Julian Hunt was a member of staff at Birmingham Reference Library and his first book, Arriving at Dinas Mawddwy, was published in 1973. Three years later he became Local Studies Librarian in Oldham, where he was co-author of Cotton Mills of Oldham. In 1988 he moved to Buckinghamshire County Library and has written numerous histories of Buckinghamshire market towns, including the highly regarded History of Amersham. Retiring in 2003, he devoted himself to the organization of the research into Halesowen for this book, and remains an active historian.