Editorial note

EDITORIAL NOTE

This volume is the eleventh, and last, volume to have been compiled under the co-operative system described in the editorial note to volume IV. In June 2000, after several years of increasing financial difficulties for the Essex V.C.H., a Quadripartite Agreement was signed by Essex County Council, the University of Essex, the University of London Institute of Historical Research, and the Essex Victoria County History Committee. Under that agreement, the staff of the Essex Victoria County History were transferred to Essex University, and the County Council agreed to continue, and slightly increase, its annual grant to the V.C.H.

The Essex Victoria County History Committee dissolved itself after the signa- ture of the Quadripartite Agreement. The University of London expresses its thanks to all those who have served on that committee, and in particular to its officers in 2000: the Chairman Lord Petre, the Vice-Chairman Mr. Geoffrey Hare, the Hon. Secretary Miss Nancy Briggs, the Hon. Treasurer Mr. Ken Hall, and the Hon. Assistant Secretary Mr. George Saddington. The President, Lord Braybrooke, and the Vice-Presidents, Col. Sir John Ruggles-Brise, Mr. W. R. Powell, and Mr. Frank Sainsbury, are likewise sincerely thanked.

During the compilation of this volume, Essex County Council has provided the main funding for the Essex V.C.H. and the University of London expresses its deep gratitude to the Council for its generosity. Since work on the volume started in 1994, grants or donations have also been received from the London Boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, and Redbridge, from the Borough Councils of Chelmsford and Southend, from the District Councils of Brentwood, Epping Forest, and Harlow, from the Essex Archaeological and Historical Congress, and from the Friends of Historic Essex.

The V.C.H. Essex Appeal Fund (reg. char. 1038801) has continued its work, and has made a substantial contribution to the funds of the Essex V.C.H. The Appeal Committee is grateful to a number of trusts, particularly to the Essex Heritage Trust and the Augustine Courtauld Trust, and to several District and Parish Councils, notably Colchester Borough Council and Maldon District Council. Most donations, however, have come from individuals, all of whom are sincerely thanked for their generous support. When the Appeal fund was originally launched, donors were told that their names would be published in this volume. Since then, rules on matters such as data protection have caused the Appeal Committee to decide, with regret, that individual names should not be listed. The members of the Appeal Committee, particularly its chairmen, Robert G. E. Wood (to 1997), John Appleby (1997-2000), and Chris Manning-Press (from 2000), its Hon. Secretary Mrs. Patricia Herrmann, and its Hon. Treasurer the Revd. Chris Studd (1996-2000) are also sincerely thanked.

Dr. Janet Cooper has continued as County Editor, and Mrs. Shirley Durgan and Dr. C. C. Thornton as Assistant Editors, Mrs. Durgan becoming part-time in 2000. Mrs. Pamela Studd retired as part-time Editorial Assistant in 1999 and has not been replaced. The volume was prepared under the general editorship of Dr. C. R. J. Currie, who continued to oversee the work after his retirement as General Editor in July 2000.

The General Introduction to the Victoria County History, published in 1970, and its Supplement, published in 1990, give an outline of the structure and aims of the series as a whole, with an account of its origins and progress. As in volumes IV-IX of the Essex History, the brief descriptions of the earlier parochial registers of each parish, commonly included in the topographical volumes of the V.C.H., have not been considered necessary because of the publication by the County Council of Essex Parish Records, 1240-1894 (1950, revised edn. 1966).

The authors and editors of the present volume have received help from many persons. Especial thanks are due to Dr. A. F. J. Brown for providing notes on material in 18th- and 19th-century newspapers, and to Dr. Mark Byford, Mrs. Valerie Graves, Mrs. Ida McMaster, Mr. Dave Stenning, and Mr. Ian Stratford for assisting with the work on several parish histories and for making available copies of unpublished notes and papers. The editors are also grateful to Mrs. Lynn Marston, Mrs. Charlotte Ryder, Miss Maureen Scollan, Mrs. Felicity Sturt, Mrs. Pamela Studd, and Mrs. V. M. Thornton who have helped to prepare the volume for the press. Particular thanks are also given to the staff of the Essex Record Office, both in Chelmsford and in Colchester, the staff of the Local Studies section of Essex County Libraries, the staff of Colchester Museum, and the staff of the Heritage Conservation Section of the Planning Division of Essex County Council. Others who have given help with a specific part of the volume are named in the footnotes or in the list of illustrations; they too are sincerely thanked.