How far can the development of English local and regional history be regarded as a template for those of other nations?

How far can the development of English local and regional history be regarded as a template for those of other nations?
Focus your discussion on at least two of the three other nations of Britain and Ireland The purpose of this essay is to argue that despite developments in the discourses of local history in England undoubtedly influencing those elsewhere; it has by no means provided the template for other nations. Firstly, it will evaluate the historiographical canon of English local history; and secondly, a discussion as to whether this development can indeed be regarded as a template for the other nations in Britain and Ireland is put forward. In light of this, the essay begins by outlining how local history has developed within England. It then discusses whether the local history of Wales, Ireland and Scotland can be seen to have followed the English model with regard to particular themes of chronology, infrastructure and identity; it is argued that while a relatively similar progression has been made with regard to the country’s historical narratives, there remain distinct frameworks and character regarding local history. Finally, the essay analyses current local historical agendas in the individual countries and differing areas of scholarship. The essay advocates that while many of the questions raised by local and regional history have been investigated more consistently in England than elsewhere, there remain four distinct templates within the selected countries.

The English template can be traced to an early period where engrossment with local history can be seen as a constant characteristic of English life.1 In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries antiquarian writing dealing with the topography of individual places began to emerge.2 John Leland, who was appointed the King’s antiquary in 1533, went on to inspire a new generation of scholars.3 Influential among these early antiquarians was Camden, who’s Britannia proved influential for many of his contemporaries.4 Increasingly, descriptions of English counties developed and in the early seventeenth century Dugdale set a new standard in the use of documentary sources.5 Similarly publications dealing with the individual histories of English towns flowed from Elizabethan times onwards.6 Moreover, parish histories began to emerge in the eighteenth century.7 These were further developed with pivotal institutional improvements: With the formation of many local societies in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; the official start of printing records (1783); the establishment of the Public Record Office (PRO) (1838); and a major land mark at the end of the nineteenth century was the establishment of the Victoria History of the Counties of England (VCH) (1899). The aim of which was to outline the local history of the whole of England. For many, VCH accommodates a connection between the foremost scholarship of the antiquarian tradition and that of the local historians of the 20th century.8 Where its volumes exist they will still be the first reference for local historians.9 It was not until the mid-twentieth century that English local history would again become prominent. This achievement owes much to the emergence of the Leicester School of local history in 1948.10 The school’s historians, notably Hoskins, helped to shift the emphasis of local history towards being a discipline in its own right by focusing its unit of study on individual communities.11 Notably, even VCH has shown signs of a change in emphasis.12 In the wake of these new directions in scholarship, local history today is more academically accepted within the scholarly community, and traditional amateur vivacity continues.13 Local studies are now an important dimension of economic history and have proved extremely influential with regard to history from below, women’s history and social history.14 Correspondingly, family history has grown, particularly at an amateur level, rapidly within England in recent years, which has undoubtedly ‘enriched the study of local history’.15 Within this progression towards interdisciplinarity Tosh concludes, ‘That local history enjoys such high standing among present-day historians probably offers the best assurance that the traditional boundaries between specialisms will not be permitted to stand in the way of a thematically integrated view of the past’.16

The English template of local history development can be seen in the general historiographies of the other nations themselves. Like England, there has been a similar upsurge in interest in the subject in Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Markedly, topographical descriptions again begin at very early dates. Nevertheless, unlike England, these documents consistently combine notions of myth or folklore with observations.17 Animated particularly by European contemporaries, scholars placed the study of antiquities on a firm footing; however it is not until the seventeenth century that notable local history documents begin to emerge.18 English historical scholarship had been firmly established for some time and links proved influential in continued pedagogy.19 This English ascendancy continued to be influential in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.20 Similarly to England, local history was dominated by local gentry and elites. This influence can also be seen in the nineteenth century production of town and parish histories in Wales.21 Nevertheless, the scope and potency of the VCH would not be matched in the other countries. Indeed, VCH would prove to be somewhat of a template from which to be followed, and this has been continued with the emergence of the Leicester school.22

Much of the differences with regard to the direction the local historical narratives have taken within each country, and subsequent disparities from the English template, can be traced to the institutional frameworks of each countries local history. England provides a potent sense of continuance in its template, typified notably in the influence of local gentry, relatively settled unit of study and the establishment of regional Record Offices.23 This English template is perhaps most evident with regard to Wales. This is not surprising given its geography and historical close administrative servitude to England. Because of this historic relationship, Welsh local history has benefitted from record publishing ventures in England, and archives continue to hold numerous sources that are pertinent to Welsh historians.24 More noticeable differences in terms of the institutional underpinnings of local history can be seen in Ireland and Scotland.25 Both have had turbulent histories both in terms of individuality and their relationship with England. For Scotland in particular, domestic dwellings were relatively limited before 1800. Furthermore, with no real stake in their land people have always been on the move.26 This somewhat explains why there is no equivalent to VCH until 1980s and the poor provision of record offices. Similarly in Ireland, the long-well established sets of administrative units which helped continuity of English local historiography have been abundant with challenges.27 Ireland’s land units did become Anglicised through processes such as the Ordnance Survey between 1824 and 1926, nonetheless defining the boundaries of ‘local’ in Ireland remains difficult.28 Further, many of Ireland’s archives were destroyed in 1922 in the War of Independence, meaning that certain types of local history have proved difficult since. Such developments meant that the English template has not been followed, even if there had been a desire to do so.

