William Henry Page
Encyclopedia
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
.
, London
on 4 September 1861, the fifth of six children of Henry and Georgina Page. He was schooled locally at Dr Westmacott's School and then entered Westminster School
, where his education was cut short by the death of his father in 1875.
Georgina then moved the family to Lewisham
and Page was articled
to a civil engineer
. Page had two older brothers, one of whom moved to Australia. Page completed his articles and in about 1881 followed him to take up an engineering post with the Government of Queensland
. Page returned to London in 1884.
Page's eldest sister became married to the record agent and antiquarian
William John Hardy, who employed Page from 1885. The business later became the partnership of Page and Hardy, with an office in Lincoln's Inn
.
In 1886 Page became married to Kate Marion Rowe. They settled in Forest Hill
and had a daughter (Dorothy) and a son.
As a record agent Page frequented the Public Record Office at its then premises in Chancery Lane
, where W. J. Hardy's uncle Thomas Duffus Hardy
had been deputy keeper since 1861, succeeded by Hardy's father. Page developed an interest in historical records, was elected to the Society of Antiquaries
in 1887 and published his first article the next year.
. His first article, published in 1888, was about the Northumbrian palatinates and regalities. He followed this with editions of three early assize
rolls of Northumberland (1891), the cartulary of Brinkburn Priory
(1893), a table of the pontifical years of the bishops of Durham (1896), and an edition of the Edwardine
inventories of church goods for County Durham
, Northumberland and Yorkshire
(1897).
Page started to work on aspects of the history of Hertfordshire
, where his brother-in-law and sister lived. In 1896 he moved to St Albans
, where in 1897 he became assistant secretary of the St Albans Architectural and Archaeological Society. In the same year he helped the archaeological excavation of the churchyard of St Michael's parish church
and in 1898-1902 helped the Rev. C.V. Bicknell to excavate the forum of Verulamium
. Also in 1898 Page helped to found the Hertfordshire County Museum
. Page remained a St Albans Architectural and Archaeological Society member after he later moved away from Hertfordshire.
& Co, in which Doubleday was a partner. Doubleday formed the County History Syndicate, Ltd. to run the project. A friend of Page, J. Horace Round
, recommended Page to Doubleday as a suitable local editor for the VCH's Hertfordshire volumes. Round recommended that a model parish history be drafted and circulated to the VCH's other editors. Page prepared the history of Wheathampstead
in Hertfordshire, which was completed and circulated to VCH editors before the end of 1900. A History of the County of Hertford, Volume 1 was published in 1902 with Page named as co-editor.
In 1902 Page gave up his partnership with W.J. Hardy and became joint general editor of the VCH. Page helped Doubleday to set the VCH's founding principles: a co-operative project in which nationally reputable historians would contribute according to their various specialisms, using the new disciplines of archaeology and economic history as well as palaeography
and the systematic study of surviving ancient buildings, and covering all counties of England in a systematic and uniform style. Page and Doubleday wrote and circulated a full and detailed Guide for VCH writers, apparently in 1903.
In 1904 Doubleday left Constable & Co. and Page took over as general editor of the VCH. The VCH moved into offices adjoining Constable's in James Street (later Orange Street) off Haymarket and Page moved from St Alban's to a mansion block overlooking Battersea Park
. In 1906 Page moved again to Frognal
in Hampstead
.
family, and Page was able to rehire the staff.
Page expanded the VCH staff so that by 1915 it included four sub-editors, four architectural historians and more than 40 research and clerical workers. Most of the latter were young women who had recently completed degree courses at Oxford, Cambridge, London or the Scottish universities. Oxford and Cambridge did not allow women to graduate until 1920 and 1921 respectively, although they allowed them to sit examinations and receive their full results. Under Page, the VCH became one of the relatively few employers to offer women graduate-standard employment. However, the VCH's work on architectural history remained the preserve of a team of young men.
Page joined the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England
as an assistant commissioner in 1909 and became a commissioner in 1921. For the Commission he wrote historical summaries for the county inventories for Hertfordshire (published in 1911), Buckinghamshire
(published in two volumes in 1912 and 1913) and Essex
(published in four volumes between 1916 and 1913).
