{"title":"Publications Bedfordshire Hist Rec Soc","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"2nd-bedfords-in-france-and-flanders-1914-1918-book-mg-deacon-9780851550763","title":"The 2nd Bedfords in France and Flanders, 1914-1918","description":"This is an edition of the official war diary of the 2nd Battalion, the Bedfordshire Regiment and complements BHRS's 2004 volume The Shiny Seventh: the 7th (Service) Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment at War 1915-1918, also edited by Martin Deacon  This is an edition of the official war diary of the 2nd Battalion, the Bedfordshire Regiment and complements BHRS's 2004 volume The Shiny Seventh: the 7th (Service) Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment at War 1915-1918, also edited by Martin Deacon. A War Diary was kept by each unit while on active service during World War I.  Written by the adjutant, it was intended to be a record of the unit's activities. Often terse, sometimes descriptive, the diary records troop movements to and from billets and trenches, weather conditions, the 1914 Christmas Day truce, shelling, attacks, battles and casualties. The 2nd Bedfords took part in the First Battle of Ypres, Festuberts and Loos, and the Somme and Passchendaele. After a mauling during the German offensive of 1918 and having merged with the 7th Battalion, they ended the war with a successful career in 18th Division during the final British offensive from August to November 1918. For anyone wishing to trace their steps, the book includes directions for three drives around the battlefields where the 2nd Bedfords saw action in northern France and southern Belgium.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49518507884817,"sku":"GOR002926673","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50745484214545,"sku":"GOR014056079","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0851550762.jpg?v=1750946963"},{"product_id":"hundreds-manors-parishes-the-church-book-john-s-thompson-9780851550527","title":"Hundreds, Manors, Parishes \u0026 the Church","description":"This selection of early documents, transcribed and translated from Latin by John Thompson, includes the Hundred Rolls of 1274 and 1279 (taken from  the Record Commission's editions of 1812 and 1818); account rolls for Higham Gobion and Streatley 1379-82; tithe and expenditure accounts for Blunham Rectory 1520-39; Turvey churchwardens' accounts 1551-2; Bedfordshire archidiaconal visitations 1578; and Eggington manor court rolls 1297-1572.  Each section has an introduction by John Thompson or a local archivist: Patricia Bell, Nicholas H. Bennett, Chris Pickford and Kevin Ward.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49542513197329,"sku":"GOR005019602","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0851550525.jpg?v=1750786798"},{"product_id":"bedfordshire-churches-in-the-nineteenth-century-book-chris-pickford-9780851550565","title":"Bedfordshire Churches in the Nineteenth Century","description":"Three volumes of detailed description of Bedfordshire parish churches,presented with text from five important nineteenth-century sources;Appendices and Index complete the set.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49572945264913,"sku":"GOR007408436","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0851550568.jpg?v=1751330503"},{"product_id":"pride-of-peacocks-book-richard-moore-colyer-9780851550800","title":"Pride of Peacocks","description":"This memoir provides a glimpse into the well-known and long-standing local Bedford company of W. \u0026amp; H. Peacock during the years 1902-1988.  This memoir provides a glimpse into the well-known and long-standing local Bedford company of W. \u0026amp; H. Peacock during the years 1902-1988.  The author draws on a wide variety of sources, many from his own collection, including property instruction books, business ephemera and auctioneers' handbooks and also from the recollections of his colleagues.  The memoir includes information about other well-known firms of auctioneers and estate agents in the area and is the first to tell a story of auctioneering and estate agency in Bedfordshire. Of lasting value to local, family and social historians is the appendix of all known property auctions undertaken by Peacocks. Transcribed from the original auctioneers' handbooks (now lost), the list has been supplemented with references to newspaper advertisements and auction catalogues in the Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service. The auction records give, where possible, the date and venue of the auction, a description of the property and the auction price.  Some additional information is provided if known, such as the name of the person instructing Peacocks, the names of tenants and the rental value of the property. The introduction by Richard Moore-Colyer explores the history of auctioneering in England from the seventeenth century, when auctions were conducted very differently.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49600794362129,"sku":"GOR007734334","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53254884524305,"sku":"GOR014836503","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0851550800.jpg?v=1751107952"},{"product_id":"turner-letters-book-david-newman-9780851550848","title":"The Turner Letters","description":"The Turner Letters cover the years 1830-45 and give a lively view of life in a rural village in times of upheaval.  The Turner Letters originated in Milton Ernest in Bedfordshire. They travelled to St Andrews in New Brunswick, Canada, to Thomas Turner, brother of John, the principal writer. They survived the journey by sailing boat and later steam ship.  