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The books in this series are key examples of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century historiography which show how centuries of political, social and economic change were interpreted during the height of Britain's power. They shed light on the understanding of dynasty, religion and culture that shaped the domestic, foreign and colonial policy of the British Empire.

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70 results in Cambridge Library Collection - British and Irish History, General

Page 1 of 4

Chronicles of London
  • Edited by Charles Lethbridge Kingsford
  • Published online:
    05 June 2016
    Print publication:
    02 July 2015
    First published in:
    1905
  • First published in 1905, this work contains editions and discussion of three mid-fifteenth-century manuscript copies of London chronicles giving detailed insight into the city in this period. The volume was compiled by the respected historian Charles Lethbridge Kingsford (1862–1926), who published extensively on many subjects but was notable for his expertise on the reign of Henry V, which underpinned his appreciation of the importance of these chronicles. His scholarly introduction covers each of the London chronicles and discusses their manuscript copies, authorship, contents, dates and the intertextual relationships between them. The texts are accompanied by foliation and marginalia, and footnotes showing other manuscript variations. The appendices, containing details of texts drawn from each manuscript, include a list of lords, knights and gentlemen slain, and details of variations between manuscripts. This work also includes an extensive glossary, endnotes, and an index of names, places and topics.

Letters Written by Eminent Persons in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
  • To Which Are Added, Hearne's Journeys to Reading, and to Whaddon Hall, the Seat of Browne Willis, Esq., and Lives of Eminent Men
  • Volume 1
  • Edited by John Walker
  • John Aubrey
  • Published online:
    05 September 2015
    Print publication:
    02 April 2015
    First published in:
    1813
  • This three-volume compilation by the Oxford antiquary John Walker (1770–1831) consists mainly of manuscripts from the Bodleian Library and the Ashmolean Museum, but is significant because it contains the biographical notes on the 'lives of eminent men' furnished by John Aubrey (1626–97) to Anthony à Wood, who was at the time compiling his Athenae Oxonienses. Aubrey's subsequently famous Brief Lives were published for the first time in this 1813 work, and, although described as the fourth appendix to it, in fact comprise slightly less than half of the second volume and the entirety of the third. Volume 1 consist of letters between antiquaries including Kenelm Digby, John Cotton and William Dugdale, on topics ranging from the Cornish language and the cure for a bite from a mad dog to the visit of the Princess Anne to Oxford during the tumult of her father's deposition in 1688.

Anecdotes of the Manners and Customs of London from the Roman Invasion to the Year 1700
  • Volume 3
  • James Peller Malcolm
  • Published online:
    05 September 2015
    Print publication:
    02 April 2015
    First published in:
    1811
  • Born in Philadelphia, James Peller Malcolm (1767–1815) travelled to London in 1787, remaining there until his death. Initially hoping for a career as a landscape painter, he became well known for his engravings, which appeared in the Gentleman's Magazine from 1792, and for his books on history that made extensive use of original local records. First published in 1808, Anecdotes gives a typically personal and often light-hearted account of the history and customs of Malcolm's adopted city. Illustrated with his engravings, the work ranges from considering the diet and dress of the ancient Britons to suggesting that the Great Fire of London was state-sanctioned to rid the city of plague. This is the 1811 second edition of a valuable and often entertaining insight into English social history. Volume 3, most concerned with London itself, covers amusements and the origins of popular pastimes, and includes a detailed description of a masque by William Davenant.

