Some Recommended Reading
An Introduction to Local History
The first three books were recommended by our speaker Deborah Hayter in April on 'Ridge and Furrow'.
- Tom Williamson, 'Shaping the Medieval Landscapes' (ISBN 10 0954557581-ISBN 13 978-0954557584)
- Christopher Taylor, 'Fields in English Landscape'.
- David Hall, 'The Open Fields of Northampstonshire'. Northampstonshire Record Society publication, out of print.
- John Tosh, 'The Pursuit of History' (Longman paperback, 4th edn 2006, ISBN 1405823518). This widely used textbook is recommended for its coverage and for its approachable style.
- Kate Tiller, 'English Local History: an Introduction' (Sutton paperback, 2nd edition 2002, ISBN 0750927143). The standard introduction to English local history, from Anglo-Saxons to the 20th century.
- David Dymond, 'Researching and Writing History: a Practical Guide for Local Historians' (Phillimore paperback, 2000, ISBN 1860771157).
- Eamon Duffy, 'The Voices of Morebath' (Yale paperback, 2003, ISBN 0300098251). A fascinating study of the Reformation in a tiny Tudor village.
- Sonja Cameron & Sarah Richardson, 'Using Computers in History' (Palgrave paperback, 2005, ISBN 1403934169). A jargon-free guide to computing skills for anyone interested in history.
- Pat Hudson, 'History by Numbers' (Hodder Arnold paperback, 2000, ISBN 0340614684). Introducing some of the ways historians use quantitative information, which is one of the themes of this course.
Recommended by the Local History Section of the Department for Continuing Education website here
Other Recommendations are:-
- David Hey, 'Oxford Dictionary of Local & Family History', OUP
- Joy Bristow, 'The Local Historian's Glossary & Vade Mecum', Continuing Education Press, Nottingham
- W.G. Hoskins, 'Local History in England', Longman
- John Richardson, 'The Local Historian's Encyclopedia', Historical Publications Ltd.,
- John Field,'A History of English Field Names', Longmans
- David Iredale & John Barrett 'Discovering Local History' Shire Books
- Philip Riden, 'Local History, a Handbook for Beginners', Batsford
- Kenneth Cameron, 'English Place Names', Batsford Local History Series
- Pamela Horn, 'The Rise and Fall of the Victorian Servant' Alan Sutton
- Sheila Stewart, ' Lifting the Latch' - the wonderful story of an Oxfordshire Ag-lab.
- George Ewart Evans ' The Crooked Scythe' an anthology of oral history - Faber & Faber
- E.P. Thompson 'The Making of the English Working Class' Penquin
- Michael Drake & Ruth Finnegan 'Studying Family & Community History' 19th and 20th Century - A Handbook - CUP for the Open University
Local History Online here has many other helpful books and suggestions on Getting Started in Local History.