In the 1980s they returned to England and were bought by the Bedfordshire Record Office, so they are now housed a few miles from where they were written.  The Turner Letters cover the years 1830-45 and give a lively view of life in a rural village in times of upheaval. The main writer of the letters, John Turner, was a Methodist baker, whose father ran a farm. John's  religion and his hatred of the Church of England colours his writing.  John Turner's  sharp insights cover a number of the major issues of the day such as the Reform Bill, the New Poor Law and rural unrest as well as local issues such as the establishment of fox hound kennels in the village. His description of the villagers in 1834 is particularly valuable, bringing them to life and giving a real sense of what life in Milton Ernest was actually like.  John's brother, Thomas, was a merchant in a small Canadian port close to the United States border. Part of the correspondence relates to Thomas's suppliers and gives an idea of the precariousness and danger of the passage from England to Canada and the difficulties of setting up a new business overseas.     Above all the Turner letters tell human stories. The tragedy of the drowning of Susannah, Thomas's wife, in 1834 is revealed in graphic newspaper descriptions.  John and Thomas Turner's sister was abused by her alcoholic husband. John's own life was frustrating, initially coping with his housekeepers and later, when he gave up his bakery and returned to his father's farm, coping with an aged and obstinate man, who did not appreciate him.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49604327506193,"sku":"GOR013471019","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50242957312273,"sku":"GOR013896434","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51008704971025,"sku":"NIN9780851550848","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53251979903249,"sku":"GOR014833608","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0851550843.jpg?v=1751107953"},{"product_id":"bedfordshire-chapels-and-meeting-houses-official-registration-1672-1901-book-edwin-welch-9780851550589","title":"Bedfordshire Chapels and Meeting Houses: Official Registration 1672-1901","description":"Bringing together the evidence from a wide range of documentary sources, this volume provides comprehensive information on Bedfordshire chapels and meeting houses from licensing and registration records. Very well illustrated, the book will be invaluable to students of religious history, local historians and genealogists.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49613766885649,"sku":"GOR009038054","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0851550584.jpg?v=1751330503"},{"product_id":"how-bedfordshire-voted-1735-1784-book-james-collett-white-9780851550770","title":"How Bedfordshire Voted, 1735-1784","description":"The third volume in BHRS's series of poll books and covers the years from the fall of Walpole to the rise of William Pitt the younger.  This is the third volume in BHRS's series of poll books and covers the years from the fall of Walpole to the rise of William Pitt the younger.  It was a period when Britain was constantly at war, when it suffered a dangerous Jacobite rebellion and when the American colonies were lost.  Yet this constant warfare did not produce the revolutionary changes to the national and local economy that the Napoleonic wars subsequently created. There is only one complete poll book for the county (1774) but surviving lists from Bedford borough, including a partial poll book of 1747, enable political allegiance to be gauged.  Lack of contested elections does not mean an absence of political activity.  Detectable trends are illustrated from the Duke of Bedford's archives and the Hardwicke manuscripts in the British Library.  They include the attempts of the Duke to increase his powers, which were successfully challenged by Bedford borough by the creation in 1769 of many new out-of-town freemen to detach it from his influence; the decline of formerly prominent political families; and, from the 1760s, the rise of the Whitbreads. The volume also details the political dimensions of the litigation over the appointment of the rector of St John's, Bedford; the administration of the Harpur Trust; and turnpike and enclosure acts.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49629424681233,"sku":"GOR012636619","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0851550770.jpg?v=1750818987"},{"product_id":"education-and-employment-of-girls-in-luton-1874-1924-book-anne-allsopp-9780851550701","title":"The Education and Employment of Girls in Luton, 1874-1924","description":"This book, based on the author's PhD thesis, examines the education of Luton girls and the relationship with employment opportunities. The acknowledged independence of spirit to be found in Luton was especially noticeable among its female population who enjoyed considerable economic power within the traditional hat-making industry. In spite of this, there is evidence to show that girls' education was biased towards their roles as wives and mothers. However, by the early twentieth century, the effects of compulsory education and the introduction of new industries into the town meant that their status and expectations had changed. Sunday schooling was important to children from the labouring classes and the contribution of these schools has been assessed. Specific themes include half-time schooling and the granting of labour certificates which allowed children to leave school before the statutory age. The contribution of the home and independent organisations, the training of teachers, the character of rural schools and the introduction of technical and secondary education have also been considered.  