Sir William Wilkinson Addison (4 April 1905 – 1 November 1992) was an English historian, writer and

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

. He is significant for his research and books on

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

and

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

n subjects.

Biography

William Addison was born in 1905 at Mitton, now in the

Ribble Valley Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Clitheroe, the largest town. The borough also includes the town of Longridge and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. ...

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 ...

, England. His direct ancestors were from

King's Meaburn King's Meaburn () is a small village and civil parish in Cumbria, England. It is located from Appleby-in-Westmorland and from Penrith, situated in the valley of the River Lyvennet. The river flows just to the west of the village and was cros ...

—then

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

, now

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

—and were 14th-century tenants from Grasmere to Bowness. The Addison family were borough administrators and recorders at

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for to ...

, one a

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

Lancaster Castle Lancaster Castle is a medieval castle and former prison in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster in the English county of Lancashire. Its early history is unclear, but it may have been founded in the 11th century on the site of a Roman fort ove ...

, and supported the restoration of parish churches and two grammar schools, one of which,

Clitheroe Royal Grammar School Clitheroe Royal Grammar School is a co-educational grammar school in the town of Clitheroe in Lancashire, England, formerly an all-boys school. It was founded in 1554 as "The Free Grammar School of Philip II of Spain, King Philip and Mary I of ...

, William Addison attended.Kneale, Kenneth (1992); ''Essex Heritage'', Leopards Head Press, pp.3-14. Morris, Richard; "Sir William Addison (1905-1992) – a retrospective" in
Loughton and District Historical Society: Newsletter 165
', March/April 2005, pp.3-5 After Addison's marriage in 1929 to Phoebe Dean, daughter of Robert Dean of

Rimington Rimington is a rural village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish was 382 at the 2001 Census, however at the 2011 Census Middop was included with Rimington giving a total of 480. It is e ...

, then in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

, the couple moved to

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, and then to

Buckhurst Hill Buckhurst Hill is an affluent suburban town in Epping Forest District, Epping Forest, Essex, within the Greater London Urban Area and adjacent to the northern boundary of the London Borough of Redbridge. The area developed following the opening ...

on the edge of

Epping Forest Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the Lond ...

, Essex. Addison bought a bookshop in the neighbouring town of

Loughton Loughton () is a suburban town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. The town borders Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell, Chingford, and Buckhurst Hill, and lies north-east of Charing Cross. For statistical purposes ...

, and began his lifelong association with Epping Forest which resulted in books on the history and people of the area. He became an elected

Verderer Verderers are forestry officials in England who deal with common land in certain former royal hunting areas which are the property of the Crown. The office was developed in the Middle Ages to administer forest law on behalf of the King. Verderers ...

of the forest from 1954 to 1984 and chaired history organizations including the Essex Archaeological and Historical Congress and Waltham Abbey Historical Society. He was a founder member of the Friends of Essex Churches, and later its president, and was vice president of the Association of Genealogists and Record Agents (1985-1988), and the

Council for the Protection of Rural England A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nation ...

(from 1984). Addison was chairman of the Editorial and County Committee for the '' Victoria County History of Essex''."Epping's historical figures to be remembered"
'' Waltham Forest Guardian'', 24 March 2014. Retrieved April 2015Hagger, Nicholas (2012); ''A View of Epping Forest'', O Books, pp.3, 260, 272. Addison was a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

for more than twenty-five years, becoming a Justice of the Peace in 1949, and Chairman of the Epping, and the Epping and Ongar

Petty Sessions Courts of petty session, established from around the 1730s, were local courts consisting of magistrates, held for each petty sessional division (usually based on the county divisions known as hundreds) in England, Wales, and Ireland. The session ...

in 1955. From 1959 he advised and sat on the Council of the Magistrates’ Association, later becoming its chairman from 1970 to 1976. In 1973 Addison was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Essex. He was knighted in 1974 for services to public life. William Addison wrote twenty books on historic aspects and prominent people of East Anglia, Essex, and Epping Forest, and wrote poems from 1936 to his death in his eighty-seventh year. He owned a bookshop at 169 High Road, Loughton, which is marked by a blue plaque.

Publications

*1945 – ''Epping Forest. Its literary and historical associations'', J. M. Dent *1947 – ''The English Country Parson'', J. M. Dent *1949 – ''Essex Heyday'', J. M. Dent *1950 – ''Suffolk'', Robert Hale - County Books Series *1951 – ''English Spas'',

Batsford Batsford is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Cotswold (district), Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. The village is about north-west of Moreton-in-Marsh. There is a falconry centre close to the village ...

Pavilion Books HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

*1951 – ''Worthy Dr. Fuller'', J. M. Dent *1953 – ''Audley End, etc. With special reference to the Howard family'', J. M. Dent *1953 – ''English Fairs and Markets'', Batsford *1954 – ''Thames Estuary'', Robert Hale -

Regional Books Series The Regional Books was a book series of topographical guides to the British regions published by Robert Hale and CompanyRich & Cowan Rich & Cowan Ltd was a book publisher, based at 37 Bedford Square, London WC1. They specialized in literary books. Books * '' A Ghost in Monte Carlo'' by Barbara Cartland, (1951) * ''Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – ...

*1973 – ''Essex Worthies: a Biographical Companion to the County'', Phillimore. *1973 – ''Wanstead Park'',

Corporation of London The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's fi ...

*1977 – ''Portrait of Epping Forest'', Robert Hale - Portrait of (book series) *1977 – ''Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge and Epping Forest Museum'', Conservators of Epping Forest *1978 – ''Understanding English Surnames'', Batsford. *1979 – ''Understanding English Place Names'', Batsford. *1980 – ''The Old Roads of England'',

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

. *1982 – ''Local Styles of the English Parish Church'', Batsford. *1986 – ''Farmhouses in the English Landscape'', Robert Hale. *1991 – ''Epping Forest: Figures in a Landscape'', Robert Hale. *2002 – Addison William; ''Winter Forest and Other Poems'', editor: Richard Morris; illustrator: Clare Eastwood; Corporation of London (published posthumously).

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Addison, William Wilkinson 1905 births 1992 deaths People educated at Clitheroe Royal Grammar School English legal professionals Knights Bachelor 20th-century English historians 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English biographers People from Ribble Valley (district) People from Buckhurst Hill English justices of the peace