Bernard Jennings (1928–2017) was an English

adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained educating activities in order to gain new knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralph G. ''The Pr ...

ist and historian. He was president of the

Workers' Educational Association Workers' Educational Associations (WEA) are not-for-profit bodies that deliver further education to adults in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. WEA UK WEA UK, founded in 1903, is the UK's largest voluntary sector provider of adult edu ...

in the 1980s, and was known for his local histories of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

. Jennings was born in

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, in 1928. He was educated at St Mary's College in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

and the College of St Mark and St John in London. After

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

in the Army Education Corps he joined the Workers' Educational Association as an organising tutor in Yorkshire. In 1958 he took a master's degree in adult education at

Leeds University The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed ...

, and then became a lecturer at Leeds. In 1973 he moved to

Hull University The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...

, where he stayed until his retirement in 1995, until 1993 as Professor of Adult Education and then as Professor of Regional and Local History. He published 17 books on adult education and local history. Three of the books were written with local groups of WEA students, and provided a model for collaborative local history projects. Jennings was active in Liberal politics. In 1954 he became a county councillor for

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

in the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire was a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point was at Mickle Fell at . From the Restoration it was used as a lieutenancy area, having b ...

, and in 1964 stood for parliament for Huddersfield East.

Selected publications

*''A History of Nidderdale'' (1967, Advertiser Press, 1983 and 1992, Nidderdale History Group ) *''A History of Harrogate and Knaresborough'' (1970, Advertiser Press ) *''Community Colleges in England and Wales'' (1980, NIAE ) *''Pennine Independency'' (1982, Pennine Heritage ) *''Pennine Valley: A History of Upper Calderdale'' (1994, Smith Settle ) *''The Yorkshire Monasteries: Cloister, Land and People'' (1999, Smith Settle )

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Bernard Academics of the University of Hull Historians of Yorkshire People from Nelson, Lancashire Adult education leaders 1928 births 2017 deaths Members of North Riding County Council Military personnel from Lancashire 20th-century British Army personnel Royal Army Educational Corps soldiers