Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club

The Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club was founded in 1851 "for the practical study, in all its branches, of the Natural History of Herefordshire and the districts immediately adjacent".

[1] The club's Transactions have been published regularly since 1856, and early issues suggest that the membership took an interest not only in geology, but in fossils, botany, meteorology, ichthyology, and entomology.

Under the enthusiastic direction of founder and past president of the club, Dr Henry Graves Bull, two local artists, his daughter Edith Elizabeth Bull and Alice Blanche Ellis, were engaged to paint watercolours of the fruit, whilst an honorary member, Dr Robert Hogg, vice-president of the Royal Horticultural Society, wrote text to accompany the paintings.

[5] Since the club wished the book to be of practical use, a revised but inexpensive version of the text, called The Apple and Pear as Vintage Fruits, was published in 1886.

The foray, led by the noted mycologist Worthington G. Smith and local expert Edwin Lees, was followed by a special fungus dinner.

These Woolhope fungus events became so well known that the word "foray" was widely adopted for mycological field meetings and remains the standard term today, not only in Britain but in North America and elsewhere.

In June 1921, whilst mapping old sites near Blackwardine, Watkins noticed some surprising alignments which suggested to him a series of prehistoric trackways marked by ancient landmarks some of which were still visible.

[9] The Woolhope Club still organises a series of field meetings each year, with special interest groups for archaeological research, geology, and natural history.