Samwell (Upton ) 1388-1733, 67 docs., ref. S
Francis Samwell of Northampton (d.1585) made a fortune as and Auditor of the Exchequer and from the Dissolution. His son Sir William (D.1627), also an Auditor and successful lawyer, purchased Upton from the Knightleys in 1600. His grandson Thomas was made a baronet in 1675 and was M.P. for both the county and the town. The last baronet died in 1789. The estate passed to the Watson Samwells but there are no records in this archive for after 1733.
Deeds for Knightley and Samwell family estates in Upton and Gayton.
Late 17th/early 18thC. militia and muster records
Sartoris (Rushden ) 1701-1943, 633 docs., ref. S(R) & YZ 5980 - 6027
Frederick Urban Sartoris (d. 1887) was the second son of a French landowner who purchased Rushden Hall in 1844. His grandson Arthur Hugh sold the Hall in 1929.
Mainly deeds and legal papers for Rushden estate. Papers on Wilcote estate (Oxfordshire) late 19th/early 20thC. including plans of house.
Scott (Boughton ) 1853-1990s, 35 boxes, ref. Scott
Admiral Lord Charles Thomas Montagu-Douglas-Scott (d.1911) was the 4th son of the 5th Duke of Buccleuch. He was captain of "The Bacchante" 1879-1882, the ship on which the Duke of Clarence and the future George V served as cadets. He was Commander in Chief of the Australian Station 1889-1892 and then of Plymouth 1900-1903. His younger son Sir David (d.1986) served in the Royal Scots before joining the Foreign Office in 1911. He was Deputy Under Secretary of State before retiring in 1947. His only son, Merlin, was killed in action in 1941. With his first wife Dorothy Drummond he created a notable garden at Boughton, the Buccleuch family seat in England. Sir David also collected Victorian art. His second wife Valerie Finnis is a leading horticulturalist.
Papers of Admiral Lord Charles Scott. His naval papers including ships' log books 1853-1886 and photograph albums: For "The Bacchante" voyage, to Japan, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Ceylon, Australia, New Zealand, Egypt, Newfoundland. 19thC. family photograph albums and letters to sons. Diaries of Charles Michael Scott 1942-1965. Papers of Sir David Scott. Including Eton school reports and bills 1899-1903 and World War One field note books, sketches and photographs. Correspondence including letters to parents, 1893-1910, from school, Germany and Paris, and to Sir Neville Bland 1911-1916. Game books 1903-1912. His autobiographical notes, Eton and Australia. Papers and correspondence of Dorothy Drummond, Lady Scott including diaries 1898-1965 and photograph/autograph albums: At house parties, in India, 1911 Delhi Durbar, Burma, Italy. Journal of world tour 1956. Papers of Merlin Scott, school reports and bills 1927-1936, correspondence 1928-1941, photograph album, Australia 1938, papers on his involvement with World War Two internees. Papers of Valerie Finnis, Lady Scott. On Finnis family history and on gardening, including Waterperry Horticultural School (Oxfordshire) plant catalogues, photographs and scrapbook. Early 20thC. Finnis family photographs, Switzerland and Italy. Sketch book and diary of James West 1853 on tour down the Rhine and sketch book of Benjamin James West 1868-1876. John Gregory Crace's Norfolk and Kent sketch book 1859.
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Smee (Haselbech) see Ismay
Smith (Oundle ) 1481-1903, 10 boxes, ref. S of 0
John Smith the Elder (d.18 ) of Stoke Doyle established a brewery in Oundle in 1775. He was succeeded by his son John Smith the Younger (d. 1844). From the profits the family made extensive purchases of property including J.W. Bramston's estate in 1800, the late William Walcot's estate in 1827 and Ashton Manor in 1836. Ashton was sold to Lord Rothschild in 1860. The Smiths gave up the business after the First World War.
