Roger North and the "Arguments and Materials for a Register of Estates"

Roger North: gentleman, accountant and lexicographer

“…Some of these seem to us rather unenlightened, for example his view that English law should be expressed in law French not English (Schwoerer, 1959, pp.336-7). Others to late twentieth century eyes seem more enlightened: his championing in an anonymous pamphlet of a land registry, or Register of Estates (Starr, 1966); and his disbelief (unlike Sir Matthew Hale and most of his contemporaries) in witches (Jessopp, 1887, pp.131-3;Cromartie, 1995, Appendix;Sharpe, 1996, pp.231-3). His work on building has been described as "the most entertaining treatise on building in the English language" (Colvin, 1951, p.258), and "full of shrewd comment and interesting examples" (Girouard, 1978, p.326).…”