Celebrating Hampshire Historians

Stooks, Charles Drummond

1 March 1851 - 7 April 1908

He was one of the many clergymen who transcribed and published parish records in a movement promoted nationally by the genealogical editor and publisher, William P.W. Phillimore (1853-1913). The imprint has been owned, and mothballed, for more than 10 years by The History Press, but ‘with consent’ local history is still published by an independent company, Phillimore Book Publishing, based in Bognor Regis. In 1903 Stooks, together with other local clergymen, edited Volume 3, of the 16-volume Hampshire Marriage Registers, published by Phillimore.

He followed a conventional career track: after Clare College, Cambridge, he was ordained and held a succession of livings: in 1877, he was curate at Crondall, and between 1885 and 1905 vicar of Yateley. For his last few years, he was vicar of Southgate, Middlesex, now in Greater London.  Hence his History of Crondall and Yateley published in 1905 was therefore a parting gift to an area he had served for nearly 30 years.

It was prefaced by G.W. Kitchin, Dean of Durham and former Dean of Winchester, who had read the proofs. Whilst in Hampshire, Kitchin had been the lead figure in the foundation of the short-lived Hampshire Record Society. First mooted at a meeting held on 18 June 1888 in The Deanery, Winchester, over the next 11 years it published 12 scholarly works. Four of these were edited by Kitchin himself (one with F.W. Madge), with others by W. De Gray Birch, W. Duncan Mackray, T.F. Kirby, W.R.W. Stevens (also with Madge) and F.J., Baigent.  Interestingly, at the back of the first HRS volume by Kitchin and Madge, published two years before Baigent’s work on the hundred and manor of Crondal (now spelt Crondall), the volume is advertised as being co-edited with Stooks, who presumably did not deliver.

In the preface to Stooks’ book, Kitchin referred specifically to Baigent’s volume, saying that there was still ‘room for more’, especially ‘a record of the present and past world of parish life…[with] an intelligent and readable account of the characteristics which distinguish one village from another…’. He praised Stooks for following these guidelines and not mimicking ‘tiresome guidebooks’, but instead recording ‘the interesting facts of local history…in [a] simple manner and excellent taste…’. And he called for ‘every large parish’ to do the same.

For his part, Stooks emphasized that he wanted to write a ‘popular book’: ‘I want to show that it is possible for one like myself, with no special aptitude or qualifications, to write a readable account of the past history of his parish, by studying the documents in his parish chest. … there is sure to be a gem or two which can only be found out in one way.’

He then gave his advice on how to use the parish documents: ‘First, copy it all in a good fat ledger, and preferably in modern spelling…  It can be fun, not an intolerable labour … the harder they [documents] are to read, the more satisfaction there is in solving the puzzle.’ And he expressed views on the lot of the country clergyman: ’Every Parish Priest should have a hobby, especially in the country, and there is no more useful hobby than to get to love “copying out”.’

As he had hoped, the text includes ‘a gem or two’, with comments on the local effects of the agricultural depression after the Napoleonic Wars and the story of a row over the parish rate charged to an in-tything and an out-tything. Also, the book covers other major events with considerable empathy: those associated with the Reformation (in 1548) had destroyed ‘harmless and picturesque’ items in Crondall church that ‘had taught illiterate people, through the eye, some of the great truths of the Catholic faith…and many innocent practices [were] abolished.’ In 1648, during the Civil War, ‘a very bigoted spirit shows itself in the Parish. A little marble font was made that year so that the children should not be baptized in the polluted Papist font.’

The book was well produced and seems to have sold well. Copies are available at a hefty price on the internet. There were two earlier works on Yateley in which Finch was almost certainly not involved, both anonymous:  Description of Monumental Brasses in Yateley Church, 3pp., 1870, London, and Account of the opening of Yateley Industrial Exhibition, 1875 (Cope Collection, 635 and 636; Turley, p. 74). Also, in 1867, the Rev. Charles Kingsley wrote verses for the ‘opening of the Yateley Exhibition’ (Turley, p. 127). More research is needed to set these items in context.

Sources

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/135722130/charles-drummond-stooks.

• Personal communication, 03 01 24, Andrew Illes, Owner, Phillimore Book Publishing.

• [G.W. Kitchin], Paper on the inauguration of the Hampshire Record Society, HRO, 21M57/E60 (item 5).

• Venn, Alumni Cantabrigienses.

• F.J. Baigent, A collection of records and documents relating to the hundred and manor of Crondal in the county of Southampton. Part I: Historical and manorial, Hampshire Record Society, 1891.

• Turley, R.V., ed., Hampshire and Isle of Wight Bibliographies, 1975, Winchester.

Portrait

There is no known portrait of C D Stooks

Contribution to county’s history

An early example of a parish history.

Relevant published works

• A History of Crondall and Yateley in the County of Hants: Chiefly taken from the Churchwardens’ Accounts and other Records in the Parish Chests, Warren & Son, Winchester, 1905.

Critical Comments

It seems clear that Stooks’ self-confessed lack of ‘special aptitude or qualifications’ put him in a different academic league from Kitchin and Baigent, who both exhibited a rigorous approach to research in the HRS volumes.

Other Comments

His History of Crondall and Yateley is cited in the VCH. Amongst other things, he expressed an interest in reaching a ‘popular’ audience and demonstrated the virtues of cooperating with other historians.

Contributor

Barry Shurlock, 21 January 2024

Key Words

Crondall, Yateley, G.W. Kitchin, Phillimore, Hampshire Record Society.

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