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22 volumes
These volumes contain typed transcriptions of King George III's correspondence between December 1783 and 1810; most items are incoming letters to the king. Windsor Castle librarian Sir John Fortescue compiled this collection in the early 20th century as part of a larger project to publish the king's entire correspondence; these typescripts are a companion to several volumes that Fortescue published in 1927-1928, which cover the period from 1760 to November 1783. The transcripts include manuscript revisions and additions. The letters (10,327 pages) pertain to a wide array of political issues and to the king's various interests, and many of Great Britain's most influential political leaders from the late 18th and early 19th centuries are represented throughout the collection. Topics include the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, the 1800 Act of Union with Ireland, and the ministries of William Pitt (1759-1806).
21 linear feet
This collection contains materials related to the personal and political life of Irish politician and writer John Wilson Croker, who served as Secretary to the Admiralty from 1809 to 1830. The collection (approximately 25,000 items) includes correspondence and letter books, diaries, financial records, poetry, printed materials, and political, legal, and judicial manuscripts.
The Correspondence series is divided into 4 subseries: a chronological sequence, an alphabetical sequence, bundled groups of letters, and letter books. The Chronological, Alphabetical, and Bundled subseries contain personal and political letters that Croker exchanged with colleagues, including many items pertaining to his career as secretary to the Admiralty. These include material on the Napoleonic Wars, such as dispatches from the Duke of Wellington (1810-1852) and information on the locations of British troops and ships. Additional material concerns the War of 1812 and military news about the Iberian Peninsula; the series also contains Croker's correspondence with Lord Ashburton regarding peace negotiations with the United States. A letter from March 22, 1813, pertains to the battle between the USS Constitution and HMS Java off of the Brazilian coast.
The series also includes a list of transports awaiting convoy (April 24, 1813), information on Russian ships (May 10, 1813), and 2 printed bulletins in French regarding Napoleon Bonaparte (October 9, 1813, and June 14, 1814). Later material reflects Croker's literary career, particularly his contributions to The Quarterly Review. Croker's personal correspondence includes letters to and from family members and friends. Items post-dating Croker's death largely originated from Edward Gifford, who discussed the treatment of Croker's papers. Further letters in the collection are addressed to Croker's wife, Rosamund Carrington Pennell, and reflect Croker's family life as well as aspects of his political life in London.
The collection's 45 Letter Books include Croker's private letter books and their indexes, as well as bound groups of letters organized by correspondent. Croker kept his set of 28 "private" letter books between 1811 and 1857; they contain copies of letters he authored on personal and political matters. The bulk of the political correspondence relates to Croker's duties as secretary to the Admiralty and to his relationship with the Duke of Wellington. The series contains 3 indexes to these volumes.
- "Canning, Holograph Letters to Rt. Hon. J. W. Croker" (1 volume, 1812-1827) is comprised of letters from George Canning. Canning's letters relate to personal and political matters, including affairs of the Houses of Parliament and the Admiralty; he frequently inquired about the French Marine and about ships stationed in foreign waters. Some of the letters were composed during Canning's tenure as Ambassador to Portugal (1814-1816).
- "Admiral Cockburn, His Holograph correspondence to the Rt. Hon. J. W. Croker" (1 volume, 1809-1830). These letters by Sir George Cockburn pertain to domestic politics within Great Britain, as well as to issues related to the Admiralty and to other members of government, including George Canning. Some private correspondence concerns affairs with the United States. This volume also contains "A Map intended to illustrate the threatened Invasion of England by Bonaparte," as well as a chart entitled "The No. and Description of guns carried by H.M.S. Victory at different periods." The volume also contains photocopies of letters that Croker wrote to Cockburn.
- "Lockhart, His Holograph Correspondence to the Rt. Hon. J. W. Croker" (6 volumes, 1819-1854) is comprised of letters by John Gibson Lockhart pertaining to the British Admiralty.
- "Huskisson, His Original Holograph Correspondence with the Rt. Hon. J. W. Croker" (1 volume, 1815-1828). This volume contains letters by William Huskisson about the British Admiralty.
- "Spencer Perceval, His Holograph Correspondence to the Rt. Hon. J. W. Croker" (1 volume, 1808-1812) includes personal letters from Spencer Perceval. Perceval's letters focus on a political matters related Parliament and the British government.
- Copies of letters from King George III to Lord Halifax, Duke of Cumberland, Lord Rockingham, and General Conway (1 volume, 1765-1770)
- Copies of letters by King George III to Lord Weymouth (1 volume, 1768-1779)
- Copies of letters by King George III to Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh (1 volume, 1804-1807), comprised of copied correspondence between King George III and Robert Stewart about British diplomacy and domestic politics.
- Copies of letters from William IV, Duke of Clarence, to John W. Croker (1 volume, 1810-1828)
The Diaries series contains 24 diaries that Croker kept between 1797 and 1829, the bulk of which are dated between 1817 and 1829. Several of Croker's diaries are travel accounts. Additional diaries are 19th-century manuscript copies, including "Extract from the Journal of a Tour through England in the year 1735 written by Mr. Whaley Fellow of Kings Coll. Cambridge," and extracts from diaries by Lord Hertford (1822) and Sir Henry Hulford (1831).