While emphasis is on the education of girls from the lower social classes, the middle classes have not been ignored.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49635523920145,"sku":"GOR004047633","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49651143475473,"sku":"GOR012887267","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0851550703.jpg?v=1750747103"},{"product_id":"vauxhall-motors-and-the-luton-economy-1900-2002-book-len-holden-9780851550688","title":"Vauxhall Motors and the Luton Economy, 1900-2002","description":"'Liar!' 'Judas!' 'Traitor!' Why was the once popular Managing Director of Vauxhall Motors called these names by his own workforce? This story traces how the once mighty company, Vauxhall, which dominated the Luton economy and South Midlands area, declined. How did Vauxhall rise from a small London engineering company to the peak of its production in the 1960s where its local influence was so powerful that it set the trend for wages and even holidays in the surrounding Luton area?  How was it saved from certain bankruptcy in the 1920s, rising to one of the largest car companies in Britain and Europe? How did it decline as a result of the decisions of a large multinational? How could this decision affect the prospects of the once enormous workforce, reducing its presence from over 35,000 employed in the early 1970s to under two thousand in 2002? This is, of course, also the story of the British motor car industry and its decline.  The book explores Vauxhall's rise to the 'Big Six' vehicle producers with its car and truck model production, marketing and financial techniques. It also tells the stories of some of the men that made the company a success, whether top management or shop floor workers and unionists.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49658732740881,"sku":"GOR003183586","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0851550681.jpg?v=1751363132"},{"product_id":"willington-and-the-mowbrays-book-dorothy-jamieson-9780851550824","title":"Willington and the Mowbrays","description":"Drawing on documentary evidence dating between 1382 and 1522, this volume examines a single manor parish that was dominated by the powerful Mowbray family, the Dukes of Norfolk, and by Katherine Neville, widow of the second Duke,as part of her dower 1432-c.1482.  Drawing on documentary evidence dating between 1382 and 1522, this volume examines a single manor parish that was dominated by the powerful Mowbray family, the Dukes of Norfolk, and by Katherine Neville, widow of the second Duke,as part of her dower 1432-c.1482. Numerous documents relating to the manor are extant including 101 manor court rolls, bailiffs' accounts and receiver's accounts; taken together they provide an insight into local administration and justice in a rural settlement on the south bank of the River Great Ouse, east of Bedford.   The Newnham Priory terrier, a transcription of which is included in this book, gives details of the prior's holdings in the manor in 1507. Although the prior held substantial lands in Willington, it seems that life in the manor was less influenced by the church in the years after the Peasants' Revolt than by members of local families, such as the Gostwyks, who would later go on to undertake roles of national importance.     Although the structure and language of the manorial records suggests continuity and a hierarchical system of control, the history of Willington reveals how tenants took opportunities to better themselves and their families while the lords of the manor sought to maintain the value of their property and income. This was a difficult task due to long-standing issues with declining rental values and ruined buildings. While there is evidence for crime and disorder, the manor emerges as a relatively stable community where the custom of the manor prevailed, and the local bailiff, almost always a resident, was a pivotalfigure.    DOROTHY JAMIESON has an M.A. in English Local History from the University of Leicester. She translated the Willington Manor Court Rolls, 1394-1674, about one hundred of which can be found on the Bedfordshire Archives web-site. Her most recent project has been the transcription, translation and analysis of the Wroxhill Custumal of 1253, which has been completed with the assistance of Dr Kathryn Faulkner of Bedfordshire Archives.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50337648509201,"sku":"GOR010845514","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0851550827.jpg?v=1751044615"},{"product_id":"soldier-in-bedfordshire-1941-1942-book-patricia-malcolmson-9780851550749","title":"A Soldier in Bedfordshire, 1941-1942","description":"Denis Argent, a professional journalist, joined the British Army in 1940 at the age of 23.  He was already writing for Mass Observation, the innovative research organisation founded in 1937. During most of his first two years in uniform, when he was billeted in Bedford and Luton, he kept a remarkably detailed and probing diary.  He wrote of street life and other aspects of the Home Front in Luton and Bedford, where the BBC's Symphony Orchestra had relocated shortly before he arrived; daily military routine; bomb disposal; transport; women, sex and leisure; his political views and cultural interests (he loved music and was widely read); the crucial importance of leave to see his girlfriend; and his fellow conscientious objectors - he was in the Non-Combatant Corps, though he later chose to take up arms. Denis Argent had a keen and observant reporter's eye.  