Rowland Parker (1912–1989) was an author and

social historian Social history, often called history from below, is a field of history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to co ...

. His 1975 work ''The Common Stream'' has achieved recognition as a classic of social history. Parker was born in 1912 in

North Lincolnshire North Lincolnshire is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Lincolnshire, England. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census, it had a population of 167,446. T ...

. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all farmers and his youth was spent in the country. He was educated at

Louth Grammar School King Edward VI Grammar School (sometimes abbreviated to KEVIGS) is a grammar school located in Louth, Lincolnshire, England. History As early as the 8th century schooling was available at Louth,University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

and then trained as a teacher. In 1935 he joined the staff of what was then the Central School, Cambridge, and, except for the war, remained there until his retirement in 1972. He enlisted in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in 1940, serving in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, where he began to take an interest in

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

and history. After the war, he moved to Foxton, and remained there until his death in 1989. He became known as a notable local figure after ''The Common Stream'' increased the village's national profile.

Works

*''Cottage on the Green'' (1973) *''The Common Stream'' (1975; new edition by Eland in 2015) *''On the Road: The Papworth Story'' (1977)See

Papworth Industries Papworth Industries was the name given to the manufacturing arm of Papworth Village Settlement, a Cambridgeshire colony for sufferers of tuberculosis founded in 1916. The luggage and travel-goods division was bought by the London firm of Swaine A ...

. *''Men of Dunwich: The Story of a Vanished Town'' (1979) *''Town and Gown: Seven Hundred Years' War in Cambridge'' (1983)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Rowland 1912 births 1989 deaths British social historians People educated at King Edward VI Grammar School, Louth People from the Borough of North Lincolnshire People from South Cambridgeshire District 20th-century English historians 20th-century English male writers British Army personnel of World War II Royal Artillery personnel Military personnel from Lincolnshire