The History of the British Petroleum Company: The Developing Years, 1901–1932 (Volume I) . By R. W. Ferrier. (London: Cambridge University Press, 1982. xxx + 801 pp. $64.50.

this close tie between crown and county, Booth stresses the subordination of county interests to the financial needs of the monarch or his son. Edward I's financial policy in Cheshire was determined first by the prosecution of the Welsh war and later by the rebuilding of Vale Royal Abbey. In both instances large amounts of revenue and manpower went to support royal interests. While the Black Prince was ruling the county, the need to finance his expedition to Acquitaine forced officials to wring as much revenue as possible from the courts of justice. In 1353 a suggested general eyre in Cheshire was bought off with the payment of a huge common fine of 5,000 marks, and sessions of trailbaston produced fines totaling well over £1,000. Four years later a forest eyre produced similar large sums. Yet, taking the reign of Edward III as a whole, Booth suggests that the amount paid in fines and other contributions to the crown was, probably, no greater than the money paid in subsidies by men of neighboring counties. The men of Cheshire may not have escaped from the burden of supporting the royal government, but they were not unduly exploited either. As its title indicates, the scope of the book is very narrow. The county is viewed through the eyes of the central administration, with no attempt to describe the county community at large. Thus the interesting account of the development of cattle farming on the manor of Macclesfield is not rounded out with any assessment of how common such policies were within the region. Booth does, however, have a firm grasp of the intricacies of medieval accounting. The section on the nature of minister's accounts and accounting procedures has some very sensible things to say about the vexed question of arrears and could serve as an invaluable guide to anyone beginning to work on such documents. Taken as a whole, this is a very careful piece of research that makes a useful contribution to the history of Cheshire and some minor corrections to accepted ideas. It does not, however, challenge existing hypotheses or open new avenues for research.