Dr Marie Rowlands

Whilst Marie remained modest about her own achievements, her body of work and the meticulous research behind it was significant.Across a number of decades, Marie published on the history of Catholicism in England, with a particular focus on the West Midlands, and on the experience of laity and women.The themes of Marie's published research, and the questions in which she was interested, helped to expand understanding of Catholic experiences across a wide time span, and in a number of particular contexts.Most notable in Marie's work was the emphasis on a local and regional focus, with her particular expertise on the West Midlands; on the experience of non-elite Catholics; and on women.Marie's work, some of which was published by or in association with the Catholic Record Society, is quoted today, sometimes many years after first appearing in print.Starting with studies of tradesmen in the West Midlands, and encompassing Elizabethan Catholic women, clerical experience in the 17 th and 18 th centuries, and taxation in the Midlands, Marie published over 30 pieces of research.Her most recent project, on which she was working in the last months of her life, was exploring Catholic education in England between 1791 and 1840.One particular example of the importance of Marie's scholarship can be seen in the edited collection, English Catholics of Parish and Town, where Marie was both editor and a contributing author.