Victoria County History
Encyclopedia
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
project which began in 1899 and was dedicated to Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of England
Historic counties of England
The historic counties of England are subdivisions of England established for administration by the Normans and in most cases based on earlier Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and shires...
.
General
Institute of Historical Research
The Institute of Historical Research is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate House. The Institute was founded in 1921 by A. F...
at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
.
From the beginning, the responsibility for writing the volumes was delegated to local editors for each individual county. The county editors work under the direction of a general editor, following a uniform format and style. From 1902 the joint general editors were A. Henry Doubleday and William Page
William Henry Page
William Henry Page was a prolific and pioneering historian and editor. For the last three decades of his life was general editor of the Victoria County History.-Life:...
. Doubleday left in 1904, leaving Page as sole general editor until his death in 1934. Page was succeeded by L.F. Salzman
Louis Francis Salzman
Louis Francis Salzman was a British economic historian who specialised in the medieval period.He was born in Brighton in 1878, the son of Dr. F.W. Salzmann, and educated at Haileybury College and Pembroke College, Cambridge...
, who remained general editor until 1949.
The first VCH volume was published in 1901, and publication continued slowly throughout the twentieth century, although in some counties it has come to a halt, especially during the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and again in the 1970s. Some inactive counties have been reactivated, most recently Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
in 2009.
There are now more than 230 VCH volumes, with about three new volumes published per year. Each is published with a red cover, and they are therefore sometimes known as "the big red books". When the Institute of Historical Research published a short history of the project to mark the 75th anniversary of taking it over, it was titled "The Little Big Red Book".
From 1909 until 1931 Frederick Smith, later 2nd Viscount Hambleden
Viscount Hambleden
Viscount Hambleden, of Hambleden in the County of Buckinghamshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1891 for Emily Danvers Smith, in honour of her deceased husband, the businessman and Conservative politician William Henry Smith...
was the VCH's major sponsor. In February 2005 the Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
awarded the VCH £3,374,000 to fund the England's Past for Everyone
England's Past for Everyone
', commonly known as EPE, is a Heritage Lottery funded project run by the Victoria County History.Authors and researchers are working alongside volunteers in ten counties to produce 15 paperback publications, an interactive website, and schools and learning resources.- General :' is a...
project.
Structure of the county histories
In general, the histories begin with one or more volumes of general studies of the County as a whole, followed by detailed historical surveys of each HundredHundred (division)
A hundred is a geographic division formerly used in England, Wales, Denmark, South Australia, some parts of the United States, Germany , Sweden, Finland and Norway, which historically was used to divide a larger region into smaller administrative divisions...
, parish by parish.
Completed county histories
Some of the county histories have been completed. For each of these, the number of volumes published and the date of completion is as follows:- BedfordshireBedfordshireBedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
(3 volumes) 1972 - BerkshireBerkshireBerkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
(4 volumes) 1972 - BuckinghamshireBuckinghamshireBuckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
(4 volumes) - CambridgeshireCambridgeshireCambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
(10 volumes) 2002 - HampshireHampshireHampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
(5 volumes) 1973 - HertfordshireHertfordshireHertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
(4 volumes) 1971 - HuntingdonshireHuntingdonshireHuntingdonshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, covering the area around Huntingdon. Traditionally it is a county in its own right...
(3 volumes) 1974 - LancashireLancashireLancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
(8 volumes) 1993 - RutlandRutlandRutland is a landlocked county in central England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....
(2 volumes) 1975 - SurreySurreySurrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
(4 volumes) 1967 - WarwickshireWarwickshireWarwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
(8 volumes) 1969 - WorcestershireWorcestershireWorcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
(4 volumes) 1971 - Yorkshire (North Riding)North Riding of YorkshireThe North Riding of Yorkshire was one of the three historic subdivisions of the English county of Yorkshire, alongside the East and West Ridings. From the Restoration it was used as a Lieutenancy area. The three ridings were treated as three counties for many purposes, such as having separate...
(2 volumes) 2002
Counties in progress
For each uncompleted county history on which work is continuing, the number of volumes published and the dates of the most recent are as follows:
- County DurhamCounty DurhamCounty Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
(4 volumes) 2005 - EssexEssexEssex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
(10 volumes) 2001 - GloucestershireGloucestershireGloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
(11 volumes) 1976 - MiddlesexMiddlesexMiddlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
(12 volumes) 2004 - NorthamptonshireNorthamptonshireNorthamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
(5 volumes) 2002 - NottinghamshireNottinghamshireNottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
(2 volumes) 1970 - OxfordshireOxfordshireOxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
(16 volumes) 2011 - SomersetSomerset Victoria County HistoryThe Somerset Victoria County History is an encyclopaedic history of the county of Somerset in England, forming part of the overall Victoria County History of England founded in 1899 in honour of Queen Victoria...
