New Directions in Local History Since Hoskins

Overview

Utilizing the techniques developed by renowned local historian W. G. Hoskins in his landmark study published 50 years ago, Local History in England, this book demonstrates how local history has evolved as a discipline over the last half century. Fifteen historians write about a variety of local history subjects that are significant in their own right but which also point to current trends in the field. They show how local historians use their sources systematically, from the nonverbal evidence of buildings to various types of electronic sources. All periods between the middle ages and the early twenty-first century are explored, covering many parts of England from Skye to the Kent coast and discussing topics that include social, economic, religious, legal, intellectual, and cultural history.

Author Biography

Christopher Dyer is the Leverhulme Emeritus Professor of Regional and Local History and the former director of the Center for English Local History at the University of Leicester. He is the author of Deserted Villages Revisited and Lords and Peasants in a Changing Society: The Estates of the Bishopric of Worcester, 680–1540. Andrew Hopper is a lecturer in English local history at the University of Leicester. Evelyn Lord is the staff tutor in local history for the Institute of Continuing Education at the University of Cambridge. She is review editor of the Local Historian and the author of The Hellfire Clubs: Sex, Satanism, and Secret Societies and Knights Templar in Britain. Nigel Tringham is a lecturer in Anglo-Saxon and medieval history at the University of Keele and the county editor responsible for writing the Victoria County History of Staffordshire. He is also a member of the Council and Management Committee of the British Association for Local History.