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This is a plan to further develop baseball in Great Britain. This model draws on the successes and failures from the long history of baseball across Europe, and also on government policies affecting youth sport. Two models are included: a comprehensive initial model to increase participation and create pathways for players and coaches to excel; and an intermediate stage for intensive development amongst teenagers with high potential. The first model focuses on the improvement of baseball coaches, empowering them to get more children involved in the game. It also aims to make the structures they coach and play in more efficient and accessible. The second model, the creation of an elite academy, creates opportunities for the players emerging with talent and dedication to reach their potential. / School of Physical Education, Sport, and Exercise Science

This main body of this work consists of a gazetteer of all of the main, and many of the minor, place-names of Staffordshire (meaning any places which are or were at any time known to have been in what was, or became, Staffordshire), with early spellings, and observations on the likely or possible derivation of those names, often in a rather more discursive form than standard works on place-names, particularly where uncertainty exists as to the derivation. Early place-name spellings have been collected from many sources, primarily the volumes of the Staffordshire Historical Collections, but also the volumes of archive indexes at Staffordshire Record Office, supplemented by Staffordshire place-names extracted from other sources, such as the Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological Society and the printed Cartularies of Haughmond and Lilleshall Abbeys, both in Shropshire, and from the editorial notes produced during research by the Victoria County History of Staffordshire team. Those slips often contain early place-name spellings. The Staffordshire Encyclopaedia, a monumental compilation of material on the history and folk-lore of Staffordshire published in 2000, has provided a valuable key to material relating indirectly to place-name research, such as topographical and archaeological features. Other material has been extracted from early work on the place-names of Staffordshire and adjoining counties by W. H. Duignan and from other volumes on place-name research and the journals of The English Place-Name Society and The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland. The analysis considers the early history of the county of Stafford, and reviews the place-name evidence under various headings, including the relationship of particular elements to Roman roads, the ancient boundaries, the Hundred meeting-places, and discussions on Scandinavian and French names and those considered to provide evidence of pagan religion. The analysis incorporates a list of personal names found in Staffordshire place-names, and of topographical and other elements.

The bronze age metalwork of northern East Anglia is well known, both for its quality and quantity. The main concentration occurs along the south-eastern fen edges which are recognised as one of the primary centres of metalwork in Britain. Due to the 'wet' nature of the fenland the metalwork from the area has formed one of the main supports for the belief, over the last 25 years, in a practice of bronze age wetland ritual or votive deposition. The main theme of this work examines this important issue. The fenland material has not been isolated but is put into a regional context by the examination of other finds from northern East Anglia. Although mainly using metalwork this study is principally concerned with the meaning of the metalwork assemblage rather than individual artefact analysis. Central to the work is the collation of important information on items reported earlier, together with a wealth of hitherto unrecorded material. Closely related is a detailed analysis of the locations of finds. An attempt is also made to resolve some of the problems that are basic to artifact research, such as the reasons for the distribution of finds and their interpretation. Several problems are highlighted by these studies, such as the need to research other contemporary material and analyse the effects of both depositional and post-depositional processes. In East Anglia the most important of these, which has probably caused enormous variation in the distribution of finds has been arable agriculture, some of the effects of which are examined and analysed. Whereas previous studies have been dependent on material not necessarily representative, accurately provenanced or numerically significant, this work provides, for the first time, a relatively sound basis, allowing some significant re-evaluations of the practices, organisation and settlement patterns of society in bronze age East Anglia.

A survey of archaeological sites was carried out across 60 km2 of the Black Mountain in south-east Dyfed, an upland common. These are described and placed in a putative chronological sequence against a palaeo-environmental backcloth. Sepulchral cairns are the earliest sites recorded, probably belonging to the early second millennium bc. House circles and homesteads may date to later prehistory and the early proto-historic period, while numerous rectangular foundations are probably the remains of Medieval, possibly later Medieval, settlement. Boundaries partition part of the landscape and there are stone clearance heaps and strips. Land-use is discussed up until the early Post-Medieval period, taking account of both the monuments and the palaeo-environmental data and informed by definition of some parameters within which exploitation of upland environments can take place. Seasonality of resources, the importance of the wider region and the requirements for mobility are amongst the factors considered. The historical model of transhumance which is frequently applied to the Welsh uplands is examined. Periodic hunting, gathering and husbandry is suggested in the area prior to c. 2000 bc after which perceptions of the landscape seemingly begin to change with evidence for episodes of more formal management relating to animal husbandry and limited cultivation. Although settlement may frequently have been transient, overwintering or longer periods of continuous occupation are not precluded in response to a combination of economic, social and environmental factors. Suggestions are made for further work.

