Research Papers of John Field (1921-2000), English place name historian, 1940-2000

The collection includes the following principal series:

• Drafts, off-prints and published versions of books, articles and lectures of John Field. c.1972-c.1990 (MS 724/1);
• Correspondence and accompanying papers sent to John Field. Correspondents are often publishers, local government representatives and other authors researching topics related to place and field names. 1948-2000;
• Copy correspondence by John Field. 1963-1985;
• Agreements between Field and his publishers. 1970-1990;
• Notebooks of Field's research into English place and field names including lists and classification of names. c.1940s-c.1990s;
• Bundles of papers relating to the field and place-names of particular counties. These papers are particularly strong for the counties of the East Midlands, South West and the South East of England but all of the bundles relate to a selection of settlements within a county. The papers include lists of field names, correspondence with people in the area, and maps. c.1950s-c.1990s;
• Papers relating to place-name workshops run by John Field and his wife Mary within the framework of the Open University, c.1970s-c.1980s;
• Student notebooks and notes relating to Field's studies in English literature, languages, palaeography and writing and referencing skills. c.1940s-c.1970s;
• Loose typescript and manuscript notes relating to Field's research into English place and field names including lists of names, references and bibliographic details. c.1940s-c.1990s;
• Research notes, correspondence and photographs relating to Field's interest in Margarita Philosophica. c.1970s-c.1980s;
• Photographs and photographic slides particularly depicting maps, and those used by Field during work on his paper entitled 'Chinoiserie'. c.1970s-c.1980s;
• Notebooks, typescript drafts and notes of Frank Tyrer relating to his article 'Common Fields of Little Crosby', which appeared in 'Common Fields of Lancashire' in number 114 of the Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Historic Society. 1962.

John Field was the author of English Field-Names: A Dictionary (Newton Abbott: David and Charles, 1973) and A History of English Field-Names (New York: Longman, 1993). He also contributed to parts three, four and five of Kenneth Cameron's The Place Names of Lincolnshire (Nottingham: English Place-Name Society, 1992-1997) and was co-editor with Jeffrey Spittal of A reader's guide to the place names of the United Kingdom: a bibliography of publications (1920-1989) on the place-names of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands (Stamford: Paul Watkins, 1990). Beyond place names, Field also had a research interest in the 16th-century scientific encyclopaedia, Margarita Philosophica compiled by W rttemberg-born Gregorius Reisch.

Field was at one time the editorial assistant in the English Place-Name Society, and the editor of the society's Journal. He maintained his place name interest alongside his professional career as a secondary school teacher and later, a senior college lecturer at Dacorum College of Further Education, Hemel Hempstead.

The collection has been divided by document type into series. Within these series, items have been arranged chronologically where possible.

ACCESS: Restricted pending full cataloguing: contact Department for advice.

LANGUAGE: English

This description is the only publicly available finding aid available for the collection. A brief draft list of contents is available in te department and can be used in advising researchers. Copyright in the description belongs to The University of Nottingham.

REPROGRAPHIC: Reprographic copies can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only, depending on access status and the condition of the documents.

COPYRIGHT: Permission to make published use of any material from this collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Keeper of the Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk). The Department will try to assist in identifying copyright owners but the responsibility for copyright clearance before publication ultimately rests with the reader.

The collection was given to the University of Nottingham's Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections in August 2001.