Letters Written by Eminent Persons in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
  • To Which Are Added, Hearne's Journeys to Reading, and to Whaddon Hall, the Seat of Browne Willis, Esq., and Lives of Eminent Men
  • Volume 2, Part 1
  • Edited by John Walker
  • John Aubrey
  • Published online:
    05 September 2015
    Print publication:
    02 April 2015
    First published in:
    1813
  • This three-volume compilation by the Oxford antiquary John Walker (1770–1831) consists mainly of manuscripts from the Bodleian Library and the Ashmolean Museum, but is significant because it contains the biographical notes on the 'lives of eminent men' furnished by John Aubrey (1626–97) to Anthony à Wood, who was at the time compiling his Athenae Oxonienses. Aubrey's subsequently famous Brief Lives were published for the first time in this 1813 work, and, although described as the fourth appendix to it, in fact comprise slightly less than half of the second volume and the entirety of the third. Volume 2, Part 1 contains letters to and from the librarian and antiquary Thomas Hearne, as well as two accounts of Hearne's travels, on foot to Whaddon Hall in Buckinghamshire in 1716, and on horseback to Reading and Silchester in 1714, and the first fifty (organised alphabetically from Aiton to Fletcher) of Aubrey's 'lives'.

Anecdotes of the Manners and Customs of London from the Roman Invasion to the Year 1700
  • Volume 1
  • James Peller Malcolm
  • Published online:
    05 September 2015
    Print publication:
    02 April 2015
    First published in:
    1811
  • Born in Philadelphia, James Peller Malcolm (1767–1815) travelled to London in 1787, remaining there until his death. Initially hoping for a career as a landscape painter, he became well known for his engravings, which appeared in the Gentleman's Magazine from 1792, and for his books on history that made extensive use of original local records. First published in 1808, Anecdotes gives a typically personal and often light-hearted account of the history and customs of Malcolm's adopted city. Illustrated with his engravings, the work ranges from considering the diet and dress of the ancient Britons to suggesting that the Great Fire of London was state-sanctioned to rid the city of plague. This is the 1811 second edition of a valuable and often entertaining insight into English social history. Volume 1, concerned with 'society', considers the lives of the earliest Britons, English diet over the ages, and the origins of English character and customs.

Anecdotes of the Manners and Customs of London from the Roman Invasion to the Year 1700
  • Volume 2
  • James Peller Malcolm
  • Published online:
    05 September 2015
    Print publication:
    02 April 2015
    First published in:
    1811
  • Born in Philadelphia, James Peller Malcolm (1767–1815) travelled to London in 1787, remaining there until his death. Initially hoping for a career as a landscape painter, he became well known for his engravings, which appeared in the Gentleman's Magazine from 1792, and for his books on history that made extensive use of original local records. First published in 1808, Anecdotes gives a typically personal and often light-hearted account of the history and customs of Malcolm's adopted city. Illustrated with his engravings, the work ranges from considering the diet and dress of the ancient Britons to suggesting that the Great Fire of London was state-sanctioned to rid the city of plague. This is the 1811 second edition of a valuable and often entertaining insight into English social history. Volume 2 covers religion and superstitions, and commenting on fashions the author believes that by 1463 'the gentlemen had surpassed the softer sex in the oddities of their habits'.

Letters Written by Eminent Persons in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
  • To Which Are Added, Hearne's Journeys to Reading, and to Whaddon Hall, the Seat of Browne Willis, Esq., and Lives of Eminent Men
  • Volume 2, Part 2
  • Edited by John Walker
  • John Aubrey
  • Published online:
    05 September 2015
    Print publication:
    02 April 2015
    First published in:
    1813
  • This three-volume compilation by the Oxford antiquary John Walker (1770–1831) consists mainly of manuscripts from the Bodleian Library and the Ashmolean Museum, but is significant because it contains the biographical notes on the 'lives of eminent men' furnished by John Aubrey (1626–97) to Anthony à Wood, who was at the time compiling his Athenae Oxonienses. Aubrey's subsequently famous Brief Lives were published for the first time in this 1813 work, and, although described as the fourth appendix to it, in fact comprise slightly less than half of the second volume and the entirety of the third. Volume 2, Part 2 consists of the remainder of Aubrey's 'lives', organised alphabetically from Foote to Wright, together with his extended biography of Thomas Hobbes, which the famous philosopher had asked his friend Aubrey to write, but which again existed only in manuscript form until it was published in this compilation.

