Gerald Aylmer
Encyclopedia
Gerald Edward Aylmer was an English
historian
of seventeenth-century England
.
Gerald Aylmer was the only child of Edward Arthur Aylmer, from an Anglo-Irish
naval family, and Phoebe Evans. A great-uncle was Lord Desborough
. Educated at Beaudesert Park School
and Winchester College
, he went up to Balliol College, Oxford
for a term before volunteering for the Navy
, where he was a shipmate of George Melly
. Returning to Balliol, he was tutored by Christopher Hill
. He graduated in 1950, spent a year at Princeton University
and completed his thesis, 'Studies on the Institutions and Personnel of English Central Administration, 1625–42' (1954) as a Junior Research Fellow at Balliol. The thesis, in two volumes, was 1208 pages long: the Modern History Board subsequently introduced a word-limit.)
In 1954, Alymer went to Manchester University as an assistant lecturer, and in the following year married Ursula Nixon. Appointed lecturer at Manchester in 1962, he was then invited, aged 36, to become the first Professor of History at York University
. In 1979, he returned to Oxford
as Master
of St Peter's College
, presiding over an improvement in academic performance at the college, increased endowment and building extensions before retiring in 1991. He remained an active publisher for the remaining nine years of his life before dying in hospital
following what appeared to be routine surgery
.
In 1993 Aylmer was honoured with a festschrift
edited by his long-time colleagues John Morrill
and Paul Slack
and his former doctoral student Daniel Woolf
.
Aylmer was on the Editorial Board of the History of Parliament Trust from 1968 to 1998, and chaired the board from 1989 to 1997. A Commissioner for Historical Manuscripts from 1978, he chaired the Commission from 1989 to 1989. He was elected Fellow of the British Academy in 1976, and President of the Royal Historical Society
between 1984 and 1988.
Alymer's most substantial historical contribution was his trilogy on seventeenth-century administration before, during and after the Civil War
. Alymer brought a prosopographical
method to the study of seventeenth-century bureaucracy, as well as an interest in the political sociology of bureaucracy in Max Weber
, James Burnham
and Milovan Djilas. The first volume – a careful statistical study of Charles I's officials – effectively rebutted Hugh Trevor-Roper's attribution of the rise of the gentry to the profits of royal office, and characterisation of the Civil War as a conflict between 'rising' and 'declining' gentry. The second volume showed that Interregnum reforms had real, if not absolute, effects; the third, published posthumously, treated the partial return to older practices under Charles II. In this final volume, Aylmer described himself as 'an old Whig
(and one with some residual Leveller leanings too)".
Aylmer's publications up to 1990 are listed in his Festschrift.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
of seventeenth-century England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Gerald Aylmer was the only child of Edward Arthur Aylmer, from an Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish was a term used primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries to identify a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until...
naval family, and Phoebe Evans. A great-uncle was Lord Desborough
William Grenfell, 1st Baron Desborough
William Henry Grenfell, 1st Baron Desborough, KG, GCVO, was an athlete, sportsman, public servant and politician. He sat in the House of Commons firstly for the Liberal Party and then for the Conservatives between 1880 and 1905 when he was raised to the peerage...
. Educated at Beaudesert Park School
Beaudesert Park School
Beaudesert Park School is a prep school in Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire for 4-13 year olds. There are about 400 pupils in the prep school and the pre-prep combined...
and Winchester College
Winchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
, he went up to Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
for a term before volunteering for the Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, where he was a shipmate of George Melly
George Melly
Alan George Heywood Melly was an English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer and lecturer. From 1965 to 1973 he was a film and television critic for The Observer and lectured on art history, with an emphasis on surrealism.-Early life and career:He was born in Liverpool and was educated at Stowe...
. Returning to Balliol, he was tutored by Christopher Hill
Christopher Hill
Christopher Hill may refer to:*Christopher Hill , English bishop*Christopher J. Hill, International Relations scholar, Professor and Director of the Cambridge Centre of International Studies*Christopher R. Hill, U.S. Ambassador in Iraq...
. He graduated in 1950, spent a year at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and completed his thesis, 'Studies on the Institutions and Personnel of English Central Administration, 1625–42' (1954) as a Junior Research Fellow at Balliol. The thesis, in two volumes, was 1208 pages long: the Modern History Board subsequently introduced a word-limit.)
