This is great: new work on both Dorset and London, plus a tiny bit of shade on those belatedly inherited bits of Hampshire in the press release (never forget) #VCHRedBook250

This is a bumper year for @vchlondon.bsky.social:

Four new projects (each breaking new ground in counties where we haven't been actively researching for around a century.

Many new books *including* our 250th Big Red Book (and that's in a county we haven't done before: Westmorland). #VCHRedBook250

Excerpt from a text: Livelihoods were threatened by foot and mouth disease in 1839. In response, farmers resorted to a need fire, a ceremony by which it was believed the magic of the fire would provide a cure. The brand was taken from farm to farm, spreading as far as Skirwith in Cumberland. This was the last known occasion this superstition was acted upon. The importance of dairy farming is also illustrated by the residency of the butter merchant, James Wilkinson, in 1829.

Killington Hall, Westmorland - a crenulated stone building of two storeys with a gable end and chimneys visible. The setting is a stone-walled lane with grass and trees rising above it.

The old Scotch road, Killington. A straight, undulating minor road bounded by stone walls heading towards plantation conifers on the hills rising at the back of the shot. This was the medieval route from Lancaster to Scotland via Carlisle. Despite its apparent straightness, the Roman road was elsewhere (and still visible in the landscape).

This latest excerpt from our next #BigRedBook, Westmorland, volume 1, is for #FolkloreFriday shows the range of our histories.

At #Killington in the Lune valley, and into Cumberland, 15 miles away, foot and mouth disease in 1839 was met with a 'need fire'. What's that? Read on!

#VCHRedBook250

Text reads: 'By the 18th century, demand for service may have resulted in Black people being brought from slave plantations overseas. In 1753, the parish register [of Kirkby Lonsdale] recorded the baptism of Samuel, the son of a female slave, called Pwers. She had come from Caroline in North America. Unfortunately, it is not known where Samuel or his mother were based in the parish. Before buying Underley, London alderman William Thompson (1792-1854) presented a petition for the abolition of slavery, on 29 March 1831. Some residents of the town were more closely connected with slavery in the Caribbean. Richard Atkinson, a man of 'independent means'...

Over the next few months we'll be previewing highlights from our first volume for the historic county of #Westmorland - which happens to be a milestone for the project as a whole: our 250th #BigRedBook.

Here's the first, showing the impact of the slave trade in rural NW England. 🗃️

#VCHRedBook250

Yet another brilliant series of events from @chppc.bsky.social
foregrounding #place based histories. We’re particularly excited for @amalexathorn.bsky.social ‘s lecture on women’s contributions to early 20th VCH research as part of the #VCHRedBook250 celebrations.

Really exciting to see one of our flagship projects - @vchlondon.bsky.social - move towards such an incredible milestone #VCHRedBook250. Our colleagues in VCH Cumbria have been working so hard on this volume, it’s going to be brilliant.