Purchases assisted by the Friends of Lancashire Archives
Lathom House Scrapbook
DP509
The purchase of this delightful scrapbook for Lathom Hall closely
followed the acquisition of the Red Book for Lathom.
The album contains sketches, poems, letters, newscuttings, and
programmes relating to theatrical productions at Lathom House
and elsewhere, and includes a licence granted to the Earl of
Lathom for the performance of stage plays at Lathom House.
[Purchased by the Friends of Lancashire Archives in 2005 at a cost
of £750]
Humphrey Repton’s ‘Red Book’ for Lathom House
DP504
One of the most expensive purchases ever made for
Lancashire Archives was the ‘Red Book’ for proposed
improvements of the landscape at Lathom House,
produced by Humphrey Repton [1752-1818] for the
Bootle Wilbraham family. Repton, one of the leading
landscape architects of his day, carried out the survey
at Lathom in September 1792. It is one of his few
commissions in the North West. This ‘Red Book’ is
not bound in red leather but does have the ‘before’
and ‘after’ views which are a feature of his work.
[Purchased in June 2004 with financial assistance from the Museum, Libraries and
Archives Council, the Victoria and Albert Purchase Grant Fund, the National Art
Collections Fund, the Heritage Lottery Fund, Friends of the National Libraries and
the Friends of Lancashire Archives, who contributed £5,000 to the $75,000 price]
Rothwell papers
DP 493 acc 9060
William Talbot Rothwell was a merchant operating in Liverpool and Smyrna during
the period c 1830-45. This collection of papers relates to his trading interests, his
estate at 'Foxholes' in Ellel; and the property and trading interests of Thomas Cock in
Barbados.
This small but very interesting collection is not yet catalogued. It will require
someone with knowledge of French, Italian, Greek, and possibly Turkish.
Volunteers welcome!
[Purchased by the Friends of Lancashire Archives in 2001 at a cost of £425]
Anthony Hewitson’s diaries and other records
DP 512
The Friends of Lancashire Archives once again came to the rescue in 2006 when the
County Archivist was offered a chance to purchase some of the diaries of Anthony
Hewitson and his recollections of his earlier life. At the time the records were in
Australia but their transfer was negotiated and the Friends agreed to buy them.
Hewitson (1836-1912) was a well known Preston journalist and local historian. He
owned the Preston Chronicle between 1868 and 1890 and wrote for it under the pen
name Atticus. His diaries are therefore a rich source of information about Preston
life between 1865 and 1912. Unfortunately the series of diaries is incomplete and no
diary exists for a Preston Guild year.
Margaret Dickinson and Andrew Hobbs have transcribed the diaries and volunteers
from the Friends have assisted in checking the transcriptions
[Purchased by the Friends of Lancashire Archives at a cost of £2250]
Townley of Townley archive collection
DDTO
One of the first challenges for the newly formed Friends of Lancashire Archives was
to raise money to help secure the Townley collection for Lancashire. They raised
money through a wide range of events and activities and, in October 1990,
contributed £2500 of the £60,000 required to buy the collection, which was already
deposited in the record office.
The archive relates to the Townley family of Townley Hall, Burnley and contains a
large collection of mediaeval manuscripts, including the oldest document held at
Lancashire Archives. This is a grant by Henry I to the bishop of Lincoln made in 1115
– almost 900 years ago.
The Forton charters
DDX 161
The Forton charters have experienced several changes of ownership over the last 25
years and have been in and out of Record Office care. These mediaeval documents
relate to lands and privileges in Forton, mostly belonging to
Cockersand Abbey. The collection was finally secured in
2009
[Purchased with the assistance of the Friends of Lancashire
Archives who contributed £1250 of the £5000 purchase price]
Letters Patent appointing a Guide across the Sands
DP 526
The most recent document purchase by
the Friends of Lancashire Archives was a
£1000 (56%) contribution towards the
cost of this George II parchment
document appointing John Carter junior
as the official guide across the sands of
Morecambe Bay in 1728.
This document was in poor condition
when it arrived and has been given
conservation treatment by preservation staff at Lancashire Archives. A copy of the
document will be displayed at the Maritime Museum in Lancaster.
Abbot and Co, stained glass manufacturers of Lancaster
DDAB
The Friends contributed £500 towards the
Heritage Lottery funded purchase of this
important archive in September 1996. Abbots
designed and made stained glass windows and
other glass features for many churches, public
buildings, commercial premises and private
houses.
The archive is not complete but includes a
wide range of records - day books, workmen's
time books, order books and other financial
records, correspondence and several boxes of
designs. There are also cartoons – preparatory
drawings for the windows, often drawn at the
actual size. These present a huge conservation and storage problem.
The archive has not yet been catalogued, but several years ago the Friends of
Lancashire Archives used designs from the collection to create a tea towel and
greetings cards.
Lancaster Canal Papers
DP483
The main section of the canal, from Preston to Tewitfield, opened in 1797 so this
miscellaneous collection of printed Lancaster Canal Company material comprises
some of its earliest records. It includes details of shares, 1793-1816; committee and
annual reports 1795-1819; receipts 1793-97; and plans. The collection has not been
listed and would make an interesting project for a willing volunteer.
[Purchased by the Friends of Lancashire Archives for £550 in 1999]
Civil War letter
DP 491
This letter to Colonel John Moore, Vice-Admiral for Lancashire, from Robert Rich, 2nd
Earl of Warwick, commander of the Fleet for Parliament, relates to an incident in the
River Wyre in 1645.
[Purchased by the Friends of Lancashire Archives for £341 in 2001]
Records of Standish family of Duxbury
DP 502
Material relating to the Standish family frequently appears on the market because of
the connection with Miles Standish, who travelled on the Mayflower in 1620 as
military advisor for the settlers of Plymouth Colony.
This interesting collection of records includes
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a militia list for Duxbury dating from 1448
a letter signed by the inhabitants of Chorley for the removal of their school master
1691
a rental 1770
an account book of Sir Frank Standish for1778
[Purchased by the Friends of Lancashire Archives for £941 in 2004]
Hylda Baker's archive
DDX 1683 acc 10465
Hylda Baker (1905-1986) appears to have kept everything - all her
scripts, fan mail, bills and theatrical ephemera - and a large part of
her archive was deposited at the Record Office in 1997.
When an additional cache of material was offered for sale in 2008
the Friends of Lancashire Archives contributed £500 towards the
£3500 purchase price.
Joan Langford collection - Barrie document
DDX2681 acc 10749
Specification of William Barrie for the invention of an improved reflective leveller, 7
Jul 1856
[Purchased by the Friends of Lancashire Archives for £177 in 2010]
Pointing the way
The Friends support Lancashire Archives in many other ways and in January 2012
agreed to pay for much-needed street signage to the record office building.
Law Family Papers
DP 522
This collection relates to the Law family of Hawkshead, particularly to the business
activities of George Law in Jamaica.
DP 522/1/2, for example, includes 63 copy business letters from George Law of
Kingston, Jamaica, mainly to suppliers in England (some including abstracts of
cargoes) and also copy invoices for goods shipped from Liverpool to Kingston. All
give vessel name and a detailed cargo list.
Also included is DP 522/4/3, a rare and possibly unique "sessions book" which
records meetings of Justices of the Peace in Lonsdale Hundred in the early 1790s.
[Purchased with a £3,000 contribution from the Friends of Lancashire Archives in
2010]