Brewers in Oundle, with estates in Oundle, Ashton, Lutton, Elmington, Polebrook and Aldwinckle, Wolford Lodge, Woolford and Dunkeswell (Devon). Mainly deeds but some Smith and Staples family deeds and wills. Southwell separation deed 1798. Brewers ledger 1828-1836 and business deeds. Walcot, Creed and Cuthbert family deeds and wills. Dr William Walcot (d.1806) married Mary Creed. Easter books 17th/18th/19thC., Walsoken with Popenhoe (Norfolk) manorial papers 1702-1739, papers on fen drainage 1779-1793 and sheriff's account 1787.
Sotheby (Ecton ) c.1275-1954, 1,130 docs., ref. E(S), Maps 2115- 2162
Charles William Hamilton Sotheby (d.1887) inherited his cousin Ambrose Isted's estate based at Ecton Hall in 1881. The Isteds had been there since Thomas Isted (d.1731), a London barrister, bought it from Ralph Freeman. His son Ambrose (d.1781) rebuilt the house in an 18thC. "Gothick" style. A neighbour in the vicarage of Easton Maudit was Dr. Thomas Percy, later Bishop of Dromore, an influential editor of "ancient poetry". His daughter married Isted's son and successor Samuel.
The Sothebys were a scholarly family of collectors, although not apparently linked to the famous auctioneers. James Sotheby (d.1720) was a notable antiquarian and book collector who married Anne Robinson, the heiress of Bishops Hall in Stepney. William Sotheby of Sewardstone (Essex) (d.1833) was a translator of the classics and a poet. He married Mary, the daughter of Ambrose Isted. His son Charles (d.1854), the father of C.W.H. Sotheby, was a rear admiral. Sadly the Sothebys abandoned Ecton Hall after 1955. The derelict shell has since been converted into flats.
Gentry family with estates in Ecton, Cogenhoe, Earls Barton, Great Doddington, Whiston and Bozeat. Yardley Gobion and estate in Kent from Nash Mason including 18thC. surveys and plans of Kent farms: Boxley, Boughton Malherbe, Ulcomb and Smarden. Sewardstone, High Beech, Elmstead and Latchingdon (Essex), Bermondsey, Stepney and other London properties. Ecton court rolls. Cellar books 1820-1849, 1927-1954, agents' notebooks and cropping books. Fine open field map of Ecton 1703. Isted's notebook for rebuilding house 1753-1755, plan, elevation and designs, plan of park. Plans and accounts for alterations 1887-1908.
Literary papers of Bishop Thomas Percy.
James Sotheby's notebooks, antiquarian papers and letters, including from George Vertue and Thomas Hearne. Accounts of Anne Robinson of Bishop's Hall 1664-1681. 1701 account for rebuilding Sewardstone (Essex).
18th/19th/20thC. correspondence including letters from F.E. Sotheby in the Crimea 1855, in India 1860s and in Gold Coast 1874. Sotheby heraldry and pedigrees. 20thC. papers and photographs on art collection.
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Spencer (Althorp) c.1155-1963, 1872 docs. & 633 boxes, ref SOX
The Spencers are certainly the most famous of the families in this survey but they had an interesting and distinguished history long before the marriage of the present Prince of Wales with the late Lady Diana Spencer. They were most celebrated for their involvement in politics and as great collectors, especially of books.
This archive largely consists of the estate records of the Earls Spencer which were purchased for the Record Office in 198 . Sadly the bulk of the family papers and estate maps went to the British Library.
The Spencers' original seat was at Wormleighton (Warwickshire) but they farmed land at Althorp in the 1480s. Sir John Spencer (d.1522) became wealthy off the backs of his sheep and purchased both the manors of Wormleighton and Althorp in 1508. His grandson, also Sir John (d.1586), began building the present mansion at Althorp. His grandson Sir Robert (d.1627) was created Lord Spencer in 1603. Henry, 3rd Lord Spencer (d.1643) loaned Charles I £10,000 and was thanked with the Earldom of Sunderland but he gave the King his own life later the same year, in the Battle of Newbury. His wife Lady Dorothy Sidney was an inspiration of the poet Edmund Waller. Robert, 2nd Earl of Sunderland (d.1702) was an unscrupulous but successful Secretary of State and connoisseur. Charles, 3rd Earl (d.1722), followed in his father's footsteps and collected a celebrated library. His second wife, Lady Anne Churchill, was a daughter of the famous Duke and Duchess of Marlborough. Charles, the 5th Earl (d.1758) inherited the Marlborough Dukedom in 17 as it had been allowed to pass through the female line and he moved to Blenheim Palace.
