The History Press is a British publishing company specialising in the publication of titles devoted to local and specialist history. It claims to be the United Kingdom's largest independent publisher in this field, publishing approximately 300 books per year and with a backlist of over 12,000 titles.
Created in December 2007, The History Press integrated core elements of the
NPI Media Group within it, including all existing published titles, plus all the future contracts and publishing rights contained in them. At the time of founding, the imprints included
Phillimore
Phillimore is the surname of:
People:
* Augustus Phillimore (1822–1897), Royal Navy admiral
* Claud Phillimore, 4th Baron Phillimore (1911–1994), English architect
*Egerton Phillimore (1856–1937), British scholar of Welsh literature and lang ...
, Pitkin Publishing, Spellmount, Stadia, Sutton Publishing, Tempus Publishing and Nonsuch.
History
The roots of The History Press's publishing heritage can be traced back to 1897 when
William Phillimore
William Phillimore Watts Phillimore (formerly Stiff) MA BCL (27 October 1853 – 9 April 1913) was an English solicitor, genealogist and publisher.
Early life
William Phillimore Watts Stiff was born on 27 October 1853 in Nottingham, the eldest ...
founded a publishing business which still carries his name, however the company itself evolved from the amalgamation of multiple smaller publishing houses in 2007 that formed part of the
NPI Media Group. The largest component of the NPI Media Group was Tempus Publishing, founded by
Alan Sutton in 1993.
Tempus Publishing's early years were spent producing local history titles, principally books of old photographs depicting towns and villages throughout the UK. Tempus Publishing later opened offices in both the US and Europe, although these are no longer in use today by The History Press.
During the 1990s, the list diversified in a number of directions. Tempus Publishing produced their first books on archaeology, as well as books on more general history subjects. The organisation became a leading publisher of transport material including maritime history.
Local history remained the bedrock of Tempus Publishing with (at the time of amalgamation into The History Press) over 1500 titles now published. Tempus Publishing ceased operations in 2007 at the same time as the formation of The History Press and thereafter became an imprint.
THP Ireland is the award-winning Irish imprint of The History Press Group. Based in Dublin, it publishes a wide range of books including history, current affairs, biography, photography and historical fiction.
In 2017 the heritage Pitkin Publishing imprint series was sold to
Pavilion Books.
Offices
The History Press, based in and around central
Cheltenham
Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...
in
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
is supported by international offices in Ireland. Their UK office may be found at 97 St. George's Place, Cheltenham, GL50 3QB.
Books and genres
The core genres offered by The History Press can be broken into the following categories: Archaeology, The Arts, Biography, Crime History, Genealogy, General History (Ancient and Medieval through to Modern), Local History (broken into regions
THP Local History
), Military History, The National Trust guidebooks, Royal History, Social History, Sport, Transport History (including Aviation, Railway, Maritime and Motoring) and Gift books. The Mystery Press imprint is home to The History Press' historical crime fiction books.
See also
* List of publishing houses
References
External links
*
THP Ireland
{{DEFAULTSORT:History Press
Book publishing companies of England
British companies established in 2007
Companies based in Cheltenham
Publishing companies established in 2007
History Press books