British History Online is currently digitising the inventory volumes of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. These volumes contain some images which appear to be copyright to individuals. We will make all reasonable efforts to contact individual copyright holders where we can find them, and to that end we are publishing a list below. The list covers all volumes published between 1910 and 1985.
If you are one of the copyright holders on our list, or if you believe that you are a copyright holder for one of the RCHME images, please use our Contact Us page, or write to us at: British History Online, Institute of Historical Research, Senate House, University of London, WC1E 7HU.
To see the RCHME published on British History Online so far, visit this page.
Individual copyright holders
Mr W. E. Martin
Messers Romaine Walker and Jenkins
Mr Herbert Skryme
Mr W. E. H. Clarke, architect to the Dean and Chapter of Hereford Cathedral
W. H. Bustin
Sir Dr Cyril Fox FSA
Mr G. H. Kitchin
Mr G. H. Jack FSA
Mr T. H. Whittaker
Mr Alfred Watkins
Mr Edward Frankland
Mr E. W. Atwood
Sir T. G. Jackson (Wadham College)
Mr F. W. Troup
Mr R. Wynn Owen
Mr R. Fielding Dodd
Sir Charles Nicholson
Dr F. S. Eden
Sir Arthur W. Blomfeld
Mr F. C. E. Erwood
Mr Frank Green
H. Hodge
Dr William Martin
J. C. Melliss & Co.
Mrs E. Bambridge
R. Wailes
Mr F. R. Newens of Oxford
Dr Venn CMG, Queens' College, Cambridge
Mr Maurice Hill
Mr AHA Hogg
Miss Frances M. Forster
T. C. Lethbridge
Miss C. J. Fell
J. R. Boyden
Peter Ferrey
W. A. Miles
I. M. Blake
T. P. Harlow
W. Calcott Stokes
A. Moray Williams
C. E. Bean FSA
H. J. R. Bankes
S. A. Hamilton Fletcher
Lt-Colonel H. E. Scott of Encombe
C. F. Steil
Mrs C. M. Aitken
K. C. C. Selby
R. H, C, Atkinson
C. D. Drew
T. V. Holmes
N. H. Field
G. W. G. Allen
V. P. M. Oliver
G. R. Crickmay
Mrs H. E. O'Neil
Captain H. S. Gracie
Mr W. A. Baker
Major W. G. Allen
Dr Graham Webster
Mr P. J. Fowley
Mrs M. U. Jones
G. Till, Stamford
J. D. Dolby, Stamford
Mrs M E Cox
W. Fowler
R. H. Hayes
R. W. A. Dallas
J. P. Pritchard
G. B. Mason
Miss C. I. Fell
Additionally, the following people may have copyright in derived images and we would very much like to hear from them if they do assert copyright:
L.P. Wenham
S.N. Miller
G. Willmot
P. Corder
C. Roach Smith
Wednesday, 24 October 2012
Monday, 8 October 2012
Survey of London: Clerkenwell
This is a guest post from Mark Aston of the Islington Local History Centre, to mark the publication on British History Online of two volumes of the Survey of London covering Clerkenwell.
In 2008, staff at Islington Local History based at Finsbury Library, in the heart of Clerkenwell, were delighted when the publication of the Survey of London (SOL) two volume-set (Vols. 46 & 47) (covering Clerkenwell) afforded a near-definitive source of reference detailing the history and development of this former inner London parish, now part of the London Borough of Islington. While it was known that this new addition to the well-respected SOL series was being researched, it was still a ‘red-letter day’ when staff first thumbed through the volumes’ 800 or so pages and studied with pleasure the accompanying images.
Not since the publication of William J. Pinks’s The history of Clerkenwell (1865) has such a comprehensive study of one of the oldest inhabited areas of London been undertaken and made widely available. Many books, pamphlets and manuscripts have been produced since Pinks’ history first appeared on Victorian bookseller’s shelves, but none such as the Survey has covered in great detail the places, events and people that have all contributed to make Clerkenwell what is has become today, an enduring and ever-evolving part of the capital.
