Baker (Oundle) 1715-1925, 128 docs., ref. Bk(O)
The Bakers were farmers at Barnwell and later at Oundle Lodge.
Deeds for the Bird family of Oundle 19th century, for St. Neots (Huntingdonshire) 1715-1854, papers of the late William Peake of Barnwell, early 19th century. Miscellaneous papers of the Bakers from 1815.
Bartlett (Whitfield) 1708-1962, 221 docs., ref. JB
Farmers with properties in Brackley and Whitfield. Mainly mid/late 19th century correspondence and accounts of James Bartlett
Bateman (Guilsborough) 1542-1877, 359 docs., ref. B(G)
William Bateman purchased the manor from the Clerkes in 1669. Edmund, his son, was Northampton town attorney and sold it in 1710. His third son John (d.1760) continued the line at Guilsborough, at Guilsborough House. Mary, his granddaughter (d.1822) married the Rev. Joshua Wigley. Their daughter Mary married a cousin the Rev. John Buckby. The husbands both adopted the surname Bateman. Their son J.W. Bateman (d.1892) was Secretary to the Duchy of Cornwall.
Mainly deeds for Guilsborough, Thomby, Ravensthorpe and Kibworth Beauchamp (Leicestershire). Agreement for regulation of open fields in Ravensthorpe 1725. No personal papers.
Bateman Hanbury - see Hanbury
Blencowe (Marston St. Lawrence ) 1629 – 1848, 5 boxes (uncatalogued)
Thomas Blencowe acquired the manor of Marston St. Lawrence in 1540. Sir John Blencowe (d. 1726) was a noted judge but died insane. A younger son William (d. 1712) was cryptographer to the government, a role his grandfather Dr. John Wallis had also enjoyed. In 1777 the estate went to Samuel Jackson who added the name Blencowe. Marston House was sold in 1939.
Marston St. Lawrence and Greatworth deeds, bills and receipts 1802 – 1805.
Some records were destroyed when Marston House burned down in 1920.
(Transcripts of Blencowe documents from various other sources have the reference ZB 1185/1-4 and are listed in 'The Blencowe Families: The Descendants of the Blencowe Families of Cumbria and Northamptonshire' edited by J.W. Blencowe.)
Booth of Glendon - see Gompertz
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Bosworth (Highgate House) 1660-1929, 777 docs., ref. B(HH)
The correspondence and personal papers of Thomas Wright Bosworth (d.1856) and his family. Bosworth farmed at Creaton. The Rev. Thomas Jones (d.1845) lodged with them as the local clergyman. Jones was a nationally influential evangelical in the Church of England and helped found the first Bible Societies. Bosworth's sister married the Rev. John Owen of Thrussington (Leicestershire) and there is extensive correspondence from his two daughters Selina and Matilda. T.W. Bosworth's son Thomas Jones Bosworth moved to Leicestershire. His son Thomas Owen Bosworth was a notable geologist but little relates to him in the archive.
Especially interesting correspondence of a family in the 19th century. Travel journal, Lancashire and Scotland 1835. Diaries of Mrs Annie Bosworth 1877-1909. Papers of Col. Arthur Bosworth of the West Indian Regiment 1870s-1898. Papers of the Rev. Thomas Jones 1774-1840 including a diary 1796-1799 and autobiographical notes. Letters on the management of the Teeton Hall estate for Mrs Langton 1877-1885. Papers relating to the Abbott family of Barby, Daventry and London 1828-1841 and to the Pearsons of Aldersgate St., City of London 1779-1840.
This catalogue is available on the National Archives 'A2A' website.
Botfield (Norton) 1621-1902, 11 boxes, ref. BNH (uncatalogued)
Thomas Botfield, a Shropshire industrialist, bought Norton Hall in 1800. It had belonged to the Bretons since 1624 and before them to a junior branch of the Knightleys of Fawsley. Beriah Botfield (d.1863) left the estate to his widow for life and then to Lord Alexander Thynne, a younger son of the Marquess of Bath. Mrs Botfield remarried Alfred Seymour. The 6th Marquess of Bath sold the house in 1947 and it was blown up in 1952.
Mainly deeds for properties in Norton, Long Buckby, Kilsby, Welton and Watford. Botfield family deeds and wills.
(There are further Botfield papers at Longleat House)
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Bouverie (Delapre ) c.1500-1926, 1515 docs., ref. B(D)
Edward Bouverie, a brother of Lord Folkestone, bought Delapre in 1764. The estate had belonged to the Tate family since 1548 and was originally a medieval nunnery. He had already inherited the estates in Hardingstone and London of Bartholomew Clarke, a wine merchant, through his mother. Bouverie was part of the fashionable Whig set in London and a friend of Sheridan. He was M.P. for Salisbury 1761-1771 and for Northampton 1790-1810. His son Everard William was a General and the Duke of Wellington's A.D.C. The last Bouverie, Mary, died in 1943. The house, later erroneously called Delapre Abbey, was the home of the Northamptonshire Record Office between 1958 and 1991. It is now divided up into flats.
