| Document Reference | My |
| Title | Papers and Correspondence of Charles Brinsley Marlay of Westmeath, Ireland and his family, 1559 and 1778-1910 |
| Date | 1559-1912 |
| Extent | 24 boxes |
| Abstract | Principal document types present include; correspondence, journals, newspaper cuttings, ephemera. |
| Level | Fonds |
| Access Conditions | Accessible to all readers. |
| Admin History | The collection takes its name from the Irish family through which the papers descended, but other Irish families are also represented. The descent begins with Catherine Maria Dawson (1762-1851), whose first husband was a Louth landowner, James Tisdall, by whom she had two children, James J.T. Tisdall and Catherine A.L. Tisdall. Her husband died in 1797 and in the following year she married Charles William Bury, (1764-1835), Lord Tullamore (or Tullamoore), later Viscount and subsequently Earl of Charleville. Their son succeeded to the Earldom on the death of his father. Lord Charleville was one of the post-1800 representative peers for Ireland and the Charlevilles divided their time between their country estates, centred on Charleville Castle, Tullamore, and a London residence.
Catherine's first son, James Tisdall (1792-1850), was educated at Eton College, and Christ Church, Oxford. He remained a bachelor and died in December 1850, a few months before his mother. Her daughter Catherine A.L. Tisdall (1796-1882) married Lieutenant Colonel George Marlay in 1828. Marlay died two years later leaving Catherine with two young sons, James and Charles, and a daughter, Catherine, born after his death. She did not remarry.
Catherine Marlay's younger son James (1830-1843) drowned at the age of thirteen. Her daughter, Catherine Louisa Marlay (1831-1854) married Lord John Manners in 1851, but died after childbirth in 1854. Manners, who became 7th Duke of Rutland in 1888, remained closely connected with the Marlay family. He and his young son, Henry, (later 8th Duke of Rutland) lived with his mother in law Catherine Marlay for a considerable time following his wife's death. Manners married Janetta Hughan in 1862.
The elder son of Lt.-Col. George and Catherine Marlay, Charles Brinsley Marlay (1829-1912), was educated at Eton College, and Trinity College, Cambridge. He remained a bachelor and lived into his eighties, dividing his time between his Irish estates (Belvedere in Westmeath, inherited from Lord Lanesborough through his father), his London residence and travelling on the Continent. |
| Custodial History | Between 1898 and 1905, Charles Brinsley Marlay was closely acquainted with Richard Warwick Bond (see the Bond Collection, Bd). At Marlay's request, Bond edited William Bercher's 1559 'Nobility of Women' for the Roxburghe Club. As a result of this relationship, Marlay bequeathed his collection of family manuscripts to Bond. Following Bond's death in 1943, the Marlay papers came to the University Library as part of his own bequest. |
| Description | The first part of the collection (My 1-2423) consists largely of correspondence between Dawson, Tisdall, Bury and Marlay family members and from a wide array of prominent contempories, from the eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries. Particularly significant is the role of Lady Charleville (1762-1851), and correspondence between her and other women in the family circle make the collection particularly rich for domestic and social history. The family's literary and intellectual tastes are also evident. Subjects range from management of family estates to contemporary events, social, political and cultural. Occasional correspondents include Shelley, writing as a schoolboy at Eton, Maria Edgeworth and Amelia Opie.
Within the series concerning Charles Brinsley Marlay (My 2424-4400) survive a number of bundles concerning the Belvedere Estate in Westmeath. References can be found throughout the papers to the Charleville's own seat at Tullamore, King's County [co. Offaly].
A number of journals covering various European tours are present, together with sketch books and commonplace books. In Charles Marlay's papers can be found printed ephemera, including theatre programmes, posters and newspaper cuttings from the late eighteenth century.
