REVIEWS AYLESBURY A PICTORIAL HISTORY. Hugh Hanley & Julian Hunt. (Phillimore, 1993) ISBN 0 85033 873 5, £11.95

The authors of this pictorial history, as most readers will know, are respectively County Archi­vist and Local Studies Librarian at Aylesbury. They are to be warmly congratulated on producing a work that manages to be not only readable but reliable. A judicious introduction provides a background to the pictures, and eschews speculation - for example on the disputed A.S. Chronicle entry for AD 571 - concentrating on what is certainly known. The rest of the book consists of 131 well chosen and well captioned photographs and engravings, arranged thematically. They cover manors, markets and mills, the development of the street plan and the local economy, turnpikes, canals and railways, and the inns that served them, churches and schools, law enforcement and civil administration. Readers may be disappointed that not all the photographs are dated, but if so they have no idea of what is involved in dating photographs from internal evidence alone; it calls for a width and depth of knowledge to which only those with the authors' experience can aspire. They have worked miracles in assembling as much information as they have. It is a serious criticism- and one that had also to be levelled at the same publisher's similiar work on High Wycombe - that there is no map of modern Aylesbury to help readers relate the pictures to the present-day scene. But residents of Aylesbury can supply this want from their own knowledge, and others will appreciate this vivid recreation of Aylesbury ' s past. It is also a painful reminder of the devastation that commercial greed and insensitive planning can effect.

J.C.T 86

THE CHILTERNS. Leslie W. Hepple & Alison M. Doggett (Phillimore , 1992) ISBN 0 8503] 833 6 £19 .95 Current local history depends less on parish chronologies and manorial descent than on themes such as landscape, industrial archaeology and population change. It is natural then that a new standard work on the Chilterns should be written not by an historian, but by two geographers, Leslie Hepple, a lecturer in geography at Bristol University and Alison Doggett, a geography teacher at Berhampstead School for Girls . Their achievement is to summarise the latest and most authorative views on the development of the Chiltern landscape and to present the result in a readable and beautifully illustrated form.

The Chi/terns is a substantial book comprising 272 pages, lavishly illustrated with 171 maps , diagrams and black and white and colour photographs. Every aspect of the Chiltern landscape is covered, from geology and natural history to roads, canals and railways and no difficult issue is evaded. Rather than endless drawings of potsherds and axeheads, the reader is treated to an informed discussion of likely land uses and economic organisation in prehistoric times. The pace of Saxon colonisation of the Chilterns is assessed and the issue of field patterns and common arable is dealt with thoroughly. Particular attention is paid to the Chiltern woodland with a clear explanation of its preservation and management since the medieval period. The book is brought up to date with a discussion of metroland and the impact of modern farming methods. The bibliography and chapter notes are meticulous and provide a comprehensive reading list for the serious student of the Chi! terns. The joy of the book is the crisp maps and diagrams which explain complex issues with admirable clarity. Location plans, sections of strata, distribution maps, field diagrams, flow charts and isometric drawings punctuate the text on nearly

every page. The illustrations, many in full colour, help the authors make specific points and are not included simply to make the book attractive. Some of the images are particularly apt, for instance, the representation in an illuminated manuscript of King Offa founding St. Albans, the Abbey shown in the palm of his hand and in the decorated gothic style in vogue at the time the document was transcribed. Several estate maps are accurately reproduced, with the lettering in the keys readable and the colour conveying the mapmaker's exact purpose. Alison Doggett's own colour photographs greatly enhance the book and are most useful when showing landscape and crop features. Few books published in recent years can have made such a valuable contribution to our under­standing of a distinct region of England. The first edition of The Chi/terns, published by Phillimore in late 1992, is already out of print and a revised edition is in preparation. It is gratifying that such a worthwhile book has also been a financial success. The authors are to be heartily congratulated.

