Reginald Hine
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Reginald Leslie Hine (25 September 1883 – 14 April 1949) was a solicitor and historian whose writings centred on the market-town of
Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district of Hertfordshire, England. The town dates from at least the 7th century. It lies in the valley of the River Hiz at the north-eastern end of the Chiltern Hills ...
in Hertfordshire and its environs. He ended his life in 1949 by jumping in front of a train at
Hitchin railway station Hitchin railway station serves the market town of Hitchin in Hertfordshire. It is located approximately north east of the town centre and north of London King's Cross railway station, London King's Cross on the East Coast Main Line. Unti ...
when facing disciplinary proceedings from
The Law Society The Law Society of England and Wales (officially The Law Society) is the professional association that represents solicitors for the jurisdiction of England and Wales. It provides services and support to practising and training solicitors, as ...
.


Early years

Hine was born in 1883 at Newnham Hall near
Baldock Baldock ( ) is a historic market town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. The River Ivel rises from springs in the town. It lies north of London and north northwest of the county town of Hertford. Nearby towns inc ...
in Hertfordshire, the son of Alderman Joseph Neville Hine (1849–1931), a
tenant farmer A tenant farmer is a farmer or farmworker who resides and works on land owned by a landlord, while tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and ma ...
, and his wife Eliza Taylor (1843–1892). Hine was educated at Grove House in Baldock, was privately tutored by the Revd George Todd of Baldock, and attended
Kent College Kent College, Canterbury is a co-educational private school for boarding and day pupils between the ages of 3 months and 18 years. It was founded in 1885, and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. Originally establis ...
in
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
and
The Leys School The Leys School is a co-educational private school in Cambridge, England. It is a boarding and day school for about 565 pupils between the ages of eleven and eighteen. The head is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. ...
in
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
.Alan L. Fleck, ‘Hine, Reginald Leslie (1883–1949)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 16 Dec 2016
/ref>


Minsden Chapel

In 1907 Hine and two others, the Hitchin photographer Thomas William Latchmore (1882–1946) and the artist and etcher
F. L. Griggs Frederick Landseer Maur Griggs (30 October 1876 – 7 June 1938) was an English etcher, architectural draughtsman, illustrator, and early conservationist, associated with the late flowering of the Arts and Crafts movement in the Cotswold ...
, took a camera to
Minsden Chapel Minsden Chapel is an isolated ruined chapel in the fields above the hamlet of Chapelfoot, near Preston, Hertfordshire. Today it is a roofless shell, partly surrounded by a small wood, and accessible only by footpath. It is a Scheduled Monument ...
with the intention of photographing the ghost of a monk who it was believed had been murdered there and whose spirit was said to emerge from the stone walls of the ruined chapel. Hine claimed that they had been successful and published the resulting photograph in his ''The History of Hitchin''. The photograph is now accepted as having been a practical joke at best, and a hoax at worst. Hine frequently visited the chapel, and eventually obtained a lifetime lease from the vicars of Hitchin. So fond of the building was he, that he even bade "trespassers and sacrilegious persons take warning, for I will proceed against them with the utmost rigour of the law, and, after my death and burial, I will endeavour, in all ghostly ways, to protect and haunt its hallowed walls".


Solicitor and historian

Hine studied law and became an
articled clerk Articled clerk is a title used in Commonwealth countries for one who is studying to be an accountant or a lawyer. In doing so, they are put under the supervision of someone already in the profession, now usually for two years, but previously three ...
aged 18, working for the long-established firm of Hawkins and Company of Hitchin, but despite his claims to the contrary he did not qualify as a solicitor until he was 50 in 1933. He then went into partnership with local solicitor Reginald Hartley, and for the remaining 16 years of his life practised with the firm of Hartley and Hine'An Uncommon Attorney'
New Law Journal ''New Law Journal'' (NLJ) is a British weekly legal magazine for legal professionals, first published in 1822. It provides information on case law, legislation and changes in practice. It is funded by subscription and generally available to most of ...
7 September 2007
until his sudden retirement on 31 March 1949, just two weeks before his death. In 1910 he delivered a lecture on the history of The Manor of Newnham, where he had been born 27 years earlier. He was one of the founders of Hitchin Museum which houses many of his own documents. An unenthusiastic solicitor, Hine's first love was the study of the history of his home area. He wrote a number of volumes on the history of Hitchin and its environs, including his ''The History of Hitchin'' (1929) and ''Hitchin Worthies'' (1932), which won national acclaim. In 1934 he was commissioned to write the ''History of Stagenhoe''.'Reginald Hine and Preston' – A History of Preston in Hertfordshire
/ref> Historian
W. G. Hoskins William George Hoskins (22 May 1908 – 11 January 1992) was an English local historian who founded the first university department of English Local History. His great contribution to the study of history was in the field of landscape history. ...
described Hine's ''The History of Hitchin'' as "first class", while Professor
G. M. Trevelyan George Macaulay Trevelyan (16 February 1876 – 21 July 1962) was an English historian and academic. He was a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, from 1898 to 1903. He then spent more than twenty years as a full-time author. He returned to th ...
said "I have nothing but admiration for the method, plan and style of it". However, others were not so enthusiastic about Hine's works, questioning his use of sources and historical accuracy, further claiming that Hine would often stretch the facts to make a good story.


