Anyone who has ever read a Phil Rickman novel will know about her seminal book – The Folklore of Herefordshire.
Look, see. A fictional novelist can have immense power via their Historical Research Sources.
Hands Up, Fair Cop. I’d probably never have come across her without Mr Rickman.
Old story but true – we were buying a house in Hereford years ago but the mortgage company banged a £7,000 retention fee on us before they’d even consider saying Yes.
It was a 1920’s terrace house with all the original fixtures and fittings. Beautiful. With a long narrow back garden, 4 bedrooms and a self contained suite on the top floor that had been created in the 1940’s when the son of the family had married and he and his wife spent the first few years of their marriage living with his parents.
The £7,000 upfront was for renovation and modernisation. Needless to say…we didn’t have even a 10th of that on hand.
Oh. Himself wasn’t that upset. He always said it was far too close to Wales and his family for comfort!!!
Anyways.