Julian Hunt

EXCAVATIONS ON MEDlEY AL SITES IN MILTON KEYNES. Dennis C. Mynard,l94 pp. 98 figs, 40 tables. A4, card covers. (Bucking hamshire Archaeology Society, 1994), ISBN 0 949003 15 8, £28. From Oxbow Books, Oxford. The title of this anthology, for such it is, is not immediately appealing; on the title page, admit­tedly, the words 'and later' are added to 'medieval'. This is presumably because one of the the churches investigated, St Martin's, Fenny Stratford is an eighteenth-century foundation, formerly thought, wrongly it seems, to have been built on the site of a medieval chantry chapel. The author presents the results of seven excava­tions and five watching briefs at medieval sites in the Milton Keynes area. The fact that all the work was development-led rather than research-led means that the reports vary considerably in their scope and (almost literally) depth. It also means that the reader is left with no overall idea of the pattern of medieval settlement in the area as a whole.

This volume is, however, only one of the excel­lent Milton Keynes Monographs now being pub­lished by the Buckinghamshire Archaeological Society. Medieval occupation in Great Linford and other villages is being treated in separate volumes. A synthetic volume must surely follow one day. The volume under review will, like the others, provide a valuable source for the historians and archaeologists of the future. One wonders, however, whether it would not have been preferable, as some would argue, to publish (if precise reference to archives was thought insufficient) the details of pottery, tiles and other artefacts on microfiche only. In the first, and longest, section of the book, thirty out of forty pages are devoted to the finds. This is at Bradwell Bury, where the excavation of the substantial stone­built manor house has thrown a little light on the history of the manor. It seems to have been without a capital messuage for over three centuries, since 'the excavation produced little evidence of activity on the site from the later fourteenth to the late eighteenth century'. Holy Trinity, Little Woolstone, is given differ­ent treatment. Mynard's summary of the ex­cavation, a mere fourteen pages, is based on the site archive and includes short reports on the artefacts, some illustrated, but presents a more digestible entry for the general reader.

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The watching briefs (with subsequent interven­tion where possible) at churches in Milton Keynes, Bletchley, Simpson, Fenny Stratford and Willan, provide a salutory lesson for other parts of the country where there is not - or has not been - an alert and energetic archaeological unit. The church floors all contributed a little to the sum of knowl­edge about church archaeology. The present trans­mogrification of Anglican churches seems unstoppable and who knows how many research opportunities are being missed. There cannot be many areas which have been as intensively studied as Milton Keynes has; very properly publication follows excavation. The place for this scholarly but weighty A4 volume is however on the desk and not the bedside table. J.P.A.F.

THE SOCIETY Membership

During 1993 we learnt with regret of the deaths of Miss F. E. Allan, Horace Brackley (Life Mem­ber), R. G. Close-Smith, The Reverend Robert Col­lier, Mr .J. R. Cook, Lady Davies, Miss Wendy roves, W. J. S. Gurney. Mrs E. M. Knight, Mrs M. N. Ruse. Norman Sears, Mrs Jane Wright, and Brian Young. At the end of 1993, we num ered 335 ordinary members, 118 family/household memberships, rwo junior members, 20 honorary and Ufe members, 4 ex-officio members, and 12 affiliated societies.

Annual General Meeting & Council The report and accounts for 1992 and the 1993 AGM agenda were included in the Spring Newslet­ter which also notified the increases in subscription rates for 1994 and the reasons for Council decision. The 1993 AGM minutes were reproduced in the Autumn Newsletter. Council met five times with Dr Arnold Baines FSA as Chairman. Ted Bull was co-opted to act as Meetings Organizer. Mr and Mrs Viney were elected as Honorary Members in appreciation of their unprecedented services to the Society. Horace Brackley bequeathed a choice of books and arte­facts to the Society plus the sum of £100 which was munificently doubled by his executors, Mr and Mrs Anthony Reilly.

