In some ways, Thomas Hervey fits the classic model of the well-educated clergyman, with a country living remote from any town, who spent much of his time delving into the history of his parish, aided by the parish records close at hand. In other ways, he was a one-off, demonstrating some rare talents for a…

Florence was born in Sandhurst, Berkshire, to Rev. John Hepburne Merriott, an Oxford graduate and Assistant Master at Eton College, and his wife Caroline. He died in Winchester in 1919, living at Dormy Cottage, 49 St Cross Road, where Florence and her husband later came to live (father’s will: 5M64/40. Microfilm).

Morley Hewitt was a chartered surveyor (FRICS) and enthusiastic amateur archaeologist and local historian from Fordingbridge, who dedicated much of his life to unearthing Rockbourne Roman villa.

Arthur Green was born in in 1866 in Bromsgrove, the eldest of three children of a prosperous grocer. He was a medical student in Edgbaston, Warwickshire in the 1890s. He qualified as a surgeon and set up in practice in Ledbury. He kept a large household in New Street, Ledbury. During the First World War…

Heygate was born at Ballarena, Londonderry, the third son of Sir Frederick Heygate Bart MP, and heir presumptive to the baronetcy on his death. He was a King’s Scholar at Eton from 1876 to 1882 before going up to Christ Church and then St John’s, Oxford, where he took a First in Classics in 1886…

Leslie Grinsell was born in Hornsey, London and raised largely in Brighton, developing an early interest in archaeology through visits to Brighton Museum.  Although he was initially attracted by stone tools, he came to focus his attention on barrows, realising that these were among the least well understood prehistoric monuments in the British landscape and one of the few categories…

Norman Hill was born in London.  Trained as a solicitor, he became a senior partner in the Liverpool firm Hill, Dickinson & Co, specializing in shipping.  In 1899 he married Ellen Mary Stratford – they had one son (Norman Gray Hill) and three daughters, one of whom was Rosalind Hill.

Grundy was an Oxford don and historian, with a strong militaristic background. His specialism was the military history of Ancient Greece and Rome, but he also turned his attention to Saxon charters, field names and old highways and produced influential lists and articles for a number of English counties, including Hampshire.

See also: Piggott, Stuart Ernest

Born in Echunga, in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia, in 1852 – only three years after the town had been founded – by 1861 she was living as a young girl in Alresford with her parents, Jacob and Mary. Jacob was a wealthy businessman who had come to England in 1853 after 14 years in…