The history of Hereford began with the establishment of the Saxon St Guthlac's monastery on the site of what is now Castle Green. Slightly later came the building of the cathedral, around AD 680. The cathedral city, destroyed by the Welsh and repaired by the Normans after 1066, was visited by Charles I, but its royal connections don't end there. Nell Gwynne, actress and mistress of Charles II, is said to have been born here, in 1650. Today, Hereford extends far beyond the medieval walls and in 'Secret Hereford' local author David Phelps goes behind the façades of the familiar to discover the lesser-known aspects of the city's long and illustrious past as he takes the reader on an enlightening and entertaining journey through its less well-known history, delving beneath the surface to reveal dark deeds and strange tales with long-forgotten facts and amusing stories.