The North Staffordshire Field Club was an organisation founded in 1865 to study the natural history,

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

industrial history The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going fr ...

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

and

local history Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history. Local history is not merely national history writ small bu ...

of North

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, England. Its establishing president from 1865-70 was industrialist and banker

James Bateman James Bateman may refer to: *James Bateman (horticulturist) (1811–1897), British landowner and horticulturist *James Bateman (artist) (1893–1959), English painter of rural scenes *James Bateman (MP), MP for Carlisle (UK Parliament constituency), ...

FRS.

Publications

The organisation produced its first printed book, ''Annual addresses, papers, etc. Author, North Staffordshire Field Club'', in 1875, having previously published a short ''Annual Report'' for members. A history of the early years was published by R. Simms in 1886 as ''Coming of age of the North Staffordshire Naturalists' Field Club and Archaeological Society, 1865-1885: chronological history and bibliography of the Society''. A further extensive history, including that of the various specialist sections, can be found in the Club's special 1916 Jubilee year publication. The annual ''Transactions'' were then titled ''North Staffordshire Field Club, Transactions and Annual Report'' (to 1960); this later became the ''North Staffordshire Journal of Field Studies'' (1961 to 1985) when the title ceased. A further New Series of separate ''Transactions'' with section reports was produced in booklet form from 1970-2000. A detailed scientific survey of ''The Birds of Staffordshire'' was issued as appendices 1-9 to the ''Transactions and Annual report of the North Staffordshire Field Club'' (Vol. 64 in 1930, to Vol. 72 in 1938). The records and publications of the Club are held at the

Staffordshire Record Office Staffordshire Record Office is the county record office for Staffordshire, England. It is run by Staffordshire County Council, and is located in Eastgate Street, Stafford, behind the William Salt Library. Some records are held at the service's off ...

and other libraries. An index to the 1961 to 1985 run of the ''Journal of Field Studies'' was published in the first issue of ''Staffordshire Studies'' journal. The Club's ''Journal'' was extant until at least 2000. At 2020, the archive website ''The North Staffordshire Field Club (1865—2003) and its legacy'' offers a partial bibliographic record for the Club.

Awards

From 1893 the society award its Garner Medal, named in honour of the surgeon, writer, and naturalist

Robert Garner Robert Garner is a British political scientist, political theorist, and intellectual historian. He is a Professor Emeritus in the politics department at the University of Leicester , where he has worked for much of his career. Before working at ...

(1808-1890), author of ''The Natural History and Antiquities of Staffordshire''. Recipients included: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

History and bibliography
Organisations based in Staffordshire 1865 establishments in England History of Staffordshire {{England-stub