Henry Brookes, shoemaker and geologist

Henry Brookes was a fine example of the Victorian self-educated working man. His death in 1884 was reported in the Hereford Times: 'I must mention, also, the name of Mr Henry Brookes, who died at Ledbury 16th April last, aged 64 years. Deceased was a well-known authority upon the geology of this neighbourhood. He was a shoemaker and was for many years associated with the ringers of the Ledbury church bells.’               As a shoemaker he was not of the social status to join The Malvern Field Club (founded 1853) or the Worcester and Woolhope Clubs.  The upheaval of the Industrial Age inspired enquiring minds to explore the world around them and many such Clubs sprang up, attracting those interested in scientific discovery. Their members were largely clergymen, medical men and those of independent means. Their outings were impressive affairs, starting with a hearty breakfast at an inn or great house (even an asylum!), then at 3 o’clock convening for dinner and discussion. The following account appeared in the Malvern Advertiser 2 July 1859) “On 29 June 1859 under a clear sky and the brightest auspices .... the members of the Malvern, Worcestershire, and Woolhope Clubs arrived at the Feathers, soon after 11 o’clock, in considerable numbers with many elegantly dressed ladies, who accompanied the Naturalists throughout the day’s excursion…at 12 o’clock the inhabitants of Ledbury were rather astonished at seeing at least 100 gentlemen and ladies, some bearing hammers and satchels and others carrying insect nets or botanical cases, pass through the Homend, en route for the (new) Tunnel ….. a visit was made to the humble dwelling of Henry Brooks, a working man of Ledbury, who, interlacing labour and geological acumen, has collected together a considerable number of local fossils, which, with characteristic ingenuity, he has hung (suspended by string) all over the walls of his apartment so that they can be seen at a glance with great facility.” “He was presented with books and maps by those who are pleased to encourage the cultivation of a taste for natural history in working men.”              Despite such recognition it was not until 1880 that Henry appears as a “Corresponding Member” of the Malvern Club. He and George Piper F.G.S. (President of the Malvern and Woolhope Clubs in the 1880s) often explored the locality. The excavation of the railway tunnel and cuttings in Ledbury in the late 1850s allowed examination below Dog Hill. The Aymestry Limestone passage-beds between the Old Red and the Upper Silurian formations yielded dwarfed fish species: Pentamerus Knightii, which Henry extracted. He also found the rare fossil fish Auchenaspis. He donated some valuable specimens to the Malvern Club.                Henry, was baptised at Eastnor Parish Church on 29 December 1816, the son of Ann and John Brookes a carpenter who possibly worked on the construction of Eastnor Castle (1810 – 24). Henry became a fellmonger (the ancient, skilled craft of preparing hides for tanning) and then by the 1840s a shoemaker in Ledbury. In 1841 he was lodging with Benjamin Bennett, a beer retailer at The Packhorse (later The White Horse; the building is still in the Homend). Henry married Benjamin’s daughter Ann in 1842 and raised 7 or 8 daughters and one son in Homend Street. By 1867 his trades were listed as both a shoemaker and fossil collector.