After a life of public service Sir Matthew Nathan retired to the Manor of West Coker near Yeovil in Somerset. He developed a keen interest in his new home; he began first to read about it, then to deepen and widen his research, and then to turn his knowledge into this connected account, which was originally published in 1957. The local sources - the manorial records of his own estate, the parish and county records - were very rich. With great thoroughness he incorporated them in a local history of the area up to the nineteenth century. Nearly all the forces which affect the affairs of the nation can be traced in the records of the area. It is local and amateur history, but of the best calibre, and there is much to interest historians interested in local records. These are liberally quoted and there are detailed maps.