The First World War
induced a greater crisis for he VCH. Sales rapidly declined, staff left to join the armed services or take other war work and Page was obliged to suspend the project until the end of the War. Page instead spent the war editing a four-volume history of the kings and queens of England that was published from 1917 to 1922 and a two-volume economic history published in 1919.
Post-war economic conditions did not support resumption of the VCH project on its pre-war scale so The County History Syndicate was dissolved in 1920 and Page continued work unsalaried. In 1922 he secured the resumption of support from Frederick Smith, who was by now the 2nd Viscount Hambleden
. Smith moved home again to the new development of Middleton-on-Sea
in West Sussex
, taking with him 14 tons
of VCH materials. He had a wooden building large enough to house them all erected in his garden and continued work on editor's expenses only and still without a salary.
founded the University of London
's Institute of Historical Research
and in 1922 it provided the VCH with an office in its temporary accommodation in Malet Street
, London. However Page made little use of it and continued to work mostly from his garden headquarters in Middleton-on-Sea.
In 1931 Page's daughter Dorothy became married to Sir Richard Gregory, the editor of Nature. In 1932 the University of Oxford awarded Page an honorary
D. Litt.
In 1931 the Viscount Hambleden withdrew his family's support for the VCH. Page bought the rights to the name early in 1932 and transferred both ownership and management of the project to the IHR in 1933. The IHR created a VCH Committee, which elected Page as its first chairman and appointed him to continue as editor. However, in February 1934 Page died at home in Middleton at the age of 72.
Page was succeeded by the economic historian L.F. Salzman
, who had been on the VCH staff since 1904. The VCH's A History of the County of Berkshire, Volume 2, published in 1935, included an obituary and portrait photograph of Page.
Victoria County History
The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History or the VCH, is an English history project which began in 1899 and was dedicated to Queen Victoria with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of...
.
Life
William Page was born in PaddingtonPaddington
Paddington is a district within the City of Westminster, in central London, England. Formerly a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965...
, London
London
London 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...
on 4 September 1861, the fifth of six children of Henry and Georgina Page. He was schooled locally at Dr Westmacott's School and then entered Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
, where his education was cut short by the death of his father in 1875.
Georgina then moved the family to Lewisham
Lewisham
Lewisham is a district in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
and Page was articled
Articled clerk
An articled clerk, also known as an articling student, is an apprentice in a professional firm in Commonwealth countries. Generally the term arises in the accountancy profession and in the legal profession. The articled clerk signs a contract, known as "articles of clerkship", committing to a...
to a civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
. Page had two older brothers, one of whom moved to Australia. Page completed his articles and in about 1881 followed him to take up an engineering post with the Government of Queensland
Government of Queensland
The Government of Queensland is commonly known as the "Queensland Government".The form of the Government of Queensland is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1859, although it has been amended many times since then...
. Page returned to London in 1884.
Page's eldest sister became married to the record agent and antiquarian
Antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient objects of art or science, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts...
William John Hardy, who employed Page from 1885. The business later became the partnership of Page and Hardy, with an office in Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
.
In 1886 Page became married to Kate Marion Rowe. They settled in Forest Hill
Forest Hill, London
Forest Hill is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It situated between Dulwich and Sydenham. The area has enjoyed extensive investment since plans to extend the East London Line to Forest Hill were unveiled in 2004....
and had a daughter (Dorothy) and a son.
As a record agent Page frequented the Public Record Office at its then premises in Chancery Lane
Chancery Lane
Chancery Lane is the street which has been the western boundary of the City of London since 1994 having previously been divided between Westminster and Camden...
, where W. J. Hardy's uncle Thomas Duffus Hardy
Thomas Duffus Hardy
Sir Thomas Duffus Hardy was an English archivist and antiquary.-Life:He was the third son of Major Thomas Bartholomew Price Hardy, and belonged to a family several members of which had distinguished themselves in the British navy. Born at Port Royal in Jamaica, he crossed over to England and in...
had been deputy keeper since 1861, succeeded by Hardy's father. Page developed an interest in historical records, was elected to the Society of Antiquaries
Society of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...
in 1887 and published his first article the next year.
Early historical works: Northumberland and Hertfordshire
Page initially concentrated his historical interest on NorthumberlandNorthumberland
Northumberland 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...
