Editorial note

EDITORIAL NOTE

Like its predecessors, the present volume, which is the thirteenth to be published of the Victoria History of Wiltshire, has been prepared under the superintendence of the Wiltshire Victoria County History Committee. The Editorial Note to Volume VII, the first to be published, described the origin and early constitution of the Committee; new arrangements were introduced in 1975, as mentioned in the Editorial Note to Volume XI, the Committee providing the funds with which the Institute of Historical Research of the University of London meets the cost of employing the editorial staff and of other necessary expenses. The University has pleasure once again in thanking the Local Authorities which contribute to the funds and send representatives to the Committee, thus enabling the continued publication of the Wiltshire History.

Since the publication of Volume XI two men whose efforts and abilities were invaluable to the Wiltshire History have died. Group Captain F. A. Willan, C.B.E., D.F.C., D.L., died in November 1981 shortly after being succeeded as Chairman of the Wiltshire Victoria County History Committee by Mr. N. J. M. Anderson, M.C., D.L., who had earlier succeeded him as Chairman of the County Council. Group Captain Willan's unflagging support for the Wiltshire History had made it possible for the enterprise to continue without diminution or deceleration in a period of financial difficulty. Professor R. B. Pugh, D.Lit., died in December 1982. He had been General Editor of the Victoria County History from 1949 to 1977 and had particularly strong associations with the Wiltshire History, being closely involved with its initiation in 1946, serving as its honorary editor from 1949 to 1955 (jointly with G. M. Young until 1953), and writing substantial parts of six of the volumes.

Thanks are offered to the many people who have helped in the compilation of the volume by granting access to documents and buildings in their care or ownership, by providing information, or by giving advice. Most of them are named in the footnotes to the articles with which they helped and a few in the preamble to the List of Illustrations. Special mention must be made of the assistance given in many ways by the County Archivist (Mr. K. H. Rogers) and his staff. It is a pleasure also to thank the Town Clerk of Marlborough (Mr. N. A. Cluer) and the Bursar of Marlborough College (Captain J. Asbury, C.B.E., R.N.).

The General Introduction to the Victoria History, published in 1970, gives an outline of the structure and aims of the series, with an account of its origins and progress.