Trial until 15 February: Early Modern England Society, Culture & Everyday Life, 1500-1700

Oxford researchers are warmly invited to trial Early Modern England: Society, Culture & Everyday Life, 1500-1700 [access via SOLO.]

This resource offers access to rare and invaluable sources for examining the lived experience of people in England between 1500 and 1700. From ‘ordinary’ people through to more prominent individuals and families, these documents show how everyday working, family, religious and administrative life was experienced across England.

Rather than dealing specifically with the great political and religious upheavals of these years, the project aims to look at the everyday happenings of people in different parts of England.

What topics can you research?

The sources are useful for the study of many aspects of life in early modern England. They include:

  • Agriculture
  • Arts, literature and culture
  • Births, marriages and deaths
  • Family life and relationships
  • Finance
  • Foreign affairs
  • Health and medicine
  • Land and property
  • Law and order
  • Monarchy
  • Politics and government
  • Possessions
  • Poverty
  • Religion
  • Scholarship: science and humanities
  • Trade and economics
  • Travel
  • War
  • Women’s history
  • Work and employment

What type of documents are included?

These experiences are revealed through a wide range of materials including legal records, family correspondence, tax records, administrative records, wills, inventories, petitions, military papers and commonplace books and more.

There is a strong material culture element to this project with the inclusion of images of everyday objects used in early modern households. Many can be viewed in 360-degree rotation.3 early modern objects: cream coloured cap, a chamberpot, a fire bellowsWhich regions are covered?

The different collections of documents enable a regional comparison, for example with court records from the South East, London, the West Midlands and the North West.A guide to the different collections incl. Commonplace books, local legal documents, quarter sessions, archives, etc.Searching

You can browse or search in many different ways. Useful are, for instance, indices for names, themes, regions and places.

The resource also offers searching of manuscripts using Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) technology. This is still a developing area and results may not always be perfect.

Tell us what you think

The trial ends on 15 February. While there currently is no funding for this resource, your feedback is still helpful to gauge interest amongst the scholarly community. Please email  isabel.holowaty@bodleian.ox.ac.uk to comment on the usefulness of the content, who would benefit from it and whether the searching functionality is adequate.

New: Country Life Archive (1897-2005) & Country Life Picture Library

country-life-cover-29-may-1969

Front page. (1969, May 29). Country Life (Archive : 1901 – 2005), ProQuest, accessed 21 Sept. 2016

I am pleased to report that Oxford historians now have access to Country Life Archive, covering 1897 to 2005.

Country Life is a well-known weekly British culture and lifestyle magazine, founded in 1897 by Edward Hudson, friend of Gertrude Jekyll and patron of Edwin Lutyens.

It focuses on fine art and architecture, the great country houses and their interiors, church and historic buildings, landscapes, rural living and leisure pursuits such as antique collecting, farming, hunting, shooting, horse riding and gardening.

country-life-photo-of-mrs-cooper-key-18-jan-1941

Country Life (1941, Jan 18). Country Life (Archive : 1901 – 2005), ProQuest.

The magazine also reported on national events, governmental policy relating to agricultural affairs as well as society affairs of rural gentry.

Country Life is rich in advertising of, for instance, properties and as such is a valuable source in retracing the history of houses as well as finding images of them. Other advertising includes services and equipment needed for country living.

A highly visual resource, every page is full-text searchable, and reproduced in high-resolution and full colour.

The advanced search functionality includes the ability to search for specific images such as photos of interiors and exteriors or architectural drawings / plans.

country-life-advert-18-jan-1941

K L G. (1941, Jan 18). Country Life (Archive : 1901 – 2005), ProQuest, accessed 21 Sept. 2016

Country Life Picture Library contains images of country houses and gardens, interiors and architectural details, historic buildings and churches from the photo-archive of Country Life magazine. All images reference the original Country Life articles for which they were commissioned. Please note that images themselves can only be used upon registration, ordering and payment.

Both the Country Life Archive and Country Life Picture Library are now available on Databases A-Z to our readers. It will be added to SOLO shortly.