The appointment was described as "sending an armoured car into an orchard of apple trees" and Henson had doubts about accepting a mainly rural diocese rather than ministering to the urban poor. Nevertheless, the clergy and laity of Hereford gave him a warm welcome, and he enjoyed working with the incumbents of country parishes. They appreciated his delicacy in not intruding unduly into local church concerns, and it was remarked that "he treated all the world as his equals". During his brief time at Hereford he published only one book, "Christian Liberty" (1918), a collection of sermons.