Personal life

Hine married Florence Lee Pyman (b. 1888/9) on 11 April 1912 in
Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...
and their daughter Felicity was born in 1915. Hine was judged unfit for military service during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and he and his family moved to Hitchin in 1917 and to nearby Willian in 1929. In the same year Hine was elected a Fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...
. In 1930 he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...
.


Death

Hine suffered from depression in his later years, and in ''Confessions of an Uncommon Attorney'' (1946) he acknowledged that "the strain of leading a double life, the accumulation of office worries, and the burden of clients’ woes had worn me down". He died of suicide in 1949, jumping in front of a train at
Hitchin railway station Hitchin railway station serves the market town of Hitchin in Hertfordshire. It is located approximately north east of the town centre and north of London King's Cross railway station, London King's Cross on the East Coast Main Line. Unti ...
. At the time of his death Hine faced being struck off as a solicitor for professional misconduct, having contacted both sides in a divorce case contrary to Law Society rules. He left behind 60 boxes of material for his planned ''History of Hertfordshire''.'History: Reginald Hine and Hitchin' – Hertfordshire Life'' 12 November 2011''
/ref> Hine was cremated at
Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and is one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £136,000 in 2021), ...
on 19 April 1949, at the same time that his memorial service was being held at St Mary's Church in Hitchin. His ashes were scattered at
Minsden Chapel Minsden Chapel is an isolated ruined chapel in the fields above the hamlet of Chapelfoot, near Preston, Hertfordshire. Today it is a roofless shell, partly surrounded by a small wood, and accessible only by footpath. It is a Scheduled Monument ...
.


After death

Hine's last book, ''Relics of an Uncommon Attorney'', a collection of his later writings, was published posthumously by his friend Richenda Scott. Hitchin Historical Society has been awarding the Reginald Hine Award since 1979. A biography, ''The Ghosts of Reginald Hine: An Uncommon Attorney,'' by
Richard Whitmore Richard Whitmore (born 22 December 1933) is an English broadcaster, writer and actor. Whitmore is best known for his work as a BBC newsreader in the 1970s and 1980s and occasional work as a reporter. He was educated at the former Hitchin Gramm ...
, was published in 2007.


Bibliography

* ''Anima Celtica'', Elkin Mathews, London (1912) * ''Dreams and the Way of Dreams'', J.M. Dent & Sons, London (1913) * ''Hitchin Priory'', Carling & Hales, Hitchin (1919) * ''The Cream of Curiosity'', George Routledge & Sons, London (1920) * ''The History of Hitchin'', George Allen & Unwin, London (1927–1929, 2 volumes) * ''Samuel Lucas, His Life and Art Work'', Walker's Galleries, London (1928) * ''A Mirror for the Society of Friends: Being the Story of the Hitchin Quakers'', George Allen & Unwin, London (1929, revised 2nd Edition 1930) * ''A Short Story of St Mary's, Hitchin'', Paternoster & Hales, Hitchin (1930, revised 2nd Edition 1936, reprinted 1940, 1945, 1948) * ''The George and Dragon, Codicote'' (c.1930) * ''History of Hitchin Grammar School'', Paternoster and Hales, Hitchin (1931) * ''The Official Guide to Hitchin'', Paternoster and Hales, Hitchin (1932) * ''Hitchin Worthies'', George Allen & Unwin, London (1932) * ''The History of Stagenhoe'' (1934) * ''The Natural History of The Hitchin Region'', Wm. Carling & Co (for Hitchin & District Regional Survey Association), Hitchin (1934) * ''The Story of Methodism at Hitchin'', Hitchin Methodist Church, Hitchin (1934) * ''The Story of the Sun Hotel Hitchin (1575-1937)'', Wm. Carling & Co, Hitchin (1937, 2nd Edition 1946) * ''The Story of Hitchin Town'', Wm. Carling & Co, Hitchin (1938, 2nd Edition 1949) * ''Confessions of an Un-Common Attorney'', J.M. Dent & Sons, London (1945, reprinted 1945, 1946, 1949) * ''Hitchin Old and New: Fifty Photographs and Drawings'', Privately Published, Hitchin (1946) * ''The Hitchin Countryside: Photographs and Drawings'', Wm. Carling & Co, Hitchin (1946) * ''Charles Lamb and His Hertfordshire'', J.M. Dent & Sons, London (1949) * ''Relics of an Un-Common Attorney'', J.M. Dent & Sons, London (1951, reprinted 1952)Works of Reginald Leslie Hine (1883–1949) – Hertfordshire Genealogy
/ref>


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hine, Reginald 1883 births 1949 suicides Hitchin People from Baldock People from Hitchin People educated at Kent College People educated at The Leys School English solicitors Historians of Hertfordshire Golders Green Crematorium 20th-century English lawyers 1949 deaths Suicides by train Suicides in England