Letters of Constance Lytton
  • Constance Lytton
  • Edited by Betty Balfour
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    13 November 2014
    First published in:
    1925
  • First published in 1925, this selection of letters throws light upon the life and character of Constance Lytton (1869–1923), a brave and influential figure in the movement for women's suffrage. From an aristocratic background, she became a member of the Women's Social and Political Union in 1909, calling on the support of her many contacts. Among her achievements was the first-hand exposure of the poor treatment and force-feeding of working-class women on hunger strike in prison: she deliberately had herself arrested and imprisoned in disguise and under an alias. Compiled by her sister, Betty Balfour (1867–1942), these letters cover her adult life, mainly comprising correspondence from Lytton to close family members, interspersed with illustrations of her and her family. Despite omissions - particularly details relating to her personal relationships - this collection remains an important tribute to her life and to the history of suffrage and prison reform.

The History of the Worthies of England
  • Volume 1
  • Thomas Fuller
  • Edited by John Nichols
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    05 March 2015
    First published in:
    1811
  • This extraordinary collection of historical facts, a valuable source for local history, was compiled by Thomas Fuller (1608–61), who came from a clerical family and was educated at Cambridge. He was ordained, had gained a reputation as a preacher, and had published several theological works, when at the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted as a chaplain in the royalist army. Travelling round the country with Sir Ralph Hopton's troops, he pursued the historical enquiries which would result in the posthumous publication in 1662 of his most famous work. This two-volume edition was annotated by John Nichols, the bookseller and publisher, and published in 1811. The first part of the work consists of twenty-five short chapters which explain the organisation of the work, after which England and Wales are examined county by county: first, natural resources and manufactures, and then notable people, starting with princes and saints.

The History of the Worthies of England
  • Volume 2
  • Thomas Fuller
  • Edited by John Nichols
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    05 March 2015
    First published in:
    1811
  • This extraordinary collection of historical facts, a valuable source for local history, was compiled by Thomas Fuller (1608–61), who came from a clerical family and was educated at Cambridge. He was ordained, had gained a reputation as a preacher, and had published several theological works, when at the outbreak of the Civil War he enlisted as a chaplain in the royalist army. Travelling round the country with Sir Ralph Hopton's troops, he pursued the historical enquiries which would result in the posthumous publication in 1662 of his most famous work. This two-volume edition was annotated by John Nichols, the bookseller and publisher, and published in 1811. The first part of the work consists of twenty-five short chapters which explain the organisation of the work, after which England and Wales are examined county by county: first, natural resources and manufactures, and then notable people, starting with princes and saints.

Anecdotes of British Topography
  • Or, an Historical Account of What Has Been Done for Illustrating the Topographical Antiquities of Great Britain and Ireland
  • Richard Gough
  • Published online:
    05 November 2014
    Print publication:
    20 March 2014
    First published in:
    1768
  • The leading antiquary of his day, Richard Gough (1735–1809) promoted the history of the British Isles, particularly the Anglo-Saxon period, rather than pursuing the classical interests of contemporaries who had made the Grand Tour. Gough travelled extensively over the years, sketching and taking detailed notes on what he observed. He believed that the Society of Antiquaries, of which he was director from 1771 to 1797, should preserve the nation's heritage without catering to fashion or the interests of dilettantes. He published this major work anonymously in 1768, and it found a receptive readership. The book is in effect a gazetteer of published and unpublished materials for the local history and topography of the whole of Great Britain and Ireland, discussing public records, printed books, manuscripts, maps, and other sources relating to the antiquities of each county.

Registrum sacrum Anglicanum
  • An Attempt to Exhibit the Course of Episcopal Succession in England from the Records and Chronicles of the Church
  • William Stubbs
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    26 September 2013
    First published in:
    1858
  • This 1858 work was the first major publication of William Stubbs (1825–1901), who later became bishop of both Chester and Oxford. Stubbs also published highly respected and influential works on the constitutional history of England and was considered an authority on ecclesiastical history. The present work consists of a thorough chronology of the succession of the bishops of England, beginning with the consecration of Augustine of Canterbury in 597 and continuing up to 1857. Each bishop's entry includes their see, their consecrators and the sources from which this information was drawn. Wherever possible, Stubbs endeavoured to consult the original sources, and as such he was able to present more accurate dates of consecration than were previously available. The appendices include a well-annotated list of suffragan, Manx and Welsh bishops, as well as an index of each bishop, ordered by see.

