Report of Glossary Committee

An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Essex, Volume 1, North West. Originally published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1916.

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'Report of Glossary Committee', in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Essex, Volume 1, North West, (London, 1916) pp. 362. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/essex/vol1/p362 [accessed 19 March 2024]

In this section

ROYAL COMMISSION ON HISTORICAL MONUMENTS (ENGLAND).

REPORT OF GLOSSARY COMMITTEE.

My Lord,

(1) We have the honour to report that we have given careful consideration to the amendment of the Commission's Glossary in accordance with your Lordship's instruction, and herewith submit a revised proof in the form in which we are of opinion that it should be printed in the Inventories about to be issued for the County of Essex.

(2) Our endeavour has been to make the explanations as brief and as simple as possible, the aim being to restrict the length of the Glossary and at the same time to supply such definitions as would be intelligible to the ordinary reader.

(3) With this object in view, we have thought it unnecessary to elaborate the definitions further than was required to explain the actual use of the word in the Inventory.

(4) We have further deleted technical terms wherever in our opinion it was possible to substitute words in common parlance without loss of accuracy in description.

(5) We have also deleted certain words appearing in former Glossaries which are not applicable to the County under review, examples in point being:—

"Totternhoe stone," " Witchert," etc.

(6) We recommend that the Secretary of the Commission should correct the proofs of Essex, Volume I, in accordance with these decisions, and that an instruction should be issued to the Commission's Investigators to avoid in future the use of technical words wherever more intelligible terms are available.

(7) We further recommend that, in view of the recurrence of words with a peculiar local significance, the Glossary should be revised whenever a new County is undertaken by the Commission.

(8) Our special thanks are due to Mr. J. Bilson, F.S.A, a well-known architect of Hessle, in Yorkshire, for the criticisms which he submitted to us in writing, and to Messrs. Kendall and Clapham, members of the Commission's Investigating Staff, for suggestions made by them.

We have the honour, My Lord, to remain,

Your Lordship's obedient Servants,

J. F. F. HORNER (Chairman).

OSWALD BARRON.

W. ST. JOHN HOPE.

D. H. MONTGOMERIE.

GEORGE H. DUCKWORTH

(Secretary).

8th June, 1914. (Secretary).