Herbert Edward Salter,
FBA (1863–1951) was an English historian and clergyman.
Early life and education
Born at Montague Street,
Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions.
Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...
, London on 6 February 1863, Salter was the son of the physician
Henry Hyde Salter,
FRS, and his wife Henrietta Laura, daughter of the Rev. Edward Powlett Blunt. His brother was the judge Sir
Arthur Salter. Herbert was educated at
Wimborne Grammar School
Queen Elizabeth's School (also known as QE) is a co-educational secondary school in Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England.
Introduction
QE is an upper school, taking students between the ages of 13 and 18. In November 2014 there were 1,482 pupils, ...
and, from 1876,
Winchester College
Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...
(on a
scholarship
A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need.
Scholarsh ...
).
He then studied at
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...
, graduating with a first-class degree in
Literae Humaniores in 1886 and then another first in
Theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
the following year.
Edmund Craster
Sir Herbert Henry Edmund Craster (5 November 1879 – 21 March 1959) was a British librarian, who served as Bodley's Librarian (the librarian in charge of the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford) from 1931 to 1945.
Life
Edmund Craster was ...
, revised by H. C. G. Matthew
Henry Colin Gray Matthew (15 January 1941 – 29 October 1999) was a British historian and academic. He was an editor of the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' and editor of the diaries of William Ewart Gladstone.
Early life
Matthew wa ...
"Salter, Herbert Edward"
''The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'' (online ed., Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...
, 2004). Retrieved 9 February 2021.
Career, work and recognition
Salter trained for the priesthood at
Cuddesdon College and was ordained Deacon at Cuddesdon Church on 27 June 1888. He then served as Curate at
Sandhurst,
and was ordained Priest at Oxford in 1889. In 1891, he left that office to be vice-principal of
Leeds Clergy School. He was then vicar of
Mattingley
Mattingley is a village and large civil parish in Hampshire, England. The village lies on the Reading road between the town of Hook and Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, e ...
(1893–99) and
Shirburn
Shirburn is a village and civil parish about south of Thame in Oxfordshire. It contains the Grade I listed, 14th-century Shirburn Castle, along with its surrounding, Grade II listed park, and a parish church, the oldest part of which is from ...
,
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
(1899–1909). During his incumbency of the latter parish he began to gather material for its history, which eventually led to him editing documents for publication by the
Oxford Historical Society
The Oxford Historical Society (OHS) is a text publication society concerned with the history of the city of Oxford and the surrounding area in the historic county of Oxfordshire in southern England.
History
The Oxford Historical Society was ...
(OHS). He devoted the rest of his life to studying the history of
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
,
the city's university and the county; he edited 34 volumes for the OHS alone, but also wrote historical works.
As ''
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'' notes, "Salter came to be recognised as the leading authority on Oxford history since
Anthony Wood".
Salter was elected a
research fellow at
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...
, in 1918; he used the
stipend to fund publication costs. He was elected a
fellow of the British Academy
Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are:
# Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom
# C ...
and an honorary
freeman of Oxford in 1930; in 1933 was given an
honorary DLitt
Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...
by the university; and in 1934 he gave the
Ford Lectures at the University of Oxford.
That year, he was the subject of a Festschrift.
[ F. M. Powicke (ed.), ''Oxford Essays in Medieval History'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1934).]
Salter retired from his fellowship at Magdalen in 1939.
He died at his home in
Sturminster Newton
Sturminster Newton is a town and civil parish in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. It is situated on a low limestone ridge in a meander of the River Stour. The town is at the centre of a large dairy agriculture region, around which ...
in Dorset on 23 April 1951. His first wife Beatrice, ''née'' Ruddach, had died in 1932, and the following year he married his second wife, Miss Gladys Nina Dewar, who survived him. There were four children from the first marriage.
Selected publications
Note: POHS =
Publications of the Oxford Historical Society. ORS =
Oxfordshire Record Series (of the Oxfordshire Record Society).
* ''Eynsham Cartulary'', 2 vols., POHS, nos.
49,
51 (Oxford, 1907–08).
* (with William Patterson Ellis) ''
A Subsidy Collected in the Diocese of Lincoln in 1526'' (Oxford: B. H. Blackwell, 1909).
