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==General==
==General==
[[File:VCH counties in 2006.JPG|right|thumb|Map showing the state of completion of the VCH across England in 2006]]
[[File:VCH counties.svg|right|thumb|Map showing the state of completion of the VCH across England]]
Since 1933 the project has been coordinated by the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London.
Since 1933 the project has been coordinated by the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London.


Revision as of 22:39, 29 May 2015

The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History or the VCH, is a British history project which began in 1899 and was dedicated to Queen Victoria, with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the Counties of England.

General

Map showing the state of completion of the VCH across England

Since 1933 the project has been coordinated by the Institute of Historical Research at the University of London.

From the beginning, the responsibility for writing the volumes was delegated to local editors for each individual county. The county editors work under the direction of a general editor, following a uniform format and style. From 1902 the joint general editors were A. Henry Doubleday and William Page. Doubleday left in 1904, leaving Page as sole general editor until his death in 1934. Page was succeeded by Louis Francis Salzman, who remained general editor until 1949.[1]

The first VCH volume was published in 1901, and publication continued slowly throughout the twentieth century, although in some counties it has come to a halt, especially during the First World War[1] and again in the 1970s. Some inactive counties have been reactivated, most recently Nottinghamshire in 2009.

There are now more than 230 VCH volumes, with about three new volumes published per year. Each is published with a red cover, and they are therefore sometimes known as "the big red books". When the Institute of Historical Research published a short history of the project to mark the 75th anniversary of taking it over, it was titled "The Little Big Red Book".[2]

From 1909 until 1931 Frederick Smith, later 2nd Viscount Hambleden was the VCH's major sponsor.[1] In February 2005 the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded the VCH £3,374,000 to fund the England's Past for Everyone project.

Structure of the county histories

In general, the histories begin with one or more volumes of general studies of the County as a whole, followed by detailed historical surveys of each Hundred, parish by parish.

Completed county histories

Some of the county histories have been completed. For each of these, the number of volumes published and the date of completion is as follows:

Counties in progress

For each uncompleted county history on which work is continuing, the number of volumes published and the dates of the most recent are as follows:

From a V.C.H., frontispiece, 1911

Dormant counties

VCH publisher, Constable & Co. Ltd

Counties with no published volumes

General editors

  • William Henry Page (General Editor 1904–34)
  • Louis Francis Salzman (General Editor 1934–49)
  • Ralph Pugh (General Editor 1949–77)
  • Christopher Elrington (General Editor 1977–94)

Notable county editors

  • Peter Ditchfield (former Berkshire editor)
  • Mary Lobel (former Oxfordshire editor)
  • John Horace Round|J. Horace Round (former Essex editor)
  • John William Willis-Bund (former Worcestershire editor)

Outside links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lewis, Brian (2008). "William Page (1861–1934), general editor of the Victoria County History 1902–34". Making History. http://www.history.ac.uk/makinghistory/resources/articles/william_page.html. 
  2. ↑ 75 years at the IHR, accessed 24 May 2009.
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