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Conservation and Development in Historic Towns and Cities . Edited by Pamela Ward. 12 × 8½. Pp. x + 275 + pls. and figs. Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Oriel Press Limited, 1968. £3.75.

The map at the end of this new guide shows the whole of the ancient county of Essex, and it is not immediately apparent that the Gazetteer (although not the Introduction to the book) omits the area, now in Greater London, which was part of the ancient county. The omission was no doubt dictated by the plans for the series as a whole, but it will be regretted, especially by the many dwellers in the Greater London Boroughs whose interest and loyalty still lie with Essex. Like the other Shell guides this one is well produced. The illustrations cover a wide range of subjects. Some are excellent, but others are much too dark in tone, and a few are poor. The Introduction, of thirty-eight pages, deals with the Kingdom of Essex, The Boundaries, Essex Physiognomy, Norman Essex and the Forest, and The Building Materials. The last of these subjects is much the longest and the best. Under The Boundaries Mr. Scarfe discusses, inter alia, the formation of Essex parishes, making use of J. H. Round's work on that subject. Round commented on the large number of Essex parishes deriving part (and occasionally the whole) of their names from Anglo-Norman feudal lords. The situation is quite different in Suffolk, where new parishes were usually named after the saints to whom the churches were dedicated. There is no doubt, as Mr. Scarfe says, that this suggests basic differences of social structure between Essex and East Anglia. But in relation to parish boundaries he is mistaken in stating that 'an Essex parish tended to coincide with a single manor'. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, when parish boundaries were being settled, it was common for a parish to contain two or more manors, and after the thirteenth century the single-manor parish was exceptional in Essex. In the sub-section on Building Materials Mr. Scarfe discusses the recent work of Mr. Cecil Hewett on the dating of medieval timber-work. In relation to Ramsden Bellhouse he appears to think that the Bellhouse family, from which the parish suffix was derived, had themselves been so named after the church tower. It seems more likely, however, that the surname, which was not uncommon, was derived from a secular bell-tower. The introduction is followed by an admirable Gazetteer describing the historical growth of towns and parishes as well as their buildings. The accounts of the new towns of Basildon and Harlow are, of their kind, as good as those of the old boroughs of Colchester and Maldon and the seaside resorts of Southend and Clacton. There are a few errors in detail. The railway to Brentwood was opened in 1840 (not 1846). Chappel appears to have been separated from Great Tey in 1534 (not 1433). St. Edmund's body rested at Greenstead-juxta-Ongar in 1013 on its homeward journey to Bury (not on its outward journey to London). Mr. Scarfe's knowledge of Suffolk enables him to make some interesting comparisons between the two counties. In comparing Frinton with Southwold he is perhaps less than fair to Frinton, for he does not mention the 'greensward' on the cliff top which is one of the most attractive features of the place. Mr. Scarfe's style is lively, but sometimes gushing. In the Gazetteer he tends to lapse into breathless journalese. But these are minor flaws in a first-rate guide, which maintains a high level of scholarship. W. R. POWELL