. His first article, published in 1888, was about the Northumbrian palatinates and regalities. He followed this with editions of three early assize
Assizes
Assize or Assizes may refer to:Assize or Assizes may refer to:Assize or Assizes may refer to::;in common law countries :::*assizes , an obsolete judicial inquest...
rolls of Northumberland (1891), the cartulary of Brinkburn Priory
Brinkburn Priory
Brinkburn Priory lies on a bend of the River Coquet, some east of Rothbury, Northumberland, England.-Early history:It was founded by William Bertram, Baron of Mitford, in the reign of Henry I as an Augustinian priory...
(1893), a table of the pontifical years of the bishops of Durham (1896), and an edition of the Edwardine
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
inventories of church goods for County Durham
County Durham
County 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...
, Northumberland and Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire 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...
(1897).
Page started to work on aspects of the history of Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire 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...
, where his brother-in-law and sister lived. In 1896 he moved to St Albans
St Albans
St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...
, where in 1897 he became assistant secretary of the St Albans Architectural and Archaeological Society. In the same year he helped the archaeological excavation of the churchyard of St Michael's parish church
Church of St. Michael, St. Albans
St Michael's Church in St Albans is a parish church in the Church of England.-Background:It is, based upon the writing of Matthew Paris, believed to have been originally founded in AD948 by Abbot Ulsinus of St Albans...
and in 1898-1902 helped the Rev. C.V. Bicknell to excavate the forum of Verulamium
Verulamium Forum inscription
The Verulamium Forum Inscription is one of the many Roman inscriptions in Britain. It has been reconstructed as a large dedication slab from five small fragments found in 1955 during construction work in the yard of St Michael's School, St Albans...
. Also in 1898 Page helped to found the Hertfordshire County Museum
Museum of St Albans
The Museum of St Albans is a local museum in the city of St Albans, Hertfordshire, England.The museum was founded as the Hertfordshire County Museum in 1898. The museum presents the history of St Albans from the end of the Romans onwards...
. Page remained a St Albans Architectural and Archaeological Society member after he later moved away from Hertfordshire.
Victoria County History
In 1899 G.A. Gomme and H. Arthur Doubleday launched the Victoria County History through Archibald ConstableArchibald Constable
Archibald Constable was a Scottish publisher, bookseller and stationer.He was born at Carnbee, Fife, as the son of the land steward to the Earl of Kellie. In 1788 Archibald was apprenticed to Peter Hill, an Edinburgh bookseller, but in 1795 he started in business for himself as a dealer in rare...
& Co, in which Doubleday was a partner. Doubleday formed the County History Syndicate, Ltd. to run the project. A friend of Page, J. Horace Round
John Horace Round
Horace 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...
, recommended Page to Doubleday as a suitable local editor for the VCH's Hertfordshire volumes. Round recommended that a model parish history be drafted and circulated to the VCH's other editors. Page prepared the history of Wheathampstead
Wheathampstead
Wheathampstead is a village and civil parish in the City and District of St Albans, in Hertfordshire, England. It is north of St Albans and in the Hitchin and Harpenden parliamentary constituency....
in Hertfordshire, which was completed and circulated to VCH editors before the end of 1900. A History of the County of Hertford, Volume 1 was published in 1902 with Page named as co-editor.
In 1902 Page gave up his partnership with W.J. Hardy and became joint general editor of the VCH. Page helped Doubleday to set the VCH's founding principles: a co-operative project in which nationally reputable historians would contribute according to their various specialisms, using the new disciplines of archaeology and economic history as well as palaeography
Palaeography
Palaeography, also spelt paleography is the study of ancient writing. Included in the discipline is the practice of deciphering, reading, and dating historical manuscripts, and the cultural context of writing, including the methods with which writing and books were produced, and the history of...
and the systematic study of surviving ancient buildings, and covering all counties of England in a systematic and uniform style. Page and Doubleday wrote and circulated a full and detailed Guide for VCH writers, apparently in 1903.
In 1904 Doubleday left Constable & Co. and Page took over as general editor of the VCH. The VCH moved into offices adjoining Constable's in James Street (later Orange Street) off Haymarket and Page moved from St Alban's to a mansion block overlooking Battersea Park
Battersea Park
Battersea Park is a 200 acre green space at Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth in England. It is situated on the south bank of the River Thames opposite Chelsea, and was opened in 1858....
. In 1906 Page moved again to Frognal
Frognal
Frognal is an affluent area in North West London in the London Borough of Camden between Hampstead and West Hampstead. Frognal is also the name of the major road in the area.-History:...
in Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
.
