Bøker av Susanna Wade Martins

An engaging account of the life of a nineteenth-century priest.The Revd Benjamin Armstrong, for many years vicar of the market town of East Dereham, Norfolk, is best-known for what have been described as "e;one of England's greatest clerical diaries"e;, eleven volumes spanning his whole adult life, between 1850 and 1888. This first full biography puts his story into the context of the period in which he lived: a time of turmoil in the church, with its conflict between high and low forms of service, and theological arguments, stirred up not least by controversies over Darwin's theories of creation. It also vividly portrays rural life at a time of great change, when society became more fluid, railways allowed the economy to grow and develop, and thevote was extended. We see this through the eyes of Armstrong himself, a fine example of the then "e;new-style"e; Church of England clergy who lived in their parishes, took more services than their predecessors, supported their schools and showed a genuine concern for the well-being of their parishioners. By the time he retired, church life in Dereham had been transformed, with congregations typically of 1,000 at each of the Sunday services. Armstrong also served on various Local Boards, as well as setting up the Literary Institute, the Rifle Volunteers and supporting musical and cultural events. He also had a full social life; his friends included prominent townspeople and the local clergy, gentry and aristocracy -- and there are incisive pen portraits of many of his associates and their eccentricities. These activities are set against the background of his family life, with its moments of tragedy and worry, including the death of a young child and the elopement of another. Dr SUSANNA WADE MARTINS is an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of History at the University of East Anglia. Her previous publications includeThe East Anglian Countryside: Changing Landscapes 1870-1950 with Tom Williamson (2008), Coke of Norfolk, 1754-1842 (2009) and The Conservation Movement in Norfolk - A History (2015).

First modern biography of Thomas William Coke, first earl of Leicester, who revolutionised agricultural practices and became an outspoken critic of Britain's war against America over independence.

Norfolk played a unique role in the development of conservation. This book narrates the story of the movement, from its origins five hundred years ago to the present day.

During the Agricultural Revolution, the landowners of Britain constructed an enormous range of picturesque or classical buildings on their farms, inspired by Enlightenment ideals. These model farms, a phenomenan unique to Britain, are a significant yet largely undiscovered aspect of our heritage.

This book deals with the work of both Thomas William Coke and his son, their agents and their tenants at Holkham through the nineteenth century and into the early years of the twentieth. It shows how far even the most dynamic landlord needed a progressive tenantry and how far the tenantry relied on the landlord for the provision of good farm buildings and other capital expenditure.