* ''Survey of Oxford in 1772, with Maps and Plans'' (London: Henry Frowde, 1912).
* ''
Records of Mediaeval Oxford'' (Oxford: Oxford Chronicle Company, 1912).
* ''
The Oxford Deeds of Balliol College'', POHS, no. 64 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1913).
* ''Remarks and Collections of Thomas Hearne'', vols. 9–11, POHS, nos.
65,
67,
72 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1914–21).
* ''A Cartulary of the Hospital of St. John the Baptist'', 3 vols., POHS, nos.
66,
68 and
69 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1914–17).
* (with
G. J. Turner) ''The Register of St. Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury, Commonly Called the Black Book'', parts
1 and
2 (London: Oxford University Press, 1915–24).
* ''Mediaeval Archives of the University of Oxford'', POHS, nos.
70 and
73 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1920).
* ''
Munimenta Civitatis Oxonie'', POHS, no. 71 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1920).
* ''
Newington Longeville Charters'', ORS, no. 3 (Oxford: Oxfordshire Record Society, 1921).
* ''
The Historic Names of the Streets and Lanes of Oxford Intra Muros'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1921).
* ''
Chapters of the Augustine Canons'', POHS, no. 74 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1922).
* ''
Surveys and Tokens'', POHS, no. 75 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1923).
* ''
Registrum Annalium Collegii Mertonensis, 1483–1521'', POHS, no. 76 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1923).
* ''Snappe's Formulary'', POHS, no. 80 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924).
* ''
Oxford City Properties'', POHS, no. 83 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1926).
* (with the Rev. G. C. Richards) ''The Dean's Register of Oriel, 1446–1661'', POHS, no. 84 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1926).
* (based on work by
C. L. Shadwell) ''Oriel College Records'', POHS, no. 85 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1926).
* (vol. 3 with M. G. Hobson) ''Oxford Council Acts'', vols. 1–3, POHS, Old Series, nos. 87, 95; New Series, no. 2 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1928–39).
* ''Facsimiles of Early Charters in Oxford Muniment Rooms'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1929).
* ''The Oseney Abbey Cartulary'', 6 vols., POHS, nos. 89–91, 97–98, 101 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1929–36)
* ''The Feet of Fines for Oxfordshire, 1195–1291'', ORS, no. 12 (Oxford: Oxfordshire Record Society, 1930).
* ''The Boarstall Cartulary'', POHS, no. 88 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1930).
* ''Registrum Cancellarii Oxoniensis'', 2 vols., POHS, nos. 93–94 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1932).
* ''The Churchwardens' Accounts of St. Michael's Church, Oxford'' (Oxford: Oxfordshire Archaeological Society, 1933).
* ''Map of Medieval Oxford'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1934).
* ''Medieval Oxford'', POHS, no. 100 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1936).
* (with
W. H. Stevenson
William Henry Stevenson (7 September 1858 – 22 October 1924), who wrote as W. H. Stevenson, was an English historian and philologist who specialized in Anglo-Saxon England.
Stevenson was born in Nottingham and went to school in Hull. As a you ...
) ''The Early History of St. John's College Oxford'', POHS, New Series, no. 1 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1939).
* (with
W. A. Pantin and
H. G. Richardson) ''Formularies which Bear on the History of Oxford, c. 1204–1420'', 2 vols., POHS, New Series, nos. 4 and 5 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1942).
* ''The Thame Cartulary'', ORS, nos. 25–26 (Oxford: Oxfordshire Record Society, 1947–48).
* (with
Mary D. Lobel)
A History of the County of Oxford', vol. 3: ''The University of Oxford'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press for the
Victoria County History
The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History or the VCH, is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of En ...
, 1954).
* (posthumously; edited by
W. A. Pantin) ''Survey of Oxford'', 2 vols, POHS, New Series, nos. 14 and 20 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1960).
References
Further reading
* W. A. Pantin, "Herbert Edward Salter, 1863–1951", ''
Proceedings of the British Academy'', vol. 40 (1954), pp. 219–239.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salter, Herbert Edward
1863 births
1951 deaths
20th-century English historians
Church of England priests
Writers from Oxford
Alumni of New College, Oxford
Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford
Fellows of the British Academy
Governors of Abingdon School