For over four years now the printed copies of the two-volume set has been a veritable corner stone of information for Clerkenwell at the Centre. Not a day has gone by when staff or enquirers have not reached out to the Survey to begin researching, for example, a local building to discover its origins or to simply better understand the location in which a family historian’s ancestors once lived, worked or played; Clerkenwell was also once a playground for London’s elite and not so well-heeled with its spas, pleasure grounds and theatres – all covered in the Survey! Planners, architects, conservationists, local history societies and resident associations, genealogists, students and the wider public have all found the volumes’ pages the first place to begin when commencing their studies on an aspect of Clerkenwell’s past.
It therefore goes without saying that when staff and I first heard the news from English Heritage’s (and contributor to the Survey) Colin Thom that the volumes were to be made available on British History Online (BHO), including accompanying colour images and architectural drawings, it was extremely welcome. BHO is one of a number of online resources consistently used and recommended by Islington Local History Centre and, without sounding sycophantic, staff really appreciate the wide range of other publications available on the site as well.
While the Centre welcomes approximately 5000 visitors each year through its doors, a large number contact staff for information through our e-mail and online services. To now have the Clerkenwell Survey of London volumes available for consultation on the site is a great bonus. The Centre receives daily e-mails from researchers across the globe but especially those from English speaking countries: Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. Many of course are family historians, with ancestors once born and/or resident in Clerkenwell. As much as staff would like to undertake in-depth research on behalf of these long distance enquirers, it’s unfortunately not practical to do so given the volume of queries and limited staff resources. However, a simple link to BHO will now doubtless help satisfy many questions about the area. In addition, linking to the site will introduce researchers to nationwide reference sources, not just covering Clerkenwell and its environs.
The printed volumes will, of course, remain mainstays of our secondary source collection but the online versions offer even more scope for the researcher. Benefits include keyword searches, hyperlink references within the online text, capability to enlarge (and save) images and the inevitable, but essential, copy and paste facility. While the printed copy has an excellent index, it is naturally limited and an online keyword search highlights results within the text, allowing for quicker access. I especially find the hyperlinked references an excellent feature and a great time saver; the volumes’ extensive references are another very useful attribute, while also providing a superb bibliography for the location. And, the ease at which text can be copied and used, for example, when answering a remote enquiry or when using text in a report, is a great asset - full citation always given of course! The availability of accurate and reliable information found online in publications such as the Survey of London series will, in time, and hopefully, replace the need for researchers heading in the first instant to well-known online encyclopaedias for historical information. While these provide easy and quick gratification, we know that content can’t always be relied upon and, therefore, should be validated from sources recognised as being reliable by professional academics and researchers, such as those found on BHO.
Finally, I’d like to highlight a couple of entries in the Survey which I think blog readers may like to peruse to learn a little more about the ancient parish of Clerkenwell. At the heart of the area lies Clerkenwell Green; I don’t think that the location has witnessed grass, or any greenery for that matter, in many centuries but the entry’s fascinating account of its history and development almost deserves a separate volume. In its time the Green has played host to, amongst others: a medieval nunnery, a holy well, a lost river, the Peasants’ Revolt, a magistrates’ court, Oliver Twist, radical political meetings, the world’s first public underground railway, Lenin, the Marx memorial Library and some great pubs too! Take a look also at Sadler’s Wells and the origins of this world famous dance theatre – a true survivor in every sense, with its entry providing a thorough description of the various buildings and uses of the location since the late-17th century.
It just leaves me to thank Jonathan Blaney for inviting me to write a few words in salute to the online publication of The Survey of London Volumes 46 and 47: Clerkenwell, and how useful a resource BHO is to those working in and using local history centres, archives, museums and research establishments across the country and beyond.
