This thesis seeks to identify patterns between various pre-Christian and early Christian sites situated in the pre-Reformation landscape. Scotland, and the west in particular, is distinctly lacking in documentary evidence when compared to other areas in the British Isles – there is unfortunately no Scottish equivalent of the Domesday Book. However, human activity leaves evidence in the form of actual sites or memories and traditions of those that have gone without trace; and it was these sites that form the backbone of this study. A multi-disciplinary approach is adopted, taking an innovative maximalist approach in order to allow patterns to emerge that can be subjected to critical analysis. The study takes the Ordnance Survey National Grid NS map square as an arbitrary limit, and utilises the site record of the Royal Commission for Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, constructing a large database of sites, a digital mapping programme (ArcView), place-name, historical and archaeological data along with evidence from antiquarian authors. The resulting maps were then studied to identify patterns as described in the Methodology (Chapter 2). Chapters 3 and 4 examine the patterns produced when looking at two site types: court hills and holy wells. These site types are considered in respect of their proximity to other site types, in particular, early Christian sites such as parish churches and chapels. The data produced from studying holy wells in the landscape is interesting in their apparent proximity to chapels and parish churches; however, it was limited by the lack of dating evidence for these elusive sites. Court hills, proved to be more interesting and their repeated proximity to parish churches, which mirrored the few previous studies, implied the parish churches had been deliberately placed to the court hills. This, in turn, begged the question, why? In the concluding chapter, the study considers the possibility that court hills continued to be important in a landscape of overarching, general and specific lordship. Patterns indicated a tendency towards the siting of parish churches beside court hills in the royal demesne and provincial lordships, which was less frequent in those of specific lordships. Similarly, there is the possibility that this might represent a form of shire, thought to have been previously unattested in the west of Scotland.

This thesis discusses the previously unstudied treatment of German civilian internees and prisoners of war taken from the German colonies by British and Dominion authorities during the First World War. Through this study the links between the First World War in the extra-European theatre and the conflict in Europe will be examined. Five key issues are posited for investigation. These are: the centralised internment policy of the British Empire, the effect of the takeover of German colonies on the cultural identity of the British dominions, the effect wartime captivity had on German settlers, what extra-European internment tells us about twentieth century mobility and warfare, and the integration of the extra-European theatre of the war into the overall Global War narrative. The establishment of a global camp system run from the British imperial metropole involved the coordination of the military, the Admiralty, Dominion governments, and the Colonial and Foreign Offices. The general principles of international law were followed but often overridden through the use of reprisals, and the notion of trying Germans for ‘war crimes’ had an impact far into the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The First World War and the internment of German civilians and military prisoners in the extra-European theatre undermined the notion of a common European civilising mission in the colonial world. It upset the established colonial racial hierarchies, and through ‘enemy alien' legislation helped establish European hierarchies of race as defined by nationality, disrupting the pre-war world order of cultural globalisation. Through the analysis of German colonial settlers and soldiers in British internment, this thesis demonstrates that the First World War was not just a conflict between the European Great powers but that it also involved a world-wide remaking of ideas, institutions and geopolitics.

This thesis explores the personal, territorial/economic and spiritual networks of the Cantilupes and the Corbets, two families from different levels of the thirteenth century gentry. The Cantilupes were curiales; the Corbets were established Marchers who did not enter the king’s court. The study shows that each had a strong command of their respective power centres, yet the main branch of administrative Cantilupes deliberately pushed towards the Welsh March from King John’s reign onwards, while the Corbets, who were without the same networks of power and the consequent resources of these royal stewards, were also pushing for expansion within their own territory. This comparison illuminates the differences between these two families, neither of them great magnates per se, but both with strong links to the upper echelons of the aristocracy, and both with acquisitional and expansionist ambitions. The thesis identifies patterns of patronage and land-holding, and analyses their networks of relationships. Interaction between the two families is also considered, and the means by which family power and identity was represented and expressed are explored. The thesis concludes by identifying the common threads of a family strategy that, potentially, was followed by many thirteenth century gentry families of varying levels of social status. It considers the impact of the Welsh March on such strategies, and questions the ‘peripheral’ nature of such borderlands to those without Marcher territories.

