Bill Laws

A 19th-century book of paintings of apples and pears may seem an unlikely candidate to be a landmark in British publishing, but the Herefordshire Pomona is just that. Herefordshire-based writer and historian Bill Laws captures the remarkable story of the Herefordshire Pomona, written by a country doctor and illustrated with 441 watercolours by his daughter and a virtually unknown artist.

Laws has written about country crafts including cider-making and brewing for publications including the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph. In this event he explores what the Herefordshire Pomona reveals and celebrates about the rich diversity of Herefordshire’s orchards, and how a humble collection about orcharding gained an international reputation.