FOREWORD

Like the seventeen earlier volumes of the Victoria History of Wiltshire, this volume has been prepared under the supervision of the Wiltshire Victoria County History Committee. The origin and early constitution of that Committee are described in the Editorial Note to Volume VII, the first to be published. New arrangements introduced in 1975 are outlined in the Editorial Note to Volume XI, and further modifications in 1990 and 1993 are described in the Editorial Notes to Volumes XIV and XV respectively. The Local Authorities retaining representation on the Committee in 2002 were Wiltshire County Council and the District Councils of Kennet, Salisbury, North Wiltshire, and West Wiltshire. The University of London again expresses its sincere thanks to those councils for their continued support of the Wiltshire V.C.H. Committee, and to the Committee for its continued collaboration in the production of the History. Further support has been provided through the success of the Wiltshire Victoria County History Appeal which, since it was launched in 1998, has raised additional, valuable, and much appreciated funds. The University is especially grateful to those contributing to the Appeal and to the Appeal Committee.

In 2001 Mrs. V. C. S. Landell Mills relinquished the chairmanship of the Wiltshire V.C.H. Committee, having held it since 1989. All concerned with the progress of the Wiltshire History have cause to be grateful for her invaluable efforts and abilities through times of financial difficulty. This volume was prepared mainly under the general editorship of Dr. C. R. J. Currie, who retired as General Editor in July 2000, and partly under that of Professor A. J. Fletcher, who became Director and General Editor of the V.C.H. in January 2001.

Thanks are offered to the many people who have helped in the compilation of this volume by granting access to documents and buildings in their ownership or care, by providing information, or by giving advice. Most of them are named in the footnotes to the articles with which they helped. Particular thanks are due to the marquess of Lansdowne for allowing access to his muniments at Bowood House. Special mention must also be made of the assistance given by the staff of the Wiltshire and Swindon Record Office and by the Trowbridge Reference and County Local Studies Librarian of Wiltshire County Council (Mr. M. J. Marshman) and his assistants. Special thanks are also due to Mr. R. A. Canham, County Archaeologist for Wiltshire, for his help in preparing maps, and to Mr. P. Williams and Mr. M. Hesketh-Roberts, both of English Heritage, for their work as photographers.

The General Introduction to the Victoria County History, published in 1970, and its Supplement, published in 1990, give an outline of the structure and aims of the series as a whole, with an account of its progress. Additional information can be found at http://www.englandpast.net and at http://wiltshirepast.net.