John Venn and the Friends of the Hereford Poor
by Jean O’Donnell
Paperback, 144 pages with 80 b/w illustrations  ISBN 978 1904396 71 0  £9.95

The Rev. John Venn came from a circle that included William Wilberforce and others of a passionate, evangelising Christian mind. He trained to became an Anglican priest and moved to Hereford in 1833. Part of his parish included the area of St Owen’s, one of the poorest parts of the city. Imbued with the belief that all poverty could be dispelled by work, he made a proposal which saw the establishment of the Society for Aiding the Industrious. The Society soon created a hive of activity in Hereford. They built and ran a steam corn mill that milled corn at a cheaper rate than was charged elsewhere, and yet still made handsome profits which were ploughed back into other Society activities. There was a baths complex and subsequent swimming pool, allotments; a model farm and gardens; a coal store, a soup kitchen, and an office which also handled grants and loans. In effect, Venn created a whole mixed welfare system for the poor of Hereford. Jean O’Donnell has lived in Herefordshire for almost 50 years, has been a member of the Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club for 44 years and twice been its President, and has long had an interest in John Venn and his Society which led to the writing of this book.

Mistress Blanche, Queen Elizabeth I’s Confidante
by Ruth Elizabeth Richardson
Paperback, 200 pages, 6 b/w and 14 colour illustrations  ISBN 978 1904396 86 4  £12.95

Blanche Parry was the Chief Gentlewoman of Queen Elizabeth I’s Privy Chamber and Keeper of Her Majesty’s Jewels but until now little more has been accurately known about her or her family. Blanche was born in Herefordshire’s Golden Valley to a noble family of the March of Wales that was closely connected with the Herberts of Raglan and through them with the House of York. She lived until she was 82 years old, and was constantly with Elizabeth from the future Queen’s babyhood until she was 56 years old, 38 years into her reign. Blanche was thus at the centre of the Elizabethan Court. Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley was her cousin and friend and they worked closely together through the years. The research for this book shows her to have been discreet, meticulous, trustworthy, elegant, respected and evidently well-liked – despite the factional politics of Court life. The book explores Blanche Parry’s family background, her education and the religious influences in her life, which included a residual connection with Lollardy. The effect that Blanche’s views may have had on those of Elizabeth, considering the closeness of the two women, is discussed. Blanche’s responsibilities at Court also prove to be far more varied than hitherto supposed.  

Joseph Murray Ince (1806-59) – The Painter of Presteigne
by Margaret Newman Turner
Paperback, 126 pages, 40 b/w & 36 colour illns  ISBN 978 1 904396 54 3  £9.95

Ince was born in London but brought up in Presteigne after his father joined a medical practice in the town. He studied in Hereford under David Cox then spent much time in London where many members of the family lived. He travelled around the UK to undertake work – notably Oxford and Hastings, then favourite haunts of artists. He returned from time to time to visit his father in Presteigne from where he explored and painted parts of Wales. This book details the influences on Ince in his early career. the breadth of his work and details of his family life. Margaret Newman Turner was a critic for the Arts Review after the Second World War and was subsequently invited by P & O to become their first Arts Lecturer on their round the world voyages.

John Scarlett Davis – A Biography
by Tony Hobbs
Paperback, 92 pages, colour and b/w illustrations  ISBN 978 1 904396 15 4  £9.95

Using letters sent by Davis to his mother and other members of his family, Tony Hobbs lets the artist tell his own story. Davis was well regarded by his contemporaries including J.M.W. Turner, but after his death his work often went unrecognized. The quality of his later work and especially the collections in Hereford and Leominster are discussed along with his somewhat chaotic life.

Sir Samuel Meyrick and Goodrich Court
by Rosalind Rowe
Paperback, 290 pages with over 130 b/w & 30 colour illns  ISBN 978 1 873827 88 8  £17.50

Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick was the founding father of the systematic study of arms and armour. His last days were spent in Herefordshire, where his magnificent collection of arms, armour and antiquities could be visited in his mock Gothic castle, called Goodrich Court. The collection is now largely dispersed, with some of the choicest pieces at the Wallace Collection and at the British Museum. Sir Samuel and the Meyrick collection played an important role in the early 19th century movement towards historical accuracy in the portrayal of correct costume in works of art and the theatre. Meyrick’s lavishly illustrated works were an unparallelled source for later writers, and he published many historical articles. Sir Samuel’s story, and that of Goodrich Court and its treasures is no dry antiquarian tale, but full-blooded and humorous.

The Life and Times of Sir George Cornewall Lewis, Bart
by R.W.D. Fenn & Sir Andrew Duff Gordon, Bart
Paperback, 392 pages, 15 b/w plates  ISBN: 978 1 904396 29 1  £14.95

As Home Secretary, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Minister for War, George Cornewall Lewis, MP for New Radnor, served under and alongside Lord John Russell, Lord Palmerston and Gladstone. First elected to Parliament in 1847, he died in 1863. Using his diaries and correspondence, sources previously untapped, the authors have delved into Lewis’s relationships with his fellow politicians as well as trying to discover the man. This book brings to life not just Lewis, but also many aspects of the Welsh border at that time. Dr. R.W.D. Fenn has been an Associate lecturer and Senator to the Open University for many years, President of the Radnorshire Society since 2001 and served as President of the Cambrian Archaeological Association for 2004-5. Sir Andrew Duff Gordon is a kinsman of Sir George Cornewall Lewis.

An Endless Quiet Valley: John Masefield, a re-evaluation
by Paul Binding
240 pages with illustrations
Hardback ISBN 978 1 873827 35 2  £17.95  Paperback 978 1 873827 30 7  £9.95

A literary re-appraisal of John Masefield by Paul Binding, previously deputy literary editor of the New Statesman. The book focuses on the period of Masefield’s work that began with ‘The Everlasting Mercy’ and continued with several narrative poems, sonnets and other work into the 1920s, to be his canon – a canon that shocked then and can shock now. Masefield’s work is set in the context of other literary work that was appearing at the time, and the man himself is considered, and all the passions and complexity that made him write as he did.