This thesis establishes and defines, for the first time, the forms and fabric types of the medieval ceramics which have been found in North Lincolnshire. The pottery from the unstratified assemblages has been catalogued in Chapter 2 and that from the stratified assemblages in Chapter 3. As an intensive regional study, there have been opportunities to use this catalogued information, along with a study of the distributional evidence, to comment on some of the wider aspects of pottery study. The Saxon and medieval ceramic development of the region have been studied by means of a series of "regional traditions" each of which is discussed in detail in Chapter 4. The study of distribution on a proportional basis has enabled a detailed investigation of the various trade and marketing patterns within the region.

This thesis considers the state preservation and use of Nottinghamshire country houses during the mid-twentieth century, from the initiation of mass requisition in 1937 until 1967 when concerns for architectural preservation moved away from the country house. This thesis reviews literature on the landed estate in the twentieth century and the emergence of preservationist claims on the country house. Three substantive sections follow. The first discusses the declining representation of landowners within local governance in Nottinghamshire and the constitution of the County Council, and considers how estate space was incorporated within broadened concerns for the preservation of the historic environment and additionally provided the focus for the implementation of a variety of modern state and non-state functions. The second section considers how changing policy and aesthetic judgements impacted upon the preservation of country houses. Through discussion of Rufford Abbey, Winkburn Hall and Ossington Hall I consider the complexities of preservationist claims and how these conflicted with the responsibilities of the state and the demands of private landowners. The third section considers how estate space became valued by local authorities in the implementation of a variety of new modern educational uses, including the teacher training college at Eaton Hall and a school campus development at Bramcote Hills. The thesis concludes by considering the status of the country house in Nottinghamshire since 1967, and contemporary demands on the spaces considered historically in this study.

This study sets out a quantitative overview of the economy of London during the period 1775 to 1825. A database has been constructed from the extant London Fire Office registers of 31,000 businesses trading either in the periods 1769-1777 or 1819- 1825, and in a few cases in both. Represented are over 1300 separate trades covering the entire spectrum of manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail distribution, transport and the service sector. To complement this data, use has also been made of trade directories, bankruptcy files, trade card collections, Census data and contemporary literature on London trades, including career guides. In order to analyse trends over this period, the database uses a version of the modern Standard Industrial Classification modified by the author. The 1300 separate trades are grouped into 101 sectors within seven main divisions of the economy. The database includes the name(s) of the proprietors of the business, the address, the trade and details of the risks insured. From this it has been possible to present statistical evidence on a number of areas of controversy about the role of London during the Industrial Revolution. It is shown that London remained a major manufacturing centre throughout the period. It has also been possible to exemplify in detail the impact of the 18th century consumer revolution by charting the expansion and increasing diversity of the wholesale and retail distribution sectors. Finally, the Importance of the role of service industries in the economy of London has been established, with special reference to transport and catering.

This thesis is an examination of the tenure and charitable donations of a number of interconnected noble families in post-Conquest Yorkshire. It begins with an introduction to the region; a social and political area of midland and northern England as opposed to a 'county' limited by set boundaries. The types of evidence are explained, charters, chartularies and surviving buildings, before moving on to the historical background. The first chapter examines the feudal divisions of Yorkshire, the evolution of honours and the extent to which Saxon divisions affected later boundaries. The chief places or 'capita' are discussed and presented as a fusion of urban, religious and seigneurial elements. Attention is paid to features of earlier landscapes, such as iron-age hillforts, that were re-used in this period. A major part of the thesis is the role of the castle both as one element of local government and as an expression of artistic patronage, social connections and status. The functions of both fortified and non-fortified seigneurial residences are explored. The links between castle and church encompass three chapters concentrating upon a shared artistic and architectural heritage, the role of the chapel within the castle household, the relationship of castle and church at village level and the importance of noble patronage to the development and power of monasticism. The study concludes with an outline of the various mechanisms that bound the nobility of Yorkshire together and suggests that they controlled their estates through a system of mutual co-operation and strategic patronage. The castle was a major part of this system, but, it is argued, it could not function in isolation and therefore the modern definition of a 'castle' as a fortified residence is misleading. A reinterpretation of the term 'castle' is offered as a final thought.