Rural history by word of mouth (8)
I believe the answer is:
pastoral
'rural' is the definition.
('pastoral' can be similar in meaning to 'rural')
'history by word of mouth' is the wordplay.
'history' becomes 'past' (I've seen this before).
'by word of mouth' becomes 'oral' (I've seen this before).
'past'+'oral'='PASTORAL'
(Other definitions for pastoral that I've seen before include "to do with priestly duties" , "Regarding teacher's responsibility for pupil" , "Relating to personal care - in the countryside, perhaps" , "Country's" , "of a priest" .)