Deeds for estates in Northampton, Hardingstone, Hunsbury, the Houghtons and quays and property in the City of London. Plans and papers for new farm buildings 1769, 1806-1810. Mid 18th century plans for Hardingstone mansion and garden. Hardingstone inclosure papers and colour panoramic view of the town of Northampton from the south 1843.
Sadly there are few personal papers.
Rentals and estate/farm accounts 1919-1971, an estate map [1925] and cattle pedigrees 1930s/40s are in an uncatalogued deposit
Brassey (Apethorpe) 1348-1959, (court rolls ref. LB)
Leonard Brassey bought Apethorpe Hall from the Earl of Westmorland in 1904. He was the nephew of Earl Brassey and the grandson of Thomas Brassey who had made an enormous fortune as a railway contractor. Brassey was M.P. for North Northamptonshire 1910-1918 and for Peterborough 1918-1929.
He became Lord Brassey in 1938. Apethorpe became a school in 1947 and after standing empty for some time was taken into the care of English Heritage in 2004.
20th century estate records including rentals and estate accounts, out letter books 1904-1909, 1920/21, house servants' wages 1903-1912, game books 1907-1941, letters from Sir Leonard about estate and Hall, 1920s, 1930s. 20th century Apethorpe parish and cricket club records. Preston Hall (Kent) estate letter book and stud records 1902-1906.
Manor court rolls principally for Easton Maudit 1348-1583 and Silverstone 1642-1756 and court books for Apethorpe, Wood Newton, Nassington and Yarwell 1745-1925.
Brooke (Great Oakley) c.1175-1945, 251 vols. 14 boxes, ref. B(O)
The Brookes are perhaps the most ancient family in Northamptonshire still living on their ancestral estate. William Brooke purchased a manor in Great Oakley in 1472. Thomas Brooke is believed to have begun building Great Oakley Hall in 1555. After the death of Wheeler Brooke (d.1762) the estates descended to Mary Supple whose husband took the name Brooke. Their son Richard De Capell Brooke was made a Baronet in 1803. Sir Arthur, the 2nd Baronet was a famous traveller and author. Sir Arthur, the 5th Baronet (d.1944) was leader of Northamptonshire County Council and was created Lord Brooke of Oakley. His brother Sir Edward was the last Baronet and in 1968 the estate again passed through the female line.
Baronets with estates at Great Oakley, Pipewell, Gayton, Finedon, Cottingham, Middleton, Great Bowden and Market Harborough (Leicestershire), Brington (Huntingdonshire), Chelvey (Somerset) St. Martin Ludgate and Berners St., London and Aghadoe and Killeagh (Co. Cork).
Rockingham Forest papers, Irish estate papers, papers on 18th century militia, 18th century rentals. Sheriff's account 1575/6 and papers 1616/17. Inventory 1658 and fine 17th/18th/19th/20th century household and private accounts and correspondence. Travel journals, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire 1703, Belgium, Paris and Italy 1750-52, Ireland c.1770, Wales late 18th century, Malta, Italy and France 1811-13 by the Hon. Catherine Watson, Norway 1820s. Volumes of poetry, plays and recipes. Letters from William De Capell Brooke at Brasenose College, Oxford 1820s. Papers on 1820 Norwegian tour and on Travellers' Club. Papers on campaign against prostitution 1838. Charles De Capell Brooke's diaries 1865-1922. Papers on late 16th century subsidy and early 17th century purveyance collection. Late 17th century Easter books. Zaccheus Isham's diary 1694-1704 and accounts. Papers of the Worge family including those of General Richard Worge, governor of Senegal 1760s and the Hull family including letters from John Pooley, Bishop of Cloyne 1700-1702. Maunsell family deeds and wills. 20th century County Council papers and papers on the National Unionist Association.
Great Oakley parish and school records and some 19th/20th century estate and farm records remain in an uncatalogued portion.