This thesis is a chronological case study into the origins, operation and consequences of the Lib-Lab Pact 1977-1978. Cross-party co-operation in British politics since 1945 is assessed. David Steel’s election as Liberal Party leader, his political philosophy and strategy are examined. Concepts of realignment, ‘co-operation strategy’ are explored. The parliamentary and political events together with a detailed assessment of the inter-party negotiations which led the Pact are examined. New perspectives include: the significance of the leader-led nature of the negotiation process; the Labour-Ulster Unionist understanding which ran concurrent with the Pact; the importance of Lib-Lab discussions on devolution which pre-dated the Pact in influencing Steel’s subsequent decision-making. Analysis focuses on the Lib-Lab negotiations into if the Direct Elections to the European Parliament Bill should include a proportional voting system and whether the parliamentary Labour party should be compelled to vote for PR. A key finding of the thesis is that rather than allowing a free vote, as was agreed, the Prime Minister, James Callaghan, was prepared to offer the Liberals a ‘pay roll’ vote; the significance of Michael Foot in this process is also noted. The structure of the Lib-Lab consultative mechanism is reviewed. Case studies include a review of on Liberal policy influence on the Budget 1977 and 1978. The nature of intra-party dissent is reviewed with the difference between Labour and the Liberal parties noted. An examination of the serious internecine conflict is complemented by a reassessment of the role of Christopher Mayhew in this process. The Lib-Lab Pact is reviewed, assessing its affect in influencing Callaghan’s decision not to call a General Election in 1978; its influence on Liberal/Liberal Democrat party strategy, and its importance in the subsequent formation of the triple-lock, as such the thesis highlighting the Pacts relevance to subsequent cross-party understandings.

Ffocws y traethawd hwn yw’r berthynas rhwng D.R. Daniel, Tom Ellis ac O.M. Edwards. Roeddent oll yn ddynion cyhoeddus amlwg yn eu dydd, ond roedd cwlwm cyfeillgarwch ar lefel bersonol wedi’i hen sefydlu rhyngddynt yn ystod cyfnod bachgendod. Ystyried natur, a mesur dyfnder yr ymlyniad hwn a wneir yn yr astudiaeth hon gan gyfeirio at gyfeillgarwch Daniel a David Lloyd George yn ogystal er mwyn cyfoethogi’r ddadl, a chynnig gwrthgyferbyniad. Cynigir mewnwelediad dynol i gymeriadau a phrofiadau Daniel, Ellis, Edwards a Lloyd George wrth ystyried eu dealltwriaeth hwy o bersonoliaethau’i gilydd a’r modd yr oeddent yn cyflwyno eu hunain i’w cyfeillion yn eu gohebiaeth. Ymhellach, cyfrenir at y feirniadaeth o’r cysyniad o sfferau ar wahân o safbwynt cyfeillion gwrywaidd. Dengys y modd y bu i Daniel, Ellis ac Edwards rannu profiadau cyhoeddus a phersonol gyda’i gilydd ar hyd taith bywyd. Plethwyd eu profiadau wrth iddynt groesi trothwyon academaidd a gyrfaol ynghyd â phriodi a sefydlu teulu. Canolbwynt yr astudiaeth hon yw mesur a chloriannu dyfnder y rhwym a fodolai rhwng Daniel, Ellis ac Edwards, ynghyd â Daniel a Lloyd George. Dadleuir bod ymlyniad hynod ddwfn rhyngddynt a adlewyrchir yn y modd y byddent yn troi at ei gilydd am gynhaliaeth mewn cyfnodau heriol. Mae’r datganiadau emosiynol, y gofal gwirioneddol a’r syniad o alar a cholled pan ddaw’r cyfeillgarwch i ben yn cyflwyno gwedd newydd ar y cysyniadau o wrywdod a chyfeillgarwch rhwng dynion ar ddiwedd y bedwaredd ganrif ar bymtheg a dechrau’r ugeinfed. Gosodir y perthynasau rhwng y dynion dan sylw yn eu cyd-destun gan ystyried y modd roedd rhywdweithiau teuluol ehangach wedi eu sefydlu o ganlyniad i’w cyfeillgarwch, er i raddau amrywiol. Dyma arddangos lefel y cysylltiad rhwng Daniel, ei gyfeillion a’u iii teuluoedd sy’n cyfoethogi’n dealltwriaeth o’r ymlyniad rhyngddynt a gwmpasai brofiadau personol a chyhoeddus.

