In his introduction, Professor Mark Bailey pays tribute to the breadth and depth of David’s scholarship and to his passion for teaching. These essays, in turn, aim to reflect the values that have always characterised David’s approach: a focus on primary sources meticulously interrogated and a concern to avoid the pitfalls of parochialism by remaining sensitive to the wider influences upon communities.

From papers exploring aspects of medieval religion, the contributors move on to medieval trade and industry in Norfolk, Suffolk and Lincolnshire.

Two studies of the structures of local elites provide fresh insights into communities at later periods, while the final selection of essays consider fascinating and wide-ranging aspects of nineteenth- and twentieth-century commerce, society and culture.

The very varied contributions to this collection aptly reflect the breadth and depth of David Dymond’s own scholarship whilst offering a rich choice of material to anyone with an interest in local history.

Read an extract from Shaping the Past