Books / Publications
River Voices
Extraordinary Stories from the Wye (Logaston Press 2018)
​
​River Voices is filled with stories of the Wye told through the words and photographs of those who have known the river all their lives – ferrymen and ferrywomen, boat builders and bridge builders, rowers and swimmers, anglers and poachers, ghillies and river bailiffs, otter hunters and more.
In the summer of 2017, a team of interviewers travelled up and down the Wye in Herefordshire, recording the experiences of the people who have lived and worked on the river, or simply been drawn to its waters in search of recreation or a jam jar of minnows. Thanks to them, a wealth of memories surfaced, of a much-loved river teeming with often startling tales, and peopled by a rich assortment of characters, many long-gone. Stories, photographs and artefacts have been gathered together and preserved, and the voices of the ‘ordinary’ men and women of the Wye now have their place in the history of the river.
The Scratch of the Hop
a social history of hop growing in the West Midlands (Logaston Press 2021)
​
The Scratch of the Hop: Hop Picking in Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire. is a book by Marsha O'Mahony that documents the history, culture, and, specifically, the, laborious, often poverty-stricken, yet communal experience of hop picking in the West Midlands. It covers the transition from hand-picking to machine harvesting.
​
-
Focus: The book explores the stories of the pickers, who often traveled from urban areas like Birmingham and London for a "working holiday".
-
Harvest Process: It details the intensive labor involved in pulling down the vines and removing the flowers (cones) into canvas bins.
-
Significance: It serves as an archive of the "white gold" industry, capturing oral histories and unseen photographs of the region's agricultural heritage
​
​
This Stolen Land
A People's History of the Gwent Levels (Seren 2024)
​
The Gwent Levels line the north shore of the Severn Estuary in South Wales: Chepstow at their head; their more famous cousin, the Somerset Levels, across the water; the Welsh capital, Cardiff at their feet. You could waste an hour crossing the Levels by motorway. Or brush aside the journey by train. But writer Marsha O’Mahony has chosen the slow route of foreshore, footpath, and country lane. Over the course of two years, she meandered from village to village collecting conversations and anecdotes as she went. The result is a remarkable oral and social history of this unique landscape and the people who live there.
Health Herefordshire (Herefordshire Lore)
Little Herefordshire Histories 2 - Little Herefordshire Histories 2 (Paperback 2020)
​
his monograph explores local social, cultural, and health history through 60 photographs. Focusing on the history of health in the county of Herefordshire.
Cider Riots
Bartonsham History Society
When the government introduced a cider tax on domestic production in 1763 and gave permission for excise men to enter homes to check, the country was in uproar. Cider Riots occurred across the West Country in particular. In Ledbury, mock funeral processions were held with a barrel of cider on a bier and women dressed in black following behind. One of the heroes of the hour was Herefordshire M.P Velters Cornwall who fought against the tax in parliament. Another Herefordian M.P who was a powerful advocate for cider was Charles Radcliffe Cook. His nickname was the M.P for Cider! Not only did he promote the cider makers’ cause but he wrote a book on the subject and got cider stocked at the House of Commons bar. He lived at Hellens Manor, with its important avenue of rare perry pear trees, and had a close working relationship with his Much Marcle neighbour, the cider makers Westons.
Pride of Place: reminiscence/oral history collaboration between Herefordshire Lore and Connexus Social Housing
Westgate Stories: oral history of Westgate Street for the Cathedral Quarter, Gloucester.
Burakumin: Academic paper
The Burakumin are a 1.5 to 3 million-strong, caste-like minority in Japan, historically marginalized for working in "unclean" occupations (butchery, tanning, undertaking) deemed impure by Buddhist and Shinto traditions. Often called "Japan's untouchables," they were segregated during the Edo period into specific hamlets (buraku). Despite legal emancipation in 1871, they face persistent social discrimination in marriage and employment today.
