Surrey History Centre has launched a new book, Surrey in the Gentleman’s Magazine, 1731-1754. The work brings together every reference to Surrey and its people published in the Gentleman's Magazine - the world’s first magazine - between 1731 and 1754, offering a fascinating window into life in Georgian Surrey.

The Gentleman's Magazine is a rich resource for Surrey’s family and local historians, reporting the crimes and executions, diseases and “infallible remedies” that together with religious and political turmoil, markets, fairs, and extreme weather were experienced by our ancestors in Surrey nearly three centuries ago.

Transcription and research for the volume was undertaken by a team of volunteers at Surrey History Centre, led by Julian Pooley, an authority on the history of the magazine.

The volunteers have made an extraordinary contribution: since 2013, 24 volunteers from a wide range of backgrounds have devoted hundreds of hours to the project.

Though national in scope The Gentleman’s Magazine contains much of interest relating to Surrey: the ancient county followed the southern bank of the Thames to include the parishes of Kingston, Richmond, Wandsworth, Lambeth, Southwark, Bermondsey and Rotherhithe, and this proximity to London ensured Surrey’s visibility in each monthly issue, reflecting the diversity of Georgian life.

In his detailed introduction, Julian draws on his knowledge of the magazine’s editors, printers, and contributors, to place the genesis of the magazine within the print culture of the mid-18th century and uncovers the magazine’s stories of daily life in Georgian Surrey.

Published by Surrey Record Society and available for £30.00 plus £6.50 postage and packaging and handling fee (UK only) from https://www.surreyarchives.org.uk or in person at Surrey History Centre. Free to Surrey Record Society members.