H PREFACE ITHERTO no complete and exhaustive history of this royal county has been written. Many attempts, it is true, have been made in this direction ; some excellent monographs have appeared dealing with special subjects, and volumes treating of the history of Hundreds, single towns and parishes, or country seats, have been written ; but no work hitherto published relating to the county as a whole can claim to be exhaustive. Among the scholars of an earlier age who have laboured in the same field may be mentioned Elias Ashmole who earned the gratitude of Berkshire men by publishing his Antiquities of Berks, as well as his Visitation of Berks and The Institution, Laws and Ceremonies of the most noble Order of the Garter, which forms an important part of Windsor history. Hearne, a native of Berkshire, wrote an Account of some Antiquities between Windsor and Oxford, and Dr. Wise in his Letter to Dr. Mead gave an account of some Berkshire Antiquities, especially relating to the White Horse Hill. Mr. E. Rowe Mores published in 1759 his Collections towards a Parochial History of Berks, but the returns which he sought from the incumbents and other gentlemen were in many cases somewhat meagre; The Antiquarian Societies of Berkshire have contributed largely to the elucidation of the history of the county. The Berkshire Ash- molean Society founded in 1840 published a few volumes, amongst which the Union Inventories was perhaps the most important. The Transactions of the Berks Archaeological Society, the Newbury Field Club, the Thames Valley Antiquarian Society, the Maidenhead and Taplow Field Club, and the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Archaeological "Journal, have been of some service in the compilation of this history. The editors wish to express their indebtedness to Dr. F. Haverfield for suggestions and help regarding the article on the Roman Remains of the county, and regret that owing to his many duties he was un- able to write this article. The editors desire also to record their thanks to the Corporation of Reading for the use of books, and for permission to have photo- graphs and drawings of various objects in the Reading Museum, to Mr. J. W. Colyer the Curator for his constant assistance and courtesy to those who have helped in the production of this volume, to Mr. J. Rutland and others. The editors also wish to express their acknow- ledgments to the Society of Antiquaries, Sir John Evans, Messrs. Longmans, Green & Co., the Royal Archaeological Institute, and Mr. A. H. Cocks for the use of blocks for illustrations. XXI