Bucks County Council Library & Museum Sub-Committee Society representatives were the President (Elliott Viney Esq FSA), Dr A. H. J. Baines FSA and Dr R. P. Hagerty, all three being members of the Museum Panel. Representative on the County­wide Consultative Committee for Museums & Ar­chaeology was Dr Hagerty.

ued. First-phase topping-out took place on 7 May. A six-week archaeological excavaLicm involv ing enlargement of the basement area to plac in July/August, Lhe Sociel'Y contributing £2,000 to­ward the estimated cost of £12,000. Subsequently, construction of the Art Gallery commenced. The County Council was much exercised finding ways and means of financing the costs of new displays and extra staff for the extended Museum. The future is overshadowed by the possible break-up of Buckinghamshire following the Local Govern· ment Review which has been brought forward into 1994. Lecture Series

Six talks, with slides, were given on Saturday afternoons in the County Museum Technical Cen­tre at Halton. JAN 16 FOSSIL REPTILES IN BUCKS by Kate Rowland. JAN 30 FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE & THE BUCKS INFIRMARY by R. Vernon Chesworth. FEB 27 PROGRESS & PLANS AT THE COUNTY MUSEUM by the Curator, Colin Dawes. MCH 13 MEET A BARN OWL with Mike Willicombe. MCH 20 PREHISTORIC BOATS by Dr Ted Wright FSA. APR 3 NATURAL HISTORY SECTION AGM. Followed by DISAPPEARING FLORA OF BUCKS by Jean Hall. SEP 18 RURAL BUILDINGS OF BUCKINGHAM­SHIRE by Roger Evans. OCT 23 MAGISTRACY & MURDER IN AYLES­BURY VALE (A CASE STUDY OF SO­CIAL CONTROL 1828-38) by Professor John G. Carina. NOV 13 THE ROTHSCHILDS & THEIR HOUSES

The three-year £2.3M refurbishment by the DEC 4 County Council of the Museum buildings contin-by Elliott Viney. THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY by John Woolley.

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Outings All five outings enjoyed good or acceptable weather.

MAY 1 BATH. A day exploring the superb 18th cen­tury city. Not a guided tour but a map and list of suggestions provided. JUN 5 WILTSHIRE. LONGLEAT HOUSE, the great Elizabethan "prodigy house" of the Marquess of Bath.

JUL3l

SEP4

OCT2

STOURHEAD HOUSE and LANDSCAPE GARDENS (NT). DERBYSHIRE. MELBOURNE CHURCH -12th C. SUDBURY HALL - 17th C (NT). STAUNTON HAROLD CHURCH, a most unusual Gothic church dating from the Com­monwealth and Restoration periods (NT). SUSSEX. CHICHESTER CATHEDRAL (guided tour). HARDHAM CHURCH - wall paintings. PETWORTH HOUSE (NT). BUCKS CHURCH CRAWL. WINGRA VE, WING, STEWKLEY, SOULBURY, EATON BRAY (Beds), EDLESBOROUGH, IVINGHOE, PITSTONE, DRAYTON BEAUCHAMP.

Publications Records of Buckinghamshire Vol. 33 (1991) were distributed in April to members then fully paid-up and later to tardy payers as and when sub­scriptions/arrears due were received. Once again, we are very grateful to all who helped with deliver­ies, thereby reducing the Society spend on postage. Copies of the Index for Records Volumes X thru XX have been supplied to members on request and copies are still available on request to the Hon. Librian Society Monographs prepared by the staff of the Milton Keynes Archaeology Unit: No 1 Roman Milton Keynes (1987), No 2 Roman and Belgic Pottery (1989), No 3 Great Linford (Medieval Vil­lage) (1992), No 4 Pennyland & Hartigans (Iron Age/Saxon) (1993), No 5 Changing Landscape of MiltonKeynes(l993), No 6Medieval Village Exca­vations (1993). Monographs Nos 7-10 are due be­fore demise oftheMilton Keynes Archaeology Unit in March 1994.

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R. P. Hagerty Honorary Secretary

OBITUARY LORD COTTESLOE

John Walgrave Fremantle, 4th Baron Cottesloe, GBE, TD was born in 1900 and died on 21 April 1994. His grandfather had been Vice-President of the Society, his father was President 1937-46 and he held the office with distinction I963-9. One of the great public servants of his time, he was Chairman of the North West Metropolitan Hospital Board I970-82, of the King Edward Hos­pital Fund I973-83, of the Dogs Home, Battersea