A Descriptive List of the Printed Maps of Yorkshire and its Ridings, 1577–1900
  • Edited by Harold Whitaker
  • Published online:
    05 March 2014
    Print publication:
    14 February 2013
    First published in:
    1933
  • Originally founded in 1863 to promote interest in the history and archaeology of the Huddersfield area, the Yorkshire Archaeological Society expanded its purview in 1870 to cover the whole of Yorkshire. In 1884 it began publishing its Record Series, which aimed to make historical information available through the reprinting of original documents, diaries, letters, and charters. First published in 1933 and reprinted for the society in 1971, this well-illustrated work is an extensive catalogue of maps of the Yorkshire area, drawn between 1577 and 1900. The editor's introduction sets the maps within the history of cartography in Britain, and in the context of pioneering work by previous cartographers. The entries give a description of what each map depicts, along with information on dates and dimensions. This work remains a valuable resource for local historians and geographers.

Catalogue of the Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition, Royal Albert Hall, London, 1887
  • Compiled by Joseph Jacobs, Lucien Wolf
  • Published online:
    05 February 2014
    Print publication:
    20 September 2012
    First published in:
    1888
  • The pogroms in Russia following the assassination of Alexander II led many Jewish scholars in Europe to examine closely the history and culture of their people. Over three months in 1887 the Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition in London aimed 'to promote knowledge of Anglo-Jewish History; to create a deeper interest in its records and relics, and to aid in their preservation', while also determining 'the extent of the materials which exist for the compilation of a History of the Jews in England'. Artefacts illuminating this history, together with religious art and miscellaneous antiquities, were placed on public display and a series of lectures was given. Various academic enterprises, including the Bibliotheca Anglo-Judaica - also edited by Joseph Jacobs (1854–1916) and Lucien Wolf (1857–1930) and reissued in this series - were undertaken as a direct result of this important event. The descriptive catalogue of exhibits, first published in 1888, is also well illustrated with a number of full-page photographs.

A History of the Cries of London
  • Ancient and Modern
  • Charles Hindley
  • Published online:
    05 May 2013
    Print publication:
    10 November 2011
    First published in:
    1881
  • Charles Hindley (d.1893) wrote and edited many books on British popular literature and culture, including Curiosities of Street Literature (1871), Tavern Anecdotes and Sayings (1875) and The History of the Catnach Press (1886, also reissued in this series). This 1881 study traces the distinctive 'cries' of street traders in London from the time of Chaucer to the Victorian period and maintains Hindley's characteristic focus on people rather than mere facts. His use of nearly two hundred woodcuts, including many by Bewick, and his discussion of them at the beginning of the text, testifies to his enthusiasm for the printing press. Using evidence from 'broadsides, books or engravings', music and drama, Hindley vividly portrays the sights and sounds of the streets of London from many different periods, describing the vendors to be found in particular locations, and merchandise from cherries to ballad-sheets, shellfish to lavender, and scissors to ink.

The Amusements of Old London
  • Being a Survey of the Sports and Pastimes, Tea Gardens and Parks, Playhouses and Other Diversions of the People of London from the 17th to the Beginning of the 19th Century
  • Volume 1
  • William Biggs Boulton
  • Published online:
    05 September 2012
    Print publication:
    24 November 2011
    First published in:
    1901
  • Little is known about the life of William B. Boulton, who was active as an author in the 1900s. This illustrated two-volume set, published first in 1901 is perhaps the most famous of his works, though he also wrote biographies of Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough. The work examines how popular entertainment in London changed dramatically between the restoration of Charles II and the accession of Queen Victoria. From cock-fights and bear-baiting, tastes turned to less bloodthirsty pursuits, and led to the rise of many leisure activities that are still popular today. Among the topics discussed in Volume 1 are gambling and masked balls, as well as opera and theatre during the period when women were first permitted to act on the public stage in England.

