Celebrating Hampshire Historians

Macray, William Dunn

1826 - 1916

He was educated at Magdalen College and New College, Oxford, was ordained and became a Fellow of Magdalen. Between 1845 and 1905 he worked as a ‘special assistant’ in the manuscripts department of the Bodleian Library, and became known for writing its history or Annals, which was published in 1868 (2 ed. 1890). He was an ideal editor for the two volumes of the Hampshire Record Series published in 1891 and 1894 which calendared the charters and other documents concerning Selborne Priory and its estate, which were held in the Muniment Room at Magdalen College. He gave descriptions in English of all the documents and provided a lengthy index.

The first volume relates to possessions of the priory in Selborne itself and the second to those held elsewhere, in Basing, Basingstoke, Beech and Tydden in Alton, Bromdean, [Bramdean], Petersfield and Winchester. The volume was restricted to ‘records distinctly monastic in their own character or their connection and sequence’. Thus, of the 167 documents on Petersfield in the collection, only 37 are calendared.

To emphasise matters of interest to local historians, he focused on ‘the topography and parochial history [of a place]…and the genealogy of families settled in it’. He mentions that some of the material on Basingstoke had already been used by his ‘old schoolfellow and friend, the later Canon Millard [also a member of Magdalen College] and Mr Baigent’ in their history of the town published in 1889.  He specifically acknowledges the help of Baigent, endowed with ‘rich stores of local collections’, in determining dates in the Winchester material from ‘the names of the attesting mayors’.

He mentions items in the Magdalen College collection relating to other places in the county, namely, Enham [Alamein], Somborne, Otterbourne, Wootton St Lawrence, Hilhampton and Cowfold.

From 1873 he held the rectorship of Ducklington, Oxfordshire.

Sources

Wikipedia

Alumni Oxonienes

Portrait

Art UK shows his portrait by Henry Scott Tuke, held by the Bodleian Libraries, Oxford

Contribution to county’s history

He made widely available sources that provided a better understanding of Selborne Priory, which had been put in the public arena by Gilbert White. 

Relevant published works

Calendar of Charters and Documents relating to the possessions of Selborne and its Priory, Hampshire Record Series, 1894, Warren & Son, Winchester

Critical Comments

He shows an understanding of the needs of local historians who might not be endowed with the apparatus of classical scholarship.

Other Comments

His work reflects a period of intense activity in Hampshire local history amongst scholars and others, including the foundation of the HFC and establishment of the Hampshire Record Series (1888-1897).

Contributor

Barry Shurlock, 31 January 2024

Key Words

Selborne, Basing, Basingstoke, Alton, Bramdean, Petersfield, Winchester, Millard, Baigent

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