I97~2. of the South Bank Theatre Board I962-77, of the Trustees of the Tate Gallery 1953-60, of the Arts Council 1960--65, of the Advosiry Council on the export of Works of Art 1954-72. He was Vice-Chairman of the Port of London Authority 1955-67, President of the Na­tional Rifle Association 1960-72 and President of the Leander Club I957--62. In the war he com­manded a Territorial Regiment. The President was priviliged to pay a tribute at a memorial service at Swanbourne; the text follows: When I was asked to contribute a few words about John Cottesloe whose ashes are to be scat­tered here, in his native village, this afternoon I naturally hesitated- because I doubt whether any­one living could speak with authority on every aspect of his varied interests and achievements. The notices in the published prints - with one deplorable exception - gave full accounts of his public life. To me he seemed to be the epitome of those great Victorian or Edwardian all-rounders that we read about in biographies and memoirs, equally successful both indoors and out; sadly, I fear he may have been one of the last of this splendid and essentially English breed. Can one conceive of any other Chairman of the Arts Council rowing in the Boat race? And, of course, in the winning crew. Or a Tate Gallery trustee becoming the uncrowned king of Bisley? I doubt it. He was a born chairman who rose effortlessly and inevitably to the top of any organisation in which he interested himself. My connection with him was as secretary of the Bucks Archaeological Society during the years he

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was President; he can hardly have held a less impor­tant position in his busy life yet every year he would ask me to lunch at the Port of London Authority, go through the agenda for the annual general meeting with meticulous care, discuss future policy, offer wise advice and, later, conduct the meeting swiftly and with great good humour, remembering names from year to year; members of that Society are not naturally rebellious and he never had to deal with a 'demo' but I know that if there had been trouble he would have dealt with it calmly and effectively. I can well understand that he could be somewhat awe-inspiring at first meeting; his height and his presence were imposing - even wearing that pink cap and ancient socks at Henley - but he had that disarming twinkle in his eye, a sign of his tolerance and understanding. One felt too that he knew in­stinctively what was right or wrong and had few doubts. In this way he reminds me of the first, great Duke of Wellington, who, in his old age, was asked by a lady whether, with all his problems, he must often lie awake at night. 'Madam' he said 'You should never lie awake at night. It does no good. I make a point never to lie awake at night!' I like to think that John did not do so either. It is right that his ashes should be scattered here at Swan bourne. Because all the main strands of his life were London based we did not see so much of him in Bucks as we would have wished. But he was always conscious of his roots here and of the unique contribution his family have made to the public life of the county over the last two centuries. I need not rehearse that today but one must admire that ex­traordinary longevity; John, like his father, died at 94, his grandfather at 88, his great-grandfather at 92 and if his great­great-grandfather, one of Nelson ' s Admirals, died younger it was after some forty years at sea. What a breed of men and how well that tradition of service is being carried on today! We salute his memory- a great gentleman and a great Englishman. E.V.

NATURAL HISTORY SECTION The Natural History Section is pleased to record another successful year of visits and lectures:

16th January: 'Fossil Reptiles of Buckingham­shire' by Kate Hawkins. A most interest­ing afternoon spent hearing about fossils found in the County, with the aid of slides and a display of specimens. 13th February: Winter Bird Watch at Loddon Nature Reserve, Twyford: This small re­serve shows the amount of interesting wildlife to be found even right on the edge of a town. Of particular ornithological interest was a courtship display of Great Crested Grebes, anda roost of hundreds of Lapwings on the flooded gravel pits. 13th March: Meet a Bam Owl, with a talk by Mike Willicombe: A really lovely afternoon with 'Jo-Jo', a Bam Owl, and his owner, who gave us a wealth of information on these fascinating birds. 3rd April: After the Annual General Meeting, we were entertained by a talk by Jean Hall on 'Disappearing Flora of Bucks.' with some really superb slides. Examples of manage­ment strategy to encourage wild flora were also a feature of her presentation. 15th May: Birdwatch at Willen Lake, Milton Keynes: Brilliant sunshine, but with a stiff breeze, made ideal Bird watching condi­tions, and 34 Species were identified. Willen Lake therefore is an exceptional site for this activity, made even better by the excellent hides and the abundance of chicks at this time of the year. Species identified: Pied Wagtail. Starling. Gold­finch. Magpie. Robin. Greylag. Canada Goose. Lapwing. Mallard. CommonTern. Swift. Reed Bunting. Reed Warbler. Black-headed Gull. Crow. Great Crested Grebe. Tufted Duck. Moorhen. Little Ringed Plover. Coot. Mute Swan. Little Grebe. Swallow. Blackbird. Ringed Plover. Greenfinch. Wood Pigeon. Pintail.