He was also highly attuned to the modernist intellectual culture of his time.   His is a wartime diary that is perceptive, colourful, wide-ranging, sometimes amusing, and very well written.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50636699271441,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50636700451089,"sku":"GOR001734583","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0851550746.jpg?v=1750704679"},{"product_id":"bedford-s-musical-society-book-donald-burrows-9780851550817","title":"Bedford's Musical Society","description":"The Bedford (Amateur) Musical Society, now Bedford Choral Society, was formed in 1867.  The Bedford (Amateur) Musical Society, now Bedford Choral Society, was formed in 1867. Its beginnings were not auspicious - an article in a local newspaper reported that 'no one felt very sanguine about the success of the proposed Society ... the idea being that musical people were a quarrelsome lot and could not hold together for any length of time.' Despite this, the Society has had a long and almost continuous history and is still thriving today. This volume records the characters who shaped the Society through the years, the varied musical programmes and the links with well-known performers and musicians. It includes the BBC Music Department's move to Bedford early in the Second World War and its support for the Society as it re-established itself. The volume has an introduction by Donald Burrows, Professor of Music at the Open University who provides an historical setting for the development of the Society within the context of national musical developments.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50681402097937,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50681402163473,"sku":"GOR007734332","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0851550819.jpg?v=1751330504"},{"product_id":"accounts-of-the-guild-of-the-holy-trinity-luton-book-barbara-tearle-9780851550787","title":"The Accounts of the Guild of the Holy Trinity, Luton","description":"Religious guilds or fraternities proliferated throughout England until their dissolution in the late 1540s, yet remarkably few of their records have survived.  Religious guilds or fraternities proliferated throughout England until their dissolution in the late 1540s, yet remarkably few of their records have survived. Amongst the survivals are the last twenty-one years of the accounts of the Luton Guild of the Holy Trinity, hitherto unpublished in full. The accounts record several hundred transactions each year, including rents for the guild's properties, and expenditure on wages to priests and clerks and dirges sung for deceased members of the guild. Purchases of food, the cost of hiring cooks, kitchen helpers and utensils and expenditure on entertainment show what extraordinarily lavish provision was made for the annual feast. The quantity of building materials which was purchased for the guild`s properties suggests not only repairs but also modernisation and may be sufficient to attempt to reconstruct some of the houses. The majority of `brothers and systers` of the guild were drawn from a radius of about twenty-five miles of Luton and included the towns and villages in neighbouring Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. A small, but noticeable, group were from London, Canterbury, Boston and Kendal. The guild was prosperous, well-connected and active, and its accounts provide an insight into daily life in mid-sixteenth-century south Bedfordshire and the surrounding area. The book contains a complete transcription of the accounts and an introduction presenting an overview of the guild`s activities. It is fully indexed.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50860094750993,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50860094914833,"sku":"GOR009137994","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0851550789.jpg?v=1751201756"},{"product_id":"bedford-diary-of-leah-aynsley-1943-1946-book-patricia-malcolmson-9780851550831","title":"The Bedford Diary of Leah Aynsley, 1943-1946","description":"The Bedford Diary of Leah Aynsley, 1943-1946, provides a fascinating insight into the daily life of a working class woman during the Second World War.  Edited by Patricia and Robert Malcolmson, The Bedford Diary of Leah Aynsley, 1943-1946, provides a fascinating insight into the daily life of a working class woman during the Second World War. Leah hoped that her diary, which shegave as a bequest to Bedfordshire Archives Service, would: 'often be useful to settle arguments as to what happened on such and such occasions.' She also thought that: 'being written by a working-class person among whom I suspectnot many will keep such diaries . [it] may be interesting in future centuries'.   