In 2008, staff at Islington Local History based at Finsbury Library, in the heart of Clerkenwell, were delighted when the publication of the Survey of London (SOL) two volume-set (Vols. 46 & 47) (covering Clerkenwell) afforded a near-definitive source of reference detailing the history and development of this former inner London parish, now part of the London Borough of Islington. While it was known that this new addition to the well-respected SOL series was being researched, it was still a ‘red-letter day’ when staff first thumbed through the volumes’ 800 or so pages and studied with pleasure the accompanying images.
Not since the publication of William J. Pinks’s The history of Clerkenwell (1865) has such a comprehensive study of one of the oldest inhabited areas of London been undertaken and made widely available. Many books, pamphlets and manuscripts have been produced since Pinks’ history first appeared on Victorian bookseller’s shelves, but none such as the Survey has covered in great detail the places, events and people that have all contributed to make Clerkenwell what is has become today, an enduring and ever-evolving part of the capital.
For over four years now the printed copies of the two-volume set has been a veritable corner stone of information for Clerkenwell at the Centre. Not a day has gone by when staff or enquirers have not reached out to the Survey to begin researching, for example, a local building to discover its origins or to simply better understand the location in which a family historian’s ancestors once lived, worked or played; Clerkenwell was also once a playground for London’s elite and not so well-heeled with its spas, pleasure grounds and theatres – all covered in the Survey! Planners, architects, conservationists, local history societies and resident associations, genealogists, students and the wider public have all found the volumes’ pages the first place to begin when commencing their studies on an aspect of Clerkenwell’s past.
It therefore goes without saying that when staff and I first heard the news from English Heritage’s (and contributor to the Survey) Colin Thom that the volumes were to be made available on British History Online (BHO), including accompanying colour images and architectural drawings, it was extremely welcome. BHO is one of a number of online resources consistently used and recommended by Islington Local History Centre and, without sounding sycophantic, staff really appreciate the wide range of other publications available on the site as well.
While the Centre welcomes approximately 5000 visitors each year through its doors, a large number contact staff for information through our e-mail and online services. To now have the Clerkenwell Survey of London volumes available for consultation on the site is a great bonus. The Centre receives daily e-mails from researchers across the globe but especially those from English speaking countries: Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. Many of course are family historians, with ancestors once born and/or resident in Clerkenwell. As much as staff would like to undertake in-depth research on behalf of these long distance enquirers, it’s unfortunately not practical to do so given the volume of queries and limited staff resources. However, a simple link to BHO will now doubtless help satisfy many questions about the area. In addition, linking to the site will introduce researchers to nationwide reference sources, not just covering Clerkenwell and its environs.
The printed volumes will, of course, remain mainstays of our secondary source collection but the online versions offer even more scope for the researcher. Benefits include keyword searches, hyperlink references within the online text, capability to enlarge (and save) images and the inevitable, but essential, copy and paste facility. While the printed copy has an excellent index, it is naturally limited and an online keyword search highlights results within the text, allowing for quicker access. I especially find the hyperlinked references an excellent feature and a great time saver; the volumes’ extensive references are another very useful attribute, while also providing a superb bibliography for the location. And, the ease at which text can be copied and used, for example, when answering a remote enquiry or when using text in a report, is a great asset - full citation always given of course! The availability of accurate and reliable information found online in publications such as the Survey of London series will, in time, and hopefully, replace the need for researchers heading in the first instant to well-known online encyclopaedias for historical information. While these provide easy and quick gratification, we know that content can’t always be relied upon and, therefore, should be validated from sources recognised as being reliable by professional academics and researchers, such as those found on BHO.
