Collections Towards the History and Antiquities of the County of Hereford

DUNCUMB, John A. M.; with Later Additions by COOKE, William Henry; WATKINS, Morgan G. (Rev.).  Collections Towards the History and Antiquities of the County of Hereford.  

3 volumes, each measuring 292 x 240 mm, covering the largest part of Duncumb's, Cooke's and Watkins' county history of Herefordshire, with the City of Hereford in volume 1; Broxash Hundred, Ewyas-Lacy Hundred and Greytree Hundred in volume 2;  and part 1 of Grimsworth Hundred (Bishopstone, Breinton, Bridge Solers, Brinsop, Brobury, Burghill, Byford) and Huntington Hundred in volume 3.  Contemporary uniform binding in green half-calf with green buckram sides, gilt tooling to spines, red leather labels with gilt titles to spines, sprinkled edges.  Spines and covers unevenly sunned, leather heavily rubbed in places, sporadic spotting, offsetting and browning throughout, occasional pen annotation or in-text correction; else tightly-bound with pages .  All tomes with Wilson and Phillips bookbinders' ticket to pastedown, and a couple of binder's instructions and notes throughout, the last volume on Huntington Hundred together with its original purchase receipt (loosely inserted) from printer, binder and bookseller Jakeman & Carver, dated 16 August 1898, and made to Harold Charles Moffatt, descendent of George Moffatt who owned Goodrich Court Castle originally built by the antiquarian Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick in 1828.

Collation as follows:

First Volume: DUNCUMB, John A.M.  Collections Towards the History and Antiquities of the County of Hereford (Vol. I).  Hereford: Printed by E.G. Wright, 1804.  Containing a general history of the county and an account of the city: Half-title, title page, dedication page, Preface, Table of Contents, Map of Herefordshire, [364pp.] Text, [10pp.] General Index, [1p.] Additions, [1p.] Corrections, [1p.] Errata.  With 14pp. containing plates and maps.

Second Volume: DUNCUMB, John A.M.  Collections Towards the History and Antiquities of the County of Hereford (Part I. of Vol. II).   Hereford: Printed by E.G. Wright, 1812, 1866, 1882.  Containing: Title page, [264pp.] Broxash Hundred, [265pp.-218pp.] Ewyas-Lacy Hundred, [2pp.] Appendix to Broxash Hundred; [2pp.] 4 plates related to Grimsworth Hundred, Stratford Hundred and Huntingdon Hundred; [319pp.-358pp.] later discovered Greytree Hundred pages; [359pp.-401pp.] continuation of Greytree Hundred; [402pp.-404pp.] Index to Additions to the Second Volume, [363pp.-378pp.] extra leaves of Greytree Hundred believed to be part of William Henry Cooke's 1882 re-issue of the third volume which finishes the Greytree Hundred.  With 4pp. containing plates.

Third Volume: COOKE, William Henry.  Collections Towards the History and Antiquities of the County of Hereford in Continuation of Duncumb's History: Hundred of Grimsworth (Part I).  London: John Murray, 1886.  Containing the first part of a new volume on the Hundred of Grimsworth: Title page, [1p.] Contents, [1p.] Table, [69pp.] Text covering Bishopstone, Breinton, Bridge Solers, Brinsop, Brobury, Burghill, Byford. [BOUND TOGETHER WITH] WATKINS, Morgan G. (Rev.).  Collections Towards the History and Antiquities of the County of Hereford in Continuation of Duncumb's History: Hundred of Huntington.  Hereford: Jakeman & Carver, 1897.  Containing: [1p.] Preface, [1p.] Note about Index (not present in this tome), [1p.] Contents, [1p.] Table, [107pp.] Text covering Brilley, Clifford, Eardisley, Huntington, Kington, Whitney, Willersley, Winforton, and Combe.  With two pages containing plates in the Huntington Hundred volume.  With original purchase receipt for the Huntington volume tucked in, made to Harold Charles Moffatt, descendent of George Moffatt who owned Goodrich Court Castle originally built by the illustrious antiquarian Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick in 1828.

For those with an interest in Herefordshire, this is a lovely opportunity to acquire most of the volumes forming part of Duncumb's unfinished county history of Herefordshire, herewith bound in three heavy tomes in contemporary uniform bindings, the Huntington Hundred volume accompanied by the original 1898 purchase receipt. A lovely set.

John Duncumb (1765 - 1839), a Cambridge-educated clergyman, journalist, and antiquary, became the chief historian of Herefordshire when Charles, Duke of Norfolk, commissioned him in 1790 to compile a full county history. Drawing on parish records, libraries such as the British Museum and Bodleian, and earlier antiquarian notes, he issued Collections towards the History and Antiquities of the County of Hereford in two instalments: the first volume (1804) on the county and city of Hereford, and part of a second (1812) on Broxash, Ewyas Lacy, and part of Greytree. His documentary method and parish-by-parish treatment set a new standard for local history, but when the Duke died in 1815, the financial backing ceased and Duncumb abandoned further publication, leaving extensive notes and unfinished text. After Duncumb’s death in 1839, his manuscripts passed through booksellers and antiquaries who steadily extended his project. Judge William Henry Cooke completed the unfinished second volume and added further parts in 1866, 1882, 1886, and 1892. The Rev. Morgan G. Watkins contributed volumes on Huntington and Radlow hundreds (1897, 1902), and John H. Matthews covered Wormelow (1912-13). When continuation proved too demanding, the work and remaining funds were entrusted to the Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club, which created the Duncumb Fund to support future historical and archaeological publications. Though sometimes criticised for factual slips, the entire series - collectively known as “Duncumb’s History of Herefordshire” - remains the principal printed record of the county’s past.