Dictionary of Herefordshire Biography, A

Description Britain has long had its Dictionary of National Biography; now Herefordshire has its very own equivalent, outlining the lives of over 1,600 people born before 1900 who have exerted their direct influence on the county in one way or another, some of their effects drastic, others subtle, and all recorded in Philip Weaver’s elegant and approachable style. Included are kings and queens, saints, bishops, members of the nobility and politicians, as you would expect, but also soldiers, sailors, diplomats, Roman emperors, martyrs, clergymen, journalists, lawyers, historians, actors, artists, writers, poets, composers, craftsmen, doctors, antiquaries, garden designers, philosophers, philanthropists, social workers, map-makers, explorers, agriculturalists, architects, engineers, mathematicians, iron-founders, builders, tile-makers, swineherds, forgers, outlaws, witches and many others, even a carrier pigeon and those ‘beings’ we think of as county icons such as Hereford Cattle, Ryeland Sheep, and the Redstreak Apple. From medieval effigies to society portraits and early photographs, over 300 illustrations add to the word-pictures painted of the men and women who once walked Herefordshire and left their mark here, whether the gentle tread of saints and princesses, the bloody footprints of knights and warriors, or the measured gait of statesmen and farmers. Extensive indexes list not only the subjects of the biographies and those around them but towns and villages, churches and other religious buildings, castles and great houses; and an index of themes gathers together pirates and pilgrims, feminists and footballers, topographers and theologians, as well as much other intriguing material – all designed to add to the book’s accessibility and interest.   Hardback| 512 pages | 242 x 171 mm | 2015 300 largely colour illustrations ISBN 978-1-906663-97-1