Finally, I’d like to highlight a couple of entries in the Survey which I think blog readers may like to peruse to learn a little more about the ancient parish of Clerkenwell. At the heart of the area lies Clerkenwell Green; I don’t think that the location has witnessed grass, or any greenery for that matter, in many centuries but the entry’s fascinating account of its history and development almost deserves a separate volume. In its time the Green has played host to, amongst others: a medieval nunnery, a holy well, a lost river, the Peasants’ Revolt, a magistrates’ court, Oliver Twist, radical political meetings, the world’s first public underground railway, Lenin, the Marx memorial Library and some great pubs too! Take a look also at Sadler’s Wells and the origins of this world famous dance theatre – a true survivor in every sense, with its entry providing a thorough description of the various buildings and uses of the location since the late-17th century.
It just leaves me to thank Jonathan Blaney for inviting me to write a few words in salute to the online publication of The Survey of London Volumes 46 and 47: Clerkenwell, and how useful a resource BHO is to those working in and using local history centres, archives, museums and research establishments across the country and beyond.
Wednesday, 26 September 2012
Trials and Tribulations of the RCHME Commissioners
A guest post from the Permissions Controller for the digitisation of RCHME volumes:
As announced earlier in the year, the IHR is undertaking a project funded by English Heritage to digitise the 43 volumes produced by the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments of England.(1) The volumes date from 1910 to 1985 and concern earthworks and ecclesiastical and secular buildings in England constructed prior to 1850. The team at IHR is making good progress in preparing the text and images for online publication and we expect the volumes will begin to go live towards the end of October. In the meantime I thought it would be interesting to post some observations on the difficulties faced by the men and women who carried out the original work on the print volumes.
Insights into the problems encountered by Commissioners over the years can be found in the prelims of the volumes. The prelims usually consist of a preface by the Chairman, the Royal Warrants, and the official report by the Commission to the reigning King or Queen. A frequent gripe, especially in the volumes published between the wars, is the lack of funds provided by the Treasury limiting, both the scope of the work and the speed at which it could be achieved. (2) I’m sure many civil servants today would empathise!
Perhaps some of the toughest challenges were presented by the First World War. Before war had even broken out, work on the Essex and London volumes was interrupted by the frequent arrests of Commissioners whose activities were deemed highly suspicious by the local constabulary and military police.(3) In the later years of the conflict staff from the Commission were seconded to the war effort. Some of these men and women received awards for their service on return, but some were killed in the line of duty. Others survived serious physical and mental trauma, but were not capable of returning to work for some years, if at all, due to the injuries they sustained.(4) Mr E. A. Rahbula lost his right arm in battle but taught himself to use his left arm in order to continue his work for the Commission as a draughtsman(5):
Decades later, disaster struck with a fire in the Cambridge office of the Commission. This necessitated a repeat of many of the surveys which had already been carried out for Cambridgeshire - a reminder of the perils of research in the pre-digital age.(6) In 1970 a tragedy occurred during the preparation of the York volumes. One of the Commission’s Senior Investigators, Mr Jeffrey Radley F.S.A., was accidentally killed when part of the defences collapsed during an excavation.(7)
These events, all briefly sketched in the opening pages of the volumes, provide glimpses into the workings of the Commission over the course of the twentieth century. Anyone using these volumes will be able to appreciate the herculean task of amassing so much information and preparing it for publication; I am that bit more appreciative now having read about the hardships faced by the people who were responsible for that task.
In the coming weeks we will post further updates on the project, including a piece on the illustrations which accompany the text.
Rachael Lazenby
(1) This post describes the scope of the volumes in more detail.
(2) See for example Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England): An Inventory on the Historical Monuments in Herefordshire Volume I (London, 1931) p. xviii.
(3) Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England): An Inventory on the Historical Monuments in Essex Volume I (London, 1916) p. xvii.
(4) A full list of staff involvement in the war is provided in Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England): An Inventory on the Historical Monuments in Essex Volume II (London, 1921) p. xxi-xxii.
(5) Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England): An Inventory on the Historical Monuments in the City of York Volume I (London, 1962) p. xxvii.