Leah moved with her parents and two brothers to live in Queens Park, Bedford, in 1921 while in her twentieth year. During the war years she worked for W. H. Allen \u0026amp; Sons Engineering Works and the diary includes her thoughts on her job there and the work that was undertaken by the firm. The diary also details her day to day activities, generally confined to cycling distance of her home. But she had a busy and active life - working on her allotment in Bromham, attending BBC concerts in the Corn Exchange as well as going to local lectures and folk dances. Throughout the diary Leah comments on aspects of war-time Bedford including the influx of American airmen, rationing, Home Guard duties, bombing raids, air-raid warnings and preparations for invasion. Her style - understated, measured, factual, domestic but engaging - isno better captured than in her entry on Victory Day: 'V DAY. Well, the day is nearly over now. Very quiet around here. I have not heard any victory bells. The street has blossomed out into flags, bunting and fairy lights. The local shops were open - even the fish shop - and the baker called as usual ... Churchill broadcast at 3 p.m. ... A very pleasant day in May.'","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50880311361809,"sku":"GOR010711263","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50907141767441,"sku":"GOR014118113","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53251979870481,"sku":"GOR014833607","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0851550835.jpg?v=1750704680"},{"product_id":"shiny-seventh-book-m-g-deacon-9780851550695","title":"The Shiny Seventh","description":"Seldom have any troops shown such brilliant dash and utter contempt for the Bosch. Diary entry recorded during the Third Battle of Ypres.   The Shiny Seventh was an ordinary Kitchener battalion, a body of men raised for the duration of the war, forming part of an ordinary county regiment. They saw extraordinary things and performed extraordinary actions as part of 18th (Eastern) Division, one of the most consistently successful British divisions on the Western Front. This is their story as told by their successive adjutants in the official War Diary. It tells of the drudgery of the trenches, fatigues, entertainment and endless training, including that of the newly arrived Americans in 1918. It also chronicles a rare success on the First Day of the Battle of the Somme, confusion at Arras, dash and gallantry at Ypres, endurance during the great retreat of March 1918 and a final 'backs to the wall' fight in front of Amiens that was instrumental in safeguarding the position of the entire British army in France and thus the outcome of the war itself. The personal diary of one of its subalterns, Henry Cartwright, is included as an appendix, courtesy of his great nephew, along with descriptions of the battlefields today and details of places visited and casualties suffered by this extraordinary, ordinary battalion.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50918667256081,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50918667419921,"sku":"GOR003269377","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/085155069X.jpg?v=1750704679"},{"product_id":"bousfield-diaries-book-james-collett-white-9780851550725","title":"The Bousfield Diaries","description":"Diaries of a Victorian wife and mother, active in local society, paint a fascinating picture of provincial life at the time.  The diaries of Charlotte Bousfield, extending from 1878 to 1896, paint a vivid picture of the activities of the multi-talented Bousfield family of Bedford, led by its strong-minded matriarch. The Bousfields were prominent in local life.  Charlotte's husband, Edward, was an influential figure in developing agricultural machinery at the Britannia Iron Works, Bedford's successful exemplar of a modern iron foundry, important as a factor in Bedford's growth.  Will, the ablest of their children, became a QC and Conservative MP, whose election campaigns are described in lively detail. Charlotte was also active both in Bedford and further afield.  Her concern for the underprivileged in the town, a practical expression of her fervent Methodist beliefs, emerges clearly in her lifelong work for the temperance cause, locally and nationally.  She founded a home for 'inebriate women', which was ground-breaking for the time, and describes the work of the home in fascinating detail.  She was also a Poor Law Guardian and a leading figure in the Bedford workhouse scandal of the 1890s. Throughout, the diaries bring out aspects of Victorian social life which are not always obvious: the dependence of the family on their servants; the ease of travelling using railways and horse-drawn transport; and the frequency with which family members would spend time staying with friends and relatives.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50932677837073,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50932678656273,"sku":"GOR005019137","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/085155072X.jpg?v=1756894174"},{"product_id":"bedfordshire-probate-inventories-before-1660-book-barbara-tearle-9780851550855","title":"Bedfordshire Probate Inventories before 1660","description":"Fewer than two hundred probate inventories were thought to have survived for Bedfordshire and most were published in Bedfordshire Historical Record Society volumes 20 and 32.  Recently more came to light, bringing the total of known pre-1660 inventories to almost six hundred.  These additional 432 inventories are published here and provide evidence of the home environment of the minor gentry, clergy, middling sort, tradesmen and the poor of Bedfordshire in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.  While most inventories are for men, almost sixty are for widows and single women, whose circumstances mirror those of the men.  The detailed listings of agricultural equipment, livestock and crops and the comfortable domestic life-style of the farming community, confirm what is already known of the agricultural prosperity of the county.  Surviving inventories for shopkeepers and tradesmen are sparse, but the few inventories listing trades, services and manufacturing equipment (for malting, brewing and dyeing) provide a glimpse of thriving industry with links beyond the county.  Several inventories stand out including a luxuriously furnished inn and two exceptionally wealthy gentry who were part of the county administration during the Commonwealth period.  