Bar-headed Goose. Shag. Grey Heron. Gadwall. North American Ruddy Duck. 12th June: Millfield Wood with Dr. Alan Showier for Orchids& Rare Flora. In spite of heavy rain, Dr. Showier gave us a most interest­ing visit to Millfield & Millfield Wood, finding examples of the rare species of flora to be seen here,- particularly the Or­chids: Twayblades, Early Marsh, South­em Marsh, & Spotted, enhanced by his expert Botanical knowledge. 16th .July: Churchyard Flora & Grasses at Bradenham with Roy Maycock. Once again, Roy gave us a most interesting aftemoon,adding to a previous list of 116 species found here. He outlined the work that has been done in the County to ascer­tain the churchyards richest in flora, pointing out that Bradenham is the only churchyard in Bucks. with mistletoe.

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11th September: Chalk Geology of Chinn or quarry led by Kate Hawkins. Nineteen members gathered for this meeting hoping to find fossils and to understand the stratigraphy of Chinnor Quarry. (Ref. Sumbler, M. G. and Woods M.A. 1992. 'The stratigraphy of the Lower and Middle Chalk at Chinnor, Oxfordshire'. Proc Geol. Ass., 103, 111-118.) Though expert geologists were not able to be with the party, parts of the sequence in the Lower and Middle Chalk were recog­nised from the descriptions available, though not with confidence. Some time was spent in the lower section of the quarry trying to confirm the location of a 'marker bed' called the Tottemhoe Stone. This brown grainy bed in the Lower Chalk is often fossiliferous and members of the party did find a few fragmentary fossils. The stratigraphy above what was thought to be the Totternhoe Stone proved to be somewhat mysterious to the inexperi­enced party leader, so members moved to

the upper end of the quarry. There more distinct beds or bands could be seen and a tentative identification made of the Mel­bourne Rock hardground which marks the boundary between the Lower and Middle Chalk. Fossils collected during the visit were mainly bivalves and bivale fragments, in­cluding provisionally identified Ino­ceramus. Fish scales were also found in the upper part of the quarry. The Society would like to thank Rugby Cement for making the visit possible and allowing the collection of samples. 25th September: Fungus Foray with Victor Scott in Penn Woods. Combining this event with Wycombe Urban Wildlife Group proved to be a great success as 32 people came and enjoyed one of Victor's in­formative afternoons. Some 31 species were found including 3 which the Natural History Section had not found before viz. Mycena haematopus, Hydnum rufescens, & Peziza rutilans. This year's cool Sum­mer meant that the fungi were not as plen­tiful as in previous years. 16th October: Man & Nature in the Chilterns: A Visit to Wycombe Local History Muse­um.An interesting & enjoyable afternoon made even better by the friendly welcome of the Museums Officer Philip Crouch

with his introductory talk. We were shown a 1930's film on the Bodgers, and enjoyed a guided tour of the Norman motte, the Wild Life Garden created by the Wycombe Urban Wildlife Group, and the Exhibition Galleries with a specialexhibi­tion on John Piper- a tribute to his less known work as a major force in post-war theatre design. 20th November: Illustrated talk on Iceland by Geoff Beck An interesting insight into this strange island with its sub-Arctic climate and geological sights associated with vol­canic activity. We were taken round the unsurfaced ring road looking at fine slides of the scenery, including impressive waterfalls and glaciers, the flora and bird life.

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11th December: Weston Turville Reservoir - its History & Ecology. An extremely com­petent and interesting talk byTessaTaylor, illustrated not only with slides of the birds and flora but accompanied by repro­ductions of old maps, prints and manuscripts researched at the Record Office. Once used to provide water for the Grand Junction Canal, the reservoir now has five different habitats important to wild life: open water, reed beds, calcareous marshland, scrub and trees. A.V.C.

