Mr. Humphreys intends his scholarly and handsome volume on East
Hendred, near Abingdon, to be regarded as a tentative model for parish histories in general. We heartily concur in his belief that " village life is a great national asset," and that village records should be most carefully preserved and studied. He has done well to print an exact list of all the materials available in print or in manuscript —including wilLs—for the history of East Hendred, and to compile, evidently with much labour, biographies of the more notable persons who have lived there, as well as -a list of portraits. The biographies might, however, have been arranged chronologically rather than alphabetically, so as to bring together the names belonging to each century. The description of the village, as it is, might have been more ample, but the details given are precise. East Hendred has belonged to the Eyston family since the fifteenth century, and in their private chapel, dedicated to St. Amand, the old services have been maintained with little interruption up to the present day. Bishop Fisher's staff and Sir Thomas More's cup are preserved in the manor-house. The index is unusually full and accurate. Mr. Humphreys, in his Berk- shire bibliography for 1921-22, has set a good example to lodal historians by including references to newspaper articles on folk-lore, place-names and the like, for such articles; though often of great value, are extremely difficult to trace if one does not happen to live in the district.
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