It has been a labour of love to edit the following pages, for I have a deep affection for the memory of the Author and a genuine admiration for his work. The bulky portfolio which has passed into my hands containing notes and letters, testifies to the infinite care and labour which he devoted to the task which he set before him, of writing a history of Bishopthorpe. Certainly he spared no pains to obtain information from every available source, and Dr. Auden, my fellow-labourer in this good work, can bear witness to the absolute authenticity and accuracy of all his quotations from those who had the best claim to be consulted on the matter.<br><br>It might seem at first sight that the little village of Bishopthorpe and its one stately residence was not a very large theme on which to write a book; but he has elicited so many details concerning the personages, manners and customs, and events of days gone by, that the pages are replete with interest; and he seems to bring before us in his simple but graphic language the characters of those who were no mean actors in the great historical drama of the past, as well as to elaborate the ordinary details of the daily life of generations before us, which enable us to realize who and what manner of men lived amidst circumstances and surroundings so different to our own.