THE MUSEUM 1993 continued to see enormous change in the County Museum's buildings in Church Street. Two galleries remained open but the refurbish­ment of the building, now in its second year, meant that most of the premises remained closed to the public. The completion of repairs to the roof was celebrated by a 'toppingout' ceremony, when the final chimney pot was cemented in place on Ceely House by the Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire and Mrs Gillian Miscampbell, Chairman of the County Council. Internally the replacement of services, floors and ceilings went ahead, starting with the Old Grammar School attics. Early in the year the 1930s buildings in the Old Grammar School playground were demolished to make way for the new Art Gallery extension. The Muniments Room in the basement was removed and the basement extended to the full size of the old school playground. This involved an archaeo­logical excavation by the County Museum's ar­chaeology service, uncovering Medieval burials and evidence of the Iron Age hillfort. It was found that Ceely House required considerable underpin­ning as the playground was excavated, consider­ably complicating its restoration. By December the Art Gallery's steel and concrete structure was in place, and for the first time it was possible to see the magnificent space that will be created for the County Museum on three floors. The funds for this building are being raised most effectively by Sir Timothy Raison and the Art Gallery Appeal Com­mittee, almost £400,000 having been raised by the end of the year. A new entrance foyer for the County Museum has been constructed at the side of the building, adjacent to the Coach House courtyard. Lifts for disabled people, and goods, are also being con­structed to serve all parts of the Museum.

A grant of £25,000 from the Foundation for Sport and the Arts enabled plans for the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery in the Coach House to be progressed. This funding was provided to finance a lift for disabled children in the extension to the Coach House. Work on the Museum's collections continued, documentation on computer being a priority. Vol­unteers as well as staff carried out this work, and enabled great strides to be made in the manage­ment of the collections. Thanks to the facilities at the County Museum's Technical Centre, Halton, the Museum's collections are in better conditions than has previously been possible to achieve, and this facility continued to be improved. The Museum's collections continued to grow by gifts and purchases. Notable acquisitions included a group of 20 works by John Nash, forming a core collection of this important Buckinghamshire artist's work. This purchase was grant-aided by the National Art Collections Fund and the Victoria and Albert Museum/MGC Purchase Fund. A splendid four-volume copy of George Lipscombe'sHistory and Antiquities of the County of Buckinghamshire was also acquired. It had been 'improved' by the addition of 350 plates, watercolours, letters and maps. Lady Piper, the widow of John Piper, placed 58 sketches and drawings of Stowe by John Piper on loan to the Museum, bringing the Museum's illustrations of Stowe, spanning two centuries, up to date. It is hoped that these will eventually be acquired by the Museum.

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Among the archaeological material acquired was a 13th-century seal, incorporating a 1st-cen­tury engraved gemstone, from Shenley Church End, and a fine 1Oth-century strap-end from Wellwick Farm, Wendover. Colin V. Dawes, County Museums Officer

COUNTY RECORD OFFICE Extracts from the Annual Report of the Count Archivist for 1993

Several projects begun last year came to fruition. The new accommodation for the conservation unit at Hampden Hall was opened in June while the equipping of the newly converted basement strongroom was completed without fanfare in February. Experiments with com­puterising the accessioning process also proved successful and will help to achieve greater efficiency. Accessions during the year totalled 149; last year's total was 130. The winding-up of the Aylesbury Vale Health Authority in March was preceded by the deposit of further records of the Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital which closed in. 1991. They cover (though with some gaps) the whole period from its foundation as the Buckinghamshire Infirmary in the early 1830s to the commencement of the Na­tional Health Service in 1948. Predating the actual foundation of the hospital is a series of over fifty letters, dated 1830-1833, from various members of the gentry, clergy and nobility of the county, as well as from local medical practitioners, respond­ing to requests for their support. Some of the let­ters, which are addressed to Sir Harry Verney, one of the principal promoters of the hospital, give an insight into the conditions of the poor at this time. A minute book of the select vestry for Great Missenden, 1828-1833, which had strayed from parish custody, was deposited after languishing for many years in an estate agent's office. The church book of a congregation of Particular Baptists at Hanslope, covering the years from its foundation in 1841 to 1884, was purchased. It con­tains minutes of church meetings, articles of faith, summary accounts and memoranda concerning membership, baptisms and other matters. Records of two school boards formed under the 1870 Edu­cation Act, which were found abandoned in the former County Council children's home at Bledlow were passed to the Office. They relate to

