PREFACE 



THE fact that the county of Durham was a palatinate, and there- 

 fore more than other counties a separate district, may be the 

 reason why it has been peculiarly fortunate in having attracted 

 men of culture and leisure to study its history seriously and 

 enthusiastically. Although he never attempted anything in the form of 

 a county history, George Allan, a solicitor of Darlington, during the latter 

 half of the eighteenth century collected and added to the manuscripts 

 which had been prepared by many earlier workers. This vast store of 

 material he freely placed at the disposal of historical students, thus 

 enabling them to give a thoroughness to their work which otherwise 

 could not probably have been attained. It was by this means that 

 William Hutchinson was able to write his History and Antiquities of the 

 County Palatine of Durham, the first volume of which appeared in 1785. 

 Hutchinson was a man of many parts, a lawyer, a politician, a play- 

 wright and a novelist, but his history is nevertheless good, and will 

 compare favourably in a few points with that of his rival Surtees. 



Without doubt, however, the principal historian of the county was 

 Robert Surtees. From his boyhood Surtees was a student of history, and 

 conceived the idea of writing a history of his native county while an 

 undergraduate at Christ Church, Oxford. He retired to his family seat 

 at Mainsforth in 1805, and there at the age of twenty-six began what 

 became his life's work. But The History and Antiquities of the County 

 Palatine of Durham was delayed on account of his health, and the first 

 volume was not published till 18 16. Beyond the care and accuracy 

 which he gave to his task there is a quaint humour in his style of 

 writing, unusual in works of this nature, which adds a charm to what 

 otherwise might often prove dry reading. The attraction of this 

 quaint humour, exhibited as well in conversation as in writing, together 

 with a generous disposition, surrounded him with those congenial com- 

 panions and devoted friends who may be said to have founded a school of 

 local historical research which has attained a standard that has never been 

 reached elsewhere in this country. Among those influenced by this 

 movement occur the names of Rev. James Raine, Canon Raine, his son, 

 J. Hodgson Hinde, Sir Cuthbert Sharpe, W. H. D. LongstafF, Canon 

 Greenwell, and Canon Fowler. Surtees died in February, 1834, leaving 

 the fourth volume of his history, which remained unpublished till 1840, 

 to be completed by his colleague. Rev. James Raine. Within a few 

 months of his death the Surtees Society, which has done so much to 



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