The earliest manuscript present is a copy of William Bercher's 1559 work, 'A Dyssputacion of the Nobylytye off Wymen'. Papers with it record the editorial process which led to its publication by the Roxburghe Club in 1905. |
| MgtGroup | Family and estate collections |
| Literary and cultural records |
| MgtSubGroup | Literary Correspondence |
| 16th-19thC manuscripts |
| Arrangement | The first section of the papers (My 1-1069) retains something of the original arrangement by Lady Charleville into separate bundles concerning different correspondents. The remainder of the papers appear to have been sorted by R. Warwick Bond. Bundles are given in approximate chronological order within larger groupings, although many letters are undated. |
| Language | English |
| French |
| Italian |
| Term | Administration of estates - Ireland |
| Great Britain - Social life and customs - 18th century |
| Great Britain - Social life and customs - 19th century |
| Great Britain - Social life and customs - 20th century |
| Family - England |
| Family - Ireland |
| Voyages and travels |
| FindingAids | Copyright in all Finding Aids belongs to the University of Nottingham.
In the Reading Room, King's Meadow Campus:
Typescript catalogue in two parts, 380 pp and 300 pp
At the National Register of Archives, The National Archives, Kew:
Old version of typescript catalogue, 43 pp
Online:
Online catalogue accessible from the Manuscripts and Special Collections website. |
| Copyright | Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Keeper of Manuscripts and Special Collections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk). |
| ReprodnNote | Photocopies and photographic copies can be supplied for educational use and private study purposes only, depending on the condition of the documents. |
| Related Material | Papers of R. Warwick Bond (ref: Bd) |
| Westmeath County Library, Ireland, holds Bury family (Earls of Charleville) family and estate papers, 17th cent-20th cent |
| Trinity College Dublin holds Bury family estate papers, 1711-1814 |
| The Public Record of Northern Ireland (PRONI) holds photocopies of the Howard Bury Papers (ref: T3069), which include correspondence, and travel journals relating to the Bury family (Earls of Charleville) and the Marlay family. Many of the papers closely relate to items within the Marlay collection. |
| Related Record | Bd |
| Publication Note | R. Warwick Bond (ed), 'The Marlay Letters, 1778-1820', (London; 1937)
R. Warwick Bond, 'Addenda, Glossary and Index to William Bercher's Nobility of Women' (privately printed for presentation to the Roxburghe Club, 1905) |
| Code | PersonName | Dates of existence |
| NA912 | Bury; Catherine Maria (1762-1851); 1st Countess of Charleville; née Dawson; m 1stly James Tisdall | 1762-1851 |
| NA913 | Bury; Charles W. (1764-1835); 1st Earl of Charleville | 1764-1835 |
| NA914 | Bury; Charles William George (1822-1859); 3rd Earl of Charleville | 1822-1859 |
| NA915 | Tisdall; James Thomas Townsley (1792-1850); son of Catherine Tisdall Bury | 1792-1850 |
| NA916 | Marlay; Catherine Anderson Louisa (1796-1882); Mrs; née Tisdall m 1828 Lt Col George Marlay | 1796-1882 |
| NA917 | Marlay; James (1830-1843); son of Catherine Marlay | 1830-1843 |
| NA918 | Manners; Catherine Louisa Georgina (1831-1854); Lady Manners; née Marlay m 1851 Lord John Manners | 1831-1854 |
| NA919 | Marlay; Charles Brinsley (1829-1912); son of Catherine Marlay | 1829-1912 |
| NA912 | Bury; Catherine Maria (1762-1851); 1st Countess of Charleville; née Dawson; m 1stly James Tisdall | 1762-1851 |
| NA913 | Bury; Charles W. (1764-1835); 1st Earl of Charleville | 1764-1835 |
| NA914 | Bury; Charles William George (1822-1859); 3rd Earl of Charleville | 1822-1859 |
| NA915 | Tisdall; James Thomas Townsley (1792-1850); son of Catherine Tisdall Bury | 1792-1850 |
| NA916 | Marlay; Catherine Anderson Louisa (1796-1882); Mrs; née Tisdall m 1828 Lt Col George Marlay | 1796-1882 |
| NA917 | Marlay; James (1830-1843); son of Catherine Marlay | 1830-1843 |
| NA918 | Manners; Catherine Louisa Georgina (1831-1854); Lady Manners; née Marlay m 1851 Lord John Manners | 1831-1854 |
| NA919 | Marlay; Charles Brinsley (1829-1912); son of Catherine Marlay | 1829-1912 |
| NA75878 | Marlay; family; of Westmeath, Ireland | |