Hanbury was a follower of Sir William Holdsworth, England's leading academic lawyer between the wars, and as his literary executor collaborated in the editing and publication of the last four volumes of Holdsworth's "History of English Law" (1952–66).
Hanbury was influenced by Sir William Holdsworth, a prominent English legal scholar during the interwar period, and worked with him to compile and publish the final four volumes of Holdsworth's comprehensive history of English law between 1952 and 1966.