In 1954, Alymer went to Manchester University as an assistant lecturer, and in the following year married Ursula Nixon. Appointed lecturer at Manchester in 1962, he was then invited, aged 36, to become the first Professor of History at York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
. In 1979, he returned to Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
as Master
Master (college)
A Master is the title of the head of some colleges and other educational institutions. This applies especially at some colleges and institutions at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge .- See also :* Master A Master (or in female form Mistress) is the title of the head of some...
of St Peter's College
St Peter's College, Oxford
St Peter's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, located in New Inn Hall Street. It occupies the site of two of the University's oldest Inns, or medieval hostels - Bishop Trellick's, later New Inn Hall, and Rose Hall - both of which were...
, presiding over an improvement in academic performance at the college, increased endowment and building extensions before retiring in 1991. He remained an active publisher for the remaining nine years of his life before dying in hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
following what appeared to be routine surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
.
In 1993 Aylmer was honoured with a festschrift
Festschrift
In academia, a Festschrift , is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during his or her lifetime. The term, borrowed from German, could be translated as celebration publication or celebratory writing...
edited by his long-time colleagues John Morrill
John Morrill (historian)
John Morrill FBA is a British historian. He specialises in the political, religious, social and cultural histories of early-modern Britain....
and Paul Slack
Paul Slack
Paul Alexander Slack FBA is a British historian. He is a former Principal of Linacre College, Oxford, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, and Professor of Early Modern Social History in the University of Oxford.-Life:...
and his former doctoral student Daniel Woolf
Daniel Woolf
Daniel Robert Woolf is a British/Canadian historian. He is the Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, a position to which he was appointed in January 2009 and took up as of September 1, 2009...
.
Aylmer was on the Editorial Board of the History of Parliament Trust from 1968 to 1998, and chaired the board from 1989 to 1997. A Commissioner for Historical Manuscripts from 1978, he chaired the Commission from 1989 to 1989. He was elected Fellow of the British Academy in 1976, and President of the Royal Historical Society
Royal Historical Society
The Royal Historical Society was founded in 1868. The premier society in the United Kingdom which promotes and defends the scholarly study of the past, it is based at University College London...
between 1984 and 1988.
Alymer's most substantial historical contribution was his trilogy on seventeenth-century administration before, during and after the Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. Alymer brought a prosopographical
Prosopography
In historical studies, prosopography is an investigation of the common characteristics of a historical group, whose individual biographies may be largely untraceable, by means of a collective study of their lives, in multiple career-line analysis...
method to the study of seventeenth-century bureaucracy, as well as an interest in the political sociology of bureaucracy in Max Weber
Max Weber
Karl Emil Maximilian "Max" Weber was a German sociologist and political economist who profoundly influenced social theory, social research, and the discipline of sociology itself...
, James Burnham
James Burnham
James Burnham was an American popular political theorist, best known for his influential work The Managerial Revolution, published in 1941. Burnham was a radical activist in the 1930s and an important factional leader of the American Trotskyist movement. In later years he left Marxism and produced...
and Milovan Djilas. The first volume – a careful statistical study of Charles I's officials – effectively rebutted Hugh Trevor-Roper's attribution of the rise of the gentry to the profits of royal office, and characterisation of the Civil War as a conflict between 'rising' and 'declining' gentry. The second volume showed that Interregnum reforms had real, if not absolute, effects; the third, published posthumously, treated the partial return to older practices under Charles II. In this final volume, Aylmer described himself as 'an old Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
(and one with some residual Leveller leanings too)".
Works
- The King's Servants. The Civil Service of Charles I, 1961
- The State's Servants. The Civil Service of the English Republic, 1649-1660, 1973. ISBN 9780710076373
- The Struggle for the Constitution 1603-88, 1963. 4th ed, 1975.
- (ed.) The Interregnum: the Quest for Settlement, 1972
- The Levellers in the English Revolution, 1975. ISBN 9780801409578
- (ed. as microfilm edition) The Clarke Manuscripts at Worcester College, Oxford, 1979
- (with John MorrillJohn MorrillJohn Francis Morrill , nicknamed "Honest John," was an American first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball who played from 1876-1890. Over the years he played all positions. Although he pitched a couple of games each season, he was primarily an infielder, and had a career batting average of...
), The Civil War and Interregnum: Sources for Local Historians, 1979 - Rebellion or Revolution? England 1640-1660, 1986
- The Crown's Servants: Government and Civil Service under Charles II 1660-85, 2002. ISBN 9780198208266
Aylmer's publications up to 1990 are listed in his Festschrift.