Not everyone was well-off and the inventories also include many people whose goods reveal them to be poor or living in near poverty.   The introduction provides an overview of these varied living conditions, houses, furnishings, clothing, agriculture, prosperity and poverty, and draws on other sources to flesh out the lives of these people.  An analysis of the debt culture, which occurred at all levels of society, challenges some of the first impressions of affluence or poverty. Appendices show the distribution of inventories over the county and list all published inventories.  Another appendix sets out the process for exhibiting inventories against which local practice is compared in the introduction.  The book concludes with an extensive glossary and index.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51008759136529,"sku":"NIN9780851550855","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52665517015313,"sku":"NLS9780851550855","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53266109333777,"sku":"GOR014845020","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":53488123904273,"sku":"NGR9780851550855","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0851550851.jpg?v=1750818987"},{"product_id":"rise-of-methodism-a-study-of-bedfordshire-1736-1851-book-jonathan-rodell-9780851550794","title":"The Rise of Methodism: A Study of Bedfordshire, 1736-1851","description":"A radical re-examination of the rise of the largest popular movement in early nineteenth-century Britain draws on a wide range of evidence to give a bottom-up account of the growth, life and impact of early Methodism in Bedfordshire, an unlikely stronghold  This radical re-examination of the rise of the largest popular movement in early nineteenth-century Britain draws on a wide range of evidence to give a bottom-up account of the growth, life and impact of early Methodism in Bedfordshire, an unlikely stronghold. The study digs beneath the seemingly steady advance portrayed by official membership statistics to uncover a much more unstable and rapidly changing picture in which different generations and social groups appropriated the religious structures of the movement as vehicles to express a wide variety of aspirations and grievances.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51149607698705,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51149607862545,"sku":"GOR009171712","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0851550797.jpg?v=1750704680"},{"product_id":"roman-catholicism-in-bedfordshire-1700-1900-book-peter-doyle-9780851550862","title":"Roman Catholicism in Bedfordshire 1700-1900","description":"An account of the revival of Catholicism in Bedfordshire from 1700 to 1900, including a selection of key documents and relevant registers.   This volume draws on a range of evidence to illustrate the revival and growth of Catholicism in Bedfordshire between 1700 and 1900. Active opposition to such a revival was only to be expected in Bunyan's county and the volume tells how this was gradually overcome, so that by the end of the period a number of Catholic churches had been well established across the county. Their growth is illustrated by the detailed baptism, marriage and death registers for Shefford (1770s-1850s), Bedford (1860s-1900) and Leighton Buzzard (1890s-1900), that are included and that provide an invaluable source of information about the make-up of the congregations. The account is also enriched by the inclusion of key original documents, correspondence, visitation reports and newspaper accounts.  We can also see the contributions made to this growth by national and local individuals, from trades people to members of the nobility, who contributed to the building of a number of local churches and the support of the clergy. The county also became the home of a small diocesan theological college and a nationally recognised boys' orphanage and home. The invaluable work of members of the clergy is examined, along with their contribution to reducing the longstanding anti-Catholicism that had existed across the county. Much remained to be done, but much had also been accomplished.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51411890471185,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51411890569489,"sku":"NIN9780851550862","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51811014115601,"sku":"GOR014409393","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":52110743666961,"sku":"NGR9780851550862","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53251980460305,"sku":"GOR014833609","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/085155086X.jpg?v=1750914775"},{"product_id":"bedfordshire-churches-in-the-nineteenth-century-iii-book-chris-pickford-9780851550633","title":"Bedfordshire Churches in the Nineteenth Century III","description":"This is the third in a series of four volumes describing Bedfordshire's parish churches in detail.  It is based on specially commissioned research, bringing together original official sources and contemporary accounts.  This volume covers Salford to Yelden.  Many churches are illustrated, often with unusual drawings, watercolours, lantern slides, etc.  Adding much new material to previously published accounts, the series will be an invaluable aid to research.  Part 1 Ampthill to Gravenhurst volume 73.  Part 2 Harlington to Roxton volume 77.  Part 4 Appendices and Index volume 80.  The volume contains a piece In Memoriam for Joyce Godber 1906-1999.