Sir William Wilkinson Addison (4 April 1905 – 1 November 1992) was an English historian, writer and

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

. He is significant for his research and books on

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

and

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

n subjects.

Biography

William Addison was born in 1905 at Mitton, now in the

Ribble Valley Ribble Valley is a local government district with borough status within the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. The total population of the non-metropolitan district at the 2011 Census was 57,132. Its council is based in Clitheroe. ...

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 ...

, England. His direct ancestors were from King's Meaburn—then

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

, now

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

—and were 14th-century tenants from Grasmere to Bowness. The Addison family were borough administrators and recorders at

Clitheroe Clitheroe () is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England; it is located north-west of Manchester. It is near the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists visiting the area. In 2018, the Cl ...

, one a

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

Lancaster Castle Lancaster Castle is a medieval castle and former prison in Lancaster in the English county of Lancashire. Its early history is unclear, but it may have been founded in the 11th century on the site of a Roman fort overlooking a crossing of ...

, and supported the restoration of parish churches and two grammar schools, one of which,

Clitheroe Royal Grammar School ; "Founded on Rock" , established = , closed = , type = Grammar school;Academy , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = Headteacher , head = James Keulemans , r_head_label = Deputy He ...

, William Addison attended.Kneale, Kenneth (1992); ''Essex Heritage'', Leopards Head Press, pp.3-14. Morris, Richard; "Sir William Addison (1905-1992) – a retrospective" in
Loughton and District Historical Society: Newsletter 165
', March/April 2005, pp.3-5 After Addison's marriage in 1929 to Phoebe Dean, daughter of Robert Dean of

Rimington Rimington is a rural village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. The population of the civil parish was 382 at the 2001 Census, however at the 2011 Census Middop was included with Rimington giving a total of 480. It is e ...

, then in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, the couple moved to

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, and then to

Buckhurst Hill Buckhurst Hill is an affluent suburban town in the Epping Forest District, Epping Forest district of Essex, England. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and adjacent to the northern boundary of the London Borough of Redbridge. The area de ...

on the edge of

Epping Forest Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the London ...

, Essex. Addison bought a bookshop in the neighbouring town of

Loughton Loughton () is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. Part of the metropolitan and urban area of London, the town borders Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill, and is northeast of Chari ...

, and began his lifelong association with Epping Forest which resulted in books on the history and people of the area. He became an elected

Verderer Verderers are forestry officials in England who deal with common land in certain former royal hunting areas which are the property of the Crown. The office was developed in the Middle Ages to administer forest law on behalf of the King. Verderers ...

of the forest from 1954 to 1984 and chaired history organizations including the Essex Archaeological and Historical Congress and Waltham Abbey Historical Society. He was a founder member of the Friends of Essex Churches, and later its president, and was vice president of the Association of Genealogists and Record Agents (1985-1988), and the

Council for the Protection of Rural England CPRE, The Countryside Charity, formerly known by names such as the ''Council for the Preservation of Rural England'' and the ''Council for the Protection of Rural England'', is a charity in England with over 40,000 members and supporters. Forme ...

(from 1984). Addison was chairman of the Editorial and County Committee for the '' Victoria County History of Essex."Epping's historical figures to be remembered"
''

Waltham Forest Guardian ''Waltham Forest Guardian'' now known as '' Your Local Guardian'', is a weekly local newspaper sold every Thursday in the London boroughs of Waltham Forest and Redbridge. The newspaper's weekly circulation is 2,508 copies, according to ABC fig ...

'', 24 March 2014. Retrieved April 2015Hagger, Nicholas (2012); ''A View of Epping Forest'', O Books, pp.3, 260, 272. Addison was a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

for more than twenty-five years, becoming a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in 1949, and Chairman of the Epping, and the Epping and Ongar

Petty Sessions Courts of petty session, established from around the 1730s, were local courts consisting of magistrates, held for each petty sessional division (usually based on the county divisions known as hundreds) in England, Wales, and Ireland. The session ...

in 1955. From 1959 he advised and sat on the Council of the Magistrates’ Association, later becoming its chairman from 1970 to 1976. In 1973 Addison was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Essex. He was knighted in 1974 for services to public life. William Addison wrote twenty books on historic aspects and prominent people of East Anglia, Essex, and Epping Forest, and wrote poems from 1936 to his death in his eighty-seventh year. He owned a bookshop at 169 High Road, Loughton, which is marked by a blue plaque.

Publications

*1945 – ''Epping Forest. Its literary and historical associations'',

J. M. Dent Joseph Malaby Dent (30 August 1849 – 9 May 1926) was a British book publisher who produced the Everyman's Library series. Early life Dent was born in Darlington in what is now part of the Grade II listed Britannia Inn. After a short and ...

*1947 – ''The English Country Parson'', J. M. Dent *1949 – ''Essex Heyday'', J. M. Dent *1950 – ''Suffolk''.

County Books Series The County Books series, by Robert Hale and Company Robert Hale Limited was a London publisher of fiction and non-fiction books, founded in 1936, and also known as Robert Hale. It was based at Clerkenwell House, Clerkenwell Green. It ceased tra ...

*1951 – ''English Spas'',

Batsford Batsford is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. The village is about 1½ miles north-west of Moreton-in-Marsh. There is a falconry centre close to the village and Batsford Arboretum is nearby, ...

*1951 – ''Worthy Dr. Fuller'', J. M. Dent *1953 – ''Audley End, etc. With special reference to the Howard family'', J. M. Dent *1953 – ''English Fairs and Markets'', Batsford *1954 – ''Thames Estuary'',

Regional Books Series The Regional Books was a book series of topographical guides to the British regions published by Robert Hale and CompanyRich & Cowan Rich & Cowan Ltd was a book publisher, based at 37 Bedford Square, London WC1. They specialized in literary books. Books * '' A Ghost in Monte Carlo'' by Barbara Cartland, (1951) * ''Goethe: a play in four acts'' by S. M. and C. S. Fox, London,( ...

*1973 – ''Essex worthies: a biographical companion to the county'',

Phillimore Phillimore is the surname of: People: * Augustus Phillimore (1822–1897), Royal Navy admiral * Claud Phillimore, 4th Baron Phillimore (1911–1994), English architect *Egerton Phillimore (1856–1937), British scholar of Welsh literature and lang ...

. *1973 – ''Wanstead Park'',

Corporation of London The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...

*1977 – ''Portrait of Epping Forest'', Robert Hale. *1977 – ''Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge and Epping Forest Museum'', Conservators of Epping Forest *1978 – ''Understanding English surnames'', Batsford. *1979 – ''Understanding English Place Names'', Batsford. *1980 – ''The Old Roads of England'',

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

. *1982 – ''Local Styles of the English Parish Church'', Batsford. *1986 – ''Farmhouses in the English Landscape'', Robert Hale. *1991 – ''Epping Forest: Figures in a Landscape'', Robert Hale. *2002 – Addison William; ''Winter Forest and Other Poems'', editor: Richard Morris; illustrator: Clare Eastwood; Corporation of London (published posthumously).

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Addison, William Wilkinson 1905 births 1992 deaths People educated at Clitheroe Royal Grammar School English biographers English legal professionals Knights Bachelor 20th-century English historians 20th-century English male writers 20th-century biographers People from Ribble Valley (district) People from Buckhurst Hill English justices of the peace