Publications
Too Late!: The Royal Sussex Regiment & the expedition to relieve General Charles Gordon in Khartoum, by Sheila Haines, published December 1983 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 5 no. 8, article, pp.244-248) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9174] & The Keep [LIB/501257] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.
Too Late!: The Royal Sussex Regiment & the expedition to relieve General Charles Gordon in Khartoum - Part 2, by Sheila Haines, published March 1984 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 6 no. 1, article, pp.11-13) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 9788] & The Keep [LIB/501258] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.
No Trifling Matter: being an account of a voyage by emigrants from Sussex and Hampshire to Upper Canada on board the "British Tar" in 1834, edited by Sheila Haines, published 1990 (pamphlet, 54 pp., Centre for Continuing Education, University of Sussex, ISBN-10: 0904242331 & ISBN-13: 9780904242331) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 10582] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
A Forest of Family Trees, by Leigh Lawson and Sheila Haines, published April 1993 in West Sussex History, the Journal of West Sussex Archives Society (no. 51, article, p.14) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16404/51] & The Keep [LIB/500483]
A Forest of Family Trees, by Leigh Lawson and Sheila Haines, published June 1993 in Sussex Family Historian (vol. 10 no. 6, article, pp.215-218) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 14877] & The Keep [LIB/501262] & CD SFH40 from S.F.H.G.
Preview:An extensive research project undertaken by the West Sussex Record Office on the Petworth Emigration Committee of 1832 to 1837 is described.
English Immigrant Voices: Labourers' Letters from Upper Canada in the 1830s, by Wendy Cameron, Sheila Haines and Mary McDougall Maude, published May 2000 (696 pp., McGill-Queen's University Press, ISBN-10: 077352035X & ISBN-13: 9780773520356) accessible at: West Sussex Libraries
Abstract:Collected from published, archival, and private sources, these letters place the Petworth immigrants in the context of their times and challenge the image of English immigrants to 1830s Upper Canada as officers and gentlewomen. Wendy Cameron, Sheila Haines, and Mary McDougall Maude have carefully annotated the letters to sketch the stories of individual writers, link letters by the same author or members of the same family, and explore the connections between writers. What eventually happened to some of the writers is also revealed in this engaging collection. English Immigrant Voices provides a valuable insight into the rural poor and their experiences in emigrating to a new land.
Hark, The Birds with Cheerful Lays Warble Their Creator's Praise, by Sheila Haines, published Autumn 2004 in West Sussex History, the Journal of West Sussex Archives Society (no. 73, article, p.17) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16404/73] & The Keep [LIB/500497]
Poor Cottages and Proud Palaces: The Life and Work of Thomas Sockett of Petworth 1777-1859 , by Sheila Haines and Leigh Lawson, published 2007 (304 pp., Hastings Press, ISBN-10: 1904109160 & ISBN-13: 9781904109167) accessible at: The Keep [LIB/503906] & West Sussex Libraries & East Sussex Libraries
Review by Maria Gardiner in Sussex Past and Present no. 116, December 2008:An account of the life and work of Reverend Thomas Sockett of Petworth (1777 -1859), who was born in East London, the son of an impoverished bookseller. The early part of this fascinating book deals with his transition from penury to rural clergyman under the patronage of Lord Egremont at Petworth House. In his journal recording his life from 1805 to 1807, reproduced in full, he describes playing tennis and practising French with refugee aristocrats, seeing Nelson embark from Portsmouth on his final voyage, and time spent with the Egremont children reading the classics such as Horace and Demosthenes.
We are given a picture of his domestic life, but the authors are primarily interested in his role as the thoughtful and concerned Rector of Petworth. Although he was a friend of aristocrats, he worked hard to improve the lives of the poorest of his parishioners, particularly through the teaching of literacy which he saw as a route to morality. Together with Lord Egremont, he organised the emigration to Canada of many of his parishioners, including his own oldest son, George. He was also in frequent disagreement with the guardians of the local workhouse about the treatment of its inhabitants.
Sheila Haines and Leigh Lawson have presented an insight into life in West Sussex from aristocrat to peasant at a time of political, cultural and economic upheaval. The book is meticulously researched and evidenced and should prove a valuable resource for local history students, and anyone else who likes looking into other people's lives.
We are given a picture of his domestic life, but the authors are primarily interested in his role as the thoughtful and concerned Rector of Petworth. Although he was a friend of aristocrats, he worked hard to improve the lives of the poorest of his parishioners, particularly through the teaching of literacy which he saw as a route to morality. Together with Lord Egremont, he organised the emigration to Canada of many of his parishioners, including his own oldest son, George. He was also in frequent disagreement with the guardians of the local workhouse about the treatment of its inhabitants.
Sheila Haines and Leigh Lawson have presented an insight into life in West Sussex from aristocrat to peasant at a time of political, cultural and economic upheaval. The book is meticulously researched and evidenced and should prove a valuable resource for local history students, and anyone else who likes looking into other people's lives.
Elizabeth Ilive comes alive: Petworth House archives, by Sheila Haines and Leigh Lawson, published Autumn 2010 in West Sussex History, the Journal of West Sussex Archives Society (no. 78, article, p.11) accessible at: W.S.R.O. [Lib 16404/78] & The Keep [LIB/500502]