(There are further Brooke papers in the Lamb and Holmes solicitors archive)
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Brudenell (Deene) c.1200-1931, 585 vols. c.214 boxes, ref. BRU
Sir Robert Brudenell, a judge who became Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in 1521, acquired the lease of Deene in 1514. His son Sir Thomas was a notable lawyer and antiquary. Thomas Brudenell, who succeeded in 1606 married Mary, a daughter of Sir Thomas Tresham, a committed Catholic. He was a royalist and suffered badly in the Civil War. Deene was sacked and later he was imprisoned. He gave Charles I financial support in his last year and Charles II rewarded him with the Earldom of Cardigan in 1661. The 3rd Earl gave up Roman Catholicism in 1708. George, the 4th Earl married Mary the heiress of the 2nd Duke of Montagu and was created Duke of Montagu himself in 1766. He was a prominent courtier, governor to the Prince of Wales and Prince Frederick 1776-1780 and then Master of the Horse from 1781. Montagu and his brothers were all close to the Royal Family and George III threatened to abdicate if he was deprived of office. His younger brother Thomas was made Earl of Ailesbury in 1776. The Montagus' only son died young so the Brudenell estates and Cardigan title passed to the Duke's brother. The Montagu estates went to their daughter Elizabeth who married the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry. The 5th Earl was also close to George III and was his Master of the Robes. James, the 7th Earl of Cardigan led the infamous Charge of the Light Brigade in 1854. He lived adulterously with his future second wife for many years and his mistress Adeline de Horsey was socially isolated, particularly after Cardigan's death in 1868. On Lady Cardigan's death in 1915 the estates passed to Ernest Brudenell Bruce, a grandson of the 3rd Marquess of Ailesbury. Deene Park is now occupied by his nephew.
(Joan Wake wrote a definitive family history 'The Brudenells of Deene' in 1953.)
Archives of the Earls of Cardigan with estates in Deene, Deenethorpe, Stanion, Corby, Bulwick, Glapthorn, Tansor, the Weldons, Southwick, Benefield, Cotterstock and Little Oakley, Slawston, Glooston, Cranoe and Stonton Wyville (Leicestershire), Hougham and Marston (Lincolnshire), Ayston and Wardley (Rutland) and Hornby (Lancashire). A large estate in West Riding was acquired by marriage into the Savile family, at Howley, East and West Ardsley (or Woodchurch), Headingley, Kirkstall, Bramley, Farnley, Gildersome, New Park and Wakefield.
Charters for Deene, Glapthorn, Stanion, Gamlingay (Cambridgeshire), and Waresley (Huntingdonshire). Marston (Lincolnshire) court rolls from 1404 – 1627. Papers on the Brudenall v. Bussey Star Chamber case 1590's. Papers on sequestration in the 1650s and recusancy. Household accounts 1633-1636. Interesting estate correspondence 1725-1732, Northants. and Yorkshire. Estate accounts and rentals 1737-1920, survey 1871, detailed 19th century estate and household accounts. Yorkshire estate survey 1792-98, account for collieries 1787-91 and early 19th century plans for collieries. Steward's letter books 1856-1914. Papers on 7th Earl's yachting and military career, his correspondence 1863-1866, letters to the editor of the Naval & Military Gazette 1834-1860 (section Z) are uncatalogued.
Papers re. the Tresham family finances and Catholic persecutions. Survey of Owston Priory, (Leicestershire) 1536.
Estate accounts of Thomas Dummer (d. 1781) and Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland of Cranbury Park (Hampshire) 1734- 1812. Accounts of Mrs Elizabeth Dummer of Cranbury 1736 – 1765 and of Thomas Dummer 1768 – 1781. Mrs Dummer had a life estate in Cranbury and she remarried in 1790 the famous artist Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland.
Note: Certain catalogued items have been withdrawn by the family
(Steward's accounts of 1657 – 1680 are available on microfilm, ref. M 201. Photostat of 1633-37 estate survey and atlas by Henry Paxton.)
(Correspondence and accounts of the 4th Earl appears in the Montagu collection.)
(Lady Cardigan's letters to the Rev. Sylvester 1873-1903 are catalogued under ZA 9974-9993.)
(The correspondence between the Deene steward Daniel Eaton and the 3rd Earl has been published by the Northamptonshire Record Society as volume 24, edited by Joan Wake and D.C. Webster, 1971.)
Buccleuch - see Montagu
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Bullivant (Marston Trussell) 1579-1988, 377 docs., ref. B(MT)
An artificial collection made by the late Cecil Bullivant of deeds and papers concerning the Bullivant family and their connections.
The Rev. John Bullivant, the son of the vicar of Guilsborough, purchased the rectory of Marston Trussell in 1779. He married Jane Turville whose mother was the sister of the last Norwich baronet of Brampton Ash. His son Henry succeeded as rector in 1792. On his death in 1842 the Rev. William Law acquired the living. Bullivant's son Henry Everard (d.1899) was vicar of Lubenham, Leicestershire. Cecil Bullivant was his grandson and a notable novelist.
Deeds for estates in Marston Trussell, Hollowell, Sibbertoft, Thorpe Lubenham and Lubenham (Leicestershire) belonging to the Barwell, Ewins and Bennett families. Norwich family of Brampton Ash accounts 1720-1738. Protestation return for Marston Trussell 1641. Personal papers of the Bullivants including a journal of a cruise to the West Indies 1934. Genealogical collection for the Bullivants and their connections: Turvile, Norwich, Everard, Bigod, Adams, Maynard and Rushout.
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