This is the first digital collection published by REED, but the records research upon which it is based has a long history. The project was originally designed and undertaken in 1979, to investigate Shropshire and Staffordshire together, publishing the results as a single collection. Checking and other activities proceeded in tandem for both county collections, and the initial round of review activities was completed; however, at this late stage it was decided that the Shropshire records themselves would be sufficient to form a collection, and this was subsequently published (2 vols, 1994). Staffordshire was laid aside, other priorities intervened, and considerable time has passed.
As a result, this Staffordshire collection has lived two separate lives: its original one (1979–92) and its present digital revival. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada’s research grant, for which thanks were offered in the Shropshire volumes, was in fact a grant for the project including Staffordshire; now that the latter collection is completed I have the happy opportunity to express, once again, my deep gratitude to the Council for the financial support of its grant. And again I am delighted to thank the Jackman Foundation, by courtesy of Reverend Edward Jackman, OP, for its continued support of the REED enterprise.
Two people instrumental in the original stage of this project continue to flourish as sources of inspiration and guidance as we near the publication online of the Staffordshire records. Alexandra Johnston, REED’s founder, continues to inspire, guide, and facilitate as REED moves into new territory undreamed at its beginning. Sally-Beth MacLean and I went on from Shropshire to become (as we continue to be) co-directors of the REED Patrons and Performances website, a project that daily convinces its users that reference data has its true home in digital databases. Sally-Beth continues to oversee the REED staff, to encourage the editors, and to coordinate the project with her amazing energy and wisdom, and I am most grateful for her advice and support.
Turning now to the present Staffordshire project, I would like to begin where records research always begins, in the field at the archives, record offices, and other repositories (public and private), in which I have gathered the materials for this collection. In all of these places I have appreciated and profited from the helpful professionalism of their staffs, and I gratefully thank them all. I am happy to formally acknowledge permission to publish excerpts from the documents held by the following repositories: The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford; the Brampton Museum; the British Library; Cambridge University Library, with permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library; the Cheshire Record Office, with permission of Cheshire Archives & Local Studies; Chetham's Library; Folger Shakespeare Library; the Chapter of Lichfield Cathedral; the Lichfield Record Office (formerly the Lichfield Joint Record Office); the Lincolnshire Archives; The National Archives; the Staffordshire Record Office; the Walsall Local History Centre; the William Salt Library; and the Worcestershire Record Office, by permission of the bishop of Worcester.
This second phase of Staffordshire has involved re-checking of doubtful issues in various documents, as well as chasing down sometimes tenuous leads to elusive newly uncovered sources of evidence. I am very grateful for the invaluable advice, encouragement, and expertise (always cheerfully offered!) of two experts: Dr Nigel Tringham, County Editor of the Victoria County History of Staffordshire, and Professor Alan Nelson. Working just across the county boundary, on their own collection of the Derbyshire records, have been Barbara Palmer and John Wasson, both (alas) no longer with us. We shared in numerous discussions about the multifarious branches of the Ferrers families in Derbyshire, Staffordshire, and Warwickshire; as well, they were immensely helpful with documents in the Folger Shakespeare Library. On-site re-checking in various English repositories has been cheerfully undertaken by Jessica Freeman, Stephanie Hovland, and Simon Harris.
The exacting tasks of re-scrutinizing the record collection, replacing the (now archaic) REED typesetting symbols with TEI encoding, and creating a user-friendly digital interface have occupied the time and talents of many staff members at the REED office. My email inbox has been daily filled with wise suggestions and perceptive requests as this work has gone forward. I am delighted to offer my thanks to them all: Carolyn Black (project management and copy editing), Patrick Gregory (paleographic checking, Latin and Anglo-French glossaries and translations), Abigail Young (paleographic checking), Kathy Chung (data tagging and EATS taxonomy), Janine Harper (English glossary, proofreading, mapping research), Theodore DeWelles, Tanya Hagen, Cai Henderson, and Peter O'Hagan (bibliographic research), Byron Moldofsky (creation of maps), Jamie Norrish (software development and programming), and William Ingram (creation of readers' package). Finally, James Cummings and Jamie Norrish repeatedly shared their expertise in all things digital, guiding us through the tricky processes of TEI encoding.
Finally, in my Shropshire acknowledgments I recorded how that volume progressed as our family grew, and grew up assisting me, with the REED project in their veins. The children, now adults, have departed to their own careers and families and REED is just, for them, a (I hope happy!) memory. Only one remains, Felicity, my dear wife for fifty years, and for all of those fifty a source of staunch support, encouragement, and love. I dedicate this collection, with love, to her.