William Goodwin's Diaries
William Goodwin was a surgeon who lived in Earl Soham, at Street Farm (above), between about 1750 and 1815. From 1785 through the early 1800s he kept diaries "intended as an Universal repository and Chronology" in which he commented extensively on the weather, agricultural practices and prices, smuggling, longeveity and quirks of human illnesses and growth and the national and international political situation, including wars with Napoleon and the rest of Europe!
Large portions of the diaries have been transcribed by an Earl Soham resident, Mrs. J. Rothery, as part of on-going research into the history of agriculture. Mrs. Rothery has given permission for her work to be published on this Website. The diaries are extensive, and so large parts are not yet transcribed - what follows concentrates on the writings relating to local events and to agriculture. Volunteers to help transcribe the remainder will, I'm sure, be welcomed!
Because the printed transcription runs to some 200 pages, the file has been broken up into sections on this Website, which are indexed here.