English Local History: An Introduction

Abstract

Teachers and students of local history will be familiar with the first or second editions of Kate Tiller’s English Local History, which provide excellent guides to those who want to embark on this form of study. She is a distinguished historian of post-eighteenth century social and local history and has also developed courses and taught many students through Oxford University’s Department for Continuing Education. This recent edition, produced by a different publishing house, is a much-needed rewriting of the second edition of 1992, which takes account of new research and writing and, of course, the availability of online resources. It is also profusely illustrated with high-quality black-and-white images, graphs and maps. The structure remains broadly the same as before, but the content has changed considerably. Chapter 1, entitled ‘Beginning Local History’, is an excellent guide to those starting local research and to the traditions of historical writing since the Anglo-Saxons including, especially, recent trends in a substantially extended section compared to previous editions. The remaining chapters cover, respectively, local history during the Saxon centuries (chapter 2); medieval communities (chapter 3); the early modern period, c. 1530 to c.1750 (chapter 4); c. 1750 to 1914 (chapter 5) and the twentieth century and beyond (chapter 6). The chapters explore historical developments in each period – context and themes – followed by local case studies: many of the latter relate to the geographical area covered by Midland History. The chapters also introduce the principal sources for local history in each period. The notes are particularly thorough and the further reading refers to appropriate methodological works, general surveys and monographs. This book has many qualities, not least its readability and thoroughness. It is also an excellent survey of how we make sense of English history and investigate what has shaped local communities, economies and cultures. I hope, therefore, that it appears in bibliographies of period studies and historiography as well as local and regional history. The publication is especially prescient at a time when local history is disparaged by many academic historians and many courses have declined, not least through the closure of extramural programmes (Oxford University is an exception). One positive way forward, might be through identity history. Academic history has adapted to studies of gender, race and sexuality, but for many people place, however defined, is a central source of meaning, even though the significance of the local compared to the global is dismissed in many circles. At a time when investment in museums, libraries, archives and other community venues is falling, the book justifies the local and how to make sense of place. It is an important piece of writing, which supports the work of those who appreciate local and regional history and promote and project its value. It should be in every school and library as well as in the hands of every practitioner. Malcolm Dick University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK