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In the mid-19th century, the migration of people into London was at its height. Studies of gross and net migration patterns from other regions demonstrate the importance of London as a goal destination, but until now the underlying structure of migration movements was difficult to access due to the volume of material involved. This paper exploits the recent indexing of the currently available censuses to identify the individual migration behaviour of young men from Devon, Norfolk and Sussex to London. Findings relating to the size and locality of source places, occupational backgrounds, kinship and to residential and occupational choice upon reaching London are presented for each county. The importance of information as a spur to migration is underlined and differing responses in terms of occupation are attributed to distance depreciation of such information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The invention of photography in the late 1830s is conventionally framed in terms of simultaneous rival developments by a few well-known figures in England and France. Less attention has been paid to how early photography was shaped by a wider cast of individuals placed in both metropolitan and regional networks of science and applied arts. Drawing in particular on recent studies on networks and the geography of science, this article examines the significant but frequently overlooked contributions made to early photography by the chemist and popular science writer Robert Hunt (1807–87) as a way to open up questions about the spatial networks of early photography. Based in southwest Britain, and from a relatively humble background, Hunt experimented widely with early photographic processes. He used correspondence with key figures of Victorian science, notably Sir John Herschel, to share his knowledge and build a reputation within influential networks of early science and publishing. This article argues that Hunt’s foundational contributions to early photography – which were widely recognised in the half century after his death – need to be better appreciated and understood within the setting of spatial networks of science and applied arts at various scales. These include regional networks, such as those in Cornwall; metropolitan circles in London; national networks, such as the British Association for the Advancement of Science; and national and international networks of publishers and readers. As an examination of Hunt’s work demonstrates, accounts of early photography may profit from paying more attention to the networks and places in which photographers, photographs and writings on photography were located. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Excavations at Meadowsfoot Beach, Mothecombe, south Devon, between 2004 and 2011 focused on two main areas. In the first, evidence for occupation in a sand dune included successive hearths and imported early medieval finds. In the second, three phases of early medieval structures were uncovered, along with more imported finds including amphora sherds. At least one of the structures was very large, and is presently unique in Devon. The landscape context of the site is considered along with the impact of sea-level change and coastal erosion. The paper concludes with a discussion of the site and its relationship to post-Roman networks of trade and communications with late Antique Atlantic Europe and the Mediterranean. We argue that Mothecombe helps us towards a better understanding of these networks by furnishing new insights on their social foundations in western Britain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of provincial newspapers by historians continues to develop. Study into their form and function is ongoing, while programmes of digitisation and electronic publication are opening up new opportunities for research. This article considers the relationship between newspaper production and the development of local communities. Provincial newspapers reported on the evolution of particular places and the lives of their inhabitants (as they continue to). As such they constitute a valuable primary source of information for the historian today. In addition they are cultural artefacts, a tangible legacy of the role of provincial newspapers in fashioning and sustaining local networks and identities. This article takes as its case study the earliest surviving newspaper for the seaside town of llfracombe, north Devon, a publication that lasted for just one year. The newspaper, Bright's Intelligencer of 1860-1, is being selectively digitised as part of 'Devon History Online', a new electronic repository. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars of insanity and its historical antecedents have paid very little attention to personal and institutional clothing. Such dress, distributed to patients in mental institutions, has always been inscribed with the conflicting narratives of the period in which it was made and worn. The language of civil and medical authority is more evident than personal choice in the shape and address of the attire. This article examines clothing worn by patients in three Devon mental hospitals during the century before 1960. We consider the ways in which institutional clothing formed part of a hospital regimen of overt control, as well as suiting considerations of economy and employment that figured in these institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Edith Splatt and Juanita Phillips, both former suffragettes, were the first women councillors on, respectively, Exeter City Council and Devon County Council. This article explores how these two very different women approached their task, the issues they tackled, both on welfare generally and specifically on some topics high on women's post-suffrage agendas. It considers the local support on which they drew and contrasts the different reception they were accorded, their representation of their constituents' interests, and their progress on committees and in the full council. The article contributes to an understanding of the diversity of women's contributions to public service after the achievement of women's suffrage. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]