The Hon. John Spencer (d.1746), the Duke's younger brother, was given Althorp. He was also the favourite grandson of the Duchess of Marlborough and inherited her extensive estates in Hertfordshire, Surrey, Norfolk, Northants and elsewhere. His son John (d.1783) was made Earl Spencer in 1765. Spencer was a notable patron of the arts and of the Whig party in politics. His elder daughter Lady Georgiana, who became Duchess of Devonshire (d.1806), excelled in the latter role and is the subject of several biographies. George John, 2nd Earl Spencer (d.1834) was a celebrated book collector and the First Lord of the Admiralty. His son John Charles, the future 3rd Earl (d.1845), as Lord Althorp, was one of the leading politicians of the early 19thC. advocating the Reform Bill for his party in the Commons. He rose to be Chancellor of the Exchequer and was a founder of the Royal Agricultural Society. His marriage to Esther Acklom brought the family an estate in Nottinghamshire which was later sold. The Sussex estates of the Viscounts Montagu were inherited through the 4th Earl's marriage to Elizabeth Poyntz. John Poyntz, the 5th or "Red" Earl (d.1910) was Viceroy of Ireland and First Lord of the Admiralty. His epithet was the result of his bushy beard and his love of hunting. Charles Robert, the 6th Earl (d.1922) was a courtier, famous for his elegant tailoring. Albert Edward, the 7th Earl (d.1975) was a notable local historian. Charles, the present 9th Earl Spencer still lives at Althorp.
The original estates of the Spencers surrounded their two bases at Althorp and Wormleighton (Warwickshire): The Bringtons, Nobottle, Elkington, the Boddingtons, Muscott in Norton and Wicken (sold 1716), Dunton and Milhoe (Bedfordshire), Priors Hardwick, Priors Marston and Withybrook (Warwickshire) were acquired in the 16th and 17thC.
The Duchess of Marlborough or her trustees bought the Wiseman estate in Bozeat and Strixton in 1736/7 (Bozeat sold 1831), the Norwich estate at Brampton Ash in 1738, the Crewe estate at Steane in 1744 and estates in Church and Chapel Brampton in 1754, St Albans and Sandridge (Hertfordshire), Castlethorpe, Hanslope, Stantonbury and Kimbell (Buckinghamshire), Marston and Lidlington, Potton, Holme and Steventon (Bedfordshire), North Creake (Norfolk), Theddingworth (Leicestershire), St Thomas (Stafford) (sold 1785), Sindlesham (Berkshire) (sold 1788), Shellingford and Baulking (Berkshire) (sold 1796), Inkpen and Kintbury (Berkshire) (sold 1797), Hail Weston (Huntingdonshire) (sold 1802), Mappowder (Dorset) (sold 1806) and in Wimbledon, Battersea, Wandsworth, Mortlake, Putney, Roehampton, East Sheen, Crowhurst and Tandridge, Coombe Neville and Chilworth (all Surrey).
Spencer House in St. James's Place, London and other houses there were acquired in the 18thC.
The Andrew estate at Harlestone was purchased 1830/1831. The Dallington estate was purchased in 1867. Lands in Watford and Murcott were purchased in the 19thC.
A share in the Poyntz estates at Midgham (Berkshire) and in the estates the late Viscount Montagu at Cowdray, Patcham and Clayton (Sussex) were inherited in 1840 but sold on.
The Acklom estates at Wiseton, Scaftworth, Scrooby and Misson (Nottinghamshire) were acquired by marriage in 1814 and sold in 1848.
