PREFACE I only complete history of Essex hitherto issued is that of Philip Morant, published in 1768 and reprinted in i8i6. 1 It may perhaps be reasonably claimed that the county is entitled to a newer history and one more complete than could be compiled in the eighteenth century. The aims of the series of which the Victoria History of Essex forms a part are to be found in the General Advertisement printed in this volume. It has been found impossible in the present instance to adhere to chronological order in the sequence of the articles included in this volume. It is hoped to print the section on the Romano-British Period in the second volume. Whilst the editors cannot as a rule make special reference to the services of contributors, they feel in the present instance it is only right to acknowledge their great indebtedness to Mr. J. Horace Round, not only for the infinite pains he has expended under adverse circumstances of health on the Domesday section, which in the case of Essex is one of peculiar difficulty, but also for the valuable help he has given to others in the preparation and revision of their articles.
- It would appear that Morant did little more than edit materials collected by previous students of
Essex history (see 'Historians of Essex,' Enex Review, iii. 27-41, 138-53). XIX
