Product Ref: FHF-296
The Handy Book of Parish Law
Click to zoom
The Handy Book of Parish Law, republished by the Wiltshire Family History Society in 1995, is a reissue of William Andrews Holdsworth’s classic 19th-century legal guide. Originally published in 1859, this edition preserves the practical, plain-language explanations that made the book so popular among non-specialists.
It covers a wide array of topics relevant to parish life and local governance—such as landlord and tenant rights, wills and executors, bankruptcy, and the legal status of married women. The book also delves into the responsibilities of parish officers, including the role of Surveyors of the Highways, offering valuable insight into how rural communities were managed.
This edition is especially useful for local and family historians, as it helps decode the legal framework that shaped everyday life in Victorian England. With 112 pages of content, it’s a compact yet rich resource for anyone exploring parish records or the evolution of local government
ISBN-9781898714132