Independence and Corporations in Pre‐Reform Freeman Boroughs: A Case Study – Newcastle‐under‐Lyme in the 1810s

This article draws on a wide range of evidence – corporation records, pollbooks, newspapers, squibs and broadsides, and private correspondence and accounts – to put forward some significant revisions to the electoral history of the borough of Newcastle‐under‐Lyme in the early 19th century. In the process, the article contributes to our understanding of the conflict between ‘oligarchy’ and ‘independence’ which characterised politics in this and other freeman boroughs. The independent party in the town emerges as a powerful force in its own right, one which came to monopolise access to the ‘rhetoric of independence’, rather than being a mere vehicle for ambitious candidates. The ability of the corporation to influence events by manipulation of the voting roll is also reassessed, and is seen to have been less significant than has been supposed.     

An investigation into the testamentary content of Stafford wills 1761–1860*

This research investigates the testamentary elements contained in the wills of Stafford residents during the period 1761–1860, a period of paradigm change which resulted in Stafford transforming from a small County Town with a population of almost four thousand in 1801, to an industrial centre of over twelve thousand by 1860. The article explores only a small portion of the testamentary content found in Stafford wills, but the results give a unique insight into aspects of life not always covered by other historical documents. Industrialisation resulted in cheaper goods being made available to more people, so the testamentary elements of Stafford wills were investigated to see if bequests of personal and household items increased. The nineteenth century also raised many social concerns, of which funerals were one. The first half of the nineteenth century was known for its extravagant and expensive funerals, so testator’s instructions were investigated to see what type of funeral arrangements were requested. The results highlight that changes cannot always be identified unless research covers a long enough timespan. Also, that despite campaigns to promote will making, in Stafford the number of testators as a percentage of the population declined in the nineteenth century. Industrialisation and the availability of cheaper goods also did not, as might have been expected result in an increase in testamentary bequests of specific ‘things’, but rather a decline. Using the preamble of a will for funeral arrangements also became less common in the nineteenth century.     

A journey – crossing boundaries

ABSTRACT

Dr George L. Mallen writes about his introduction to computer simulation in the early 1960s and his work with Gordon Pask, founder and director of System Research Ltd, a convergence point of cognitive science, computer technology and art. In 1969 Mallen co-founded the Computer Arts Society and helped to organize Event One at the Royal College of Art which brought computers into the art school. In 1969 he formed System Simulation Ltd and in 1970 developed ECOGAME, a system dynamics model of a hypothetical national economy, implemented at the First European Management Forum, the predecessor of the World Management Forum. Some of the ECOGAME technology was also used by Stafford Beer for the government economic decision room he designed and implemented for the Allende government in Chile in 1972–1973.