Defending Leicestershire and Rutland
By Mike Osborne
Published by Fonthill Media 2017. ISBN 978-1-78155-578-1 - 208 pages, 155 x 203mm. Also available as an E-book
Leicestershire
and
Rutland,
occupying
the
area
between
the
Great
North
Road
and
Watling
Street,
have
seen
the
movement
of
armies
from
Roman
times
to
the
Civil
War,
with
the
decisive battles of Bosworth and Naseby fought within or close to their borders.
The
Victorian
era
saw
the
development
of
both
the
Regular
and
Volunteer
forces
that
would
later
fight
in
two
world
wars,
while
the
development
of
military
flight
in
both
defensive
and
offensive
roles
was
a
twentieth-century
focus.
Leicestershire
and
Rutland
witnessed
Zeppelin
attacks
in
the
First
World
War;
jet
engines
and
US
airborne
forces
in
the
Second
World
War;
and elements of Britain's nuclear deterrent during the Cold War.
The
eavesdroppers
of
the
T
Service
at
Beaumanor
Hall
provided
much
of
the
raw
material
for
Bletchley
Park's
codebreakers
during
the
Second
World
War.
Evidence
of
this
military
activity
is
visible
in
the
landscape:
castles
of
earthwork,
stone,
or
brick;
barracks
and
volunteer
drill
halls;
airfields,
missile
sites,
and
munitions
factories;
and
pillboxes,
observer
corps
posts,
and
bunkers.
Defending
Leicestershire
and
Rutland
places
defensive
sites
into
their
social,
political,
historical,
and
military
contexts;
this
volume
also
examines
the
importance
that
figures
such
as William the Conqueror, Richard lll, and Oliver Cromwell had on the counties.
Researching Rutland
Copyright © Rutland Local History and Record Society. - All rights reserved
Registered Charity No 700273
Book Review
Researching Rutland
© Rutland Local History and Record Society
Registered Charity No 700273
Book Review
William Browne’s Town: The Stamford Hall Book 1465-1492
Stamford Survey Group in association with Stamford Town Council and
Stamford Civic Trust
Stamford is fortunate to have a Hall Book, a record of the council minutes
of the town. Until now it has remained in the town’s archives only to be
seen by historians with an appointment. With this transcript Alan Rogers
has made the first part of the Hall Book accessible to all and we are given
the opportunity to step back in time and discover what life was really like
in the fifteenth century. Future volumes are planned which will continue
the story of Stamford’s town affairs.
The book gives a remarkable insight into the lives of townspeople in
medieval England covering the years from 1465, shortly after the town’s
incorporation, until 1489 just after the death of William Browne. William
Browne was a very rich and important Merchant of the Staple. He
controlled the affairs of the town during this period, serving as Alderman
on several occasions. His legacy to Stamford is All Saints’ Church and
Browne’s Hospital.
As today, rules and regulations governed the lives of townsfolk. The
minutes record laws forbidding Sunday trading and fines for leaving
horses tied up in the wrong places on market days – as the editor
comments, ‘There were parking penalties even in medieval Stamford’. We
also find that there were designated places for dunghills and times when
animals could be brought into town. From this book we learn how law
and order was enforced and the punishments meted out to wrongdoers.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the volume is the tremendous
number of different trades pursued in the town. The wardens strictly
controlled the craftsmen to ensure the quality of goods and there was a
diversity of rules governing the guilds and the pageant of Corpus Christi.
Alan Rogers has had close links with Stamford and readers will no doubt
be familiar with his books The Medieval Buildings of Stamford
(Nottingham 1970), The Book of Stamford (Buckingham 1983) and, with
JS Hartley, The Religious Foundations of Medieval Stamford
(Nottingham 1974). He has also been closely involved with local history in
Rutland, most recently in Uppingham, inspiring and encouraging local
historians to record aspects of the history of that town.
For this volume Professor Rogers has written an excellent introduction
including the insight he has gained about the role of William Browne in
making the transcript. He also adds useful comments throughout the
volume and there is an excellent index. It is a shame that the Editorial
Conventions are not at the front of the book and a glossary would have
been useful for those less familiar with the legal terms of the medieval
period. Do not however be deterred by the plain cover: inside it is a
fascinating record not just for people in Stamford but for anyone
interested in town life in the Middle Ages. It is a book to dip into, and read
aloud it comes to life. It certainly merits a place on the bookshelf of
anyone interested in history.
Jean Orpin