Celebrating Hampshire Historians

Sykes, William Slater

17 April 1865 – 8 Feb 1951

Born in 1865, eldest son of Rev John Poulett Sykes, Perpetual Curate of Rathmell, near Settle, West Riding. William attended Giggleswick School, was an Exhibitioner at Christ’s College, Cambridge, graduating in 1886, and followed his father into the church, being ordained in 1889. William’s early appointments were in Yorkshire. In 1895 he was appointed curate of Millom, Cumberland where he stayed for five years followed by another five years as vicar of nearby Eskdale. While in Millom he was elected a member of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society (CWAAS) contributing articles to on local history.

Subsequently he was appointed Vicar of Wilcot in Wiltshire, then in 1910 he was appointed Chaplain to the Royal South Hampshire and Southampton Hospital until 1919. He joined the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society and there, he was probably encouraged by three of the founder members of the Milford-on-Sea Record Society to join their meetings. In 1919, following the death of his mother, William was appointed Acting Chaplain to the Birkenhead General Hospital.

Sources

• Crockford’s Clerical Directory

• Venn’s Cambridge alumni

• Censuses

• Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society

• Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society (CWAAS)

• Millom Local History Society

Portrait

None found. “He was a very slightly built man, with a clean-cut face full of intelligence, alert and keen ….. he was a most inspiring companion, both in the field and in study or library.” Miss M. C. Fair honorary member Millom Local History Society.

Contribution to county’s history

A keen historian, it was Sykes’ work as a priest that moved him from Yorkshire to the Lake District, to Wiltshire and, fortunately, to Hampshire where he regularly attended meetings of the Milford-on-Sea Record Society. He was an active contributor to their research although, while he had a keen interest in church architecture, he was sensitive enough to avoid this topic about which others in the Society had already written extensively.  

Sykes had the foresight to appreciate the importance of collating a range of historical documents to create a picture in time and place. He had the ability to draw information from a variety of sources, organise it into a coherent reference base and then communicate it through his articles. He is still cited often by the historians of Milford. Sykes did not pretend that his work presented new facts but offered unexpected connections between people and places across generations. A consistent theme of his life was his intent to make local history as accessible as possible.

Relevant published works

• Rev W S Sykes ‘Notes from Mr Birkett’s Diaries’ Milford-on-Sea Historical Record Society Occasional Magazine 2, 1 (May 1914) 20-28

• Rev W S Sykes ‘The threatened Invasion by the French in 1794-8’ Milford-on-Sea Historical Record Society Occasional Magazine 2, 1 (May 1914) 44-48

• Rev W S Sykes ‘A List of the Principal Inhabitants of Milford A D 1680-90’ Milford-on-Sea Historical Record Society Occasional Magazine 2, 2 (January 1916) 35-75

• Rev W S Sykes ‘The Reference to Milford Church in Domesday Book’ Milford-on-Sea Historical Record Society Occasional Magazine 2, 3 (April 1917) 33-45

• Rev W S Sykes ‘Place Names of the ancient Parish of Milford’ Milford-on-Sea Historical Record Society Occasional Magazine 2, 6 (September 1921) 3-87

• Syke’s Notebook of his record of various historical documents pertinent to Milford. Presented to the Society in the Summer of 1939: MoSHRS Archives MHR.005008.

Critical Comments

Other Comments

Contributor

Chris Sanders, 3 March 2025

Key Words

Sawyer, Milford-on-Sea, Place Names

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