Earls Colne’s Early Modern Landscapes by Dolly MacKinnon (review)

In this book, Dolly MacKinnon takes advantage of the wide range of resources that have survived concerning the Essex village of Earls Colne. For this reviewer, one of the most appealing aspects of this research is the bringing together of such a range of material, which includes the surviving physical buildings, such as the church, monuments, and the works of antiquarians and artists, as well as evidence from manorial records, parish returns, and graffiti preserved within the parish church. The published diary of Ralph Josselin, the vicar of the village in the seventeenth century, and records from the Church Building Society are also explored, together with the remarkable archive provided by Alan Macfarlane and Sarah Harrison which is now online. MacKinnon’s sifting through of this material provides us with unexpected traces of individual lives and changes in landholders from the de Veres, the Earls of Oxford, to the Harlakenden family and their descendants. The work benefits from the close reading of documents by historians such as Rhys Isaac that have uncovered the cultural histories buried in the humblest records.

I particularly enjoyed the second and third parts of this book, where the focus shifts to the inhabitants of the village, rather than the great landowning families. Part II focuses on the parish church of St Andrew’s and its churchyard, investigating the hierarchical distribution of the pews, burial practices, and the impact of the Civil War, as expressed by the public petitions signed by men of the parish. The sad evidence of Margaret Williamson’s suicide reminds us about the silences in the records of the Coroner’s Court that reveal little about her tragedy. Another small story, but with big implications for trade and empire, is the trace of slavery and the black presence found in Essex in the eighteenth century. Maria Sambo, a literate free woman, married Warren Hull in 1737, and was later buried in the churchyard in 1766. Little is recorded of her quiet life, but she, her husband, and her children became part of the Earls Colne landscape. Part III examines how different sites in the landscape were reinvented over time, including the Priory buildings, as well the expansion of the religious environment with the appearance of the Quakers, whose meeting house still exists in the village.

This is a rich study that brings together, in a synthetic way, the resources that a single village has created; resources which have allowed a sensitive scholar to uncover surprising evidence of change and development. MacKinnon’s explorations of this environment, both through visits and research, enliven the text, reminding us too that this history is ongoing.