A series of Political, Legal, and Judicial Manuscripts relates to contemporary British politics and to foreign relations, particularly with France. The series contains an essay draft written by Croker and annotated by Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, entitled "Observations on Choumara's Book," May 16, 1838 (referring to Choumara's The Battle of Toulouse), as well as Croker's notes on conversations with the Duke. The series also contains an undated, 254-page speech by Croker.
Five bound volumes pertain to the contested will of Francis Charles Seymour-Conway, 3rd Marquis of Hertford, including a copy of his will and codicils (1842) and records from Croker's legal case against Richard Seymour Conway regarding the will's validity (1844).
The Financial Records series contains miscellaneous receipts and accounts that document Croker's finances between 1842 and 1855. The series includes material such as a receipt for wine shipped to Haiding Gifford in Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and 5 account books.
The Poetry series includes loose manuscript copies of poems and 2 bound volumes: Croker's translations of Greek poems (1799) and a poem by Hugh Warrender entitled "The Night."
A group of Lists and Indexes relate to Parliamentary elections, birth records, and other topics.
- A volume containing journal articles and reviews of the works of Thomas Babington Macaulay, including an answer to his criticisms of Croker's edition of Boswell's Life of Johnson.
- A volume of records, letters, and drawings related to the Croker family's property at West Molesey, Surrey, England. The volume contains 20 pen and ink drawings of architectural plans for the renovated house, as well as maps of the surrounding area. The volume also includes bills and contracts for the architectural work.
- A volume pertaining to the Croker family, which contains letters, histories, family trees, and illustrations of the family's crests. A Latin document reflects the family's time in Dublin, and a gravestone rubbing depicts a knight laid to rest. Family tree sketches include around 12 versions of the family crest and trace its development over time.
The Printed Materials series consists of pamphlets, newspapers, and clippings about a variety of topics, particularly the French Revolution and issues in contemporary Irish politics.
1 linear foot
This collection is primarily made up of outgoing letters by William Pitt, 1st earl of Chatham; Hester Pitt, countess of Chatham; William Pitt the Younger; and John Pitt, 2nd earl of Chatham. Most of the letters are addressed to influential political figures such as Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney; Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville; and Count Semen Romanovich Vorontsov. The letters pertain to domestic and international political issues in Great Britain, including military conflicts in North America and Europe.
The earliest items relate to William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, and his involvement in British politics in the mid-18th century. In letters to various political figures, he discussed military conflicts in Europe and North America during the Seven Years' War and other issues related to the North American colonies, such as illegal trade with French territories. Also present are 2 commissions that Pitt signed in 1760, notes on Parliamentary speeches by several politicians, and a brief poem by Pitt. In a series of letters written shortly after Pitt's death in 1778, his wife Hester Grenville Pitt and others reacted to his death. During her widowhood, Hester Grenville Pitt often wrote to banker Thomas Coutts about her sons and about other personal subjects. Letters from John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham, to various recipients frequently concern his involvement in naval and other military affairs.
The outgoing letters of William Pitt the Younger comprise the bulk of the collection. He most frequently wrote to William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne; Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney; Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville; Count Semen Romanovich Vorontsov of Russia; and George Rose, secretary to the Treasury under Lord Shelburne and William Pitt. Pitt discussed a multitude of subjects pertaining to Great Britain's domestic political affairs and international relations; he mentioned domestic taxation, political appointments and officeholders, legislation, the "East Indies business," and the personal affairs of the Prince of Wales. His letters also concern the Irish uprising of 1798, the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars, and foreign relations with Russia. In his letter to John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmoreland, on February 7, 1801, Pitt briefly described his reasons for resigning as prime minister. Small groups of Pitt's letters to Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville; Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley; and George Rose are housed in bound volumes. The book of letters to Wellesley contains the bookplate of Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian.
3 volumes
This collection consists of volumes II, III, and IV of The History of the Reign of George III, King of Great Britain, which anonymous author "K. H." composed in Gloucestershire, England, between 1820 and 1823. The treatise covers Great Britain's domestic and international political affairs in depth, including conflicts in North America during the American Revolutionary era and the War of 1812. The location of volume I is unknown.
The three volumes, formally titled "The History of the Reign of George III, King of Great Britain (Designed as a Continuation of Mr. Smollet's History)," have 1,323 pages that cover the period between 1770 and the King's death in 1820. Volume IV also contains a 214-page appendix that provides supplemental information for the years 1763-1820. Each chapter is preceded by a detailed list of contents.
The densely-written account chronicles the country's internal and external political affairs, as well as events occurring throughout Europe and, to a lesser extent, North America and North Africa. Topics addressed concern parliamentary leadership, wars, shifting alliances among major European powers, the French Revolution, and Britain's relationship with Ireland. The final chapter contains the author's reflections on King George III, written shortly after the King's death.
The appendix at the conclusion of Volume IV contains annual lists of appointments, births, marriages, and deaths between 1763 and 1820, as well as other information about domestic and European political affairs. The appointments include British political, religious, and military figures, and reflect some changes in peerage. Also recorded are births and deaths of European royal families.