Victoria County History

What a difference a day makes! The volunteers who were at the Hub on 23 March may have suspected there weren’t going to be many more opportunities for further cataloguing or research, but little did we think that Monday session was categorically going to be ‘it’ for the foreseeable future.  For many of us, domestic adjustments to self-isolation quite properly have a much higher priority than historical research, but once we’ve got used to the new normal (however long it lasts), thoughts will start turning again to matters historical – even if only to make a change from thinking about the present.

With original records beyond reach for the time being, we are now being thrown back on digital resources, or images already saved from previous Hub visits. Cheltenham volunteers are being guided by Sally Self towards making a start on Charlton Kings - recording notes from available online sources including newspapers, directories, BGAS Gazetteer online, Times online and of course Find my Past. This will be invaluable groundwork for the future study of the parish, to form part of VCH Gloucestershire Vol 15. Just before the lockdown, we had been in preliminary discussions with a professional historian about researching medieval Leckhampton, also for volume 15. Obviously she’s not going to be able to get to the Hub anytime soon, but we’ll be keen to progress this when we can.  Other research is also going ahead, particularly on the Churn Valley parishes, based on notes already made, but it’s going to be harder to really finalise any drafts when sources and references can’t be physically checked.

 

Sally Self researching at the Heritage Hub                   Leckhampton

Various academic institutions have been ‘unlocking’ some of their online holdings, or at least advertising them more widely, and details of these can be accessed via https://blog.history.ac.uk/2020/03/supporting-the-historical-community-the-ihrs-contribution/  Frustrated researchers are strongly encouraged to check these out. They may not have precisely the book or the database you need, but you’re sure to make some serendipitous discoveries while you search. And goodness knows, we could all use some serendipity!

VCH volunteers at the Heritage Hub

For more information about Victoria County History Gloucestershire visit www.history.ac.uk/research/victoria-county-history/county-histories-progress/gloucestershire

 and www.vchglosacademy.org/ 

British History Online - FREE!

A great British History online initiative.

British History online is a digital collection of key printed primary and secondary sources for the history of Britain, Ireland, and the British world, with a special focus on the period 1300 to 1800. The BHO collection includes over 1,280 volumes of primary content and secondary sources.

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, BHO have announced that they are extending free access to cover ALL their online content, including the 20% previously behind a paywall. From

Friday 27 March until 31 July 2020, transcribed texts of an additional 200 volumes will be available in full to individual users who visit the BHO site.

The extra 200 volumes now available are mainly made up of two important series:

• the Calendar of Close Rolls, covering the reigns of Henry III to Henry VII (1244 to 1509),
• the Calendar of State Papers Domestic, covering the reigns of Edward VI to Anne, 1547 to 1704) In both these cases BHO offers the calendar of the original records, not the original records themselves.

The calendars provide a full summary of the contents of the original documents and are wholly sufficient for research in almost all cases. The remainder of the now free BHO content comprises the following eight series: 

• Calendar of State Papers, Ireland, covering the period 1586-1606, in 13 volumes
• Calendar of State Papers, Scotland, covering the period 1547-1588, in 11 volumes
• Parliament Rolls of Medieval England, in 1 volume
• Calendar of Home Office Papers, George III, covering the period 1760-1775, in 4 volumes
• Calendar of Border Papers, covering the period 1560-1603, in 2 volumes
• Calendar of the Committee for the Advance of Money, covering the period 1642-55, in 4 volumes
• Calendar of the Committee for Compounding, covering the period 1643-60, in 5 volumes
• Calendar of Patent Rolls, covering the reigns of Henry III, Edward I and Edward II (1216 to 1307), which appear in 10 volumes. These are the first output in a new ongoing project to digitise and publish the Calendar of Patent Rolls up to and including the reign of Henry VII (1509);  

You can find out more about all the resources mentioned here, and more besides, by visiting the BHO blog

BHO have also introduced a range of subject guides designed to help people use their resources. 5 research topics are covered so far, including Local History. The guides have been written by external users and BHO are keen to add more. So if you’re a historian with expertise in in medieval or early modern British history and would like to write a guide, please do get in touch: british-history@sas.ac.uk

As well as this newly released free content, BHO includes many primary and secondary resources which are permanently free. Highlights include; Journals of the House of Lords and the House of Commons; English Quarter Sessions petitions 1577-1799, 175 volumes of the Victoria County History and 60 volumes of the Survey of London. There is also a wealth of permanently free content in the categories of datasets, maps and guides & calendars.

Read more about this new free content.

https://www.british-history.ac.uk/