 He went on to write 10 books and many articles on local history and archaeology, of which "The History of Ancient Tenures of Land in the Marches of North Wales", 1885, was regarded both by himself and other scholars as his best work.His health and finances deteriorated with each book he wrote, the latter particularly after the publication of an unsuccessful novel, "Owen Tanat" (1897).However, his financial situation improved in 1892 and 1894 when he received two legacies and in 1905 when he was awarded a Civil List pension.