and a summary of legal quirks from Feudal times, but it's when Cawthorne starts on those laws that would have affected the bulk of the population that it gets really interesting!
Whilst most people will be aware of the Puritan crackdown on anything that might carry the tainted whiff of enjoyment about it - and Cawthorne here mentions a legal quirk that questions whether Laws passed during the Commonwealth actually have any legal standing as they were pretended not to have been made after the Restoration - but were never specifically unmade either - there have been plenty of other laws enacted to curtail folks' fun... Though where the Act passed by James I that said young women were not to be seen in public unless their breasts were exposed to the nipple as a symbol of their virginity stands is anyone's guess, whilst an Ordinance in Montrose bans any animals - wild or domestic - from copulating in any public place within the city limits - the owner being liable for £15 fine and upto 25 days in gaol!
Food has often been the subject of strict regulation, and our ancestors must have faced a legal minefield at times, such as during Edward III's time when it became illegal to have more than two courses at a meal - with special provisions preventing people claiming that soup was instead a sauce! This monarch also had the time to ban anyone other than Royalty and Church folks from wearing fur - an Act that would be welcomed today, but which must have posed problems for the 'law abiding' poacher...
The section on 'Peculiar Punishments' has to be one of the most enlightening if not horrifying parts of the book as the occurrence of branding and mutilation seems to have been such a regular thing that many of our forebears must have had family members so affected, whilst visits to the stocks may have been a frequent experience for the homeless poor after Henry VII's time. Henry VIII on the other hand managed to have over 70,000 people executed during his reign - over 5 a day. Given the population at that time we could all find an ancestor or two that met their end this way if we can get the sources to go back far enough.
In short, this amusing book provides a lot of information in a very readable way, and presents a story of the tribulations our ancestors could have faced on a regular basis. It is always easy to assume that a relation in our tree who dies young had some disease or was killed fighting, but I wonder just how many of them met their end thanks to a legal system that could be impossible to stay clean of, and for which the penalties of failing to do so could be very harsh indeed!
Tuesday, 8 September 2009
The Rebecca Riots by Christopher Schenk
The Rebecca Riots by Christopher Schenk
Longman 1985 (64pp) ISBN 0582221714
After a short period visiting Regency London it's back to our restless agrarian ancestors again for the latest book!
Longman books are largely written for school students, and as such provide introductory volumes for subjects that can inspire the reader to investigate further. This volume covers a series of riots in rural Wales in the early 1840s, ostensibly over the imposition of Road Tolls - but soon encompassing various rural labouring grievances including the Workhouses - and which tended to feature a ringleader dressed in women's clothing as a form of disguise - usually 'named' as Rebecca.
Using a combination of fictional presentation and original source material, largely drawn from newspaper reoprts and a diary kept by someone close to the events, Schenk provides the reader with an enjoyable outline of what the Rebecca Riots were about, and of the types of people involved or affected by them. And of how the authorities reacted to them.
In short, this book is a useful introduction for anyone with Welsh Rural ancestors who might have been caught up in the riots, and for anyone interested in how the rural poor fought against the national legal developments that they had no input into or vote upon.
Longman 1985 (64pp) ISBN 0582221714
After a short period visiting Regency London it's back to our restless agrarian ancestors again for the latest book!
Longman books are largely written for school students, and as such provide introductory volumes for subjects that can inspire the reader to investigate further. This volume covers a series of riots in rural Wales in the early 1840s, ostensibly over the imposition of Road Tolls - but soon encompassing various rural labouring grievances including the Workhouses - and which tended to feature a ringleader dressed in women's clothing as a form of disguise - usually 'named' as Rebecca.
Using a combination of fictional presentation and original source material, largely drawn from newspaper reoprts and a diary kept by someone close to the events, Schenk provides the reader with an enjoyable outline of what the Rebecca Riots were about, and of the types of people involved or affected by them. And of how the authorities reacted to them.
In short, this book is a useful introduction for anyone with Welsh Rural ancestors who might have been caught up in the riots, and for anyone interested in how the rural poor fought against the national legal developments that they had no input into or vote upon.
Sunday, 6 September 2009
A Country Camera 1844 - 1914 by Gordon Winter
A Country Camera 1844 - 1914 by Gordon Winter
Originally published 1966 reprinted by Penguin 1975
The earlier companion piece to Winter's A Cockney Camera, this wonderful collection is slightly less well organised than the latter volume, and sadly there seem to be fewer names attached to the folks in the photos. That aside however, this is another gem of a collection with some quite magnificent portraits and location shots. The cover, for example, is given over to a most impressive shot taken in 1857 of one Robert Morvinson who was born when the United States were still a British Colony!
Accompanying the photos is Winter's warm and informative text, giving information about the social context of the times, the people who were either in the photo or responsible for it being taken, and often some entertaining stories of how some of the sharpest early shots were located - including several that had been used as cloches in someone's vegetable garden!
