Nine quarto volumes of diaries and commonplaces of William Fleming of Rowe Head, Pennington (1770-1829), a prosperous and literate yeoman farmer living in a small village near Ulverston, Lancashire. Its author's observations encompass botany (including fine drawings and plant lists), natural history, the weather, social comment, local entertainments, the prices of staple goods and the vices of his neighbours, a favourite topic. The journals include a hundred-page catalogue of the books in Ulverston Subscription Library, in which Fleming had bought a share.
Item Provenance
Private collection