Angles, Danes and Norse in the District of Huddersfield
By W. G. Collingwood

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

The steady demand for this Handbook, which has for some time been out of print, has necessitated the issue of a new edition. Mr. Collingwood has taken advantage of this to make a number of additions which we hope will still further enhance the value of the work; for this we wish again to record our sincerer thanks for his generous help and practical interest in our work. Two new figures have been added, one of the font in Skelmanthorpe church, of which a cast by Mr Edgar Lockwood has been added to the collection in the Museum, by kind permission of the Vicar of Skelmanthorpe; also a coloured illustration of the restoration of Berhtsuith's Cross, in the Museum, specially drawn for this edition by Mr. Collingwood.

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

Under the scheme for development of a Huddersfield Museum adopted by the County Borough Council in December, 1919, special stress was laid upon the interest and importance of the investigation of local history, both natural and human. Much material has been accumulated during the past twenty years as the result of the Regional Survey carried on in connection with the Biological Department and the Museum of the Technical College and by members of local societies in their several branches of study.

The generous gift of Ravensknowle Hall and grounds to the town by Mr. Legh Tolson, came at an opportune time, and makes possible the practical illustration of the results of previous local research. For the important task of interpreting these results, we have been fortunate in securing the active assistance of leading men in several branches of study, and their ready and generous help gives promise of good results.

An important part of our scheme is the publication of booklets dealing with the various aspects of local nature and social history, and several are in course of preparation. For various reasons we cannot publish these in chronological order, but each is designed to form a complete chapter. The first to be issued is by Mr. W.G. Collingwood, M.A., F.S.A., on "The Angles, Danes and Norse in the District of Huddersfield." The author's contributions on Scandinavian Britain and Anglican and Anglo-Danish sculptured stones are well-known, and his researches in this field entitle him to speak with great authority on the subject. The booklet shows how local remains should be studied, and how the results can be utilised in illustrating and reconstructing an obscure period in English history.

The local sculptured stones of the Anglo-Danish period are fully illustrated from the author's drawings and the restorations and casts of these at the Museum have been made by Mr. Edgar Lockwood, of the Technical College, from working drawings prepared for this purpose by Mr. Collingwood.

The restorations will prove an important contribution to our knowledge of this period, and are the most complete of their kind yet attempted. We hope the booklet will be a help to all interested in adult education, while to teachers it should be of great value in their school work. A bibliography is added for those desiring a more extended knowledge of the subject.

The costs of the restorations and casts have been generously defrayed by Mrs. Mary Blamires, J.P., M.B.E., of Bradley Lodge, and photographs of all the original stones have been made and presented by Mr. W.H. Sikes of Almondbury, and are now in the collection of photographs in the museum.

The Committee desire to record their thanks to the donors, to the Vicar of Dewsbury, Mirfield and Kirkburton, and Sir George A. Armytage, Bart., for permission to make casts from the stones in their charge, also to Mr. Collingwood for the great care and interest he has taken in the preparation for the work, and for so generously placing his extensive knowledge and skill at their service.

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