History of Civilization in England
  • Volume 2
  • Henry Thomas Buckle
  • Published online:
    05 June 2012
    Print publication:
    08 December 2011
    First published in:
    1861
  • English historian Henry Thomas Buckle (1821–62) was born into the family of a wealthy London merchant. A child of delicate health, and tutored privately at home, he never attended university. Nevertheless, it was clear that he was meant for intellectual pursuits and by the age of twenty he was a formidable chess player. With his love of books and reading, he set out on an ambitious plan to write a fourteen-volume history of civilisation, and at the same time to put historical research on a more scientific basis. The work would have included a greater number of countries, but due to his early death, only two volumes exist. Published in 1861, this is the second of two volumes that make up Buckle's unfinished history of civilization. It focuses on Scotland, and its intellectual, religious, political and social history. It also includes a chapter on Spain.

The State of the Poor
  • Or, An History of the Labouring Classes in England, from the Conquest to the Present Period
  • Volume 3
  • Frederick Morton Eden
  • Published online:
    05 June 2012
    Print publication:
    03 November 2011
    First published in:
    1797
  • Sir Frederick Morton Eden (1766–1809) was an English writer and a pioneer social researcher. Eden studied at Christ Church, Oxford, and subsequently worked in banking and insurance, inheriting a baronetcy from his father, who had been the governor of the American province of Maryland, in 1784. Arguing that poverty could not be tackled without knowing what it actually meant to be poor, this innovative three-volume work is an attempt to define what poverty meant in concrete terms. It is packed with data from across England, divided by county, and covering factors such as food prices, wages, diet and mortality rates. Volume 3 presents the second set of reports on living conditions of the poor in the various English counties, sorted alphabetically from Surrey to Yorkshire, and the Welsh counties. A study of Scotland's poor is included in an appendix.

A History of Agriculture and Prices in England
  • From the Year after the Oxford Parliament (1259) to the Commencement of the Continental War (1793)
  • Volume 6, 1583–1702
  • James E. Thorold Rogers
  • Published online:
    05 May 2012
    Print publication:
    22 December 2011
    First published in:
    1887
  • Since early times, agriculture has been pivotal to England's economy. This is the sixth in a magisterial seven-volume, eight-piece compilation by the economist James E. Thorold Rogers (1823–90), which represents the most complete record of produce costs in England between the thirteenth and eighteenth centuries. Drawing on a variety of sources including college archives and the Public Record Office, Rogers documents the fluctuating prices of commodities such as livestock, wheat, hay, wool, textiles and labour in a time of great economic change, when the growing economy of the early middle ages was shaken by famine and the Black Death, and then gradually recovered towards the Agrarian Revolution. First published in 1887, Volume 6 presents in tabular form the data from 1583 to 1702, showing the prices of a range of products in towns and cities across the country, which are discussed in essays in Volume 5.

A History of Agriculture and Prices in England
  • From the Year after the Oxford Parliament (1259) to the Commencement of the Continental War (1793)
  • Volume 3, 1401–1582
  • James E. Thorold Rogers
  • Published online:
    05 May 2012
    Print publication:
    22 December 2011
    First published in:
    1882
  • Since early times, agriculture has been pivotal to England's economy. This is the third in a magisterial seven-volume, eight-piece compilation by the economist James E. Thorold Rogers (1823–90), which represents the most complete record of produce costs in England between the thirteenth and eighteenth centuries. Drawing on a variety of sources including college archives and the Public Record Office, Rogers documents the fluctuating prices of commodities such as livestock, wheat, hay, wool, textiles and labour in a time of great economic change, when the growing economy of the early middle ages was shaken by famine and the Black Death, and then gradually recovered towards the Agrarian Revolution. First published in 1882, this volume presents in tabular form data from 1401 to 1582, showing the prices of a range of products and services in towns and cities across the country. The data are then discussed in essays in Volume 4.

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