Editorial note and VCH county committee

EDITORIAL NOTE

This volume is the tenth to appear in the Staffordshire set of the Victoria History of the Counties of England. Like its eight immediate predecessors it has been compiled under the supervision of the Staffordshire Victoria County History Committee, which represents a partnership between the university of London, the Staffordshire County Council, and the metropolitan boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall, and Wolverhampton. The origins of the partnership are described in the Editorial Note to volume IV of the Staffordshire set, and the present membership of the Committee is set out on p. xiv below. The university of London warmly thanks the five Local Authorities for their continued support and generous financial help.

The local editorial arrangements have remained unchanged since the publication of the previous volume: the county editor is Mr. M. W. Greenslade, with Mr. D. A. Johnson and Dr. N. J. Tringham as the assistant county editors.

Many people and organizations have helped in the preparation of the present volume. Special thanks are offered to the Lichfield Conduit Lands Trust, the Swinfen Broun Charitable Trust, and the Charity of the Hospital of St. John the Baptist, Lichfield, all of which have provided generous financial assistance. Grateful acknowledgement is also made to the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield, especially the Revd. Dr. E. C. C. Hill, honorary cathedral librarian; the Revd. P. Dennison, archivist of Birmingham archdiocese; Mr. M. B. S. Exham, former registrar of Lichfield diocese; Mr. K. A. Flathers of Messrs. Sharrott, Barnes & Co., solicitors of Lichfield; Haley Sharpe Associates; Messrs. Hinckley, Birch & Exham, solicitors of Lichfield, especially Mr. R. D. Birch and Mr. R. Shipton; Mr. L. J. Livesey, Director of Staffordshire Libraries, Arts, and Archives, and members of his staff, especially Miss E. M. Hughes, Principal Area Librarian, Lichfield, and Mr. J. M. Dace, former Deputy Area Librarian; Mr. D. Martin and Mr. P. D. I. Young, successive town clerks of Lichfield; Dr. G. W. Nicholls, Curator of the Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum, Lichfield; Mr. J. Shryane, Staffordshire County Planning and Development Officer, and members of his staff, especially Mrs. C. M. Edwards, Mr. R. A. Meeson, and Mr. A. G. Taylor; Dr. F. B. Stitt and Mr. D. V. Fowkes, successive Staffordshire County Archivists and William Salt Librarians, and members of their staff, especially Mrs. J. Hamparţumian, archivist at the Lichfield Joint Record Office; and Mr. J. T. Thompson, Chief Executive and Secretary of the Lichfield District Council, and members of his staff. Many others who have helped are acknowledged in the lists of plates and of figures on pp. ix and xi above and in the footnotes to the articles on which their help was given.

The volume has greatly benefited from a Community Programme scheme organized by the Staffordshire Victoria History in collaboration with the William Salt Library, Stafford, and Lichfield Library. Under the scheme, which operated from 1985 to 1988, part of the Staffordshire Advertiser and much of the Lichfield Mercury were indexed. As a result a systematic use has been made of those newspapers on a scale not normally possible. Grateful acknowledgement is made of the work of the many people employed on the scheme.

STAFFORDSHIRE VICTORIA COUNTY HISTORY COMMITTEE

as at 1 January 1990