[Sir]. English archæologist, born in London on the 17th of December 1853 and educated at the City of London school. As a boy he entered the service of the Metropolitan Board of Works; but in 1891 he was appointed statistical officer to the London County Council, becoming in 1900 clerk to the Council. He was founder of the Folklore Society and editor successively of the Antiquary, the Archæological Review and the Folklore Journal, and few men have ever possessed a more profound knowledge of the past and present history of London. He married Alice Bertha Merck, authoress of Traditional Games of Great Britain. In 1911 he was knighted. He died at Long Crendon, Bucks, on the 25th of February 1916.
Amongst his numerous publications were Primitive Folk-Moots (1880); Folklore Relics of Early Village Life (1883); The Village Community (1889); Folklore as a Historical Science (1908); etc.
