Fund Original Historical Research

Greetings! My name is Daniel Reed, I am an archivist, historian, and researcher who is originally from Beverley in the East Riding of Yorkshire, and now lives in Warwickshire. I was educated in Jersey, and at the University of Hull. In 2012, I commenced my PhD at Oxford Brookes University researching the Church and society in the Long Eighteenth Century (1688-1832). I am also undertaking other historical projects which are complimentary to this work which promise to be highly illuminating of life in Britain (and beyond) during this fascinating period of history.

PROJECTS: MY THESIS (IN BRIEF)

The provisional title of my thesis is ‘The Clerical Profession in the North of England, 1714-1760’, and the aim of my investigation is to re-appraise the functioning of the Anglican Church in the North of England during the reigns of George I and George II. This will involve close analysis of ecclesiastical patronage within the Northern Province, and the study of the Church's involvement in civil life and interaction with other religious groups, such as dissenters and Catholics. 

The North of England has not typically received as much scholarly attention as London and the south-east, but this imbalance is slowly being redressed. My research makes particular use of original primary sources held in regional record offices in Yorkshire and beyond - veritable treasure troves containing many under-analysed sources. My research gives particular emphasis to the life and career of Lancelot Blackburne, Archbishop of York from 1724-1743. Blackburne was the first Whig bishop to be translated to the See following the Hanoverian Succession to the British throne in 1714, and his legacy has been marred by various slights against his churchmanship and personal life. To give just one example of why a major revision of his historical biography is necessary - many writers still give credence to claims that he had been a buccaneer in the Caribbean in the 1680s.

PROJECTS: NEW LAURENCE STERNE LETTER DISCOVERED

In November 2016, at the Bodleian Library I discovered a hitherto-unknown letter from Laurence Sterne to John Fountayne, Dean of York, dating to 1752. This is the first 'new' Sterne letter to be discovered for several years, and I look forward to publishing this finding in a forthcoming edition of The Shandean.

PROJECTS: SOVEREIGNTY AND SPIRITUALITY: THE ECCLESIASTICAL HOUSEHOLD OF THE EARLY GEORGIANS

In the summer of 2016 I was greatly honoured to be appointed by the Royal Archives in association with King's College, London, to a Georgian Papers Fellowship. My project, provsionally titled 'Sovereignty and Spirituality: The Ecclesiastical Household of the Early Georgians' seeks to make new discoveries among the Royal Archives at Windsor to further illuminate the role of the Chapel Royal, the ecclesiastical patronage of the Royal Family, and the wider implications of George I and George IIs involvement in Church affairs in the early eighteenth century.

PROJECTS: THE SOCIETIES FOR THE REFORMATION OF MANNERS

Following the Glorious Revolution of 1688, numerous societies were established with the express purpose of suppressing the profanity and vice which they believed to infect English society. These groups of private individuals acted as informants to report moral crimes such as Sabbath-breaking, swearing, prostitution and gaming to local magistrates. They also commissioned clergy to preach before them, and printed sermons, literature and 'black lists' of those that they had prosecuted. The socities that formed in the south of England, such as the original groups in London, have received a great deal of scholarly attention. Their northern counterparts, however, have not received much scrutiny. The Society for the Reformation of Manners in Hull was formed in 1698, and was composed principally of dissenters from the Independent and Presbyterian congregations in the town. A surviving minute book of this society gives an unprecedented insight into the functioning of a religious society in the North of England at the turn of the eighteenth century. It is my hope to produce a scholarly edition of their records, and disseminate my findings through talks and other means. 

A LITTLE MORE BACKGROUND

I have been fortunate to have explored my love of history through employment in the heritage and archives sector for the past eight years. It was whilst working as an assistant in a county record office in Yorkshire that I begun to investigate the life of Dr Jaques Sterne, the influential uncle of the renowned eighteenth century novelist and clergyman, Laurence Sterne, author of The Life & Opinions of Tristram Shandy and A Sentimental Journey. It was from this curiosity that my eventual research proposal stemmed, and on which my researches into the life and works of Laurence Sterne are founded.

MY PUBLICATIONS

‘Lewis Stephens and “The Ecclesiastical Climbers”, 1743’, Religion in the Age of Enlightenment (AMS Press, 2017 – forthcoming)

‘Spreading the news within the Clerical Profession – Newspapers and the Church of England, 1714-1760’, in, Siv Gøril Brandtzæg, Paul Goring and Christine Watson (eds.), News In An Expanding World, The Transformation of News from the Renaissance to the Age of Enlightenment (Brill, 2017 – forthcoming)

‘Religion, Regulation, and the Development of the Metropolitan Press’, Nichols Collection of Seventeenth & Eighteenth Century Newspapers Online (Gale-Cengage, 2017 – forthcoming)

‘An Early Book Subscription by Sterne’, and, ‘A New Historical Perspective on Jaques Sterne in the East Riding; the Account Book of Hugh Bethell of Rise, 1725-1752’ in, The Shandean, vol. 23, 2012 (The Laurence Sterne Trust, 2013)

My unpublished research is referenced in, Joanne Begiato, &, William Gibson, Sex and the Church in the Long Eighteenth Century (I. B. Tauris, 2016 – forthcoming); Geordan Hammond, &, David Ceri Jones (eds.), George Whitefield, Life, Context, and Legacy (Oxford University Press, 2016); Rebecca Probert (ed.), Cohabitation and Non-Marital Births in England and Wales, 1600-2012 (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2014); Phillip Tovey, Anglican Confirmation 1662-1820 (Ashgate, 2014). My work is also acknowledged in the preface to, Melvyn New, &, W. B. Gerard. (eds.), The Miscellaneous Writings and Sterne’s Subscribers, an Identification List, The Florida Editions of Laurence Sterne, Volume IX (The University of Florida, 2014), The Westminsterian, Burgon Notes and the online catalogue of the National Portrait Gallery.

WHERE YOU COME IN

I do not currently hold a scholarship or bursary for my postgraduate position. Having contributed to a few crowd-funded schemes myself, I know the pleasure that can come from participating and positively contributing towards a project. Alongside my employment and competetive grants received from charities and trusts, every penny and pound I receive through this page will go towards the projects named above through the purchase of books, archival trips and payment of my fees, which will help alleviate the financial pressures of postgraduate study and allow me to complete my research to the best of my ability. Anything you can contribute will be greatly appreciated and duly acknowledged. 

UPDATE - 17/9/2014

Given the success of the campaign so far, I have set up a blog to act as a point of dissemination for my research findings and a forum for readers to engage with my work. The blog can be found at, http://conversingcriminally.wordpress.com, and will cover a range of topics, principally the issues of the Church, society, law and family during the long eighteenth century.

WHAT I WILL DO

(Besides extending my sincerest gratitude)

Anyone contributing £20 and above will have the option to receive an acknowledgement in the preface to my PhD thesis, and as a benefactor to my blog.

Should I be speaking publicly, I will provide you with a personal invitation to the event.

I will provide you with my email address to answer any queries you might have about my research, the Long Eighteenth Century, or archival holdings (if you wish).

Find me on Twitter at @DReedHistory
Also, https://oxfordbrookes.academia.edu/DanielHReed where you can download examples of my work.