Midland History Spring 2024

We begin our first editorial as co-editors of Midland History with thanks to our predecessor, Malcolm Dick. During Malcolm’s time as editor, readership of the journal has grown consistently, and our biennial conference has gone from strength to strength. Malcolm is also a generous colleague. His advice has been sought often during the early period of our co-editorship, and he has provided guidance with characteristic generosity throughout this transition period. We are delighted that Malcolm has agreed to remain on the journal’s editorial board. We also welcome Charlotte Young as our new reviews and social media editor. Charlotte takes over reviews from Caroline Archer-Parré and the role of social media editor from Diane Strange. We are most grateful to both Diane and Caroline for their substantial contributions to the journal and are very pleased that they both, like Malcolm, have chosen to remain as members of the journal’s editorial board. While there have been several changes, we also have consistency. Andrew Hopper remains as chair of the editorial board and Justine Pick as editorial assistant.

The current issue of Midland History contains five articles, together spanning a considerable chronological range. The Middle Ages features prominently, and the topic of Sally Dickson’s article is the earliest of them. She explores the estates and familial connections of Bishop Aethelwig of Evesham either side of the Norman Conquest of 1066. Moving into the late medieval period, Tim Thornton scrutinizes the evidence base for the Battle of Blore Heath, an important moment in the conflict well known as the War of the Roses, while Richard Goddard and George Smalley explore the decline of the Guild of Saint George in Nottingham between the 1450s and mid-sixteenth century. Dealing as they do with the cult of death, the themes of this article speak to the topic of our 2022 special issue on death, memory and commemoration. Also focusing on the sixteenth century, Donald Leech examines Coventry’s subsidy rolls to shed new light on the economic state of a Tudor town’s wards. Finally, Alannah Tomkins takes us as far as the nineteenth century with an article that focuses on bricks and brickmaking to study poor-law sponsored labour within the parish economy.

We are also fortunate to be able to include a short feature by Juliet Bailey, Alister Sutherland and William Farrell about an exciting image digitization project run by the Centre of Regional and Local History, University of Leicester. Going forward, readers will now be able to access short features on our blog, which can be found on the website of the Centre for Midlands History and Cultures. If you would like to submit a contribution, please contact Imogen Peck at the email listed below. This issue also includes eight book reviews on topics ranging from the medieval to the modern.

Our biennial conference will take place on Saturday 8 June at Kellogg College, University of Oxford. We are delighted that Yasmin Khan will deliver the keynote lecture, and we are most grateful to Andrew Hopper for all his efforts in organizing this event. While submissions for papers are no longer being accepted, it is still possible to attend – anyone wishing to do so should contact Justine Pick in the first instance ([email protected]). Papers are 20 min in length, and the atmosphere is always supportive.

It is only right that we offer a final note of thanks to all who have contributed to this issue. Authors have been patient during this editorial transition period and responded rapidly to revision requests. As with any journal, we could not operate without the support of our expert peer reviewers, all of whom have provided thorough and timely reports. The team at Taylor & Francis has been supportive and offered considerable guidance to us in our new roles. Finally, Midland History’s administrative editor, Justine Pick, has been indispensable in bringing this issue to fruition.