Welcome to the Hobnob Press Website        

ANOTHER FREE DOWNLOAD !

Earlier in the year, when lockdown first struck and the bookshops were shut, I made available for downloading as a pdf file a book I had just written and published, Salisbury: History around us. This seemed to be appreciated, and I know that a number of people subsequently bought it from Rocketship Bookshop, the History Bookshop, Salisbury Information Centre or Salisbury Museum. I had hoped that the Salisbury branch of Waterstones might see their way to stocking it, but so far the manager tells me that he has been too busy to order it (it was published in March). His head office tells me that he has now found time to ‘set up the title to be ordered’, but this does not seem to have resulted in an order as yet. Perhaps if a few of you went in and asked about it he might find a bit more time and actually stock it!

But never mind. I’ve moved on, and I would like to introduce you to a character who has been occupying a good deal of my time through the summer, and whose work I have now published. John Taylor came to Salisbury by boat in 1623 from London, via the Thames estuary, the English Channel and the River Avon. Quite an achievement, and then he wrote an account of his epic voyage in prose and verse. It was one of fourteen such adventures, and I have collected them all together, edited and annotated them, and combined them with some other pamphlets that he wrote relevant to travel at the period. The result, John Taylor, Travels and Travelling, 1616-1653, is just out (£18.95, for a very fat paperback), and if you would like to read some of it, here (for a limited period) is a free download of four of his journeys, to York, Salisbury, up the Thames, and meandering around Yorkshire and the north Midlands. More details are on the Latest Book News page.

If you would like to keep up to the minute about what we are doing and post comments, why not follow the Hobnob Press facebook page which I have just begun?

John Chandler

Hobnob Press

is a publisher of books chiefly about Wiltshire, Dorset and the surrounding region, owned and run by local historian Dr John Chandler. In its present form it has been publishing since 2001, although its origins go back to 1983. On these webpages you will find details of all Hobnob titles currently available, books produced by Hobnob Press for other organisations and individuals, information for prospective authors, and an ISBN listing of all titles ever published by Hobnob Press. I do not offer an online ordering and payment facility (see the Ordering Information page of this website), but most titles, including those now out of print, can readily be obtained through retail and online booksellers. In case of difficulty email me. Oh, and in case you are wondering, Hobnob has nothing to do with biscuits ― it took its name (in 1983, long before the biscuits) from that of the hobby horse that accompanied Salisbury’s processional giant, now in Salisbury Museum.


Still Hobnobbing . . .
Publishing has always been only one of several local history activities that I pursue, and between 2011 and 2016 most of my time was taken up in developing, as county editor, the work of the Victoria County History in Gloucestershire. For this reason my typesetting and publishing output was reduced. Now that this workload has diminished (although I am still working for the Victoria County History in Wiltshire and Gloucestershire) I am reviving Hobnob Press, and have begun to produce new editions of some of my own work as print-on-demand titles, as well as important new works of local and regional history. I also help colleagues and friends in the local history world to self-publish print-on-demand titles, and details of recent collaborations are also to be found here.  And I now serve as chair of the Publishing Committee of the British Association for Local History. Please explore this website, in which I highlight new and recent titles, and past successes.

Local history publishing, in common with all forms of information management and academic exchange, has entered new and exciting but uncharted waters, and it is very unclear how this sector will develop. My hope is that Hobnob Press will continue to play an enlightened part in that development, and I welcome your views on my approach. Thank you for visiting this site.

John Chandler BA PhD FSA