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William Elmsall was the deputy steward of Wakefield manor in 1709. He is taken to be the compiler of this comprehensive record of the state of the manor and its accounts in that year. After the work's value to the study of eighteenth-century English social and economic history was recognised by the Yorkshire Archaeological Society, publication followed in 1939. The book was edited by John Charlesworth (b.1865), a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, who transcribed and edited parish registers and other documents of historical importance. Contained in this work are lists of the names of the lords, freeholders, officers, bailiffs, and all the towns and villages within the manor. The book also includes decrees covering rent and fines and the fees of gaolers and bailiffs, as well as information on the succession of the lords of Wakefield manor.