THE ANNALS OF YORKSHIRE, FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO 1852. COMPILED BY HENRY SCHROEDER. LEEDS: PUBLISHED BY GEORGE CROSBY. 1852. DA670 Y6535 v. 2 GENERAL PREFACE. Historians find an advantage in grouping together a variety of circumstances and incidents as to time, place, person, and event, irrespective of chronological order, both in the way of anticipation and resuscitation, with a view to prevent constant recurrence, as well as to dispose of all that may, and ought to be advanced, on the same subject; nor less, by such concentration, to produce the most correct and permanent impression on the mind of the reader. In doing this, however, it must not be forgotten, that an ulterior object is not unfrequently sought to be gained, in the establishment of certain favourite theories, whether in philosophy, politics, religion or morals,-the whole of the author's reasonings and deductions proceeding in that direction, and so giving a tinge to the general subject, more or less favourable-as in the case of Hume and Gibbon in reference to Christianity, agreeably to the prejudices and prepossessions respectively entertained. The Annalist, on the other hand, sustains, generally speaking, the character of a simple narrator of facts; appearing somewhat in the official capacity of a servant, while his annals assume the character of an index to history, pointing the finger, like a guide-post, to those facts and events which constitute the base on which the historian rears his superstructure, allowing the reader to take his own impressions, to draw his own conclusions, to prosecute his own speculations, and to make what use of the materials offered, his better judgment shall suggest. 673 Such a work, and for such a purpose, "THE ANNALS OF YORKSHIRE," now presented to the public, will, it is presumed, be found to be admirably adapted;-a book, strictly speaking, of reference—and though not admitting generally of amplification—a book, as to the endless variety of its contents, of the fullest information, as to facts, places, and personages. The annalist, like a person on a journey, possessed of leisure, inclination, and observation, collects, as he proceeds, whatever is deemed worthy of notice and preservation,-the different objects varying, meanwhile, in value and in importance, according to the purposes for which they are sought, and the objects to which they are to be appropriated by others. The best authorities have been consulted, and in cases where it appeared necessary, the authors are named, without encumbering the work, except in the biographical department, with the titles of the several works consulted; and in the latter case, the particularity observed, will inspire confidence, as to the assiduous care employed, to come at facts, in other parts of the work. Various public acts are noticed, and measures introduced, as legislative enactments &c., not strictly confined to the county, yet as they are of a national character, and general in their influence on society, as to the religion, social habits, or commerce of the country, Yorkshire is noticed as participating either in the benefits or disadvantages resulting from the same. In this will be found, if not a justification, at least an apology, for what might otherwise be deemed extraneous matter, in looking at the world's history, as we pass along; as in the first, second, and third chapters, where the broader subjects continue to narrow, till they are brought to bear upon the county whose Annals are here recorded. A wish to know what is doing abroad, as well as at home, exists every where. Yorkshire for some of its raw materials, and in its manufactured goods,-stands connected with the whole civilized world. Europe was interested in the field and fate of Waterloo ;-the heart of this great nation was stirred ;-and Ebona Yeyne, as the county of York was called by the Saxons, had many of her sons there. General subjects, both foreign and domestic, crowd upon the annalist, after the commencement of the nineteenth century; and greater amplification is indulged, not only because of their being better understood, in consequence of their being nearer hand, but because of their importance in connection with present times, and the lively interest taken in them. To these the reader will be able to refer, without special notice: and he need not be told as he will feel the effect as he proceeds-that the more lengthened accounts are calculated to relieve the mind in the midst of drier details, and shorter notices. Entirely to avoid repetition, were impossible in a work like the present; nor is it desirable. When the separate histories of certain towns, villages, or other localities, are taken up, there is naturally a recurrence of the past, both as to men and things, the chronologist having found it his duty to advert to them with the events of the times; while various concurring circumstances are found, in after times, either dependant upon, or in some way associated with previous dates and facts, and the progressive history of the places in question. Illustrative of this, pages 28 and 83,-29 and 87,-22 and 100,-33 and 108,-34 and 116,-37 and 126, ---38 and 141, of vol. i. may be named. In the same place, too, as in page 406, a reference to the recent doings in California, leads to its past history when visited by Blake in 1577. When opinions are recorded on given subjects, they are furnished, not with a view to their propagation, but as the opinions of those with whom they originate, the reader being left to decide for himself as to their real value. |