Bernard Jennings (1928-2017) was an English

adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralp ...

ist and historian. He was president of the

Workers' Educational Association The Workers' Educational Association (WEA), founded in 1903, is the UK's largest voluntary sector provider of adult education and one of Britain's biggest charities. The WEA is a democratic and voluntary adult education movement. It delivers lea ...

in the 1980s, and was known for his local histories of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. Jennings was born in

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

in 1928. He was educated at St Mary's College in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

and the

College of St Mark and St John Plymouth Marjon University, commonly referred to as Marjon, is the trading name of the University of St Mark and St John, a university based primarily on a single campus on the northern edge of Plymouth, Devon, United Kingdom. Formerly named Univ ...

in London. After

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

in the Army Education Corps he joined the Workers' Educational Association as an organising tutor in Yorkshire. In 1958 he took a master's degree in adult education at

Leeds University , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

, and then became a lecturer at Leeds. In 1973 he moved to

Hull University , mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £18.8 million (2016) , budget = £190 million ...

, where he stayed until his retirement in 1995, until 1993 as Professor of Adult Education and then as Professor of Regional and Local History. He published 17 books on adult education and local history. Three of the books were written with local groups of WEA students, and provided a model for collaborative local history projects. Jennings was active in

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politics. In 1954 he became a

county councillor A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

for

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

in the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres). From the Restoration it was used as ...

, and in 1964 stood for parliament for

Huddersfield East Huddersfield East was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 until 1983. Boundaries 1950–1955: The County Borough of Huddersfield wards of Almondbury, Dalton, Deighton, Fartown, Newsome, No ...

Selected publications

*''A History of Nidderdale'' (1967, Advertiser Press, 1983 and 1992, Nidderdale History Group ) *''A History of Harrogate and Knaresborough'' (1970, Advertiser Press ) *''Community Colleges in England and Wales'' (1980, NIAE ) *''Pennine Independency'' (1982, Pennine Heritage ) *''Pennine Valley: A History of Upper Calderdale'' (1994, Smith Settle ) *''The Yorkshire Monasteries: Cloister, Land and People'' (1999, Smith Settle )

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Bernard Academics of the University of Hull Historians of Yorkshire People from Nelson, Lancashire Adult education leaders 1928 births 2017 deaths Members of North Riding County Council