The North Staffordshire Field Club was an organisation founded in 1865 to study the

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

industrial history The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

and

local history Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community. It incorporates cultural history, cultural and social history, social aspects of history. Local history is not mer ...

of North

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, England. Its establishing president from 1865-70 was industrialist and banker

James Bateman James Bateman may refer to: * James Bateman (horticulturist) (1811–1897), British landowner and horticulturist * James Bateman (artist) (1893–1959), English painter of rural scenes * James Bateman (MP), MP for Carlisle * James Bateman (banker) ...

FRS.

Publications

The organisation produced its first printed book, ''Annual addresses, papers, etc. Author, North Staffordshire Field Club'', in 1875, having previously published a short ''Annual Report'' for members. A history of the early years was published by R. Simms in 1886 as ''Coming of age of the North Staffordshire Naturalists' Field Club and Archaeological Society, 1865-1885: chronological history and bibliography of the Society''. A further extensive history, including that of the various specialist sections, can be found in the Club's special 1916 Jubilee year publication. The annual ''Transactions'' were then titled ''North Staffordshire Field Club, Transactions and Annual Report'' (to 1960); this later became the ''North Staffordshire Journal of Field Studies'' (1961 to 1985) when the title ceased. A further New Series of separate ''Transactions'' with section reports was produced in booklet form from 1970-2000. A detailed scientific survey of ''The Birds of Staffordshire'' was issued as appendices 1-9 to the ''Transactions and Annual report of the North Staffordshire Field Club'' (Vol. 64 in 1930, to Vol. 72 in 1938). The records and publications of the Club are held at the

Staffordshire Record Office Staffordshire Record Office is the county record office for Staffordshire, England. It is run by Staffordshire County Council, and is located in Eastgate Street, Stafford, behind the William Salt Library. Some records are held at the service's off ...

and other libraries. An index to the 1961 to 1985 run of the ''Journal of Field Studies'' was published in the first issue of ''Staffordshire Studies'' journal. The Club's ''Journal'' was extant until at least 2000. At 2020, the archive website ''The North Staffordshire Field Club (1865—2003) and its legacy'' offers a partial bibliographic record for the Club.

Awards

From 1893 the society award its Garner Medal, named in honour of the surgeon, writer, and naturalist

Robert Garner Robert Garner is a British political scientist, political theorist, and intellectual historian. He is a Professor Emeritus in the politics department at the University of Leicester, where he has worked for much of his career. Before working at ...

(1808-1890), author of ''The Natural History and Antiquities of Staffordshire''. Recipients included: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

History and bibliography
Organisations based in Staffordshire 1865 establishments in England History of Staffordshire {{England-stub