| Content Description | The material concerns the early 18th century interests of the 3rd Duke of Newcastle and the 2nd Earl and Countess of Oxford and Mortimer in this county - essentially the Wimpole estate, which had to be sold (to the future 1st Earl of Hardwicke) just before the 2nd Earl of Oxford's death. As shown in section F3, this great collector had an insatiable appetite but not a bottomless purse. A small further group of papers relates to the contemporary activities of the Dukes of Portland in the county. Linked only by geography, the remaining materials involves the Rectory of Elsworth, acquired by the 4th Duke of Portland in 1837.
See section Pl C 1 for correspondence relating to this estate. |