Famous for pork pies and Stilton cheese, the other side of Melton Mowbray is also revealed in this fascinating collection of more than 200 photographs - a playground for royalty and the aristocracy. Here, amongst the finest foxhunting country in the land, the future King Edward VIII met Mrs Wallis Simpson and Count Zborowski, the creator of Chitty Bang Bang, grew up.

This selection contains archive images of a working market town, its stately lodges, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert with the Belvoir Hunt - and the day the Marquis of Waterford and his fellow huntsman quite literally painted the town red. The institutions, events and people of the town - the Christmas Cheer Committee of 1911, W.G. Grace turning out for the home team in 1872, notorious local rogue 'Guss' Wortley - are all captured in this an essential tribute to the town's heritage.

With the majority of these images dating from the Second World War, Melton Mowbray offers the reader a unique glimpse of an era that is fast becoming the nostalgic memory of the few.

Books by Jenny Allsop