Introduction

Site Guide


Contents
  1. Introduction
  2. Documents
  3. Indices
  4. Reference

Introduction

The site is currently divided into four major sections, together with the introductory main page. Your are currently in the "Introduction" section of the site. These pages give background information about Earls Colne, historical documents, and the project which made this site possible.

At the top and bottom of every page are links to these sections, and to a complete table of contents. Within each section, there are links to the major subsections. For example, the "Documents" section has links to "Church", "State", "Estate" and "Personal" subsections.

Documents

The document section contains the primary sources, the transcribed documents, subdivided into Church Records, State Records, Estate Records and Personal Records (Josselin's diary). The Church, State and Estate records are each subdivided into a number of categories. Clicking on one of those categories will cause a chronologically ordered list of the source documents in that category to appear. The source reference is given on the left, the date of making in the middle, and the hyperlink (in numerical form), on the right. Clicking on one of the document identifiers will cause that document to be displayed in the main frame.

Indices

The indices, or secondary sources, have been created from the data to assist in navigating the documents. There are six indices: Chronological, alphabetical list of indexed individuals, alphabetical list of unindexed individuals by surname, alphabetical list of land names, searchable map of the parish and manors of Earls Colne and Colne Priory, and searchable street plan. Selecting "dates" displays a date range list. Clicking on one of these ranges causes the identifiers of all the documents in that range to be shown. Clicking on a letter in an alphabetical list causes surnames beginning with that letter to be displayed. These are subdivided by forename. Indexed individuals have been given a reference number. Clicking on one of these names then causes a list of all the documents in which the indexed individual or unindexed forename/surname is mentioned to be displayed in the main window. Selecting one of the document identifiers then causes that document to be displayed. Similarly, "Land" gives an alphabet, each letter of which leads to a standardized list of field or house names starting with that letter with a reference number to the map or street plan where it can be seen. Then there is a list of documents in which that land is referenced. "Map" shows a map of the parish and the manors of Earls Colne. Clicking on a region of the map will bring up a larger image. Clicking on a numbered field within that map identifies the area of land by name and leads to a list of documents mentioning that named land. "Street Plan" shows the main streets of the village of Earls Colne with numbered plots. It can be searched in a similar way to the map.

Reference

The reference section contains descriptive and supplementary material. Firstly, there are a number of source overviews which describe the Church, State and Estate records and Personal records. The descriptions of the first three of these are each split into a number of sections, with a table of contents in the left-hand frame. Clicking on a heading in the table of contents displays that section. The Personal records at present only contains Josselin's diary.

The other supporting material which is grouped under the reference section is a glossary of obscure terms, a discussion of the nature and quality of historical documents, an explanation of conventions and abbreviations used in transcribing the documents, a copyright page and a page of maps and images of Earls Colne.