By J.D. Marshall

Dr Marshall, the President of the Mourholme Society, is at present working on a book on the study of Local History. Here he gives the Society a preview of some of his thoughts on the subject.

Local historians are unlike most historians in that they take responsibility for a very definite tract of territory – and apparently, for everything that has happened within that territory over many centuries. This means that we might be responsible for the history of gardens or postal services or watering cans, as well as social or economic history, within the old parish of Warton and its townships – a positively enormous demand on our time!

It is this sheer variety of often novel subject-matter that attracts some members, of course, and the list seems inexhaustible. Unfortunately, this very attractiveness and variety is based on one dangerous idea, that everything in the past is somehow equal in value to everything else. We soon learn, indeed, that history cannot be written unless the writers select topics and have priorities. Then, of course, life becomes more eventful as we debate and have arguments. Every really worthwhile local history society must have its own priorities, in order that it can somehow spiral forward (or upwards).

In this short contribution I shall try to suggest what these might be. Once we establish a local history society, we take on responsibility for interpreting the local past for everyone else in our area – and that includes young people at school. So, whether we are amateurs or not, we have to establish the very highest standards of which we are capable. There is nobody else to do the work for us, although we can use the services of professionals wherever possible.

At first, the task must appear impossible. It must seem to resemble the disentanglement of a jungle. Perhaps I may be permitted to shine a torch into the shadows. First of all, we have to think of our public or audience. They will be deeply indebted to us if we can throw light on recent history, the story and scene of their own lives. They will all be able to tell us about their own lives. They will be able to tell us about their own experiences, and we can hope to provide some background. Then as we inch back into earlier periods, we shall be proceeding from the known to the unknown, and from generation to generation. It is generations that represent “real” historical experience, not centuries – for centuries are the artificial construction of historians.

Of course, we need the wisdom of historians as well, and thanks to them, most of us have an idea what “Victorian” or “mediaeval” mean. It is also perfectly in order to produce booklets on “the seventeenth century”, or the “nineteenth century” in our area. As a Society, we have one great advantage over the academic historian – we can work unblushingly in teams. Professional historians have to publish books in their own names in order that they can keep their professional reputations. We need not worry about protocol of that kind (though members may wish to take responsibility for part of a book, let us say), and indeed teamwork can mean “team discussion”, and be very rewarding. Alternatively, one person may do most of the writing, and others do much of the research, but all share in the end product. Very few societies are as bold as the Mourholme in wishing to publish a series of books on different “ages” or centuries, but such a programme can be beneficial if it is handled by’ distributing reasonable and personally interesting tasks to as many people as is feasible.

Seven people can make a good research and discussion team, and if the Society can create three such teams (a fifth of the membership) it will have done well. Competition of a friendly kind can supplement cooperation, and there should be no sense that members of research or publishing teams are also members of an élite. We are all learners in something. Meanwhile, the natural individualists will do their histories of lime-kilns or water-troughs, and bring colour and variety to our magazine.

What about the larger priorities?

It is possible, with reading, discussion and hard work, to see the major outlines of history in each period or century, and we can then decide that some topics really are more important than others. But our topics do not always follow the Outlines of the history books, and we must be on our guard. Carnforth was a product of a second “industrial revolution” based on railways and steel; our open fields did not follow the “three-field system”, but quite a different one. (Children are often not taught local peculiarities like this.)

Then, having got our bearings, we have to tell an absorbing story in an absorbing way. It is our responsibility to reach out to as many people as possible without pandering to nostalgic anti-quarianism (facts for their own sake, rose-tinted views of the past), and if we are unreadable, we shall defeat our object.

A.J.P. Taylor remarked of some professional writers of history “That they have no tale to tell, Sir”, and we need not imitate these authors. Equally we don’t have to be superficial and disjointed. The Mourholme Society has a great deal of varied talent, and we shall do well to bring the latter into play.

Just one or two further points. Our Society is responsible for half a dozen places, settlements and townships, and it has a microcosm of the rural north at its disposal; let us make sure that we study the histories of all our townships comparatively. We shall then bring in members from all of them, in greater numbers. All the same, the most populous place in our area is Carnforth! Let us make sure that Carnforth’s story is even more fully told.

Chairman’s Note

The Mourholme Society owes its foundation to a small group of local researchers, and from its inception there have been research groups active in the society. An early research group consisted of eight or nine members who concerned themselves with transcribing wills and inventories from the greater parish of Warton from the 16th and 17th centuries. They learnt how to read “secretary hand”; they discovered the meaning of delightful words like hattocks and brandreths and rackencrookes and quishions; and they found out quite a lot about local people of three or four centuries ago, how they lived, and died, and provided for their descendants. From their work on wills this research group has gone on to further study of the 17th century. Other members of the society are studying old newspapers, or their local township in the 19th and 20th centuries, or their own houses. If any member is interested in embarking on research why not get in touch with the Society can offer any help or, just as importantly, whether your research can help the Society.

Published in the Mourholme Magazine Issue 21 1993