(10 volumes) 2010 - StaffordshireStaffordshireStaffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
(13 volumes) 2008 - SussexSussexSussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
(11 volumes) 1987 - WiltshireWiltshire Victoria County HistoryThe Wiltshire Victoria County History is an encyclopaedic history of the county of Wiltshire in England. It forms part of the overall Victoria County History of England founded in 1899 in honour of Queen Victoria...
(18 volumes) 2011 - East Riding of YorkshireEast Riding of YorkshireThe East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
(7 volumes) 2002
Dormant counties
- CheshireCheshireCheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
(6 volumes) 2005 - CornwallCornwallCornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
(1 volume in 2 parts) 1925 - CumberlandCumberlandCumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
(2 volumes) 1968 - DerbyshireDerbyshireDerbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
(2 volumes) 1907 - DevonDevonDevon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
(1 volume) 1906 - DorsetDorsetDorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
(2 volumes) 1968 - HerefordshireHerefordshireHerefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
(1 volume) 1975 - KentKentKent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
(3 volumes) 1974 - LeicestershireLeicestershireLeicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
(5 volumes) 1988 - LincolnshireLincolnshireLincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
(1 volume) - LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(1 volume) 1974 - NorfolkNorfolkNorfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
(2 volumes) 1975 - ShropshireShropshireShropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
(11 volumes) 1985 - SuffolkSuffolkSuffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
(2 volumes) 1975 - YorkshireYorkshireYorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
(general volumes & city of YorkYorkYork is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
) (4 volumes)
Counties with no published volumes
- NorthumberlandNorthumberlandNorthumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
- WestmorlandWestmorlandWestmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...
- Yorkshire (West Riding)West Riding of YorkshireThe West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
General editors
- William Henry PageWilliam Henry PageWilliam Henry Page was a prolific and pioneering historian and editor. For the last three decades of his life was general editor of the Victoria County History.-Life:...
(General Editor 1904–34) - Louis Francis SalzmanLouis Francis SalzmanLouis Francis Salzman was a British economic historian who specialised in the medieval period.He was born in Brighton in 1878, the son of Dr. F.W. Salzmann, and educated at Haileybury College and Pembroke College, Cambridge...
(General Editor 1934–49) - Ralph PughRalph PughRalph Bernard Pugh was an historian and editor of the Victoria History of the Counties of England from 1949 to 1977....
(General Editor 1949–77) - Christopher ElringtonChristopher ElringtonChristopher Robin Elrington was an English historian, known primarily for his work with the Victoria County History. Elrington was born in Farnborough, as the second of three sons of Brigadier Maxwell Elrington, and his wife Beryl. Christopher's father died in active service in Germany, while the...
(General Editor 1977–94)
Notable county editors
- Peter DitchfieldPeter DitchfieldRev. Peter Hempson Ditchfield, FSA was a Church of England priest, an historian and a prolific author. He is notable for having co-edited three Berkshire volumes of the Victoria County History which were published between 1907 and 1924.-Life:...
(former Berkshire editor) - Mary LobelMary LobelProfessor Mary Doreen Lobel, OBE was an historian who edited several volumes of the Victoria County History and a three-volume British Atlas of Historic Towns.-Life:...
(former Oxfordshire editor) - J. Horace RoundJohn Horace RoundHorace Round was a historian and genealogist of the English medieval period. He translated the Domesday Book for Essex into contemporary English. As an expert in the history of the British peerage he was appointed Honorary Historical Adviser to the Crown.-Family and early life:Round was born on 22...
(former Essex editor) - John William Willis-BundJohn William Willis-BundJohn William Bund Willis-Bund was an historian and local Worcestershire politician.Willis-Bund was born in 1843 at Wick Episcopi, Worcestershire, the son of John Walpole Willis and his second wife Ann Susanna Kent Bund. The adoption of his mother's surname was necessary in order to inherit from...
(former Worcestershire editor)
External links
- Victoria County History online
- VCH texts at www.british-history.ac.uk
- England’s Past for Everyone
- The Victoria County History at Boydell & Brewer
- Professor Christopher Elrington - Daily Telegraph obituary