Sometimes it is the fascinating locations shots that really grip the reader - such as the stunning street panorama of Castle Street, Farnham in the 1880s - other times it is the portraits that tell their stories of hardship, elegance, and bygone fashions which draw you in. But there's always something new to be found in the collection each time you browse through.
Covering all sorts of topics, such as old Crafts and Trades, village occasions, people at work and lesiure, hiring fairs, country 'sports', various forms of transport and all sorts of buildings from churches to pubs, this book will offer insights into the lives of our rural forbears in many different ways, and really bring home some of the occasions and feelings that we can only otherwise read about.
Originally published 1966 reprinted by Penguin 1975
The earlier companion piece to Winter's A Cockney Camera, this wonderful collection is slightly less well organised than the latter volume, and sadly there seem to be fewer names attached to the folks in the photos. That aside however, this is another gem of a collection with some quite magnificent portraits and location shots. The cover, for example, is given over to a most impressive shot taken in 1857 of one Robert Morvinson who was born when the United States were still a British Colony!
Accompanying the photos is Winter's warm and informative text, giving information about the social context of the times, the people who were either in the photo or responsible for it being taken, and often some entertaining stories of how some of the sharpest early shots were located - including several that had been used as cloches in someone's vegetable garden!
Sometimes it is the fascinating locations shots that really grip the reader - such as the stunning street panorama of Castle Street, Farnham in the 1880s - other times it is the portraits that tell their stories of hardship, elegance, and bygone fashions which draw you in. But there's always something new to be found in the collection each time you browse through.
Covering all sorts of topics, such as old Crafts and Trades, village occasions, people at work and lesiure, hiring fairs, country 'sports', various forms of transport and all sorts of buildings from churches to pubs, this book will offer insights into the lives of our rural forbears in many different ways, and really bring home some of the occasions and feelings that we can only otherwise read about.
Thursday, 3 September 2009
The Regency Underworld by Donald A. Low
The Regency Underworld by Donald A. Low
Originally published 1972 - revised 1999
Sutton Books ISBN 0750921226
For anyone expecting this to be a companion copy to Kellow Chesney's masterful 'The Victorian Underworld' (which I've read many times and will review at some point..) this book might prove a little disappointing - especially from a Family History perspective. The reason for this is the approach taken by Low is more general, with less specific detail about everyday life of the lower orders.
However, what he does do is put forward a very convincing argument that much of the popular image of the Victorian Underworld actually belongs to the Regency days, with writers such as Dickens drawing more on their memories of this period than their contemporary times.
The Regency Period was of course one of extravagance and display - the time of the Dandy and the Fop - and those without wealth still needed to act and dress as if they had money to spare. Low puts all this within the social context of such concerns as the Napoleonic Wars, the growth of the nouveau rich, and the move away from rural idylls.
The book is almost totally focused on London, and has a good study of the attitudes to crime and policing that developed from the late 18th Century into the early Victorian period, and how this impacted on those who carried out their underworld trades. There are also chapters dedicated to the Medical Underworld - with a lot of stories and information about the Resurrection Men and other dubious goings on - and a chapter on Gambling - a theme which underpins much of the background to the whole period. There is also a long chapter about the fictional exploits of the original Tom and Jerry which whilst being used to draw out real-life situations seems a little odd in the overall context of the book. It does however provide the opportunity for more magnificent contemporary illustrations, and this is an area that the book excels in throughout - the reproductions are superb and come from a wide range of sources that really provides the reader with a flavour of what London was like two hundred years ago!
So, whilst this book won't give the family historian quite the depth of understanding into their ancestors lives as 'The Victorian Underworld' does, it does provide a very readable and enjoyable overview of the background in which London ancestors in the Regency period got through their probably rather short allotted spans. Especially if they were of the better off sort!
Originally published 1972 - revised 1999
Sutton Books ISBN 0750921226
For anyone expecting this to be a companion copy to Kellow Chesney's masterful 'The Victorian Underworld' (which I've read many times and will review at some point..) this book might prove a little disappointing - especially from a Family History perspective. The reason for this is the approach taken by Low is more general, with less specific detail about everyday life of the lower orders.
However, what he does do is put forward a very convincing argument that much of the popular image of the Victorian Underworld actually belongs to the Regency days, with writers such as Dickens drawing more on their memories of this period than their contemporary times.
The Regency Period was of course one of extravagance and display - the time of the Dandy and the Fop - and those without wealth still needed to act and dress as if they had money to spare. Low puts all this within the social context of such concerns as the Napoleonic Wars, the growth of the nouveau rich, and the move away from rural idylls.
The book is almost totally focused on London, and has a good study of the attitudes to crime and policing that developed from the late 18th Century into the early Victorian period, and how this impacted on those who carried out their underworld trades. There are also chapters dedicated to the Medical Underworld - with a lot of stories and information about the Resurrection Men and other dubious goings on - and a chapter on Gambling - a theme which underpins much of the background to the whole period. There is also a long chapter about the fictional exploits of the original Tom and Jerry which whilst being used to draw out real-life situations seems a little odd in the overall context of the book. It does however provide the opportunity for more magnificent contemporary illustrations, and this is an area that the book excels in throughout - the reproductions are superb and come from a wide range of sources that really provides the reader with a flavour of what London was like two hundred years ago!
