David Davies was a Welsh clergyman in the Church of England. He became Rector of Barkham on 27 May 1782 and remained there until his death. He spent many years researching the living conditions of the labouring poor in Barkham and beyond into other England counties, Wales and Scotland, which he published in 1795 as 'The case of labourers in husbandry stated and considered'. This is considered a very important work in social history and this collection contains some of his primary research. The collection came to the Library via G.D.H. Cole who had collated them.
See Small Collection description for other sub-collections.