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 THE ADVISORY COUNCIL OF THE VICTORIA HISTORY His Grace The Duke of Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart., Col. Duncan A. Johnston LL.D., F.S.A., ETC. Director Generahf the Ordnance Survey Sir John Evans, K.C.B., D.C.L., Prof. E. Ray Lankester, M.A., Bedford, K.G President of the Zoological Society His Grace The Duke of Devon shire, K.G. Chancellor of the University of Cam bridge His Grace The Duke 01 Rutland, K.G. His Grace The Duke oi Portland, K.G. LL.D. Sir Edward Maunde Thompson, K.C.B., D.C.L., LL.D., F.S. A., ETC. Director of the British Museum Sir Clements R. Markham, K.C.B., F.R.S., F.S.A. President of the Royal Geographical His Grace The Duke of Sir Henry C Maxw Argyll, K.T. The Rt. Hon. The Earl of Rosebery, K.G, K.T. The Rt. Hon. The Earl of Coventry President of the Royal Agricultural The Rt. Hon. The Viscount Dillon President of the Society of Antiquaries The Rt. Hon. The Lord Lister LionelCust,Esq.,M.V.O.,M.A., Late President of the Royal Society F.S.A., ETC. The Rt. Hon. The Lord Directorof the National Portrait Gallery Alverstone, G.C.M.G. Albert C. L. G. Gl'nther, M.A., Lord Chief Justice F.R.S., M.D., Ph.D. The Hon. Walter Rothschild, La " Pr '" d "" °S ,b ' L """° n So " v * l-Lyte, K.C.B., M.A., F.S.A., etc. Keeper of the Public Records Col. Sir J. Farquharson, K.C.B. Sir Jos. Hooker, G.C.S.I., M.D., D.C.L., F.R.S., etc. Sir Archibald Geikie, LL.D., F.R.S., etc. Rev. J. Charles Cox, LL.D., F.S.A., etc. F.R.S., etc. Director of the Natural History Museum, South Kensington Reginald L. Poole, Esq., M.A. University Lecturer in Diplomatic, Oxford F. York Powell, Esq., M.A., F.S.A., ETC. Regius Professor of Modern History, Oxford J. Horace Round, Esq., M.A. Walter Rye, Esq. W. H. St. John Hope, Esq., M.A. Assistant Secretary of the Society of Antiquaries Among the original members of the Council were The late Marquess of Salisbury The late Dr. Mandell Creigh- ton, Bishop of London The late Dr. Stubbs, Bishop of Oxford The Late Lord Acton and M.P. F.HAERFiELD,Esq.,M.A.,F.S.A. The Late Sir William Flower H. Arthur Doubleday William Pace, F.S.A. General Editors of the Series GENERAL ADVERTISEMENT The Victoria History of the Counties of England is a National Historic Survey, which, under the direction of a large staff comprising the foremost students in science, history, and archaeology, is designed to record the history of every county of England in detail. This work was, by gracious permission, dedicated to Her late Majesty Queen Victoria, who gave it her own name. It is the endeavour of all who are associated with the undertaking to make it a worthy and permanent monument to her memory. Rich as every county of England is in materials for local history, there has hitherto been no attempt made to bring all these materials together into a coherent form. Although from the seventeenth century down to quite recent times numerous county histories have been issued, they are very unequal in merit ; the best of them are very rare and costly ; most of them are imperfect and all are now out of date. Moreover they were the work of one or two isolated scholars, who, however able, could not possibly deal adequately with all the varied subjects which go to the making of a county history.