At a Meeting of the COUNCIL OF THE SURTEES SOCIETY, held at Durham Castle, on Tuesday, December 5th, 1911, the DEAN OF DURHAM in the chair. 'It was resolved that a second volume of North Country Diaries be edited by Mr. JOHN CRAWFORD HODGSON, F.S.A.' ATOZEMMIN TIBBYBA PREFACE. Of the diaries and similar documents printed in this volume some are already known to the student of local history. The Journal of Sir William Brereton, which is perhaps the most valuable of the series, formed the first volume of the Chetham Society's publications and was reprinted in Richardson's Imprints and Reprints of Rare Tracts in 1844. But as both of these editions have become rare, the Journal may very fitly find a place in the present series, the more so as Sir Philip H. B. Grey-Egerton, the present owner of the MS., has permitted a fresh transcript to be made for the Surtees Society. The fate of the original diary of Mark Browell is unknown, but it was copied for the same series of Richardson's Reprints. The family records of Mark Akenside were contributed by Mr. Richard Welford, M.A., to that valuable but short-lived repository of local information, Northern Notes and Queries. Of Warburton's letters a few copies have been struck off by the Bishop of Durham for private circulation; and large extracts from John Dawson's Diary may be found in the Proceedings of the Newcastle Society of Antiquaries. So far as is known, the other documents are now printed for the first time. Although Sir William Brereton's description of Edinburgh in 1635 is not flattering, he displays both candour and discernment. He seems to have been especially interested in salt works and in decoys for duck. Jacob Bee's Chronicle comprises those parts of the original MS. which are not given in his diary printed in Sie North Country Diaries. It deals for the most part with humble and unimportant people, but it may interest the inhabitants of the city and neighbourhood of Durham, as will Bishop Warburton's caustic letters. The Journal of Bishop Pococke will appeal to a wider circle, containing, as it does several otherwise unrecorded Roman Inscriptions; while the diary of John Dawson, kept during a time when he was an active and conscientious militia officer, may amuse those interested in military affairs. The Editor desires to express his great obligation to Mr. Welford, and Mr. H. M. Wood, B.A., for reading the whole of his proofs; and to the Rev. J. J. M. L. Aiken, B.D., Mr. Robert Blair, F.S.A., Mr. William Brown, F.S.A., and Mr. William Maddan for reading portions of the same. To the following gentlemen he is indebted for valuable suggestions and information: Mr. Farnham Burke, Norroy King of Arms. The Rev. William Greenwell, F.R.S. The Rev. Henry Gee, D.D. The Rev. Canon Fowler, F.S.A. Professor Haverfield. Mr. George Neilson, LL.D. Mr. J. W. Clay, F.S.A. Mr. William Chamney. Mr. Edwin Dodds. The Rev. E. G. Cull, and others. He is also obliged to the Proprietors of the Newcastle Journal for the loan of the file of the Newcastle Courant for 1760, in which are reported the proceedings arising out of the Hexham Riot; and also to Miss M. T. Martin for making careful transcripts at the British Museum and Record Office of Brereton's, Gibson's, and Pococke's MSS. The Editor desires also to express his obligation to the Bishop of Durham for Bishop Warburton's letters; to Sir Philip H. B. Grey-Egerton for the use of the original diary of Sir William Brereton; to General Surtees, for the use of the original MS. of Jacob Bee; and to the Rev. Thomas Stephens, for the use of the original diary of John Dawson. At Mr. Welford's request the Akenside entries have been printed with capital letters and contractions exactly as they appear in the Registers of the Church of the Divine Unity, Newcastle. In the other documents, contractions--save in cases of doubt-have been treated as matters of caligraphy and have been extended, the prodigal capital letter being reduced to modern practice. J. C. HODGSON. ALNWICK, 12 May, 1915. |