So, whilst this book won't give the family historian quite the depth of understanding into their ancestors lives as 'The Victorian Underworld' does, it does provide a very readable and enjoyable overview of the background in which London ancestors in the Regency period got through their probably rather short allotted spans. Especially if they were of the better off sort!
Saturday, 22 August 2009
Vanishing England by P.H. Ditchfield & Fred Roe
Vanishing England by P.H. Ditchfield & Fred Roe
Originally Published 1910
Having previously read P.H. Ditchfield's 'Charm of an English Village' this book was a little disappointing from a Family History perspective, as it doesn't match the individual location coverage of the earlier volume. However, as a general summary of the state of all things 'English' that the author considered to be under threat in 1910 it is as comprehensive a survey as one could hope for. It is also quite illuminating that the concerns shared by so many today were already being expressed by our ancestors a century ago!
Opening with chapters on Walled Towns, the architecture of old streets and lanes, and Castles, Ditchfield shows what soon becomes a recurrent ability to illustrate his arguments with detailed and knowledgeable examples from the length and breadth of England. Whilst this richness of detail and knowledge is quite fascinating however, after a while the reading becomes something of a wish-list of places one feels one must visit - and always in the back of the mind is the sorrowful worry that his examples may have since vanished themselves in the intervening century.
The many chapters cover a wide variety of other topics, including Prehistoric Remains, Old Bridges, and Old Municipal Buildings; but the chapters most likely to be of interest to Family Historians include those on Vanishing or Vanished Churches, Old Inns, and the Disappearance of Old Documents - a chapter of particular interest and of some considerable sorrow as Ditchfield recalls tales of previous mishaps that saw the destruction of many a parish record!
Although written a century ago, Ditchfield's concerns and suggestions for future preservation remain as urgent and as vital today as they have ever done, and the frequent reminders that each generation is simply the guardian of the past entrusted to keep it safe for future generations is a sentiment that many of those who hold office ought to remember far more diligently - not least those currently responsible for Swale Borough Council's continued desecrations!
The book is illustrated richly throughout by Fred Roe's evocative line sketches which bring many of the examples to a touching life, and which provide a change of emphasis from the repeated whistlestop trips across the country.
This book is well worth picking up if you see it available, or it can be read for free on the Internet at Project Gutenburg: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14742/14742-h/14742-h.htm
Perhaps the easiest option for those who find the solid writing of earlier generations somewhat heavy going is to put the name of the village or area you are interested in the search engine and see if Ditchfield has any comments or tales to pass on.
But however you read or dip into this book, I would challenge you not to start seeing the urban landscape within your own town in a rather different light!
Originally Published 1910
Having previously read P.H. Ditchfield's 'Charm of an English Village' this book was a little disappointing from a Family History perspective, as it doesn't match the individual location coverage of the earlier volume. However, as a general summary of the state of all things 'English' that the author considered to be under threat in 1910 it is as comprehensive a survey as one could hope for. It is also quite illuminating that the concerns shared by so many today were already being expressed by our ancestors a century ago!
Opening with chapters on Walled Towns, the architecture of old streets and lanes, and Castles, Ditchfield shows what soon becomes a recurrent ability to illustrate his arguments with detailed and knowledgeable examples from the length and breadth of England. Whilst this richness of detail and knowledge is quite fascinating however, after a while the reading becomes something of a wish-list of places one feels one must visit - and always in the back of the mind is the sorrowful worry that his examples may have since vanished themselves in the intervening century.
The many chapters cover a wide variety of other topics, including Prehistoric Remains, Old Bridges, and Old Municipal Buildings; but the chapters most likely to be of interest to Family Historians include those on Vanishing or Vanished Churches, Old Inns, and the Disappearance of Old Documents - a chapter of particular interest and of some considerable sorrow as Ditchfield recalls tales of previous mishaps that saw the destruction of many a parish record!
Although written a century ago, Ditchfield's concerns and suggestions for future preservation remain as urgent and as vital today as they have ever done, and the frequent reminders that each generation is simply the guardian of the past entrusted to keep it safe for future generations is a sentiment that many of those who hold office ought to remember far more diligently - not least those currently responsible for Swale Borough Council's continued desecrations!
The book is illustrated richly throughout by Fred Roe's evocative line sketches which bring many of the examples to a touching life, and which provide a change of emphasis from the repeated whistlestop trips across the country.
This book is well worth picking up if you see it available, or it can be read for free on the Internet at Project Gutenburg: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14742/14742-h/14742-h.htm
Perhaps the easiest option for those who find the solid writing of earlier generations somewhat heavy going is to put the name of the village or area you are interested in the search engine and see if Ditchfield has any comments or tales to pass on.
But however you read or dip into this book, I would challenge you not to start seeing the urban landscape within your own town in a rather different light!
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