Frederick Smith's sponsorship
The VCH published a number of volumes in its early years but progress with documenting the topography of parishes was slow. In 1907 the VCH's main financial supporter withdrew in dissatisfaction and Page was obliged to lay off staff. By 1909 the VCH had negotiated support from the soldier, businessman and politician Frederick Smith of the W H SmithW H Smith
WHSmith plc is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It is best known for its chain of high street, railway station, airport, hospital and motorway service station shops selling books, stationery, magazines, newspapers, and entertainment products...
family, and Page was able to rehire the staff.
Page expanded the VCH staff so that by 1915 it included four sub-editors, four architectural historians and more than 40 research and clerical workers. Most of the latter were young women who had recently completed degree courses at Oxford, Cambridge, London or the Scottish universities. Oxford and Cambridge did not allow women to graduate until 1920 and 1921 respectively, although they allowed them to sit examinations and receive their full results. Under Page, the VCH became one of the relatively few employers to offer women graduate-standard employment. However, the VCH's work on architectural history remained the preserve of a team of young men.
Page joined the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England
Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England
The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England was the body formerly responsible for documenting the records of English historical monuments. It was merged with English Heritage on 1 April 1999....
as an assistant commissioner in 1909 and became a commissioner in 1921. For the Commission he wrote historical summaries for the county inventories for Hertfordshire (published in 1911), Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire 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....
(published in two volumes in 1912 and 1913) and Essex
Essex
Essex 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...
(published in four volumes between 1916 and 1913).
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...
induced a greater crisis for he VCH. Sales rapidly declined, staff left to join the armed services or take other war work and Page was obliged to suspend the project until the end of the War. Page instead spent the war editing a four-volume history of the kings and queens of England that was published from 1917 to 1922 and a two-volume economic history published in 1919.
Post-war economic conditions did not support resumption of the VCH project on its pre-war scale so The County History Syndicate was dissolved in 1920 and Page continued work unsalaried. In 1922 he secured the resumption of support from Frederick Smith, who was by now the 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...
. Smith moved home again to the new development of Middleton-on-Sea
Middleton-on-Sea
Middleton-on-Sea is a small village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England, and is part of the built-up area of Bognor Regis, lying to the east of the town and neighbouring Felpham...
in West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
, taking with him 14 tons
Long ton
Long ton is the name for the unit called the "ton" in the avoirdupois or Imperial system of measurements, as used in the United Kingdom and several other Commonwealth countries. It has been mostly replaced by the tonne, and in the United States by the short ton...
of VCH materials. He had a wooden building large enough to house them all erected in his garden and continued work on editor's expenses only and still without a salary.
Institute of Historical Research's involvement
In 1921 the historian Albert PollardAlbert Pollard
Albert Frederick Pollard was a British historian who specialized in the Tudor period.-Life and career:Pollard was born in Ryde on the Isle of Wight. He was educated at Felsted School and Jesus College, Oxford where he achieved a first class honours in Modern History in 1891...
founded 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...
's Institute of Historical Research
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...
and in 1922 it provided the VCH with an office in its temporary accommodation in Malet Street
Malet Street
Malet Street is a street in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, central London, England. It runs between Torrington Place and the British Museum, parallel to Gower Street and Tottenham Court Road...
, London. However Page made little use of it and continued to work mostly from his garden headquarters in Middleton-on-Sea.
In 1931 Page's daughter Dorothy became married to Sir Richard Gregory, the editor of Nature. In 1932 the University of Oxford awarded Page an honorary
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
D. Litt.
Doctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters is a university academic degree, often a higher doctorate which is frequently awarded as an honorary degree in recognition of outstanding scholarship or other merits.-Commonwealth:...
In 1931 the Viscount Hambleden withdrew his family's support for the VCH. Page bought the rights to the name early in 1932 and transferred both ownership and management of the project to the IHR in 1933. The IHR created a VCH Committee, which elected Page as its first chairman and appointed him to continue as editor. However, in February 1934 Page died at home in Middleton at the age of 72.
Page was succeeded by the economic historian 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 had been on the VCH staff since 1904. The VCH's A History of the County of Berkshire, Volume 2, published in 1935, included an obituary and portrait photograph of Page.