While Dick Marshall pulled pints at one of Herefordshire's best loved pubs the conversation with customers often turned to his collection of remarkable cars. Flashback recalls the horseless carriages of Hampton Bishop.

'AS a driver he admitted - albeit tongue in cheek - to some wayward ways, but as a car owner he exuded tender loving care.

Dick Marshall, who was 'mine host' at the Bunch of Carrots during the late 1940s, gave the renowned Herefordshire inn another title - 'The Hampton Bishop Horseless Carriage Corporation (Unlimited Liabilities) Office and Works'.

He was, quite simply, car crazy and had turned the country pub's outbuildings into what he called his 'stable' for a collection of valuable veteran vehicles.

Dick Marshall fell in love with Herefordshire while working at the Royal Ordnance Factory at Rotherwas during the war and when the Carrots came on the market in 1947 he snapped it up. He had been driving since he was 12 when a Sunbeam sparked his enthusiasm for motors. Next came a Darracq which, although officially a two-seater, saw its passenger capacity greatly increased.

''When I used to play rugger I would collect the team and somehow or other we managed to arrive at the field with the complete XV festooned about the car,'' he revealed.

At the age of 22 he rode in the country's first dirt-track race at the old King's Oak speedway at Stratford. He readily admitted receiving no fewer than six summonses for a variety of motoring offences while heading to the track! While owning up to such Mr Toad-like misdemeanours behind the wheel he truly loved his cars. But they were no mere museum pieces.

Giving a toot on the horn and double declutching with consummate ease, he took them to the roads of Herefordshire and, sometimes, beyond.

There was an 1897 de Dion single-cylinder car which was presented to him by legendary ciderman Len Weston, of Much Marcle. Another delight was a Leyland Thomas racer, built in 1922 to the design of JG Parry Thomas who was killed on the Pendine Sands. This car had lapped Brooklands at 125 mph and a quarter of a century on was still capable of attaining that speed.

A Beeston tricycle with a de Dion engine took part in a London to Brighton run and was set a target speed of 12 mph. It arrived on the south coast 15 minutes early! Another member of the 'stable' was a 12-cylinder 57 hp Packard limousine capable of over 100 mph.

But Dick Marshall's pride and joy was his 1906 Wolseley originally owned by Sir John Siddeley. The publican would ooze enthusiasm when recounting details of one particular journey in this remarkable car. The trip was from London to Hereford and it took 4 hrs 39 mins at an average speed of 28 mph.

''We left Shepperton-on-Thames on the 128-mile run and one-and-a-half hours later were on the Oxford by-pass with our tool kit of no spanners, one roll of copper wire and a pair of pliers.

''Over-revving caused a stop of 40 minutes to re-time the engine and there was one stop for one pint (oil) and another for one pint (beer). We had a lot of rude gestures en route, but still managed to pass heavily-laden lorries on hills. ''But our real reward came at Newent. We were feeling really tired, but I think the whole population must have turned out to cheer as we went through. It was marvellous.''

And so on into Herefordshire where folk, leaning on cottage gates, looked on in awe as the wag and his wonderful Wolseley passed by, fleetingly providing an echo of motoring's pioneering days.