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51707013267729,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51707013366033,"sku":"GOR002926666","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53242868531473,"sku":"GOR014826418","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0851550630.jpg?v=1751201755"},{"product_id":"bousfield-diaries-book-james-collett-white-9780851550756","title":"The Bousfield Diaries","description":"The diaries of Charlotte Bousfield, extending from 1878 to 1896, paint a vivid picture of the activities of the multi-talented Bousfield family of Bedford, led by its strong-minded matriarch.  The diaries of Charlotte Bousfield, extending from 1878 to 1896, paint a vivid picture of the activities of the multi-talented Bousfield family of Bedford, led by its strong-minded matriarch. The Bousfields were prominent in local life.  Charlotte's husband, Edward, was an influential figure in developing agricultural machinery at the Britannia Iron Works, Bedford's successful exemplar of a modern iron foundry, important as a factor in Bedford's growth.  Will, the ablest of their children, became a QC and Conservative MP, whose election campaigns are described in lively detail. Charlotte was also active both in Bedford and further afield.  Her concern for the underprivileged in the town, a practical expression of her fervent Methodist beliefs, emerges clearly in her lifelong work for the temperance cause, locally and nationally.  She founded a home for 'inebriate women', which was ground-breaking for the time, and describes the work of the home in fascinating detail.  She was also a Poor Law Guardian and a leading figure in the Bedford workhouse scandal of the 1890s. Throughout, the diaries bring out aspects of Victorian social life which are not always obvious: the dependence of the family on their servants; the ease of travelling using railways and horse-drawn transport; and the frequency with which family members would spend time staying with friends and relatives.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52146867110161,"sku":"NLS9780851550756","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52740409590033,"sku":"NIN9780851550756","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780851550756.jpg?v=1757598672"},{"product_id":"bedfordshire-churches-in-the-nineteenth-century-part-ii-book-chris-pickford-9780851550602","title":"Bedfordshire Churches in the Nineteenth Century  Part II","description":"The second in a series of three volumes describing Bedfordshire's parish churches in detail (see Vol.73), this book will appeal to anyone interested in old churches. The aim is to present a detailed account of each church together with text from five important nineteenth century sources.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52518609846545,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52518609977617,"sku":"GOR010268282","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780851550602.jpg?v=1760530026"},{"product_id":"inventories-of-bedfordshire-country-houses-1714-1830-book-james-collett-white-9780851550572","title":"Inventories of Bedfordshire Country Houses 1714-1830","description":"This is an edition of household inventories listing in detail the contents of sixteen Bedfordshire country houses. Among them are lesser-known ones like the Hasells and the Prebendal House at Leighton Buzzard as well as mansions such as Wrest Park, and Southill. The volume includes a general introduction, an account of each of the houses covered, contemporary illustrations, and indexes of names and subjects.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52518609912081,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52518610043153,"sku":"GOR008158085","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780851550572.jpg?v=1760530007"},{"product_id":"how-bedfordshire-voted-1685-1735-the-evidence-of-local-poll-books-book-james-collett-white-9780851550718","title":"How Bedfordshire Voted, 1685-1735: The Evidence of Local Poll Books","description":"The third volume in BHRS's series of poll books and covers the years from the fall of Walpole to the rise of William Pitt the younger.  This is the first volume of BHRS's series of late seventeenth and early eighteenth century poll books.  Poll books tell the story of local people and their link with national history. This book is the first in a series by BHRS containing transcripts of the poll books for the county and borough seats of Bedford, and also includes some election accounts showing candidates' expenditure. The introductory commentary gives an insight into political influences in Bedfordshire during the seminal period of English history from the Glorious Revolution to the accession of George I. It enables comparisons and political trends to be detected, including allegiances of regions of the county and parishes, the survival of the Tory party, the political allegiance of Anglican clergy and the role of Protestant nonconformists. Major landowners were important in Bedfordshire politics, but not dominant, and local gentry played a crucial role. The transcriptions list all those who voted in four county and one borough election. The 8,500 names, fully indexed, will give unparalleled information on local landholding and help family historians find ancestors between the 1671 Hearth Tax and the 1841 Census.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53564508471569,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53564508537105,"sku":"NIN9780851550718","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780851550718.jpg?v=1778941746"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/de-de\/collections\/publications-bedfordshire-hist-rec-soc-buchreihe.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}