Instead, a wish to maintain strong individual identities has embodied the local historical narratives of each country. In Ireland, a collection of historical tribulations has engendered a diversity of regions with distinctive historical characters; Ireland’s complicated relationship with England itself throughout much of its history has left many communities with a distinctly eclectic character. Also, due in part to the countries recent urbanisation, Irish people remain fiercely territorial which is reflected in its local history.29 As a result Irish local history has struggled to gain a distinctive identity within its historical profession and throughout its historiography has been highly politicized. Resembling Ireland, Scotland has been historically much poorer than England and experiences of the underdog have come out in literature.30 Scots have also looked to mythologies of the clan for contentment.31 Even Wales has a clear sense of character traced by both its territory and the culture of its inhabitants. Profound pride in Wales and attachment to their locality are prevalent within the countries local historiography and has produced unique scholarship.32 With the retention of strict identities, and these infiltrating local historical scholarships, the English template clearly remains in certain disciplines inconsistent. Today, local history in the separate regions does seem to somewhat replicate that of England. Upsurges in amateur activity set alongside family history have gone hand in hand with an increased academic recognition.33 Movements towards more question-led approaches and the influence of other disciplines such as social history are compatible within each country.34 Nonetheless, if examined more closely, discrepancies do appear. For example, there continues to be a dominant position for political history in Irish history departments and increasingly local history is being seen as a discipline in which divisions can help to be bridged.35 In conclusion, throughout its development local and regional history in England has been dominant in terms of historical discourse and narrative within its locality.36 Scotland, Wales and Ireland have all drawn from this persuasive model. This is certainly true in terms of the countries historiographies. Nonetheless, with particular regard to the institutional frameworks in place to support, and as a consequence of such studies, combined with national pride and its filtration of local studies distinctions remain. Thus it is clear that instead four templates regarding the development of local and regional studies prevail within the countries in question.

Bibliography
Beckett, J,’ Local history, family history and the Victoria County History: new directions for the twenty-first century’, Historical Research, (May 2008) (Blackwell Publishing: Oxford)
Beckett, ‘W. G. Hoskins, the Victoria County History, and the Study of English Local History’, Midland History, 2011, 115–127 (Blackwell Publishing: Oxford)
Boate, G, Irelands Naturall History (1645)
Camden, W, Britannia, 7th ed (London, 1601)
Davidoff, Leonore, and Catherine Hall, Family Fortunes: Men and Women of the English Middle Class 1780-1850 (London and New York: Routledge, 2002)
Dugdale, W, The Antiquities of Warwickshire (London, 1656)
Gabba, E, ‘True History and False History in Classical Antiquity’, The Journal of Roman Studies, (1981), pp. 50-62 Hoskins, W, The Midland Peasant: the Economic and Social History of a Leicestershire Village, (London: Macmillan, 1957)
Lambarde, W, A Perambulation of Kent (1576)
Leland, J, The Itinerary of John Leland in or about the Years 1535–1543 (London, 1553)
Roberts, E, A Woman’s Place: An Oral History of Working-Class Women, 1890– 1940, (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1984)
Thompson, E, The Making of the English Working Class (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1968)
Tiller, K, ‘Local History Brought up to Date’, The Local Historian. 2006
Tiller, K and D Dymond, ‘Local History at the Crossroads’, The Local Historian. 2007
John Tosh, The Pursuit of History: Aims, Methods and New Directions in the Study of Modern History, 3rd edn (Harlow: Longman, 2000)

Bibliography: Beckett, J,’ Local history, family history and the Victoria County History: new directions for the twenty-first century’, Historical Research, (May 2008) (Blackwell Publishing: Oxford) Beckett, ‘W Boate, G, Irelands Naturall History (1645) Camden, W, Britannia, 7th ed (London, 1601) Davidoff, Leonore, and Catherine Hall, Family Fortunes: Men and Women of the English Middle Class 1780-1850 (London and New York: Routledge, 2002) Dugdale, W, The Antiquities of Warwickshire (London, 1656) Gabba, E, ‘True History and False History in Classical Antiquity’, The Journal of Roman Studies, (1981), pp. 50-62 Hoskins, W, The Midland Peasant: the Economic and Social History of a Leicestershire Village, (London: Macmillan, 1957) Lambarde, W, A Perambulation of Kent (1576) Leland, J, The Itinerary of John Leland in or about the Years 1535–1543 (London, 1553) Roberts, E, A Woman’s Place: An Oral History of Working-Class Women, 1890– 1940, (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1984) Thompson, E, The Making of the English Working Class (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1968) Tiller, K, ‘Local History Brought up to Date’, The Local Historian. 2006 Tiller, K and D Dymond, ‘Local History at the Crossroads’, The Local Historian John Tosh, The Pursuit of History: Aims, Methods and New Directions in the Study of Modern History, 3rd edn (Harlow: Longman, 2000)