A BOOK by a well-known local Alcester Historian has been  published posthumously.

Pauline Sands, who died in January 2014, aged 77, several months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, spent much of her life researching the history of the town, including transcribing the papers of Fulke Greville.

Her work has now been printed in a new book entitled Transcripts of the Papers of Fulke Greville.

Greville, from Alcester, served Queen Elizabeth I and King James I as Secretary to the Principality of Wales, Treasurer of the Navy and Chancellor of the Exchequer.

He was knighted by Elizabeth in 1597 and later bestowed with the title of Lord Brooke by James, who also granted him Knowle Park and Warwick Castle, the latter of which he spent a large amount on restoration work.

He was later murdered by one of his servants.

Ms Sands, who set up several exhibitions into different research projects at Globe House, was independent in her work, never joining any of Alcester’s local history groups.

Local History Society president David Moulson, who knew Ms Sands for many years, said: "She would be absolutely thrilled about this.

"I did have a couple of meetings with her before she died because she wanted to have something published as a result of all the work she had done on the Greville’s.

"She was keen to try and achieve this before she died, unfortunately there was not time.

"This is a very important family in the history of the town," he added.

Alistair Brewin, from publishers Brewin Books, added: "Sadly, Pauline knew that she was unlikely to live long enough to see the publication of her book, but gave clear instructions as to how she wanted it to look.

"She had spent many hours transcribing the documents and wanted to make sure that her research did not go to waste. I very much hope that she would be delighted with the finished product."

To buy a copy of the book, which costs £14.95, visit Studley publishers Brewin Books’ website brewinbooks.com.

Copies can also be ordered via amazon.co.uk.