| Admin History | These papers form part of the larger Manvers Collection, and were generated in the course of the management of the family's estate business. For details about the Pierrepont family and their estates, see the collection-level description for Manvers. In subject matter and date, they complement other groups of papers in the Manvers Collection. There are many areas of overlap between these groups, which are catalogued separately because of the date and manner of their transfer to the University. |
| Custodial History | These papers form a sub-fonds of the Manvers Collection (GB 0159 Ma) and were received by the University library, from the family, in 1958. |
| Description | Ma A-X contains no deeds. However, there are important sections of estate accounts, rentals and surveys, maps and manorial records, and estate agents' papers.
The accounts, in annual volumes, date principally from the 19th century [see the first deposit, Ma 3001-5876, for 17th and 18th century accounts] and relate to the following Collections, or groups of estates:
- Thoresby Collection, 1827-59 and 1889 [see Ma 2 for 1860-84 and 1890-1; and Ma 6 for a complementary series, 1780-1950]
- Lincolnshire Collection, 1780-1, 1785-1831 and 1833-63 [see Ma 2 for 1864-84 and 1889-90; and Ma 6 for a complementary series, 1789-1911]
- Trust Estate Collection (property in Bassingthorpe, Hagworthingham and Langton, Lincolnshire. Included in Lincolnshire accounts from 1804), 1789-1803 [see Ma 6 for a complementary series, same dates]
- Bath Collection, 1812-51 [see Ma 6 for 1797-1811 and 1852-1874]
- Bradford (Wiltshire) Collection, 1810-51 [see Ma 6 for 1797-1810 and 1852-1911]
- Derbyshire Collection, 1795
The rentals are also in the form of annual volumes, and cover the same period [see Ma 3001-5876 for 17th and 18th century rentals]. They relate to the following Collections:
- Thoresby Collection, 1745-46, 1755, 1771-90, 1812, 1817-43, 1845-57 and 1884 [see Ma 2 for 1773 and 1780-1816; and Ma 6 for 1858-1950]
- Lincolnshire Collection, 1780-1857
- Trust Estate Collection, 1773-90 and 1792-1803 (included in Lincolnshire from 1804)
- Bath Collection, 1837 and 1840-51 [see Ma 6 for 1801 and 1852-74]
- Bradford (Wiltshire) Collection, 1801-31 and 1834-51 [see Ma 6 for 1852-1900]
Of the manors that were held in the 18th and 19th centuries by the Earls and Dukes of Kingston and Manvers, only Crowle is represented here. There are court rolls, 1567-1766; admission fine books and accounts, 1756-1901 [see also Ma 2]; and a survey dated 1629. The remaining manorial documents are mainly 14th and 15th century compoti from very scattered, former Pierrepont or unrelated holdings. Miscellaneous medieval documents include a household inventory and accounts of the London 'hospicium' of Thomas Mortimer, 1386/7; and a petition to the Duke of York and Council for an inquiry into the alleged crimes of Robert Pecche [yeoman of the household and servant of Queen Margaret] and others, 1453/4.
The maps in this collection are mostly 19th century maps of estates in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Yorkshire.
There are a number of surveys of Pierrepont properties, including a General Survey of estates in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire dated 1789; surveys of Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Yorkshire and north Nottinghamshire estates, 1809-12 [for accompanying map of Laxton, see Ma 4]; and surveys of Adwick, Calow, Crowle, Walkeringham, Edwinstowe, Kneesall, Eakring, Laxton and Weston estates, 1862 [these last complement valuations of the Beighton, Home Pierrepont and Sneinton estates, also made in 1862, in the first Manvers catalogue, Ma 3001-5876]. Further surveys of individual estates in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, which include the south Nottinghamshire estates around Holme Pierrepont, are dated 1725 to 1901.
A series of Miscellaneous Volumes contains various estate notes and accounts, but also some parish records. There are Budby parish accounts, 1751-1867, including records of the constable, the overseers and the poor rates [see also Ma 2 for Budby parish accounts, 1779-1824, and Perlethorpe parish and churchwardens' accounts]. There are also accounts of the Edwinstowe parish constable, overseer of the poor, and surveyor of highways, and lists of Edwinstowe parish rates, 1813-1863.
The major part of this catalogue is made up of over 500 bundles of estate agents' papers and correspondence. The listing of the estate papers is selective and the dating approximate. The bundles have been arranged by county, first under Nottinghamshire, then under the other counties in alphabetical order. Within each county they have been grouped under the most important places dealt with. Most bundles are original, but some have been artificially made up from loose papers. These have been noted in the catalogue. As well as correspondence, the bundles contain rentals, accounts, surveys, valuations and inventories, bills, acts, and manorial papers.
The biggest sections are for Edwinstowe; Holme Pierrepont and the south Nottinghamshire estate in general (includes a tithe award and map for Holme Pierrepont, Gamston, Adbolton and Bassingfield, 1840); Kneesall; Laxton; Beighton; Calow and Owlcotes (this section includes papers relating to coal mining); Crowle; the Lincolnshire estate at Langton, Newball, Hagworthingham and Langworth; and Adwick upon Dearne in Yorkshire (this section includes mining correspondence with the Manvers Main Colliery Co.). Papers relating to the sale of the Tong estate in Shropshire in 1764 are also present. The earliest original document is dated 1577, but the majority of the papers date from the 18th and 19th centuries. They complement the smaller and more disparate series of estate agents' correspondence in the first Manvers catalogue, Ma 3001-5876. |