Herefordshire Folk Tales

About this book

Herefordshire Folk Tales gathers thirty fairy tales and legends rooted in the county’s oral tradition, preserving stories shaped by local memory and storytelling. David Phelps brings together accounts of strange happenings, old beliefs and attempts to explain the natural and spiritual world.

Among the collection are the tale of a Saxon king of East Anglia who became the patron saint of Hereford Cathedral, the black hound associated with Baskerville Hall and the story that helped inspire Arthur Conan Doyle, alongside a medieval love story. The book presents these narratives as enduring pieces of Herefordshire folklore, retaining their wit, mystery and sense of place while making them suitable for reading aloud or alone.