The legal control of wartime industrial relations, especially in Glasgow, produced ambiguous results for those upon whom the restrictive Munitions Acts impinged. Firstly, drastic labour controls did on occasion amplify, rather than suppress, industrial conflict. Secondly, factory discipline, especially timekeeping, may have been marginally improved as a result of penal deterrence, though other factors were probably more significant. Thirdly, trade unionists who found the restrictions on wage advances and on mobility an insufferable fetter in a tight labour market, could seek, nonetheless, to further their interests through the legislation, in spite of the statutory curbs. Thus they and their trade union officials, in a relationship frequently marked by mutual support at the tribunal, sought to exploit the legislation's manifold provisions resourcefully and imaginatively. For example, they sought to manipulate, to their advantage, ostensibly restrictive provisions by means of 'collective bargaining by litigation', and they also attempted to turn defence into attack in those cases where the employer had instigated a contentious prosecution. It is argued that the varied and ambiguous results flowing from munitions workers' involvement with the tribunal reflects the double-edged quality of legislation which displayed, if only partially, certain corporatist features. Thus it embodied both blunt restrictiveness on the one hand# and flexibility and opportunism for labour on the other. For the object of the legislationg according to its sponsors, was to foster the 'national interest', which could justify, through the attempt to eliminate the operation of the market in the munitions trades, limited restrictions on employers as well as restraints on labour. Trade unionists thus maximized their opportunities under -the Munitians Act, while defending themselves with vigour against its coercive deployment. Working class attitudes to law were, in conclusion, marked by a new boldness and directness in the circumstances of the war.

This thesis discusses popular participation in politics in early modern England and focqses on four inter-related themes that are central to our understanding of this subject: custom, improvement, public policy and resistance. These themes have been prominent in the recent historiographies either of public policy or of social relations in early modern England, but there has, as yet, been little attempt to relate these historiographies, and still less to study their central themes in the context of local experience. Full-scale case-studies of two series of enclosure riots that occurred during the 1640s, one in Duffield Frith (Derbyshire) and the other in Whittlesey (Cambridgeshire), examine closely both the micro-politics of the defence of custom within these communities and the implications ofrecent redefinitions of 'politics'. Research was undertaken not only in national but also in local archives. Indeed the two series ofriots were specifically selected because it was evident that sufficient local records had survived to permit reconstructions of the two economies upon which 'improvement' was imposed and of social relationships within the two communities. It has, moreover, been possible to recover details of various revenueraising policies implemented by the early Stuart kings or their 'ministers that have previously been studied only briefly. The discussion synthesises the contributions ofthose historians who have done 'so much in recent years to reinvigorate the historiography ofrural social and political relations, and argues that the complex rehitionships between crown policy, local resistance and popular politics can best be reconstructed through the exploration of the micro-politics of custom. It also argues that participation in politics by ordinary people went much further than many recent historians have believed. Such participation was cohflned neither to local 'horizontal' politics, nor to 'vertical' politics in terms of petitioning parliament or waging law in the central courts, but even encompassed actively choosing to vote in parliamentary elections.

1. The central theoretical focus of this study which seeks to offer a sociological account of the nature of the labour movement and socialism in the latter half of the nineteenth century is strictly speaking the genesis and evolution of working class political beliefs. It is intended that this should be considered in relation to the broader structural and ideological environment of the period, as well as within the experiential milieu of the working class community on the local level. 2. In Chapter 1, a number of prefactory remarks are advanced and the main theoretical issues under consideration are discussed. Chapter 2 comprises a chronology of socialism and working class movements during the period 1850-1906. It is hoped that this chronological outline will provide a basis for the subsequent analysis. 3. The two chapters which comprise Part I of this study attempt to elaborate a theoretical perspective, by reference to which the trajectory and nature of British socialism and working class social belief in the latter half of the nineteenth century may be better understood. Chapter 3 considers the major Marxist and sociological approaches to this question, stressing in particular the themes of social structure, ideology and class consciousness. A variety of problems inherent in these theories will be identified in Chapter 4 which, building upon a critical analysis of the approaches to the socialist movement, concludes by proposing a theoretical framework adequate to the complex historical and sociological issues apparent in this area. 4. The three chapters which comprise Part II aim to provide a general account of the broader structural and ideological context of the period. In Chapter 5, the development of the economy and social structure is discussed, stressing, in particular, changes in this sphere during the closing decades of the last century. Chapter 6 complements this with an account of the major ideological forms and their developments during these years. Finally, the themes of these two chapters are drawn together by Chapter 7, in which the broad trajectory of socialism and the labour movement at the societal level is documented in relation to the foregoing analysis. 5. The macro-structural and ideological formation of later nineteenth century Britain as documented in Part II provides the overall context for the third part of this study: an examination of the workings of certain micro-sociological processes. Here, the focus will be upon socialism and working class life, work and religion in Lancashire between about 1890-1906. In accordance with the theoretical perspective outlined above, this part of the study will highlight the innovative role of working people themselves in the development of social consciousness. Chapter 8 sets the background to political change in the north west between 1868-1906 and documents the course of labour organisation and politics during this period. Chapter 9 comprises a detailed examination of the activities, agitations and conceptions of socialism prevalent at the branch level in Lancashire in short, an account of socialist branch culture. Chapters 10-12 aim to situate these socialist beliefs and organisational forms within the working class community of later nineteenth century Lancashire. Attention is here devoted to, firstly, industrial structure, wages and work processes; secondly, home and community patterns; and finally, nonconformity and popular religious belief. 6. Finally, Part IV comprises one chapter in which a number of concluding remarks are advanced.

