Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk, employed Duncumb to write a history of Hereford. At the death of the Duke in 1815 the work was discontinued, only v. 1, 1804, and v. 2, pt. 1, 1812, having been published, and a few pages of v. 2, pt. 2, printed. In 1837 the unsold portions of the work and the unpublished pages were purchased by Thomas Thorpe, who made an index to v. 2, pt. 1, and placed the work again on the market. Vol. 2 was completed in 1866 by W.H. Cooke, who published the 3rd. vol. in 1882. Vol. III has title and imprint: Collections toward the history and antiquities of the County of Hereford. In continuation of Duncumb's history ... By William Henry Cooke ... London, J. Murray, 1882- 1912.