(6) Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England): An Inventory on the Historical Monuments in Dorset Volume I (London, 1952) p. xxx.
(7) Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England): An Inventory on the Historical Monuments in the City of York Volume II (London, 1972) p. xvii.
As announced earlier in the year, the IHR is undertaking a project funded by English Heritage to digitise the 43 volumes produced by the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments of England.(1) The volumes date from 1910 to 1985 and concern earthworks and ecclesiastical and secular buildings in England constructed prior to 1850. The team at IHR is making good progress in preparing the text and images for online publication and we expect the volumes will begin to go live towards the end of October. In the meantime I thought it would be interesting to post some observations on the difficulties faced by the men and women who carried out the original work on the print volumes.
Insights into the problems encountered by Commissioners over the years can be found in the prelims of the volumes. The prelims usually consist of a preface by the Chairman, the Royal Warrants, and the official report by the Commission to the reigning King or Queen. A frequent gripe, especially in the volumes published between the wars, is the lack of funds provided by the Treasury limiting, both the scope of the work and the speed at which it could be achieved. (2) I’m sure many civil servants today would empathise!
Perhaps some of the toughest challenges were presented by the First World War. Before war had even broken out, work on the Essex and London volumes was interrupted by the frequent arrests of Commissioners whose activities were deemed highly suspicious by the local constabulary and military police.(3) In the later years of the conflict staff from the Commission were seconded to the war effort. Some of these men and women received awards for their service on return, but some were killed in the line of duty. Others survived serious physical and mental trauma, but were not capable of returning to work for some years, if at all, due to the injuries they sustained.(4) Mr E. A. Rahbula lost his right arm in battle but taught himself to use his left arm in order to continue his work for the Commission as a draughtsman(5):
 |
| © English Heritage |
Decades later, disaster struck with a fire in the Cambridge office of the Commission. This necessitated a repeat of many of the surveys which had already been carried out for Cambridgeshire - a reminder of the perils of research in the pre-digital age.(6) In 1970 a tragedy occurred during the preparation of the York volumes. One of the Commission’s Senior Investigators, Mr Jeffrey Radley F.S.A., was accidentally killed when part of the defences collapsed during an excavation.(7)
These events, all briefly sketched in the opening pages of the volumes, provide glimpses into the workings of the Commission over the course of the twentieth century. Anyone using these volumes will be able to appreciate the herculean task of amassing so much information and preparing it for publication; I am that bit more appreciative now having read about the hardships faced by the people who were responsible for that task.
In the coming weeks we will post further updates on the project, including a piece on the illustrations which accompany the text.
Rachael Lazenby
(1) This post describes the scope of the volumes in more detail.
(2) See for example Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England): An Inventory on the Historical Monuments in Herefordshire Volume I (London, 1931) p. xviii.
(3) Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England): An Inventory on the Historical Monuments in Essex Volume I (London, 1916) p. xvii.
(4) A full list of staff involvement in the war is provided in Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England): An Inventory on the Historical Monuments in Essex Volume II (London, 1921) p. xxi-xxii.
(5) Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England): An Inventory on the Historical Monuments in the City of York Volume I (London, 1962) p. xxvii.
(6) Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England): An Inventory on the Historical Monuments in Dorset Volume I (London, 1952) p. xxx.
(7) Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England): An Inventory on the Historical Monuments in the City of York Volume II (London, 1972) p. xvii.
Wednesday, 5 September 2012
Consultation on Eighteenth Century Texts
At BHO we are considering the possibility of republishing some of the transcriptions produced by Eighteenth Century Collections Online Text Creation Partnership (ECCO-TCP). Our aim would be to select texts that work particularly well with current BHO content, but we would be delighted to hear the views of BHO users.
