Some years ago I made a study of the earldom of Hereford in the twelfth century. The material for this consisted principally of a collection of some three hundred charters: some were issued by the earls of Hereford and other members of their family, some by their tenants, others by the crown and by leading ecclesiastics, notably the bishops of Worcester and Hereford. My impression then was that this formed an interesting collection of charters, comparable with some of the collections which have been made from the North of England, though much more modest in scale and interest. Perhaps as much as half of this material was already available in print, and the cost of printing prohibited what might otherwise have been advantageous, the publication of all the texts in full. The core of these charters was made up of charters issued by the earls of Hereford and their family, and it is this group of charters, issued by three generations of the Gloucester family, which is now published here. Those already available in print have been listed, but not reprinted. Those hitherto unpublished have been printed in full. Charters nos 1–58 were issued by Earl Miles or his son Earl Roger. Nos 59–124 were issued by other members of the family: four were issued by Walter of Gloucester the constable, father of Earl Miles; five were issued by Cecily, wife of Earl Roger; the remainder were issued by the surviving sons of Earl Miles, Walter, Henry and Mahel, each of whom succeeded to the family's estates between 1155 and 1165, and by their sisters, Margaret de Bohun and Lucy fitz Herbert.

The documents here collected are exemplifications, enrolled in chancery, of indentures of service between John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, and a number of his retainers who secured confirmation of them from the reigning king: all but two of these exemplifications were issued by Richard II, when, after the duke's death, his lands were in the king's hand; and, in a large proportion of cases, the opportunity was taken to transfer the duke's former retainers to the king's sole service. The indentures themselves are examples of the type of contract, familiar in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, by which magnates formed the retinues of knights and squires who maintained their position in the country in time of peace and fought under their command in time of war. Of such retinues John of Gaunt's must have been one of the largest; and we have a more detailed knowledge of it than of any other, thanks to the large number of indentures and other evidences recorded in the two volumes of his register.

Joseph Jewell (1763–1846), the subject of the autobiographical memoir which follows, was one of the pioneers of the fine chemical industry in England. Starting his career in practical chemistry as porter at a well-known pharmacy in the City, this remarkable man was soon placed in charge of the ‘elaboratory’ there, spent many years in making chemicals, and eventually, in 1807, became a partner in the firm of Howard, Jewell and Gibson, manufacturers of fine chemicals, whose laboratory was then situated at Stratford, in Essex, about four miles from the City, beyond the River Lea. Here he was actively engaged, as partner and chemical technician, for a further twenty-four years, retiring at the end of 1830. The manuscript of his memoir has been preserved in the archives of the firm, which is now known as Howards of Ilford Limited.