The latest Georgian Society for East Yorkshire publication is an edition, by Susan Neave, of a full transcription of the diary kept from 1788 until 1805 by a gentleman ‘of independent means’ John Courtney, then living at Newbegin House (14-16 Newbegin), Beverley. In it he records much of his daily routine which largely involved attendance at meetings at Beverley’s principal inns, the Tiger and Beverley Arms, meals with other members of the town’s elite, and evening entertainments at the Assembly Rooms and theatre. He has much to say about the lives, illnesses and, in one case early death of his seven children. Of particular interest are his accounts of visits to London and Leeds, and extended stays at the Yorkshire resorts of Bridlington, Scarborough and Ilkley. Written soon after the American War of Independence, and during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the diary shows their impact on the life of a Georgian country town, with American Loyalists settling here, and the presence of numerous militia and army officers. At times the diary has the feel of a Jane Austen novel with the accounts of tea parties, musical evenings, dancing and elopements to Gretna Green.
A4, 340 pages. Price £15 (£10 for members of the Georgian Society for East Yorkshire) see section Resources: Publications by the Society.