AUTHOR'S PREFACE 



THE material on which this short history is based 

 was first brought together for a series of lectures given 

 to a group of villagers, who devoted many evenings 

 in the winter of 1913-14 to the study of the his- 

 tory of country life. Any special quality that the 

 book has attained is largely due to the discussions 

 which took place on those winter evenings, in which 

 men and women of all ranks of life and points of 

 view took part. The lectures were a countryman's 

 lectures, prepared for country people: but in the book 

 I have considered also the needs of the student, to 

 whom I believe my work will be found of use. 



The history of English country life contains within 

 itself the story of a number of little communities, each 

 one differing from the others in the details of social, 

 political and economic life. It is this wonderful variety 

 that gives to the study of rural life its charm and 

 interest. It is this same variety that creates difficulties 

 for the historian. In this short history these difficulties 

 are avoided to some extent by following only the main 

 stream of events, thus securing a relatively simple story. 

 There is another point of equal importance to be 

 borne in mind. Rural history contains within itself 

 the separate stories of two sections of society : the 