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the parishes of Linslade (now Beds) and Langley Marish (now Berks). Significant deposits for two Aylesbury compa­nies came in during the year. Air Trainers Ltd. was one of several "high-tech" light industries estab­lished in the immediate aftermath of the War, in this case to manufacture flight simulators. It was later taken over by the rival firm of Redifon Ltd. of Crawley who closed down the Aylesbury site in 1972. The nature of the work and the process of closure are well illustrated in the documents. In contrast to Redifon, the firm of Hazell, Watson and Viney Ltd., printers, represents a more traditional type of industry and has been estab­lished in Aylesbury for well over a century. The records received include a continuous register of employees engaged from 1874 onwards, photo­graph albums dating from the earlier part of the present century which illustrate the whole range of production processes, newscuttings and scrap­books. Some of the latter relate to the career of Walter Hazell (1843-1919) who was active as a social reformer and whose concern for industrial welfare found practical expression in his own busi­ness. The records of the Mackenzie family of Fawley Court were acquired partly by purchase and partly by gift. They consist principally of court rolls of the manor of Fawley and title deeds, family settle­ments, leases, etc., of estate properties in Fawley and neighbourhood, including the manor of Henley-on-Thames (Oxon), acquired in 1768. The fine series of over fifty court rolls spans the period 1355-1728. The deeds show the development of the estate from the late sixteenth century under its successive owners, the families of Alford, Whitelocke, Freeman and finally Mackenzie, who purchased it in 1853. Included are some deeds and papers of the Marlow families of Langley and Higginson to whom the Mackenzies were related

by marriage. Among these is a "book of evi­dences" relating to Langley property in Marlow transcribed by the Reverend Thomas Langley (1769-1802), author of The History and Antiqui­ties of the Hundred of Desborough ... ( 1797). The National Trust deposited another signifi­cant cache of Lee family archives from Hartwell House comprising mixed account books and other papers from the collection of a Brighton book dealer who was the purchaser of one of the lots in the 1939 sale and who bequeathed his estate to the Trust. Several generations of Lees are represented in the documents, which cover the period 1654 to 1835. Perhaps the most interesting documents are some private accounts of Sir William Lee ( 1726-1799), 4th Baronet, and his wife Elizabeth. The Buckinghamshire Archaeological Society decided to add its collection of over fifty manu­script estate maps to the material already deposited by the Society. An original petition of the Civil War period was purchased at auction in December. The petition, which is addressed to the two houses of parlia­ment, dates from 1643. It bears the signatures and marks of approximately five hundred freeholders, farmers and labourers living "adjoining to Wind­sor Castle". It seeks relief from the severe hard­ships suffered from the excessive quartering of soldiers, in some cases to the number of thirty or forty men to a house. Box-listing of the massive Mackenzie estate ar­chive was undertaken by Sarah Charlton, a former member of staff who was employed on a tempo­rary basis for this purpose. Re-listing of the Buck­inghamshire Archaeological Society 's collection of manorial records received in 1987 is now about 75% complete. The problem of coping with the large backlog of cataloguing was examined again in a report to the Public Protection Committee. It was recog­nised that really significant inroads into the back­log would require additional staffing. Listing of the estate records and the later corre­spondence ofthe Verney family atClaydon House, of which the County Archivist is a trustee, is ex­pected to be finished during 1994. An exhibition of

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documents relating to the Verney family during the Civil War was put on in the summer. The number of personal visits to the Office was 2693 (2679 in 1992). Postal enquiries numbered 784 (731 ). A total of 3449 (2852) telephone calls was logged, of which 1536 (1260) were enquiries and the rest reservations, etc. From 1 November a more flexible system of reserving places in the public searchroom was adopted and appears to be working well. Relocation of the conservation unit to the new accommodation at Hampden Hall took place dur­ing May. The additional space has enabled more and better equipment to be provided. The premises were formally opened on 11 June by David Lidington, M.P. for Aylesbury. Appropriately, Dr Lidington has a Ph.D. in English History. The Record Office put on its usual display as part of the County Council's stand at the County Show. The theme of the main display was Buck­inghamshire in the Civil War. It is hoped that it can be re-used as part of a larger version to be offered to branch libraries.