The list below is not a list of proposed candidates, but simply illustrates the range of texts that ECCO-TCP has to offer:
- John Arbuthnot: An Enquiry into the Connection Between the Present Price of Provisions and the Size of Farms
- Madame d'Aulnoy: The History of the Earl of Warwick, Sirnam'd the King-Maker
- John Brown: A Compendious History of the British Churches in England, Scotland, Ireland and America
- Daniel Defoe: A Tour Thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain
- Charles Dibdin: A Complete History of the English Stage
- Robert Douglas: The Peerage of Scotland
- John Hawkins: Observations on the State of the Highway
- David Hume: The History of England: under the House of Tudor
- Maiden Hospital: Statutes of Maiden Hospital
- Joseph Moxon: Mechanick Execises: or the doctrine of handy-works
- William Oldys: The Life of Sir Walter Ralegh
- Thomas Paine: Common Sense
- Thomas Pennant: A Tour of Wales
- Adam Smith: An Enquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
- Horace Walpole: Anecdotes of Painting in England
Please do comment if you have an opinion on which kinds of ECCO-TCP texts you'd like to see on BHO. Please note, though, that ECCO-TCP is only a small subset of the much larger ECCO resource.
Tuesday, 31 July 2012
Assessing hidden savings in using British History Online
During June 2012, we undertook a survey of British History Online's registered user base looking at their opinions towards the issue of sustainability. This is the first in a series of blog posts in which we explore the results and deals specifically with the issue of hidden savings.
We asked our users the following question:
Thinking about when you have used British History Online, has it ever saved you making a journey from your home to a library?
If they replied 'yes', we asked a series of follow-up questions to ascertain how many journeys were saved, their mode of transport, the distance travelled, the duration of the journey and cost of any ticket. By combining these figures, we have estimated the level of saving in terms of time and cost achieved by researchers who use the service.
Our methodology is at an early stage; in its draft form, it shows that, on a conservative estimate, we save the United Kingdom Higher Education community interested in history approximately £1.2 million per annum. This equates to around 71k individuals, just over the average number of users which visit BHO in one week.
The methodology also allows us to look at reducing carbon emissions which have to be reported by universities to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) from 2013. We'll be publishing this methodology in full over the coming weeks.
Monday, 30 July 2012
Journal of the House of Lords: new volumes
We have just published four new volumes of the Journal of House of Lords on British History Online. These are volumes 31-34, which cover the period 1765-76, and thus are a useful source for, among other things, the British reaction to increasing tension and hostility between the American colonies and the British government, as well as the War of Independence itself. As an example of the colourful rhetoric, here is a motion for an address from October 1775
That the Powers which they have assumed, and the arbitrary and oppressive Acts which they have done, leave no Doubt of their traiterous Purpose to induce the Colonies to shake off the Controul of the Supreme Legislature, and to bury in an ungrateful Oblivion the Remembrance of the great Industry with which they have been planted, the softening Care with which they have been nursed, the many Advantages which they have enjoyed, and the Expence of Blood and Treasure with which they have been protected by this Nation.
The publication of these volumes fills a gap in BHO's digitisation of the Lords Journal and we are pleased to say that we now have 42 volumes available in this series, all of them freely available.
Thursday, 28 June 2012
Trial Browse Feature
We are trialling a new feature on the browse page of British History Online and would be grateful for any comments from our users on what they think of it. At present the feature does not work with Internet Explorer.
If you select any of the checkboxes under Regions, Subjects or Periods you will now be shown a network diagram of the group-level connections to your choice of topics. Below is an example showing the groups that are connected to the selection Midlands, Economic History, 16th century and 17th century:
Below the diagram you can still find the list of relevant publications that you will probably be familiar with. Please try out the new feature and let us know what you think.
If you select any of the checkboxes under Regions, Subjects or Periods you will now be shown a network diagram of the group-level connections to your choice of topics. Below is an example showing the groups that are connected to the selection Midlands, Economic History, 16th century and 17th century:
Below the diagram you can still find the list of relevant publications that you will probably be familiar with. Please try out the new feature and let us know what you think.
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