| Content Description | The Hampshire estates were inherited through the marriage of the 1st Duke of Portland to Lady Elizabeth Noel, who was a co-heir of Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Gainsborough. The Noels had inherited these estates from the Wriothesleys, Earls of Southampton. Lady Elizabeth Noel's sister, Rachel, married the 2nd Duke of Beaufort and the Portlands and Beauforts partitioned the estates c.1740 (see Act of Parliament attached to Pl F2/4/16). The Hampshire estates were amongst the first to be sold off by the 3rd Duke of Portland (early 1770s) in an attempt to bring order to his overstretched finances.
See Pl E1/6/4 and 1/7/1 for further Hampshire rentals, and Pl C 42 for correspondence relating to the estate. |