This thesis examines how the expansion of a steam-powered Royal Navy from the second half of the nineteenth century had wider ramifications across the British Empire. In particular, it considers how steam propulsion made vessels utterly dependent on a particular resource – coal – and its distribution around the world. In doing so, it shows that the ‘coal question’, almost totally ignored in previous histories, was central to questions of imperial and trade defence, required the creation of infrastructures that spanned the globe, and connected British sailors with a plethora of different imperial, maritime, and foreign peoples. Although a limited number of studies have highlighted the importance of coal to imperial defence, this thesis considers the wider context of the period 1870−1914 in order to understand the significant place of coal in these discussions. In doing so, it shows coal’s place within wider changes to political ideologies, imperial defence schemes, popular imperialism and navalism, knowledge collection, and the growth of the state apparatus. A robust coaling infrastructure was required to ensure quality naval coal was available globally on a huge geographical scale. This involved a large number of bodies, but this has never been examined by scholars for this period. Although naval coaling relied heavily on the coal export industry, the Admiralty had a key role in ensuring that the infrastructure, particularly after 1880, could cope with increases in ship size and number and competition from its rivals. The thesis also shows how these processes worked on the ground, from testing and purchasing coal to the methods and labour used to load in on warships. The thesis also shows that the necessity of coaling in foreign stations fostered new interactions between naval personnel and the wider world. Although naval visits to these places are prime examples of British encounters beyond its own shores at the zenith of empire, these are largely absent from existing studies. Thus, it explores how the interactions with local populations, other maritime visitors, and the stations themselves shaped the experience of sailors abroad, and created a maritime community spanning large oceanic spaces.

This dissertation examines the activities of the Bowood Set, a group of merchants, intellectuals and radicals centred on Lord Shelburne, and their struggle with the late-eighteenth-century port of London. Having read Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, they were awakened to his idea of markets and, more pointedly, the existence of the mercantilist institutions that were inhibiting them. Their response was to use technologies like the Docks, pensions, policeman and insurance companies to physically reorder the Thames and break the monopoly of London’s trading companies on political and economic power. The Bowood Set were not always successful. However, their belief that technology and infrastructure could shift political and economic culture simultaneously opens up a series of questions about the type of ‘things’ underpinning both mercantilism and liberalism. Drawing on actor network theorists like Michel Callon and Bruno Latour, the notion that the economy and state are simply networks held together by artefacts is here used to suggest that political economy is a material culture and, moreover, one that shifted in the late-eighteenth century from something resembling mercantilism towards something that increasingly recognisable as liberalism. Examining the Shelburnite Sir William Musgrave’s attempt to fight corruption in the Customs in London and the role of the West India Merchants lobby in coordinating London’s Quays shows clearly that the bureaucratic structures they mobilised were effective in altering the information that fiscal and commercial decisions were based on. Networks which were previously held together by close-knit cultural ties of friendship, patronage or customary agreements became increasingly contractual and monetised around the port. However, this was not always the case. Two investigations of London’s micro-economies suggests that Smith’s faceless markets were retarded by the cultures of consumption across London, and warehousing in the City, which were both sectors that accustomed communities to certain commercial practices that were not easily dislodged. What Michel Callon calls ‘calculative agency’, or the capacity to make economic decisions, was unevenly distributed across London because of material, political or social considerations, and the market was not understood by contemporaries as detached from them. As a result, the political economy advocated by Adam Smith progressed slowly across different social groups, geographies and networks. Examining how his discourse progressed in tandem with bureaucratic and material ‘things’ shows markets to have been multifaceted and socially embedded but not incapable of being redirected. Conversely, it shows that technologies designed to break open mercantilist monopolies, like the Docks, could become entangled in the social and political institutions they were designed to overpower. Examining the Dock campaign through the lense of material and bureaucratic culture in the City, this dissertation concludes that Vaughan and his associates surely did have some impact on shifting mercantilist commercial practices, though their’s was far from an outright victory.