Page:VCH Warwickshire 1.djvu/23

PREFACE WARWICKSHIRE enjoys the distinction of being the first county whose antiquities formed the subject of an exhaustive County History. Although Stow with his Survey of London and Norden with his design for a complete series of county histories, and a few others, were Sir William Dugdale's predecessors by half a century, their work is not quite on the same plane with the latter's Antiquities of Warwickshire, which saw the light in 1656. On this publication was brought to bear not only the intimate local knowledge of a native of the county, but the genius and industry which made its author perhaps the greatest antiquary England has produced. Although it is possible after a lapse of two and a half centuries to supplement and correct Dugdale's work, it will be evident from the frequent references to him in these pages how much the modern historian is indebted to his predecessor's researches. The present undertaking differs in many respects from Dugdale's history, and for details as to its scope the reader is referred to the General Advertisement on p. vii. The Editors have to thank the Rev. J. Harvey Bloom for reading the proofs of some of the articles in this volume and for his courtesy and assistance in various directions. They are also under special obligations to Mr. Benjamin Walker, A.R.I.B.A., for compiling the Domesday map, and for many useful suggestions made by him in the course of reading the proofs of the text of the Survey. For the use of some of the illustra- tions in this volume the editors are indebted to Sir John Evans, K.C.B., and the Society of Antiquaries. XIX