Joyce Godber (1906-1999) was Bedfordshire-born. Following a history degree, she spent a few years teaching, then worked at Oxford University Press. She was assistant secretary at the Institute of Historical Research before becoming clerk of the records, then County Archivist of Bedfordshire (1946-68). She was general editor of BHRS (1946-76) and an active member of the Society of Archivists and the British Records Association. She planned the transfer of the record office to its new premises, which took place in 1969, the year in which her History of Bedfordshire was published.
Volume 32:
(1952)
Contents:
‘Harrold priory: a twelfth century dispute,' by C. R. Cheney [Latin texts of nineteen of the documents in a law suit about the patronage of Stevington church, with an introduction. The documents cover the period from the mid-twelfth century to ...
Volume 49:
(1970)
Contents:
‘Contracting arable lands in 1341’, by A. R. H. Baker [The retreat of settlements and abandonment of marginal land is examined through the returns of the 1341 tax of one ninth of the value of corn, wool and lambs for ...
Volume 40:
(1960)
The documents in this volume, together with that of Benjamin Rogers in volume 30, bring into print most of the surviving diaries of Bedfordshire people.
Contents:
‘John Harvey of Ickwell, 1688-9’, edited by Margaret Richards. [The diary of John Harvey, later MP ...
Volume 22:
edited by G. Herbert Fowler and Joyce Godber (1945)
The documents in the cartulary deal with the Priory’s property and privileges. They are transcribed in Latin and accompanied by brief summaries in English. There is an extract from the Valor Ecclesiasticus setting out the assessment of the Priory in ...
Volume 43:
edited by Joyce Godber, (1963, 1964)
A cartulary of the deeds and charters of Newnham Priory in Bedford was compiled in the early fifteenth century. It contains the Priory's deeds and charters from 1166 to 1409. The Latin transcriptions have been explained by brief explanatory headings ...
Volume 47:
edited by Joyce Godber (1968)
Although described in the introduction as 'a life', this book, written as a guide to more than 7000 letters held in Bedfordshire Archives, is far more than that. It is a biography of Jemima, Marchioness Grey (1722-1797), mainly pieced together ...
Volume 44:
edited by Joyce Godber (1965)
The development of hunts in Bedfordshire is recounted in the introduction and through transcriptions of documents from several collections in Bedfordshire Archives. The documents relate to private hunts (1708-1797) and to the Oakley hunt (1795-1920). They include the hound book ...
Volume 25:
(1947)
Contents:
'The meeting-place of Wixamtree hundred,' by F. W. Marsom [Marsom suggests that the meeting place was in the centre of the hundred at Deadman’s Oak where old trackways meet.]
'Two Cranfield manors,' by Joyce Godber [This article identifies the medieval origins ...