| Document Reference | Ki |
| Title | Estate Papers of the Kirke Family of East Markham, Nottinghamshire, 1560-1942 |
| Date | 1560-1942 |
| Extent | 26 boxes |
| Abstract | The collection consists of papers of the Kirke family's estates in and around the parish of East Markham, Nottinghamshire, 16th-20th centuries. The papers include title deeds, maps and plans, genealogical notes and manorial records for the Soke of Dunham. |
| Level | Fonds |
| Access Conditions | Accessible to all readers. |
| Admin History | The Kirke family settled in East Markham, a village in north-east Nottinghamshire where John Kirke (1657-1710) of Anston, Yorkshire, purchased Mirfield Hall (sometimes referred to as Markham Hall) in 1687. Mirfield Hall and its estate was in the possession of the Cartwright family from 1780 until 1835 when it was repurchased by William Kirke (died 1843), the son of John Kirke (1777-1826) and great-great-grandson of the original John Kirke of Mirfield Hall.
William Kirke was succeeded in 1843 by his son, John Henry Kirke (1836-1892), a Colonel of the 19th Foot regiment and Justice of the Peace of Nottinghamshire. John Henry married Flora Jones in 1863 and they had four daughters. Under the terms of his father's will, John was succeeded by his sisters, Ann (1831-1920) and Harriet (d. 1928). In 1862, Ann married Dr Edward Mason Wrench (1833-1912), an army surgeon. |
| Custodial History | The collection was transferred the library of the University of Nottingham in 1949-50 by a descendant of the family. |
| Description | The collection provides good coverage of the properties of the Kirke family of East Markham, Nottinghamshire from the 16th to the 20th centuries, although it lacks any substantial evidence of rentals or any quantity of maps. The bulk of it comprises title deeds and associated papers. These are heavily concentrated on East Markham and East Retford, although other properties and adjacent counties, are also listed. Miscellaneous estate papers include copies of enclosure acts for East Markham, Pinxton and Headon cum Upton in Nottinghamshire, and there is an account book detailing the expenses of the Leverton enclosure in 1796-1799. A couple of printed items concern turnpike roads. Manorial records for the Soke of Dunham in the 16th and 17th century are present, including copies of 'The custome of Dunham Soke', 1652.
The documents of title have been kept in original bundle arrangements, which sometimes include personal letters, genealogical items and even verses together with the legal and financial documents concerning properties. There is, for instance, a letter from Florence Nightingale (1856) concering the Scutari hospital in the Crimea. Many papers concern the Kirke, Tye and Wrench families and their genealogy and properties, including copies made by F.H. Wrench in 1916-1917 of the Kirke schedule of deeds in 1781. Personal accounts and diaries include records of Ann Kirke and Hannah Browne, and a commonplace book is present, containing accounts, medical receipts, and horticultural notes.
A small number of papers relate to militia provision and training in the early 19th century. Account books, with some rentals, are mainly from the 18th to mid-19th centuries. They include some personal accounts, and a record of the building accounts for Mirfield Hall, 1774-1779. Maps and plans are in general 19th-20th century, but the surveys include a few 18th century items, including an account of the arable lands in the open fields of East Markham. |
| MgtGroup | Family and estate collections |
| MgtSubGroup | Nottinghamshire |
| Arrangement | The collection has been divided by document type into series. Within these series, items have been arranged chronologically where possible. |
| Language | English |
| Term | Administration of estates - England - Nottinghamshire - East Markham |
| Deeds - England - Nottinghamshire - East Markham |
| FindingAids | Copyright in all Finding Aids belongs to the University of Nottingham.
In the Reading Room, King's Meadow Campus:
Typescript catalogue, 167 pp
At the National Register of Archives, The National Archives, Kew:
Old typescript catalogue to bundle level, 76 pp
Online: Available on the Manuscripts Online Catalogue, accessible from the website of Manuscripts and Special Collections |
| 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 nature and condition of the documents. |
| Related Material | University of Nottingham; Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections: Papers of the Wrench family who were related through marriage to the Kirke family (reference: Wr, Wre, Wr/BT and Wr/Ki) |
| Photographs and family history publication relating to the Kirke family, 1870s-2006 (MS 893) |
| Related Record | WrWre |
| MS893 |