I use a variety of information sources for the website and I list them below. I should like thank a number of organisations as well as those who have helped in supplying information for the site. You can order many of the books and maps from the links below through Amazon by clicking the image. I would like to thank the many contributors who have completed their own church histories which I have used for some entries, I have a large collection now collected from the churches which have been a great help.
Englands Thousand Best Churches – Simon Jenkins
ISBN 0141039302
Although there are not many featured for Leicestershire it still is a worthwhile book to carry around in the car, can be subjective but worth having if you are a ‘serious churchcrawler’. I do not always agree with the choices but we all have our own opinion.
Leicestershire and Rutland (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) – N. Pevsner
ISBN 0300096186
Indispensable. This is my first port of call before I visit a church (or parish). Clear, accurate, concise information on the churches and buildings in each parish. Although I do not agree with his thoughts all the while, this is a ‘must have book’ for anyone interested in the architecture of the two counties. If you buy one book this is it.
How To Read A Church – Dr Richard Taylor
ISBN 1844130533
This was also a TV series on BBC2 a few years ago. The book is well written and informative. Easy to dip into and a good buy. Also available in a pocket guide and on DVD.
Parish Church Architecture – E. Tyrrell-Green 1924
Despite its age and inaccuracies I find this useful at times for notes on church architecture – I must buy a more modern book though.
Essays in Leicestershire History – W. G. Hoskins 1950
If you know your local history you will have heard of W. G. Hoskins, who as a Reader in English History at University College, Leicester produced some fine books and research. In this book he covers five areas, The Leicestershire Country Parson in the 16th century, Galby and Frisby, the Deserted Villages of Leicestershire (want to complete something on these for the site), an Elizabethan butcher of Leicester and The Leicestershire farmer in the 16th century.
Leicestershire & Rutland – The Kings England Series by Arthur Mee 1947
A ‘tour’ around the more interesting parts of Leicestershire with notes, sketches and images. I find this book really interesting – so much has changed since it was written.
Highways and Byways in Leicestershire – By Frederick L. Griggs 1926
Another tour around the sites of Leicestershire, written as a ‘tourist’ guide it has some interesting sketches and anecdotes
John Nichols History & Antiquities of the County of Leicester
Available on CDROM from various sources and also online via the University of Leicester. Written in last part of the 18th century and with over 5 million words, the huge work of Nichols is a a most useful reference. All of the engravings on the site are from the books and I would like to thank Leicester University and the team there for making it available (plus much other information) online. The book is not for the ‘faint hearted’ as you need to spend time working with it – but there are are some fascinating material in these lengthy essays covering all the parishes of Leicestershire, and yes there are some in accuracies bit it makes up for them with the breadth of its information.
British History Online
A fantastic on-line resource with many of the Victoria County Histories online as well as other information. Easy to use and although some information is for paid subscribers only, the majority is free to use. Link here.
The British Newspaper Archive Online
You could spend weeks in here just browsing…and browsing, but its not free. This has a huge searchable database of the newspapers of the UK up until around 1900 for Leicestershire & Rutland. Although you have to pay to use, the interface and search aspects are brilliant, and I can see this becoming a valuable resource for us in the years to come. If your interested in historical research or your local heritage it is worth the expense. Link here…
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