LOCAL HrsTonixs.—A Manor Book of Ottery Saint Mary. Edited by
Catherine Durning Whetham and Margaret, her daughter. (Longtuans and Co. 7s. 6d. net.)--We have often had occasion to say a word in encouragement of parish histories, for, as Mrs. W het ham observes, "the natural way to learn history is not to pore over introductory primers or general text-books, but to study the records of a familiar countryside or town, whether they be written on vellum and kept in the muniment chests of church, hall, and council chamber, or be traced in furrow and fence, cob and thatch, bricks and mortar over the face of the land." Mrs. Whetham herself has dealt in a most excellent way with the story of a manor in East Devon, supple- menting her transcript of the manor-book with a historical sketch of local events from Saxon times to the present century.
Ingatestone and the Essex Great Road with Fryerning. By E. E. Wilde. (Humphrey Milford. 10s. 6d. net.)—The two contiguous parishes dealt with in the present volume are at the opposite end of the kingdom from Mrs. Whetharn's, being situated in Essex. Some good photographs contribute to time value of the book, while Mrs. Archibald Christy has supplied four chapters which tell the earlier part of the history.-- Notes.' on the History of the Parish of North Wraxhall. By W. J. Lewis. (S.P.C.K. 2s. 6d. net.)—Though on a smaller scale than the two previously mentioned volumes, this work is of scarcely less value. The village described in it is situated in Wiltshire. A life of the late rector, Mr. Francis Harrison, who collected much of the material used in the book, forms a preface to it.—Finally we must mention The Parish of Lilliesleaf, by the Rev. Arthur Pollok Sym. (Selkirk : James Lewis.)—The story of this Roxburghshire parish, well and straightforwardly told, forms an interesting contrast to those of the three southern villages we have named above. It may be safely said that it is impossible to study such local histories as these without adding much to one's knowledge of events that have a wider application.
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