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Celebrating Hampshire Historians

Child, Thomas Henry Melville

26 March 1903 - 26 June 1977

Melville Child was a native of Appleshaw, a village located just to the west of Andover, and a former Andover Grammar school pupil.  He spent most of his working life teaching classics at Kettering Grammar School but on retirement, was able to devote his time and energy to exploring the local history of the area from which he originated.

His first publication was ‘Appleshaw, township and parish’, a concise history of his home village, and he followed it with seven more well-researched titles. These included ‘Farms, Fairs and Felonies’, an anthology relating to notable events in the Andover district between 1760-1830, and ‘Andover Men, Money and Manners in Early Times’, which drew together similar material.  He also produced a booklet, in conjunction with the staff at Andover Library, entitled ‘Andover in Hampshire’ incorporating excerpts from Andover’s history prior to 1720.  

Child was an active member of the Andover Local Archives Committee, which had been formed in December 1957.  They published his pamphlet ‘The Community of Andover Before 1825’ and provided opportunities for him to transcribe numerous documents.

Melville Child was a good speaker, capable of giving ‘delightful talks’ and entertained many of the local societies in the area

Sources

Isherwood J (2015) Andover’s Historians Past & Present Lookback at Andover, Vol 3 No 6.

Tony Raper

HRO 39M85

Portrait

None known.

Contribution to county’s history

Diligent (with some reservations) researcher and author of many aspects of Andover and Appleshaw history.

Relevant published works

  • Child T H M (1965) ‘Appleshaw, township and parish’

  • Child T H M (1967) ‘Farms, Fairs and Felonies’

  • Child T H M (1969) ‘Andover in Hampshire’

  • Child T H M (1970) ‘Andover Men, Money and Manners in Early Times’

  • Child T H M (1972) ‘The Community of Andover Before 1825’

Critical Comments

‘…to the chagrin of his present-day admirers, singularly failed to record the sources of his information in his publications.’ (Isherwood 2015)

Other Comments

Contributor

Dave Allen – Tony Raper - May 2024

Keywords

Appleshaw, Andover

Any queries or further suggestions for this part of the list should be addressed to celebrating@hantsfieldclub.org.uk.

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