Extensive collection of mediaeval charters. Principally for Althorp, the Bringtons, Nobottle and Muscote, Millow, Dunton and Stratton (Bedfordshire), Cowdray, Patcham and Poynings (Sussex), Waverley Abbey (Surrey) and Wormleighton, Stoneton, Priors Hardwick and Priors Marston (Warwickshire). The oath used for the homage at Muscote 1479. Millow Manor accounts 1289, 1307-1367 (some gaps). Court records for Surrey, Sussex and Hertfordshire manors. Wimbledon survey by Ralph Treswell 1617/18. Harlestone field orders 1586 and 16thC. rentals. Deeds for Brington warren 1603. Inventories of 1600 and 1628. Records of the Marlborough almshouses, St. Albans (Hertfordshire) and estates. William Talman's contract for Holywell House, St. Albans 1685.
Extensive collection of estate records, late 18th, 19th and early 20thC. Rentals generally begin 1776. Household (including Viceroyalty period), garden, stables and dairy accounts and vouchers. Upper servants' contract book 1803-1848. Agents' and solicitors' correspondence. Charity account books. Mid 19thC. stud records. Account books for Wimbledon brickworks 1775-1789 and for Joseph Brindley's slate works, Bermondsey 1867-1869. Papers on Thames bridges and Wimbledon Common.
Miscellaneous personal and official papers, particularly for the 19thC., including on elections, Ireland and 2nd Earl's library. 18th/19thC. hunting journals (Pytchley) and 19thC. weather records. Letters from the Duke of Bedford 1845-1857. Diaries of Adelaide, Countess Spencer 1852, 1864, 1865, 1867, 1870. Correspondence and papers of the 6th Earl Spencer. Two 19thC. family photograph albums.
Transcripts of personal letters, 1st Countess Spencer to daughter Lady Bessborough, Duchess of Devonshire to 2nd Earl, Sir William Jones to 2nd Earl, Lord Althorp to 2nd Earl, from 2nd Earl, Frederick Spencer's naval diary 1819-1823, Brazil, Lady Euston to nephew: Originals in British Library.
Travel journal of Stephen Monteage 1712, Netherlands and Flanders. Accounts of the Owsley family of Leytonstone (Essex) 1714-1724. Deeds, accounts and papers of the Poyntz family of Midgham (Berkshire) and Cowdray (Sussex). Includes separation deed 1747, account book of the late Thomas Mathews of Jamaica 1724-1734, household and estate accounts of the Rev. Dr. Charles Poyntz 1760-1805, private accounts of W.J. Poyntz 1833-1839. Papers of the Martin family of Devon, 18thC. Trust papers for Earl Macartney, early 19thC. Lucan family and estate papers.
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Stockdale (Mears Ashby ) - The NRO has a small collection mainly consisting of 19th and early 20thC. plans. Some uncatalogued correspondence 1920s.
Robert Stockdale's travel journal from Vienna to Constantinople has the reference Misc. photostat 1355.
Stopford Sackville (Drayton ) c.1150-1781, 4,358 docs., ref. SS
The castle at Drayton was sold by Sir John de Drayton to his cousin Sir Henry Greene in 1361. The de Draytons were a branch of the de Vere family who changed their name to reflect their lordship. Another branch of de Veres settled at Great Addington. In 1467 the estate passed to the Earl of Wiltshire who had married the Greene heiress. The 2nd Earl died in battle in 1499 and Drayton then passed to Elizabeth Vere, the heiress of the de Veres of Addington. Elizabeth married John Mordaunt of Turvey (Bedfordshire), the son of Sir John Mordaunt, a successful lawyer who had largely engineered this inheritance. The son was created Lord Mordaunt in 1532. The Mordaunts remained Catholics into the later 16thC., they were friends of the Treshams and implicated in the Gunpowder Plot. The 5th Lord Mordaunt was created Earl of Peterborough in 1628. Henry the 2nd Earl (d.1697) was an antiquarian and genealogist and a strong supporter of James II, one of the few who fled with him in 1689. He left his estates to his daughter Lady Mary Mordaunt, Duchess of Norfolk, (d.1705) whilst the Earldom was inherited by his nephew. The Duke divorced his wife, an exceptional case at that time, for living with her lover Sir John Germain. The Duchess left Drayton to Sir John (d.1718) who in turn left it to his second wife Lady Elizabeth Berkeley (d.1769). Lady "Betty" Germain passed the estates to Lord George Sackville (d.1785), a younger son of the Duke of Dorset, who despite being court martialled as Commander in Chief of the army, rose to become Secretary of State for the Colonies and Viscount Sackville. He became Lord George Germain. His eldest son succeeded as Duke of Dorset and on his death in 1843 Drayton was inherited by his niece Mrs Stopford. She and her husband took the name Stopford Sackville and the estate remains with their descendants.
