David Hey

The historic county of Yorkshire lasted for about 1,000 years. Its administrative structure was swept away in 1974, but its distinctive identity is still clearly recognised by its own people and by outsiders. Yorkshire was the largest English county. The three Ridings of Yorkshire covered about an eighth of the whole of the country, stretching from the river Tees in the north to the Humber in the south, and from the North Sea to the highest points of the Pennines. In such a large area there was a huge diversity of experience and history. Life on the Pennines or the North York Moors, for example, has always been very different from life in low-lying agricultural districts such as Holderness or the Humberhead Levels. And the fisherfolk of Staithes or Whitby might not readily recognise the accents, ways or customs of the cutlery makers of Hallamshire, still less perhaps of the farmers of Wensleydale or Craven. In some ways, this diversity makes Yorkshire the most interesting of England's historic counties, a microcosm of the country as a whole. Its variety and beauty also help to explain why Yorkshire is now such a popular tourist desination. Until quite recently people felt that they belonged to their own local area or 'country'. Few people travelled very far, and it was not until the late nineteenth century that the success of the Yorkshire County Cricket Club seems to have forged the idea of Yorkshire as a singular identity, and which gave its people a sense of their superiority. This single volume describes the broad sweep of Yorkshire's history from the end of the last Ice Age up to the present day. To do so Professor Hey has had to tell the story of each particular region and of each town. He talks about farming and mining, trade and industry, fishing and ways of life in all parts of the county. Having lived, worked, researched, taught and walked in the county for many years, he has amassed an enormously detailed knowledge and understanding of Yorkshire. The fruits of his work are presented here in what has been described as 'a bravura performance' by one of the Yorkshire's finest historians". With a particular emphasis on the richness of landscape, places and former ways of life, this important book is a readable, informative and fascinating overview of Yorkshire's past and its people.

"county of the Broad Acres"

A History of Yorkshire

John Chartres

Written largely by her former research students, this book honours the varied and creative career of Joan Thirsk.

Essays in Honour of Joan Thirsk

English Rural Society, 1500-1800

David Hey draws on material from the 1901 census to paint a picture of what life was really like for our ancestors a hundred years ago. He describes work, play, love and death with expert text and a unique colection of historic photographs and graphic art. Illustrated case studies tell the stories of individual lives and allow the reader to build a picture of their own family's past.

A History of Life a Hundred Years Ago

How Our Ancestors Lived

Richard Gough

The History of Myddle

Yorkshire West Riding Hearth Tax Assessment Lady Day 1672

Family names are an essential part of everyone's personal history. The story of their evolution is integral to family history and fascinating in its own right. Formed from first names, place names, nicknames and occupations, names allow us to trace the movements of our ancestors from the middle ages to the present day. David Hey shows how, when and where families first got their names, and proves that most families stayed close to their places of origin. Settlement patterns and family groupings can be traced back towards their origin by using national and local records. Family Names and Family History tells anyone interested in tracing their own name how to set about doing so.

Family Names and Family History

George Redmonds

Turi King

This book combines linguistic and historical approaches with the latest techniques of DNA analysis and shows the insights these offer for every kind of genealogical research. It focuses on British names, tracing their origins to different parts of the British Isles and Europe and revealing how names often remain concentrated in the districts where they first became established centuries ago. In the process the book casts fresh light on the ancient peopling of the British Isles. The authors consider why some names die out while others spread across the globe. They use recent advances in DNA testing to investigate whether particular surnames have single, dual, or multiple origins, and to find out if the various forms of a single name have a common origin. They show how information from DNA can be combined with historical evidence and techniques to distinguish between individuals with the same name and different names with similar spellings, and to identifty the name of the same individual or family spelt in various ways in different times and places. The final chapter of this paperback edition, looking at the use of genetics in historical research, has been updated to include new work on the DNA of Richard III.

Surnames, DNA, and Family History

This book combines linguistic and historical approaches with the latest techniques of DNA analysis and show the insights these offer for every kind of genealogical research. The book will be welcomed by all those engaged in genealogical research, including everyone seeking to discover the histories of their names and families.

A Selection of Wills and Inventories of Dore and Totley, 1539-1747

...Seke in Body But Hole in Mynd ...

This is a book for those thousands of family historians who have already made some progress in tracing their family tree and have become interested in the places where their ancestors lived, worked and raised children. It emphasises the diversity and extraordinary complexity of the rural and urban communities in provincial England even before the great changes associated with the Industrial Revolution.

Family History and Local History in England

“A superb new book . . . explores the history of Britain’s first National Park from the Stone Age to the modern day . . . lavishly illustrated.”—Reflections Magazine The moors of the Peak District provide some of the finest walking country in England. The pleasure of rambling across them is enhanced by a knowledge of their history, ranging from prehistoric times and the middle ages to their conversion for grouse shooting and the struggle for the “right to roam” in modern times. This distinctive landscape is not an untouched, natural relic for it has been shaped by humans over the centuries. Now it is being conserved as part of Britain’s first National Park; much of it is in the care of The National Trust. The book covers all periods of time from prehistory to the present, for a typical moorland walk might take in the standing stones of a prehistoric stone circle, a medieval boundary marker, a guide stoop dated 1709, the straight walls of nineteenth-century enclosure, a row of Victorian grouse butts, a long line of flagstones brought in by helicopter, and very much more besides. “This is no ‘desk-based study’ but the product of a lifetime of living, working and researching in or immediately adjacent to the moors.”—The Local Historian “David writes with a contagious enthusiasm. This generously illustrated book roams amongst the best—and lesser-known—moorland features . . . a guide par excellence.”—Peak Advertiser “Few tomes can have been quite as comprehensive as David’s. Within these pages are Romans and Vikings, railways and canals, ramblers and World War Two soldiers.”—The Star (Sheffield)

David Hey

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