This is the story of The Leintwardine Fishing Club; named after the fishery it leased and the nearby village.  One of the oldest fly-fishing clubs in the country and one of the most exclusive, the names of Lord Breadalbane, Lord Coventry, the Earl of Dudley, and Lord Northwick just some of the distinguished members listed from the county families of the Welsh Marches, the Midlands and London, alongside the local folk of Leintwardine.

This is not just the story of great men of the Victorian and Edwardian eras.  It is also the story of the influence of the loyal river-keepers and bailiffs and others from Leintwardine village who served the Club over the years.  It is a tale of the social intercourse between two Herefordshire estates and the Club members in their efforts to maintain and secure the continuance of a highly regarded Club for well over 160 years.  The book draws upon a great deal of unpublished material, including the earliest known set of printed rules for a fishing club in this country, and provides a privileged insight into the workings of a fishing club which hitherto has remained an enigma to both local people and angling historians. 

The Leintwardine Fishing Club still fishes the same water and visitors to Leintwardine today are able to refresh themselves at the same Lion Hotel used by past members as their ‘club’ house.  Readers of this book will be delighted to find that the landscape and environment has changed little in 200 years.   

The book contains some :   237pages; 74 illustrations and maps including 16 pages of colour photographs; biographical details of 172 past members; and Appendices which include Archdeacon William Lea’s description of A Day at Leintwardine (c1865), extracts from Lord Coventry’s Leintwardine fishing journal and an essay on the The Grasshopper,  “There is no method more killing”,Sir Humphry Davy.