KIDDERMINSTER in the 19th century has been brought to life after letters written to The Shuttle have been published in a book.

Local author and former music promoter John Combe has collected the letters of Ebenezer Guest, who started writing into the newspaper in 1905.

Printed under the title ‘Old Kidderminster’ the letters, which were about the town between 1822 and 1905, were later stored as photocopies in the town’s library.

Ebenezer died in August 1913 leaving behind a wealth of information on the history of the town which Mr Combe has reproduced in his latest book – Letters From Ebenezer.

The informative letters take the readers back to the 1800s giving an insight into everyday life of Victorian Kidderminster.

They speak of the rise of the carpet industry and the decline of cloth industries, the shops and pubs of the area, the schools and churches and the progress of the new streets in the town.

Mr Combe's daughter, Charlotte, illustrated the cover of the book and Mr Combe has written an introduction to the letters.

Ebenezer was born in 1822 in a flat above Cheshire’s Printers in Vicar Street, next to the Three Tuns pub which was demolished in 1929 for a branch of Woolworths.

He had been a rent collector, bailiff, census enumerator and helped to raise funds for the Rowland Hill and Richard Baxter statues.

This is the third book John has written about the town, with his previous two – Get Your Kicks on the A456 Volumes 1 and 2 - detailing the history of music and musicians in the area from the 1950s up to the millennium.

All three books John has written about the town, with Letters From Ebenezer costing £10.99, are available from WH Smith in Kidderminster or online at lettersfromebenezer.co.uk