Perhaps the finest and most comprehensive mediaeval and early 16thC. collection in the Record Office. Few records for the 18thC. and beyond. Mainly charters and deeds for estates in Drayton and Lowick, Islip, Sudborough, Thrapston, Slipton, Great Addington, Aldwinckle, Denford, Grafton Underwood, Raunds, Ringstead and Titchmarsh, Turvey and Stagsden (Bedfordshire), White Roding, [Saffron] Walden and elsewhere (Essex), Buckworth (Huntingdonshire), Kimpton (Hertfordshire), Sulhamstead (Berkshire) and places in Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Dorset, Hampshire, Shropshire and Wiltshire.
Charters principally for Lowick, Islip, Thrapston, Turvey and Stagsden, including for fishing rights in Ouse, wardships, marriage, endowments to churches and for chantries, grants of freedom and for Thrapston markets. Court rolls for Lowick 1370 - 1414, 1455 - 1495 and Islip 1375 - 1412, 1455 - 1492. Greene, Vere and Mordaunt family deeds and wills. Sculptor's contract for Ralph Greene's tomb 1419. Inventory of Henry Vere 1493. Records of executorship of the Earl of Wiltshire 1499 - 1516 including foundation of chantries. Endowment and inventory of Vere chantry at Great Addington 1528 - 1535. William Mordaunt's account book 1499 - 1516, sheriff's account 1510. Some 16thC. Mordaunt correspondence. 2nd Earl's claim as Governor of Tangier 1667. A few papers on separation of Duke and Duchess of Norfolk 1685/6 and inventory of Norfolk House, London, 1685. Papers on dispute over inheritance between 3rd Earl and Sir John Germain.
Charters for Latimer estates in East Pulham, Winterbourne Whitechurch and elsewhere (Dorset), c.1250 - 1524, papers on timber dispute in Normandy 1309 - 1313. Charters for Maudit estates including Warminster and Westbury (Wiltshire), Gratley (Hampshire) and Buckworth (Huntingdonshire). County court roll for Bedfordshire 1332/33. Lord Howard of Effingham's patent as Earl of Nottingham 1597.
(Estate and personal papers remain in the custody of the family.)
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Stratford (Thorpe Lubenham) 1646-1889, 11 boxes, uncatalogued
Deeds for Lubbenham and Theddingworth (Leicestershire, Marston Trussell, East Farndon, Thorpe Lubenham and Sibbertoft.
Strong (Thorpe Hall ) 1605-1914, 700 docs., ref. S(T)
The Rev. William Strong (d.1866) the eldest son of the Ven. William Strong, Archdeacon of Northampton (d.1842) bought Thorpe Hall from Earl Fitzwilliam in 1850. He was succeeded by his son Charles Isham Strong. The mansion is a famous piece of mid 17thC. architecture built for Oliver St. John and was originally thought to be by Inigo Jones. The Strongs sold the house in 19 and it is now a residential home.
Excellent collection of 18th/19thC. correspondence and personal papers relating to Peterborough and Canterbury. Papers on local defence in 1745. Archdeacon Strong's diaries 1784-1800 and account/memo book 1776-1842.
Travel journals to France 1815/1816. letters from Mrs Maria Lukyn of Canterbury 1809 - 1835. papers on the gardens in mid 19thC. including record book 1843 - 1850 and letters from Sir John Naesmyth 1850. papers on the restoration of the mansion including William Strong's journal 1850 - 1858, accounts and letters from Arthur William Hakewell. rentals 1840's - 1880's for estates in Whittlesey (Cambridgeshire) and Stanground (Huntingdonshire).
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