This is the first edition of Burke's Landed Gentry to be published since 1952 and those accustomed to the bulk and page extent of that work and its 1937 predecessor will be surprised at the somewhat slender form, by comparison, of this new book. Unfortunately, under today's conditions in printing and publishing, the time and staff needed to publish the full-length work in one volume would make such a production an uneconomic proposition.

This volume will be the first of a series of three or more of similar extent to be issued over the next few years. Each of these will contain different families, so that in addition to new entries all those surviving families whose history is recorded in the 1952 edition will (it is hoped) have been included.

The style to be adopted for each volume has obviously presented difficulties. Should it be in " telephone directory " order - A to D followed by a second volume E to K and so forth? This method seemed inappropriate because it would mean that a family in the letter " A " inadvertently omitted would have no chance of subsequent inclusion except in an addendum. In deciding therefore on a complete A to Z alphabet each time, a further problem was how to choose the families to be included in each particular volume. Many people with long and interesting pedigrees no longer have land, but as Burke is essentially a book of family histories, a balance must be established between landed and unlanded families. There is no suggestion that those families included in this first volume are in any way superior to those who will appear in subsequent volumes.

Priority has been given to families whose addresses and up-to-date details have been supplied through correspondence with us during the period since the 1952 edition. It would have been unreasonable to ignore such people at this early stage in favour of approaching others from whom not a word has been heard since 1952. This has brought about the appearance of almost 100 new family pedigrees, which have never before appeared in Burke. The publicity which followed the announcement of this new volume brought in many more enquiries from people who must now regrettably await inclusion in the volumes to follow.

A glance at the text will show that this first volume of the new edition contains details of a wide cross-section of the British people. Those who are still in possession of their family estates are obviously eligible for inclusion, but it must be remembered that one cannot compel people to record their family details in this book which appeals in the main to those who care about their predecessors. I have followed the practice of Burke's Landed Gentry of Ireland and recent editions of Burke's Peerage by including the children of living female members of families but have not done this unless the information has been voluntarily supplied by those concerned. I always welcome approaches from families who consider they should be in Burke, but the final decision to include or not must be an editorial one; each case is reviewed on its merits.

The working-out of a pedigree usually coincides with the registration of a coat of arms and I have tried to abide by the rule of including details of arms only if they are recorded at Lyon Office or the College of Arms. I am grateful to both authorities for their considerable help and advice. I would suggest that those people who are not fully cognizant of the procedure that must be followed in the granting and recording of arms should get in touch with one or the other institution; they are both always ready to regularise these things.

For further study of the present-day position of the Landed Gentry I would recommend the three introductory articles to this volume, written by Mr. Mark Bence-Jones, Mr. James Lees-Milne and Mr. Anthony Powell, who are all distinguished in their particular fields and express interesting and not always dissimilar opinions.

Great care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information published in this volume but the publishers cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge the invaluable help and support of my assistant, Miss Victoria Buckston, and to thank all the others who have helped both inside and outside the office, especially Mr. David Williamson arid Mr. Mark Dottridge. To all those members of the families included herein who returned their questionnaires promptly and clearly annotated I wish to express my gratitude and appreciation.

January, 1965

PETE TOWNEND