| Description | There are 311 Field Books, and as far as possible they have been left as they were originally arranged by the second William Fairbank, and, for a time, by his sons. From 1752 to about 1824, they are numbered 1 to 174; and in cases where two or more books were in use simultaneously, the second is called a "supplement" to the first. These numberings have been retained, including the use of the "supplement," and the numbers of missing books have been omitted. Up to 174, eight books are missing (Nos. 1, 22, 97, 106, 146, 147, 165, 172) of which, at least 106, 165 and 172 are known to have been lost in the Fairbanks' own times.
After 1824 the sequence of numbered books comes to an end. Many of the later books have no numbers at all, and Josiah Fairbank and his two sons appear to have had each a set of Field Books, with separate numbering, which time has rendered incomplete. The whole of the later books, therefore, have been placed in chronological order and numbered straight through from 175 onwards (note: nos. 184 and 186 were missing at the time of deposit with Sheffield Archives).
The books have been indexed page by page. In the majority of cases, a reference has been added to the description of the plan for which the sketch was made; but in about 1,400 cases no plan was found to correspond with the entry in the Field Book. Separate main cards were made for these items.
User copies (photocopies) available in most cases (FC/FB/Photocopies/2-267). |