E. Jack Davis (1914-1993) Jack Davis, who died on 11 September, held the office of county archivist from 1957 until his re­tirement on health grounds in 1976, but his respon­sibility for the county's archives in fact dated back to 1946, when he was appointed archives clerk within the office of the Clerk of the County Coun­cil. It was not until 1951 that the first assistant archivist was appointed and suitable accommoda­tion provided both for the reception of deposited records and for the convenience of researchers. Thereafter until the transfer to the present purpose­built accommodation in 1966 the staff of two coped valiantly with an increasing tide of acces­sions and laid a solid foundation for later expan­sion. Following his retirement Jack was employed for a number of years by the diocese of Oxford as part-time inspector of parish records under the 1978 Parochial Registers and Records Measure, an appointment which he greatly enjoyed. A memo­rial service was held at the Friends Meeting House, Aylesbury, on 2 October.

Dr A. H. J. BAINES, FSA

OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY (as at 31 December 1993) President ELLIOTT VINEY, FSA

Vice Presidents Capt. Sir THOMAS BARLOW, BT, DSC, DL, RN (retd.) Mrs S. COWDY, MBE MAX DAVIES Commander the Hon. JOHN FREMANTLE, RN (retd.) Lord Lieutenant & Custos Rotulorum Dr A. H. J. BAINES, FSA Mrs J. CHAFFEY A. J. DELL Dr R. GEM, FSA Mrs S. GILL

Council

C. N. GOWING, FMA Professor W. R. MEAD BRIAN PULLEN Dr E. CLIVE ROUSE, MBE, FSA Sir DENIS WRIGHT, GCMG Dr E. V. WRIGHT, FSA

H. A. HANLEY Mrs B. HURMAN G. C. LAMB E. LEGG J. E. OAKES (CC) E. J. BULL (co-opted) Dr A. M. BARRETT (CC) (cc signifies County Council representative) Hon. Secretary Dr R. P. HAGERTY Hon. Editor J. G. CHENEVIX TRENCH, FSA

Hon. Treasurer B. DAVIS, IPFA Hon. Archivist & Librarian Mrs L. M. HEAD

Chairman, Natural History Section Mrs J. TAYLOR The Society's representative on the County Library & Museums Sub-Committee ELLIOTT VINEY, FSA; Dr A. H. J. BAINES, FSA; Dr R. P. HAGERTY

Headquarters THE COUNTY MUSEUM, CHURCH STREET, AYLESBURY, BUCKS HP20 2QP

96

CONTENTS A Forgotten Buckinghamshire Industry: Thimble Making at Marlow Edwin F. Holmes, BA Hons. . . . . . . . The Bi-Axial Landscape of Prehistoric Buckinghamshire E. J. Bull.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Bernwood: Continuity and Survival on a Roman<rBritish Estate Arnold H. J. Baines, MA, PhD, FSA, FRH ist, FSS........................... ... . 19 Turnpike Roads of Buckinghamshire K. Edmonds, J. Elding and J. Mellor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 An Exposure of Glauconitic Beds and Aylesbury Limestone (portland, Upper Jurassic) in Buckingham Street, Aylesbury Jonathan D. Radley, BSc, MSc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 'A Singular Commodity': The First Century of Bedford's Charity, Aylesbury, 1419-1597 H. A. Hanley, BA, MAA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 A Belgic/Roman<rBritish Cemetery at Bledlow-Cum-Saunderton M. Collard, BA and J. Parkhouse, MA . ............. . ...................... . ..... 66 Notes: The Tickford Priory Seal Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

North End Farmhouse Revisited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 78 Archaeological Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Reviews ............ . ........................................................... 86 The Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Obituary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Natural History Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 The Museum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 The County Records Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Officers of the Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

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