Editorial note

EDITORIAL NOTE

The present volume, the eleventh in the Wiltshire series to be published, has been prepared like the previous ones under the superintendence of the Wiltshire Victoria County History Committee. That committee, whose origin and early constitution are described in the Editorial Note to the Victoria History of Wiltshire, Volume VII, has been good enough to continue, and indeed from time to time enlarge, its generous grant. The University of London has thus been able to continue publication of the Wiltshire History and takes pleasure in renewing the expression of its gratitude to the participating authorities in Wiltshire for their friendly co-operation.

The reorganization of local government early in 1974 resulted in certain changes among the officers of the committee. In February the late D. Murray John, O.B.E., and Mr. E. Eckersley, respectively Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer since the beginning of the committee in 1948, resigned and were replaced by Mr. D. M. Kent and Mr. J. Thornton, their successors in the new District Council of Thamesdown. In June Sir Henry Langton (now Calley), D.S.O., D.F.C., D.L., was succeeded as Chairman by Group Captain F. A. Willan, C.B.E., D.F.C., D.L., Chairman of the new Wiltshire County Council. It must sadly be recorded that Murray John, to whom the harmonious progress of the Wiltshire History from its foundation was largely due, died soon after his resignation and retirement.

Thanks are rendered to many people who have helped in the compilation of the volume by granting access to documents in their care or ownership, by reading drafts, or by offering advice. Many are named in the footnotes or in the preamble to the List of Illustrations. Particular mention must be made of Mr. R. E. Sandell, Honorary Librarian of the Wiltshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, who, as with previous volumes, helped in very many ways, and of the Wiltshire County Archivist and his staff both at Trowbridge and in Salisbury.

An outline of the structure and aims of the History as a whole, as also of its origins and progress, is included in the General Introduction to the History (1970).