Transcribed and edited by Jean Day, j.day@which.net
 

This diary, which was only discovered with my in-laws possessions a few years ago, is a very important piece of history - both for the local history of Worcester and its surrounds, and includes several pages about York, which is where Charles' family comes from,  and for the family history of the Walker, Mayfield and dozens of other linked families, but also for the overall history of England, for it tells about the Great Exhibition of 1851 at the Crystal Palace, about the rise of Bloomerism, about various medical treatments that were being used, and many other national issues of the day.  It is a very easy to read and well written diary of the day to day occurrances in Charles life - and includes every detail of his finances.

In transcribing the diary, I have tried to follow Charles' handwriting and the actual entries in the diary as well as I could. I left in his spelling mistakes, and if he occasionally crossed out a word and put in another, I tried to do the same.  I have put most of my explanatory notes in either footnotes or supplementary pages in order to keep the diary as close as possible to the original. Occasionally, especially at the beginning, I felt it was sometimes necessary for the flow of the meaning to have an explanation right away, and these I have put in square brackets, to make it clear that I have added them.  Anything in round brackets was put in by Charles.

I have greatly enjoyed reading and preparing this diary for public consumption. I hope it will be enjoyable and useful to you.

Jean Day