Taunton woman Alice Gillett returns her grandfather's library book to Hereford Cathedral School 130 years late

Alice Gillett, 77, stumbled across a copy of 'The Microscope and its Revelations' by Dr William B. Carpenter while clearing through her late husband's possessions.

Flicking through the 1,000-page tome, she discovered a date stamp which showed it had been borrowed from the library of Hereford Cathedral School in 1886.

It had been loaned to Mrs Gillett's grandfather, Professor Arthur Boycott, who attended the school between 1886 and 1894.

Professor Arthur Boycott.

Mrs Gillett, from Taunton, has now returned the book to the school along with a letter apologising for her grandfather "stealing" it from their collection.

She wrote: "I am sorry to inform you that one of your former pupils, Professor A.E.Boycott, appears to have stolen the enclosed - I can't imagine how the school has managed without it!"

Luckily the school does not charge for overdue books, but if they had Mrs Gillett could have been landed with a bill of £7,446 - based on a 17p-a-day charge at most libraries.

Prof Boycott eventually graduated with first class honours in natural science and became a distinguished naturalist and pathologist.

Mrs Gillett said: "As a child he took great interest in natural history, and his particular passion was snails.

"At age 15 he published his first paper listing the snail species that could be found in Herefordshire.

"He also had a fascination with fauna and flora, which made him quite a hazardous driver because he was so obsessed with observing the hedgerows.

"My grandmother said he always had snails in his pockets."

A spokesperson for the school said: "We are delighted to be reunited with the book and are pleased it is still in such good condition."

*Last year, Sir Jay Tidmarsh returned a copy of Ashenden by W. Somerset Maugham which he had failed to return to the library at Taunton School, where he studied 65 years previously.

He accompanied the book with a £1,500 donation.